Member States shall ensure that freezing orders referred to in Article 11, confiscation orders referred to in Articles 12 to 16 and sales orders referred to in Article 21 are communicated to the affected person without undue delay. Such orders shall set out the reasons for the measure as well as the rights and legal remedies available to that affected person pursuant to Article 24. Member States may provide for a right for competent authorities to postpone communication of the freezing orders to the affected person for as long as is necessary to avoid jeopardising a criminal investigation.
1. Member States shall ensure that persons affected by freezing orders pursuant to Article 11 and confiscation orders pursuant to Articles 12 to 16 have the right to an effective remedy and to a fair trial in order to uphold their rights.
2. Member States shall ensure that rights of defence, including the right of access to the file, the right to be heard on issues of law and fact and, where relevant, the right to interpretation and translation, are guaranteed to affected persons that are suspects or accused persons or to persons affected by confiscation pursuant to Article 16.
Member States may provide that other affected persons also have the rights referred to in the first subparagraph. Member States shall provide that such other affected persons have the right of access to the file and the right to be heard on issues of law and fact, as well as any other procedural rights which are necessary to effectively exercise their right to an effective remedy. The right of access to the file may be limited to the documents related to the freezing or confiscation measure provided that the affected persons have access to the documents necessary to exercise their right to an effective remedy.
3. Member States shall provide for the effective possibility for the person whose property is affected to challenge the freezing order pursuant to Article 11 before a court, in accordance with procedures provided for in national law. Where the freezing order has been issued by a competent authority other than a judicial authority, national law may provide that such an order is first to be submitted for validation or review to a judicial authority before it can be challenged before a court.
4. Where the suspected or accused person has absconded, Member States shall take all reasonable steps to ensure an effective possibility to exercise the right to challenge the confiscation order and shall require that the person concerned be summoned to the confiscation proceedings or that reasonable efforts be made to make that person aware of such proceedings.
5. Member States shall provide for the effective possibility for the person whose property is affected to challenge the confiscation order pursuant to Articles 12 to 16, including the relevant circumstances of the case and available evidence on which the findings are based, before a court, in accordance with procedures provided for in national law.
6. Member States shall provide for the effective possibility for an affected person to challenge an order for an interlocutory sale pursuant to Article 21 and shall grant the affected person all procedural rights necessary to exercise the right to an effective remedy. Member States shall provide for the possibility that a court can suspend the execution of such sales order, if otherwise there would be irreparable harm to the affected person.
7. Third parties shall be entitled to claim title of ownership or other property rights, including in the cases referred to in Article 13.
8. Persons affected by the measures provided for in this Directive shall have the right of access to a lawyer throughout the freezing and confiscation proceedings. The persons concerned shall be informed of that right.
