Tag: Judicial cooperation in criminal matters

Summaries of judgments: L.G. (Continued holding of a judicial office) | GN (Ground for refusal based on the best interests of the child)

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Summaries of judgments made in collaboration with the Portuguese judge and référendaire of the CJEU (Nuno Piçarra and Sophie Perez)

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Judgment of the Court (Grand Chamber) of 21 December 2023, L.G. (Continued holding of a judicial office), Case C‑718/21 ,EU:C:2023:1015

Reference for a preliminary ruling – Article 267 TFEU – Concept of ‘court or tribunal’ – Criteria – Izba Kontroli Nadzwyczajnej i Spraw Publicznych (Chamber of Extraordinary Control and Public Affairs) of the Sąd Najwyższy (Supreme Court, Poland) – Reference for a preliminary ruling from a panel of judges without the status of an independent and impartial tribunal previously established by law – Inadmissibility

Facts

In Poland, judges who wish to continue to perform their duties after reaching the age of retirement are required to declare their wish to do so to the Krajowej Radzie Sądownictwa (National Council of the Judiciary, the ‘KRS’).

In 2020, L.G., a judge within the Sąd Okręgowy w K. (Regional Court, K., Poland), notified the KRS of his wish to continue to perform his duties beyond the date of his 65th birthday. The KRS declared that there was no need to rule on the application, after finding that it had been lodged after the expiry of the time limit imposed by law. Hearing an appeal brought by L.G., the Sąd Najwyższy (Izba Kontroli Nadzwyczajnej i Spraw Publicznych) (Chamber of Extraordinary Review and Public Affairs of the Supreme Court, Poland), turned to the CJEU to request clarification regarding the principles of the irremovability of judges and judicial independence as enshrined in EU law.

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Summaries of judgments: Asociaţia «Forumul Judecătorilor din România» | Juan

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Summaries of judgments made in collaboration with the Portuguese judge and référendaire of the CJEU (Nuno Piçarra and Sophie Perez)

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Judgment of the Court (First Chamber) of 7 September 2023, Asociaţia «Forumul Judecătorilor din România», Case C‑216/21, EU:C:2023:628

Reference for a preliminary ruling – Decision 2006/928/EC – Mechanism for cooperation and verification of progress in Romania to address specific benchmarks in the areas of judicial reform and the fight against corruption – Article 2 TEU – Second subparagraph of Article 19(1) TEU – Rule of law – Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union – Article 47 – Independence of judges – National legislation altering the scheme for the promotion of judges

Facts

In 2019, the Consiliul Superior al Magistraturii (Superior Council of Magistracy, Romania) (CSM) altered the procedure for the effective promotion of judges to the regional courts and the courts of appeal by replacing the old written exams with an assessment of candidates’ work and conduct during their last three years of service. The Asociaţia «Forumul Judecătorilor din România» (‘Forum of Judges of Romania’ Association) and YN brought an action before the referring court, the Curtea de Apel Ploiești (Court of Appeal, Ploieşti, Romania), for partial annulment of that decision.

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Summaries of judgments: Presidente del Consiglio dei Ministri and Others (European arrest warrant issued against a third-country national) | Lin

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Summaries of judgments made in collaboration with the Portuguese judge and référendaire of the CJEU (Nuno Piçarra and Sophie Perez)

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Judgment of the Court (Grand Chamber) of 6 June 2023, Presidente del Consiglio dei Ministri and Others (European arrest warrant issued against a third-country national), Case C‑700/21, EU:C:2023:444

Reference for a preliminary ruling – Judicial cooperation in criminal matters – European arrest warrant – Framework Decision 2002/584/JHA – Grounds for optional non-execution of the European arrest warrant – Article 4(6) – Objective of social rehabilitation – Third-country nationals staying or residing on the territory of the executing Member State – Equal treatment – Article 20 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union

Facts

On 13 February 2012, the Judecătoria Brașov (Court of First Instance, Brașov, Romania) issued a European arrest warrant (EAW) against O.G., a Moldovan national, for the purposes of executing a custodial sentence.

Finding that O.G. had proof that met the legal standard necessary to demonstrate his stable family and employment situation in Italy, the Corte d’appello di Bologna (Court of Appeal, Bologna, Italy) raised before the Corte costituzionale (Constitutional Court, Italy) questions as to the constitutionality of Article 18a of Law No 69/2005 (GURI No 98 of 29 April 2005).

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Summaries of judgments: Openbaar Ministerie | BPC Lux 2 and Others

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Summaries of judgments made in collaboration with the Portuguese judge and référendaire of the CJEU (Nuno Piçarra and Sophie Perez)

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Judgment of the Court (Grand Chamber) of 22 February 2022, X and Y v Openbaar Ministerie, Joined Cases C-562/21 PPU and C-563/21 PPU, EU:C:2022:100

Reference for a preliminary ruling – Urgent preliminary ruling procedure – Judicial cooperation in criminal matters – European arrest warrant – Framework Decision 2002/584/JHA – Article 1(3) – Surrender procedures between Member States – Conditions for execution – Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union – Second paragraph of Article 47 – Fundamental right to a fair trial before an independent and impartial tribunal previously established by law – Systemic or generalised deficiencies – Two-step examination – Criteria for application – Obligation of the executing judicial authority to determine, specifically and precisely, whether there are substantial grounds for believing that the person in respect of whom a European arrest warrant has been issued, if surrendered, runs a real risk of breach of his or her fundamental right to a fair trial before an independent and impartial tribunal previously established by law

Facts

Two European arrest warrants (‘EAWs’) were issued in April 2021 by Polish courts against two Polish nationals for the purposes, respectively, of executing a custodial sentence and of conducting a criminal prosecution. The persons concerned were in the Netherlands and did not consent to their surrender.

The Rechtbank Amsterdam (District Court, Amsterdam, Netherlands) noted that, since 2017, there have been in Poland systemic or generalised deficiencies affecting the right to a fair trial, and in particular the right to a tribunal previously established by law, resulting, inter alia, from the fact that Polish judges are appointed on application of the Krajowa Rada Sądownictwa (the Polish National Council of the Judiciary; ‘the KRS’). The referring court furthermore noted that, according to the resolution adopted in 2020 by the Sąd Najwyższy (Supreme Court, Poland), the KRS, since the entry into force of a law on judicial reform on 17 January 2018, is no longer an independent body. In so far as the judges appointed on application of the KRS may have participated in the criminal proceedings that led to the conviction of one of the persons concerned or may be called upon to hear the criminal case of the other person concerned, the referring court considered that there was a real risk that those persons, if surrendered, would suffer a breach of their fundamental right to a tribunal previously established by law.

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The material competence of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office and its extension to organized crime as terrorism, human and drug trafficking

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Catarina Vilarinho (Master in EU Law, School of Law, University of Minho)
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1. Initial thoughts

The start of operation of a new European body such as the European Public Prosecutor’s Office, hereinafter EPPO, on 1 June 2021 is a sign that the Member States of the European Union (EU) are increasingly aligning themselves to create a stronger and more resilient Union, perhaps, in this case, due to the need to combat transnational crime, for which we will not find a sufficiently effective solution without strong and structured intervention at European level[1].

In this way, the battlefield is prepared for a battle of equal arms, as cross-border crime can now be tackled by an equally cross-border authority[2].

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