The need for a new roadmap of procedural safeguards: a lawyer’s perspective

The aim of this article is to discuss the need for new EU legislation on minimum standards in order to strengthen procedural rights and mutual trust in cross-border cases. It describes the need to change procedural legislation so as to render it possible to challenge effectively European Arrest Warrants issued and the disproportionate use of pre-trial detention. Recommendations made by the European Parliament in 2014 did not lead to the desired results. The new ‘digital’ world now provides the opportunity to create remedies against overuse of pre-trial detention. New legislation will bring about progress, though change from within at courtroom level has to date proven to be equally important.