La sentenza della Corte di Lussemburgo sul caso Aranyosi e Căldăraru: una (difficile) coesistenza tra tutela dei diritti fondamentali e mandato di arresto europeo

The judgment delivered by the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) in the Aranyosi and Căldăraru case owns the potential to become an important piece in the area of freedom, security and justice’s mosaic. In this decision, the CJEU not only confirms that the principles of mutual trust and recognition are not absolute, but it also provides for an explicit situation in which this limit applies. Namely, the Court of Luxembourg recognizes the duty for the executing judicial authority to suspend the execution of a European arrest warrant (EAW) in case of a real risk of inhuman or degrading treatment because of the conditions of detention of the person concerned in the Member State where the EAW was issued, and ask for detailed information. If, after a two-step test, the existence of that risk cannot be discounted within a reasonable period of time, the judicial authority can decide not to execute the EAW. In substance, the CJEU recognizes a further non-mandatory ground for non-execution. Still, the Aranyosi judgment raises many issues, which could lead to difficulties in the implementation by national judicial authorities of the principles therein contained, and to possible contrasts with the European Court of Human Rights. To that regard, the recent judgment issued by the Italian Corte di cassazione (Barbu case) represents an important – albeit not exhaustive – test bench. In conclusion, this article affirms the extreme difficulty, at present, in balancing effective respect for human rights and efficient functioning of the EAW system, due to the current situation of widespread deficiencies in the detention conditions of many Member States.