Mutual recognition occurs when two or more countries or other institutions recognize one another's decisions or policies, for example in the field of

conformity assessment Conformance testing and also known as compliance testing or type testing, is testing or other activities that determine whether a process, product, or service complies with the requirements of a specification, technical standard, contract, or regu ...

professional qualification A professional is a member of a profession or any person who works in a specified professional activity. The term also describes the standards of education and training that prepare members of the profession with the particular knowledge and ski ...

s or in relation to criminal matters. A mutual recognition agreement (MRA) is an international agreement by which two or more countries agree to recognize one another's

s, decisions or results (for example certifications or test results). A mutual recognition arrangement is an international arrangement based on such an agreement. Countries involved in the agreement can designate for the scope of the agreement Conformity Assessment Bodies (CAB), laboratories and inspection bodies. MRAs have become increasingly common since the formation of the

World Trade Organization The World Trade Organization (WTO) is an intergovernmental organization headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland that regulates and facilitates international trade. Governments use the organization to establish, revise, and enforce the rules that g ...

in 1995. They have been forged within and among various

trade bloc A trade bloc is a type of intergovernmental agreement, often part of a regional intergovernmental organization, where barriers to trade (tariffs and others) are reduced or eliminated among the participating states. Trade blocs can be stand-alo ...

s, including

APEC Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC ) is an inter-governmental forum for 21 member economy , economies in the Pacific Rim that promotes free trade throughout the Asia-Pacific region. Following the success of Association of Southeast Asia ...

and the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

. MRAs are most commonly applied to

goods In economics, goods are anything that is good, usually in the sense that it provides welfare or utility to someone. Alan V. Deardorff, 2006. ''Terms Of Trade: Glossary of International Economics'', World Scientific. Online version: Deardorffs ...

, such as various

quality control Quality control (QC) is a process by which entities review the quality of all factors involved in production. ISO 9000 defines quality control as "a part of quality management focused on fulfilling quality requirements". This approach plac ...

MRAs. However, the term is also applied to agreements on the recognition of

s and decisions relating to criminal matters.European Commission
Programme of measures to implement the principle of mutual recognition of decisions in criminal matters
''Official Journal'' C 012 , 15/01/2001 p. 0010 - 0022, accessed 4 November 2021 Accreditation Bodies, under the

International Accreditation Forum {{More citations needed, date=January 2021 The International Accreditation Forum, Inc. (IAF) is the worldwide association of Conformance testing, conformity assessment accreditation bodies and other bodies interested in conformity assessment in fie ...

, use the term ''Multilateral Recognition Agreements'' in a similar sense.

The principle of mutual recognition in European Criminal Law

Mutual recognition is a cornerstone principle in the

Area of freedom, security and justice The area of freedom, security and justice (AFSJ) of the European Union (EU) is a policy domain concerning home affairs and migration, justice as well as fundamental rights, developed to address the challenges posed to internal security by col ...

(AFSJ) in the

(EU). The importance of mutual recognition as a key principle for promoting cooperation, coordination and trust among EU Member States within the AFSJ has been firstly recognized in the Tampere Conclusions, adopted by the

European Council The European Council (informally EUCO) is a collegiate body (directorial system) and a symbolic collective head of state, that defines the overall political direction and general priorities of the European Union (EU). It is composed of the he ...

in October 1999. In the AFSJ, the principle of mutual recognition entails that a decision of one Member State is recognized by and obtains legal force in another Member State based on a presumption of mutual trust. Member States trust the fact that within the Union all Member States comply with EU law and particularly with the fundamental rights recognised by EU law. The importance of the principles of mutual recognition and mutual trust was highlighted by the

European Court of Justice The European Court of Justice (ECJ), officially the Court of Justice (), is the supreme court of the European Union in matters of European Union law. As a part of the Court of Justice of the European Union, it is tasked with interpreting ...

in its Opinion 2/13. In this Opinion, the Court specified that the presumption of mutual trust prevents a Member State from checking if another Member State comply with fundamental rights guaranteed by EU law, unless exceptional circumstances arise. Mutual recognition can represent an alternative to harmonisation in order to achieve the goal of European Integration in the AFSJ. Many European criminal law instruments, such as the

European Arrest Warrant The European Arrest Warrant (EAW) is an arrest warrant valid throughout all member states of the European Union (EU). Once issued, it requires another member state to arrest and transfer a criminal suspect or sentenced person to the issuing stat ...

, have been adopted on the basis of the principle of mutual recognition. However, as stated in Article 82(2)

TFEU The Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) is one of two treaties forming the constitutional basis of the European Union (EU), the other being the Treaty on European Union (TEU). It was previously known as the Treaty Establish ...

, the EU legislator can also opt for the adoption of minimum harmonised rules 'to the extent necessary to facilitate mutual recognition of judgments and judicial decisions and police and judicial cooperation in criminal matters having a cross-border dimension'. On that note, a package of directives (the so called 'ABC Directives'), which included for instanc
the Directive on the right to have access to a lawyer in criminal proceedings
has been adopted using the legal basis of Art. 82(2) TFEU. The aim was twofold: guaranteeing an effective minimum standard of protection of fundamental procedural rights and enhancing mutual trust between Member States thus facilitating mutual recognition. Council of the European Union,
Resolution of the Council of 30 November 2009 on a Roadmap for strengthening procedural rights of suspected or accused persons in criminal proceedings
OJ C 295/1.

References

External links

Managed Mutual Recognition Regimes: Governance Without Global Government by Kalypso Nicolaïdis and Gregory ShafferTACD Background Paper on MRAsPublic Citizen description of MRAs
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mutual Recognition Commercial treaties Quality control Globalization

The principle of mutual recognition in European Criminal Law

See also

References

External links