The Prosecutor’s Office in the Spanish Constitutional Court has expressed concerns in its 2022 Annual Report over the extradition process of criminal cases to Morocco, reported by Europa Press.
This report highlighted a deviation from established legal doctrine set out by Spain’s National Court.
Chief Prosecutor of the Constitutional Court, Pedro Crespo said he was concerned about criminal cases related to the doctrine established by the Constitutional Court, which outlines jurisdictional guarantees in passive extradition procedures.
The Constitutional Court has not yet issued a verdict on this matter.
Crespo pointed out that the National Court authorized extraditions to countries with extradition procedures lacking judicial oversight mechanisms.
This authorization, often accompanied by differing opinions, faced repeated challenges through amparo appeals in the Constitutional Court.
Morocco was a significant source of these extradition requests, primarily executed through international detention orders from the Royal Prosecutor.
The Constitutional Court Prosecutor’s Office raised concerns about the National Court consistently approving these extraditions, which, it believed, strayed from established doctrine and EU jurisprudence.
The issue awaits resolution by the Constitutional Court. The Constitutional Court Prosecutor’s Office generally supports granting amparo appeals due to concerns about effective judicial protection and the right to a fair trial.
None of these appeals have been resolved, hinting at a broader reconsideration of these matters with an uncertain outcome.