Post-Brexit Surrender Requests Between Greece & the United Kingdom: A Significant Clarification from the Greek Supreme Court

The legal framework governing the surrender of individuals between European Union Member States and the United Kingdom has undergone a profound transformation following Brexit. While much attention has focused on the replacement of the European Arrest Warrant system, important questions have remained regarding the practical application of the new surrender regime established under the EU–UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA).

A recent judgment of the Greek Supreme Court (Areios Pagos No. 158/2024) offers valuable guidance on one of these questions: can a requested person rely on Greek limitation periods to resist surrender to the United Kingdom?

The Court’s answer was clear. In most cases involving offences committed outside Greece, the answer is no.

The Post-Brexit Legal Framework

Since the United Kingdom’s withdrawal from the European Union, surrender requests are no longer governed by the European Arrest Warrant framework. Equally important, relations between Greece and the United Kingdom have not reverted to the traditional extradition regime established by the 1957 European Convention on Extradition.

Instead, surrender proceedings are now governed by Part Three of the EU–UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement, which introduced a distinct mechanism designed to preserve efficient judicial cooperation while operating outside the institutional framework of EU law.

Although the new system resembles the former European Arrest Warrant in several respects, it is based on its own legal rules and grounds for refusal.

The Limitation Period Defence

The case concerned a British national sought by the Scottish authorities for alleged criminal offences committed outside Greece.

The defence argued that, had certain acts been assessed under Greek criminal law, prosecution would have been time-barred. Consequently, surrender should be refused on the basis of the applicable limitation periods.

Historically, limitation period arguments have often played an important role in extradition litigation. The defence therefore sought to rely on the relevant provision of the TCA, which permits refusal where prosecution or punishment is statute-barred.

However, the Supreme Court adopted a restrictive interpretation of this safeguard.

According to the Court, limitation periods become relevant only where the acts fall within the criminal jurisdiction of the executing State. Since the alleged offences had been committed abroad by a foreign national and did not fall within Greek criminal jurisdiction, Greek limitation rules could not be invoked to block surrender.

Why the Judgment Matters

The significance of the decision extends beyond the particular facts of the case.

The judgment confirms that the TCA should not be viewed as a return to traditional extradition principles. On the contrary, the Greek Supreme Court appears willing to interpret the new surrender framework in a manner broadly consistent with the efficiency and effectiveness that characterised the European Arrest Warrant regime.

For defence practitioners, this substantially narrows the scope of limitation-based objections in cases involving requests from the United Kingdom.

The practical consequence is that the expiry of prosecution periods under Greek law will rarely assist a requested person where the alleged conduct occurred entirely outside Greece and lacks a sufficient jurisdictional connection with the Greek legal order.

A Continuing Trend Towards Judicial Cooperation

The decision also reflects a broader trend visible across Europe. Courts increasingly approach surrender proceedings through the lens of effective international judicial cooperation, while reserving refusal primarily for situations involving clear statutory grounds or fundamental rights concerns.

As a result, traditional procedural arguments that were sometimes effective under earlier extradition frameworks may carry considerably less weight under the post-Brexit regime.

This does not mean that defence challenges have disappeared. Issues such as dual criminality, proportionality, fair trial guarantees and human rights protections remain important safeguards. However, Areios Pagos 158/2024 suggests that limitation period objections will face significant obstacles unless the underlying conduct falls within Greek criminal jurisdiction.

Conclusion

The Greek Supreme Court’s judgment provides one of the clearest indications to date of how Greek courts are likely to approach surrender requests from the United Kingdom under the Trade and Cooperation Agreement.

For practitioners handling cross-border criminal matters, the message is straightforward: post-Brexit surrender proceedings should not be analysed through the lens of the former extradition regime. The legal framework has changed, and with it, the availability of certain traditional defence arguments.

In particular, limitation periods under Greek law are unlikely to prevent surrender to the United Kingdom where the alleged offences were committed abroad and fall outside the jurisdiction of the Greek criminal courts.