Effects in the requesting State
1. Upon receipt of the reasoned decision to accept the transfer of criminal proceedings in accordance with Article 11(1), or of the final decision on a legal remedy under Article 17, the criminal proceedings shall be suspended or discontinued in the requesting State in accordance with national law, unless the outcome of the legal remedy is that the case is to revert to the requesting State, or the requesting authority has already suspended or discontinued those criminal proceedings under Article 4.
2. Notwithstanding paragraph 1, the criminal proceedings in the requesting State may remain open in order to allow the requesting authority to:
(a)
undertake necessary urgent investigative or other procedural measures, including measures to prevent the suspect or accused person from absconding or freezing measures;
(b)
maintain previously adopted investigative or other procedural measures, including measures to prevent the suspect or accused person from absconding, that are necessary in order to execute a decision on the basis of Framework Decision 2002/584/JHA, another mutual recognition instrument or a request for mutual legal assistance.
3. Following a decision by the requested authority to accept the transfer of criminal proceedings, the requesting authority and the requested authority shall cooperate, to the greatest extent possible and in accordance with their national law, especially where the national law of the requested State requires certain formalities and procedures to be observed, in particular concerning the admissibility of evidence. The requesting authority and the requested authority shall also cooperate on provisional measures taken before transfer and under paragraph 2.
4. Where the execution of the measures taken under paragraph 2 has been finalised, or where the requested authority has taken the necessary investigative or other procedural measures, and the measures undertaken by the requesting authority under paragraph 2 are no longer necessary, the criminal proceedings in the requesting state shall be suspended or discontinued.
5. The requesting authority may continue or reopen criminal proceedings if the requested authority informs it of its decision to discontinue criminal proceedings related to the facts underlying the criminal proceedings for which the transfer was accepted, unless that decision, under the national law of the requested State, definitively bars further prosecution and was taken after a determination had been made on the merits of the case, therefore precluding further criminal proceedings, in respect of the same acts, in the requested State.
6. Paragraph 5 shall not affect the right of victims to initiate or to request the reopening of criminal proceedings against the suspect or accused person in the requesting State, where the national law of that State so provides, unless the decision by the requested authority to discontinue criminal proceedings, under the national law of the requested State, definitively bars further prosecution and was taken after a determination had been made on the merits of the case, therefore precluding further criminal proceedings, in respect of the same acts, in the requested State.
Effects in the requested State
1. The transferred criminal proceedings shall be governed by the national law of the requested State.
2. Provided that it is not contrary to the fundamental principles of law of the requested State, any act carried out for the purposes of the criminal proceedings or preparatory inquiries performed by competent authorities in the requesting State shall have the same validity in the requested State as if it had been validly performed by competent authorities in the requested State.
Without prejudice to Article 12(1), point (d), any act validly performed in the requesting State that interrupts or suspends the period of limitation shall have the same effect of interruption or suspension of the period of limitation in the requested State provided that such act would have that effect under its national law.
3. Member States may provide in their national law that, in cases where jurisdiction is based on Article 3, and where they act as requested State and the suspect or accused person is present in that State, a competent authority in the requested State may, once it has received the request for the transfer of criminal proceedings and any additional information in accordance with this Regulation, and before the decision to accept the transfer is made, take, upon assessment, the necessary measures, in accordance with its national law, to arrest the suspect or accused person, or to ensure that the suspect or accused person remains on its territory, or take other necessary provisional measures such as freezing measures.
4. The decision to place the suspect or accused person in detention in accordance with paragraph 3 shall be taken by the same authority that would be competent to take such measures in a similar domestic case, and shall be subject to safeguards applicable to such measures under national law, including judicial oversight and the time-limits for pre-trial detention.
5. Evidence transferred by the requesting authority shall not be denied admission in criminal proceedings in the requested State only on the ground that the evidence was gathered in another Member State. The evidence gathered in the requesting State may be used in criminal proceedings in the requested State, provided that the admissibility of such evidence is in accordance with the national law of the requested State, including its fundamental principles of law. The power of the trial court to freely assess the evidence shall not be affected by this Regulation.
6. Where a custodial sentence or detention order is issued in the requested State, that State shall deduct from the total period of detention to be served all periods of detention spent in the requesting State that were imposed in the context of the transferred criminal proceedings. To that end, the requesting authority shall transmit to the requested authority all information concerning the period of detention spent by the suspect or accused person in the requesting State.
7. Where in both the requesting State and the requested State, criminal proceedings can only be initiated following a complaint, a complaint brought in the requesting State shall also have validity in the requested State.
8. The sentence applicable to the criminal offence shall be that provided for in the national law of the requested State unless that law provides otherwise. Where the criminal offence was committed on the territory of the requesting State, the requested authority may take into consideration, in accordance with applicable national law, the maximum sentence under the national law of the requesting State, where to do so would be to the benefit of the accused person. Where jurisdiction is exclusively based on Article 3, the sentence imposed in the requested State shall not be more severe than the maximum sentence under the national law of the requesting State.
Information to be provided by the requested authority
The requested authority or, where applicable, another competent authority shall provide the requesting authority with information on the discontinuation of criminal proceedings or on any decision taken at the end of the criminal proceedings, including information as to whether that decision, under the national law of the requested State, definitively bars further prosecution and was taken after a determination had been made on the merits of the case thereby precluding further criminal proceedings, in respect of the same acts, in that State. That authority shall also provide information on the final execution of the sentence imposed or other information of substantial value. It shall forward a copy of the final written decision taken at the end of the criminal proceedings to the requesting authority.
At least the essential parts of the information and of the final decision referred to in the first paragraph of this Article shall be translated into an official language of the requesting State or any other language accepted by the requesting State in accordance with Article 32(1), point (d).
Source: EUR-Lex (Publications Office of the EU), © European Union, reuse permitted under Commission Decision 2011/833/EU.
