The Grand Chamber of the CJEU rules in these judgments that:
Case C-509/18 (PF):
The concept of an ‘issuing judicial authority’, within the meaning of Article 6(1) of Council Framework Decision 2002/584/JHA of 13 June 2002 on the European arrest warrant and the surrender procedures between Member States, as amended by Council Framework Decision 2009/299/JHA of 26 February 2009, must be interpreted as including the Prosecutor General of a Member State who, whilst institutionally independent from the judiciary, is responsible for the conduct of criminal prosecutions and whose legal position, in that Member State, affords him a guarantee of independence from the executive in connection with the issuing of a European arrest warrant.
Joined Cases C-508/18 (O.G.) and C-82/19 PPU (P.I.):
The concept of an ‘issuing judicial authority’, within the meaning of Article 6(1) of Council Framework Decision 2002/584/JHA of 13 June 2002 on the European arrest warrant and the surrender procedures between Member States, as amended by Council Framework Decision 2009/299/JHA of 26 February 2009, must be interpreted as not including public prosecutors’ offices of a Member State which are exposed to the risk of being subject, directly or indirectly, to directions or instructions in a specific case from the executive, such as a Minister for Justice, in connection with the adoption of a decision to issue a European arrest warrant.
Press release No. 68/19
Note from Germany considering the judgments
As a follow up to the Court decision and with consideration of the structure of their judicial system, Germany informed the General Secretariat of the Council of the EU that it will undertake measures to adjust their domestic procedure in issuing a European Arrest Warrant in order to be in line with the delivered judgment. The European Arrest Warrants will only be issued by the competent courts. In Germany this could be achieved without changing the existing law. Germany also ask the Member States that those EAWs already issued by a German prosecutor to be temporarily accepted as grounds for keeping a person in detention according to Article 12 of Council Framework Decision 2002/584/JHA, before the German Court, within a very short time frame, has assessed whether the requirement for issuing a warrant is fulfilled.
The note is available here
Notes from other Member States, see here