Judgment of the Court Second Chamber of 28 April 2022, C and CD Legal obstacles to the execution of a decision on surrender, C-804/21 PPU

• Date: 28 April 2022
• Year: 2022

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5. JUDICIAL COOPERATION IN CRIMINAL MATTERS: EUROPEAN

ARREST WARRANT

Judgment of the Court (Second Chamber) of 28 April 2022, C and CD (Legal obstacles to the

execution of a decision on surrender), C-804/21 PPU

Reference for a preliminary ruling – Urgent preliminary ruling procedure – Judicial cooperation in criminal

matters – European arrest warrant – Framework Decision 2002/584/JHA – Article 23(3) – Requirement of

intervention on the part of the executing judicial authority – Article 6(2) – Police services – Not included –

Force majeure – Concept – Legal obstacles to surrender – Legal actions brought by the requested

person – Application for international protection – Not included – Article 23(5) – Expiry of the time limits

provided for surrender – Consequences – Release – Obligation to adopt any other measures necessary to

prevent absconding

C and CD, who are Romanian nationals, were the subjects of European arrest warrants issued in 2015

by a Romanian judicial authority for the purpose of executing prison sentences of five years and

additional sentences of three years. Those sentences were imposed for the trafficking of dangerous

and very dangerous narcotics and for participation in a criminal organisation.

C and CD were the subjects of procedures for the execution of those European arrest warrants in

Sweden. By decisions delivered in 2020, the Swedish authorities ordered that C and CD be

surrendered to the Romanian authorities. However, C and CD left Sweden for Finland before those

decisions on surrender were implemented. On 15 December 2020, C and CD were arrested and

placed in detention in Finland on the basis of the European arrest warrants at issue.

By decisions of 16 April 2021, the Supreme Court of Finland ordered that they be surrendered to the

Romanian authorities. The Finnish National Bureau of Investigation initially set a surrender date of

7 May 2021. C and CD’s air transport to Romania could not be organised before that date on account

of the COVID-19 pandemic. A second surrender date was set for 11 June 2021. However, the

surrender was once again postponed, owing to air transport issues. A third surrender date was set for

17 June 2021 for CD and for 22 June 2021 for C. However, it was once again not possible to proceed

with that surrender, this time because C and CD had lodged applications for international protection

in Finland.

C and CD then brought an action seeking, first, their release on the ground th at the time limit for

surrender had expired and, second, the postponement of their surrender on account of their

applications for international protection. Those actions were declared inadmissible. The main

proceedings concern the appeals brought by C and CD against those decisions before the Supreme

Court.

Article 23 of Framework Decision 2002/584

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lays down the rules applicable to the surrender of

persons requested under a European arrest warrant once the final decision to surrender those

persons has been taken by the competent authorities of the executing Member State. If the

requested person is not surrendered within a very short period, he or she must be released pursuant

to Article 23(5). If the surrender is prevented because of a situation of force majeure, that period may

be extended pursuant to Article 23(3), provided that the executing judicial authority and the issuing

judicial authority immediately agree on a new surrender date.

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Council Framework D ecision 2002/584/JHA of 13 June 2002 on the European arrest warrant and the surrender procedures between Me mber States (OJ

2002 L 190, p. 1), as amended by Council Framework Decision 2009/299/JHA of 26 February 2009 (OJ 2009 L 81, p. 24).