Time limits for recognition and execution of freezing orders
Article 9
1. The executing authority shall take the decision on the recognition and execution of the freezing order and execute that order without delay and with the same speed and priority as for a similar domestic case after the executing authority has received the freezing certificate. 2. Where the issuing authority has indicated in the freezing certificate that the execution of the freezing order is to be carried out on a specific date, the executing authority shall take as full account as possible thereof. Where the issuing authority has indicated that coordination is needed between the Member States involved, the executing authority and the issuing authority shall coordinate with each other in order to agree on the date of execution of the freezing order. Where no agreement can be reached, the executing authority shall decide on the date of execution of the freezing order, taking as full account as possible of the interests of the issuing authority. 3. Without prejudice to paragraph 5, where the issuing authority has stated in the freezing certificate that immediate freezing is necessary since there are legitimate grounds to believe that the property in question will imminently be removed or destroyed, or in view of any investigative or procedural needs in the issuing State, the executing authority shall decide on the recognition of the freezing order no later than 48 hours after it has been received by the executing authority. No later than 48 hours after such a decision has been taken, the executing authority shall take the concrete measures necessary to execute the order. 4. The executing authority shall communicate, without delay and by any means capable of producing a written record, the decision on the recognition and execution of the freezing order to the issuing authority. 5. Where it is not possible, in a specific case, to meet the time limits set out in paragraph 3, the executing authority shall immediately inform the issuing authority by any means, giving the reasons for which it was not possible to meet those time limits, and shall consult with the issuing authority on an appropriate schedule for the recognition or the execution of the freezing order. 6. The expiry of the time limits set out in paragraph 3 shall not relieve the executing authority of its obligation to take a decision on the recognition and execution of the freezing order, and to execute that order, without delay.