NJ (Parquet de Vienne) (Urgent preliminary ruling procedure - Police and judicial cooperation in criminal matters - European arrest warrant - Judgment) [2019] EUECJ C-489/19PPU (09 October 2019)

NJ (Parquet de Vienne) (Urgent preliminary ruling procedure - Police and judicial cooperation in criminal matters - European arrest warrant - Judgment) [2019] EUECJ C-489/19PPU (09 October 2019)

A European arrest warrant issued by a public prosecutor’s office exposed to executive instructions satisfies Article 1(1) of Framework Decision 2002/584 if it is subject to independent and objective judicial endorsement by a court, which reviews the conditions of issue and proportionality, has access to the entire criminal file including any executive instructions, and adopts an autonomous decision giving the warrant its final form.

Citation
[2019] EUECJ C-489/19PPU
Parties
Requested Person: NJ; Issuing Authority: Staatsanwaltschaft Wien (Public Prosecutor’s Office, Vienna, Austria); Endorsing Court: Landesgericht Wien (Regional Court, Vienna, Austria); Referring Court: Kammergericht Berlin (Higher Regional Court, Berlin, Germany)
Jurisdiction
European Union
Judgment Date
09 October 2019
Procedural Posture
Preliminary Ruling / Reference for Preliminary Ruling Under Urgent Procedure
Outcome
Question referred answered; European arrest warrants issued by public prosecutor’s offices subject to executive instructions are valid if subject to independent judicial endorsement.
Legal Topics
European Arrest Warrant, Mutual Recognition, Judicial Independence, Procedural Safeguards
Criminal Law European Union Law European Arrest Warrant Mutual Recognition Judicial Independence Procedural Safeguards

Case Brief

Summary, issues, holding and outcome

More case intelligence is available

Unlock the full research layer for this judgment.

Full judgment text Downloadable case file Legal principles 4 Authorities cited 9 Party arguments 2 Amounts and remedies 3
Sign in to unlock

Parties

NJ

Requested Person

Staatsanwaltschaft Wien (Public Prosecutor’s Office, Vienna, Austria)

Issuing Authority

Landesgericht Wien (Regional Court, Vienna, Austria)

Endorsing Court

Kammergericht Berlin (Higher Regional Court, Berlin, Germany)

Referring Court

Procedural Posture

Preliminary Ruling / Reference for Preliminary Ruling Under Urgent Procedure

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether a European arrest warrant issued by a public prosecutor’s office subject to executive instructions satisfies the requirements of Article 1(1) of Framework Decision 2002/584 when subject to judicial endorsement
  2. 2 Compatibility of Austrian procedure for issuing European arrest warrants with EU law requirements for judicial authority

Ratio Decidendi

A European arrest warrant issued by a public prosecutor’s office exposed to executive instructions satisfies Article 1(1) of Framework Decision 2002/584 if it is subject to independent and objective judicial endorsement by a court, which reviews the conditions of issue and proportionality, has access to the entire criminal file including any executive instructions, and adopts an autonomous decision giving the warrant its final form.

Court Disposition

Question referred answered; European arrest warrants issued by public prosecutor’s offices subject to executive instructions are valid if subject to independent judicial endorsement.

Orders

  • Costs are a matter for the referring court; costs incurred in submitting observations to the Court, other than those of the parties, are not recoverable.