More specialist training is required for police, lawyers and judges involved in the interrogation of juvenile suspects across Europe, Jackie Hodgson has found. There is also a need for consistency in the way youths are safeguarded within the EU, with too much focus in some countries on the detainee as a suspect, rather than as a juvenile, academics claim.

The research, which forms part of a wider European project looking at juvenile justice, is being presented at a conference in Maastricht in The Netherlands today (Friday 16 January) by Jackie who led the study in England & Wales.

Read more about this story here: http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/newsandevents/pressreleases/research_finds_fundamental

The House of Commons Justice Committee held its first evidence session for its inquiry into the effectiveness of the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC), taking evidence from academics and solicitors. Jackie Hodgson was questioned by MPs on Tuesday 13 January 2015 and you can watch her evidence on Parliament TV: http://www.parliamentlive.tv/Main/Player.aspx?meetingId=16909

More information on the inquiry can be found on the Committee's webpage: http://www.parliament.uk/business/committees/committees-a-z/commons-select/justice-committee/news/criminal-cases-review-commission-academics/

Professor Jacqueline Hodgson, one of several experts in the case of Hassan Diab, who was extradited to France on Friday after six years of legal proceedings in Canada, has described the situation as “troubling”. She provided evidence about the investigation and prosecution procedure in terrorism cases in France, in particular, the problematic nature of using unsourced intelligence.

Her comment in full: “The case of Hassan Diab, a 60-year-old sociology professor who has been extradited to France, is a troubling one. France has charged Diab with first degree murder in relation to the Rue Copernic terrorist bombing in Paris in 1980, which killed four people and injured dozens more.

“The evidence against him hinges firstly on unsourced intelligence that would be inadmissible in a criminal court in England and Wales (reliability cannot be tested if the source of information and the manner in which it was obtained are unknown); and secondly on the opinion of a handwriting expert described as wholly unreliable by five of the world's leading handwriting analysts.

“The opportunity to challenge the evidence presented by the requesting state in extradition proceedings in Canada is limited. The Ontario Superior Court judge, who originally committed Diab for extradition, did so despite acknowledging the weakness of the French case.”

As MPs prepare to vote on whether the UK should opt in to a range of EU legal measures, including the European Arrest Warrant, Professor Jacqueline Hodgson, from the School of Law at the University of Warwick, commented: "Having provided expert evidence in European Arrest Warrant (EAW) cases, as well as conducting comparative empirical studies into the criminal justice processes of various European countries, there are clearly some problems with the procedure.

“Issuing a EAW effectively activates the police and courts of another jurisdiction, so it is also important that this is not done lightly and that proper protections are in place: extradition must only be for the purpose of prosecution or sentence and not simply for investigation; the procedure should not be abused for minor offences; and suspects must be assured of the same legal protections and fair trial rights wherever they are prosecuted and tried.

“These issues will not be resolved by the UK pulling out of the EAW procedure - they are better resolved at EU level so that extradition works better for UK citizens extradited abroad, and for the UK authorities requiring the extradition of individuals for trial in this jurisdiction.

“Without the EAW, extradition is slower and more complex and it will be more difficult to prosecute individuals for cross-border crime. This is also the view of senior British police officers working with Europol.”

Ana Aliverti's research on "Foreign nationals before the criminal courts: immigration status, deportability and punishment" has been awarded funding from the British Academy. Beginning in October the project wims to investigate the impact of immigration status on the treatment of defendants before the criminal justice system.