Official Journal of the European Union

C series

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C/2024/5778

7.10.2024

(Case C-202/24, (1) Alchaster)

(Reference for a preliminary ruling - Trade and Cooperation Agreement between the European Union and the European Atomic Energy Community, of the one part, and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, of the other - Surrender of a person to the United Kingdom for criminal prosecution - Competence of the executing judicial authority - Risk of breach of a fundamental right - Article 49(1) and Article 52(3) of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union - Principle that offences and penalties must be defined by law - Changes, to the detriment of that person, to the licence regime)

(C/2024/5778)

Language of the case: English

Referring court

Parties to the main proceedings

Defendant: MA

Intervening party: Minister for Justice and Equality

Operative part of the judgment

Article 524(2) and Article 604(c) of the Trade and Cooperation Agreement between the European Union and the European Atomic Energy Community, of the one part, and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, of the other part, read in conjunction with Article 49(1) of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union

must be interpreted as meaning that, where a person who is the subject of an arrest warrant issued on the basis of that agreement invokes a risk of a breach of Article 49(1) in the event of surrender to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, on account of a change, which is unfavourable to that person, in the conditions for release on licence, which occurred after the alleged commission of the offence for which that person is being prosecuted, the executing judicial authority must undertake an independent examination as to the existence of that risk before deciding on the execution of that arrest warrant, in a situation where that judicial authority has already ruled out the risk of a breach of Article 7 of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, signed in Rome on 4 November 1950, by relying on the guarantees offered generally by the United Kingdom as regards compliance with the ECHR and on the possibility for that person to bring an action before the European Court of Human Rights. Following that examination, that executing judicial authority will have to refuse to execute that arrest warrant only if, after requesting additional information and guarantees from the issuing judicial authority, it has objective, reliable, specific and properly updated information establishing that there is a real risk of a change to the actual scope of the penalty provided for on the day on which the offence at issue was committed, involving the imposition of a heavier penalty than the one that was initially provided for.

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Gratsias

Passer

Smulders

Delivered in open court in Luxembourg on 6 March 2025.

Registrar

President of the Chamber

ECLI:EU:C:2025:140

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