Subject matter
1. This Regulation lays down rules on the transfer of criminal proceedings between the Member States with a view to improving the efficient and proper administration of justice within the common area of freedom, security and justice.
2. This Regulation applies in all cases of transfer of criminal proceedings conducted in Member States.
3. This Regulation shall not have the effect of modifying the obligation to respect the fundamental rights and legal principles as enshrined in Article 6 of the Treaty on European Union (TEU).
Definitions
For the purposes of this Regulation, the following definitions apply:
(1)
‘requesting State’ means a Member State in which criminal proceedings are being conducted and in which a request for the transfer of those proceedings to another Member State is issued, or which has initiated or received a request for consultations concerning a possible transfer of criminal proceedings;
(2)
‘requested State’ means a Member State to which a request for the transfer of criminal proceedings is transmitted for the purpose of taking over those proceedings, or which has received a request for or has initiated consultations concerning a possible transfer of criminal proceedings;
(3)
‘requesting authority’ means:
(a)
a judge, court, investigating judge or public prosecutor in the requesting State competent in the case concerned; or
(b)
any other competent authority which is designated as such by the requesting State and which, in the case concerned, is acting in its capacity as an investigating authority in criminal proceedings with competence to request the transfer of criminal proceedings in accordance with national law. In addition, before the request for the transfer of criminal proceedings is transmitted to the requested authority, it shall be validated by a judge, court, investigating judge or public prosecutor in the requesting State after examining its conformity with the conditions for issuing such a request under this Regulation. Where the request for the transfer of criminal proceedings has been validated by a judge, court, investigating judge or public prosecutor in the requesting State, that authority may also be regarded as a requesting authority for the purposes of transmitting the request;
(4)
‘requested authority’ means a judge, court, investigating judge or public prosecutor competent to take a decision on whether to accept or refuse the transfer of criminal proceedings in accordance with Article 11(1) and to take, where the legal system of the requested State so allows, subsequent measures in accordance with this Regulation or any measure as provided for in its national law.
Without prejudice to the requirement that a decision on whether to accept or refuse a transfer of criminal proceedings in accordance with Article 11(1) must be taken exclusively by a judge, court, investigating judge or public prosecutor, on the basis of its assessment of the grounds for refusal under Article 12, the requested State may, due to the structure of its internal legal system stemming from a common law legal tradition, where its national legal system does not allow for its courts or public prosecutors to take measures other than the decision on whether to accept or refuse the transfer of criminal proceedings in accordance with Article 11(1), provide that another authority, competent to take measures in criminal proceedings under its national law, take measures for the sole purpose of facilitating such judicial decision-making. Such other competent authority may also take subsequent measures for the purposes of this Regulation;
(5)
‘decentralised IT system’ means a decentralised IT system as defined in Article 2, point (3), of Regulation (EU) 2023/2844;
(6)
‘victim’ means a victim as defined in Article 2(1), point (a), of Directive 2012/29/EU, or a legal person, as defined by national law, that has suffered harm or economic loss as a direct result of a criminal offence that is the subject of criminal proceedings to which this Regulation applies.
Jurisdiction
1. To the extent that jurisdiction is not already provided for by the national law of the requested State, for the purposes of this Regulation the requested State shall have jurisdiction over any criminal offence to which the national law of the requesting State is applicable in situations where:
(a)
the requested State refuses to surrender a suspect or accused person who is present in and is a national of or a resident in the requested State, on the basis of Article 4, point (7)(b), of Framework Decision 2002/584/JHA;
(b)
the requested State refuses to surrender a suspect or accused person for whom a European arrest warrant has been issued and who is present in and is a national of or a resident in the requested State, if, in exceptional situations, it finds that there are substantial grounds to believe, on the basis of specific and objective evidence, that the surrender would, in the particular circumstances of the case, entail a manifest breach of a relevant fundamental right as enshrined in Article 6 TEU and the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union (the ‘Charter’);
(c)
most of the effects of the criminal offence or a substantial part of the damage forming part of the constituent elements of the criminal offence occurred on the territory of the requested State;
(d)
there are ongoing criminal proceedings in the requested State against the suspect or accused person in respect of other facts and the suspect or accused person is a national of or a resident in the requested State; or
(e)
there are ongoing criminal proceedings in the requested State in respect of the same, partially the same or related facts against other persons and the suspect or accused person in the criminal proceedings to be transferred is a national of or a resident in the requested State.
2. Where jurisdiction is established by the requested State exclusively on the basis of paragraph 1, that jurisdiction shall only be exercised pursuant to a request for the transfer of criminal proceedings under this Regulation.
Waiver, suspension or discontinuation of criminal proceedings by the requesting State
Any Member State having jurisdiction under its national law to prosecute a criminal offence may, for the purposes of applying this Regulation, waive, suspend or discontinue criminal proceedings in order to allow for the transfer of criminal proceedings in respect of that criminal offence to the requested State.
