Vice-President R Silva de Lapuerta,
Presidents of Chambers A Arabadjiev, A Prechal, M Vilaras, T von Danwitz, C Toader, F Biltgen, K Jürimäe (Rapporteur), C Lycourgos,
Judges L Bay Larsen, M Safjan, D Šváby, S Rodin, I Jarukaitis
Advocate General M Campos Sánchez-Bordona
The Prosecutor General of Lithuania issued a European arrest warrant for the prosecution of the defendant, a Lithuanian national, for armed robbery, allegedly committed in Lithuania two years previously. The defendant challenged the validity of the warrant on the ground that the Prosecutor General was not a “judicial authority”. His application was refused by both the High Court and the Court of Appeal in Ireland. On appeal, the Supreme Court stayed the proceedings and referred a question to the Court of Justice of the European Union asking whether an “issuing judicial authority”, within the meaning of article 6(1) of Framework Decision 2002/584, included the Prosecutor General of a member state who, whilst institutionally independent from the judiciary, was responsible for the conduct of criminal prosecutions and was independent from the executive.
On the reference—
Held, that an authority, such as a public prosecutor’s office, which was competent, in criminal proceedings, to prosecute a person suspected of having committed a criminal offence so that the person could be brought before a court, had to be regarded as participating in the administration of justice of the relevant member state. The “issuing judicial authority” had to be capable of exercising its responsibilities objectively, taking into account all incriminatory and exculpatory evidence, without being exposed to the risk that its decision-making power was subject to external directions or instructions, in particular from the executive, such that it was beyond doubt that the decision to issue a European arrest warrant lay with that authority and not, ultimately, with the executive. The issuing judicial authority had therefore to be in a position to give assurances to the executing judicial authority that, as regards the guarantees provided by the legal order of the issuing member state, it acted independently in the execution of those of its responsibilities which were inherent in the issuing of a European arrest warrant. That independence required that there were statutory rules and an institutional framework capable of guaranteeing that the issuing judicial authority was not exposed, when adopting a decision to issue such an arrest warrant, to any risk of being subject to an instruction in a specific case from the executive. Accordingly, the Prosecutor General of Lithuania could be considered to be an “issuing judicial authority”, in so far as, in addition to being capable of being regarded as participating in the administration of criminal justice, his legal position safeguarded not only the objectivity of his role, but also afforded him a guarantee of independence from the executive in connection with the issuing of a European arrest warrant within the meaning of article 6(1) of Framework Decision 2002/584 (judgment, paras 39, 42, 51–52, 56–57, operative part, para 1).
Criminal proceedings against Kovalkovas (Case C-477/16PPU) EU:C:2016:861; [2017] 4 WLR 10, ECJ applied.
Ronan Munro SC and John Ferry (instructed by Damien Rudden Solicitors) for the defendant.
Paul Caroll SC, BM Ward, A Hanrahan and J Benson (instructed by Chief State Solicitors Office) for the Minister for Justice and Equality.
PZL Ngo and J Nymann-Lindegren, agents, for the Danish Government.
T Henze, J Möller, M Hellmann and A Berg, agents, and subsequently by M Hellmann, J Möller and A Berg, agents, for the German Government.
D Colas, D Dubois and E de Moustier, agents, for the French Government.
G Palmieri, agent, and S Faraci, for the Italian Government.
V Vasiliauskienė, J Prasauskienė, G Taluntytė and R Krasuckaitė, agents, for the Lithuanian Government.
MZ Fehér and Z Wagner, agents, for the Hungarian Government.
MK Bulterman and J Langer, agents, for the Netherlands Government.
G Hesse, K Ibili and J Schmoll, agents, for the Austrian Government.
B Majczyna, agent, for the Polish Government.
R Troosters, J Tomkin and S Grünheid, agents, for the European Commission.