Opting Out of EU Police and Criminal Justice Measures: The United Kingdom's 2014 Decision
| Published date | 01 September 2013 |
| DOI | 10.1177/203228441300400305 |
| Date | 01 September 2013 |
| Subject Matter | Article |
New Journal of Eur opean Crimina l Law, Vol.4, Issue 3, 2013 215
ARTICLES
OPTING OUT OF EU POLICE AND
CRIMINAL JUSTICE MEASURES:
THE UNITED KINGDOM’S 2014 DECISION
J C*
ABSTRACT
is article provide s an overview of the cur rent debate in the United Kingdom on
whether the UK should exercise its right to opt out from around 130 EU police and
criminal justice mea sures. It is a revised and upd ated version of a talk delivered at a
meeting held by the Law Socie ty of Scotland in Brussels in March 2013. It explains why
this issue is presently one of dic ulty for the United Kingdom government, and reviews
the background to the current debate an d the steps which the government has taken so
far, analysing in particular the positions which were put to a Hou se of Lords committee
which conducted an inquiry into the mat ter, reporting in early 2013.
Keywords: Eu ropean Arrest Warrant; European cri minal law; European Supervision
Order; opting out; Protocol 36
Under Article10 of Protocol 36 to the EU Treaties, the United Ki ngdom – uniquely
among Member States of the European Union – has the r ight to decide to ‘opt out’ of
a ra of around 130 police and cri minal justice measures adopted before the Treaty of
Lisbon came into force. Any such decision must be ta ken by 31May 2014. In September
2012, the Prime Minis ter of the United Kingdom said that the UK would exercise th at
right. e same day, the Deputy Pri me Minister said that no decision had been ta ken.1
at contradiction exemplies t he diculties faced by the United K ingdom in dealing
with this issue: the country currently has a coalition government made up of two
dierent parties , something relatively unusual in Br itish politics and which the Brit ish
* Regius Professor of L aw at the University of Glasgow. e author is a mem ber of the Criminal L aw
Committee of t he Law Society of Scot land and, in that role, gave e vidence to an inquir y conducted
by the House of Lords Eu ropean Union Committee on t he UK’s 2014 opt-out decision. is paper,
based upon a tal k given at a Law Society of S cotland event in Bru ssels in March 2013, is wr itten in a
personal capac ity and represents the aut hor’s views alone.
1 Hous e of Lords European Union Committe e, EU Police and Criminal Justice Mea sures: e UK’s
2014 Opt-Out Decision (H L Paper 159, 2013) para 36.
To continue reading
Request your trial