CJEU Case C-282/20 / Judgment

Criminal proceedings against ZX
Policy area
Justice, freedom and security
Deciding body type
Court of Justice of the European Union
Deciding body
Court (Tenth Chamber)
Type
Decision
Decision date
21/10/2021
ECLI (European case law identifier)
ECLI:EU:C:2021:874
  • CJEU Case C-282/20 / Judgment

    Key facts of the case:

    Request for a preliminary ruling from the Spetsializiran nakazatelen sad.

    Reference for a preliminary ruling – Judicial cooperation in criminal matters – Directive 2012/13/EU – Right to information in criminal proceedings – Article 6(3) – Rights of suspects or accused persons to be informed of their rights – Articles 47 and 48 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union – National law not providing for a procedural mechanism for remedying errors and omissions in the content of the indictment.

     

    Outcome of the case:

    On those grounds, the Court (Tenth Chamber) hereby rules:

    1. Article 6(3) of Directive 2012/13/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 22 May 2012 on the right to information in criminal proceedings and Article 47 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union must be interpreted as precluding national legislation which does not provide for a procedural means of remedying, errors and deficiencies in the indictment which prejudice the right of the accused person to be provided with detailed information about the charges following the pre-trial hearing in a criminal case.
    2. Article 6(3) of Directive 2012/13 and Article 47 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union must be interpreted as requiring the referring court to give an interpretation of the national rules on the amendment of the charges, as far as possible in a manner consistent with that law, so as to enable the prosecutor to remedy errors and omissions in the content of the indictment at the trial, while at the same time actively and genuinely safeguarding the rights of the defence of the accused person. Only if the referring court considers that such an interpretation is not possible should it disregard the national provision prohibiting the suspension of court proceedings and refer the case back to the public prosecutor in order for the latter to draw up a new indictment.
  • Paragraphs referring to EU Charter

    1) This request for a preliminary ruling concerns the interpretation of Article 6(3) of Directive 2012/13/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 22 May 2012 on the right to information in criminal proceedings (OJ 2012 L 142, p. 1) and of Article 47 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union (‘the Charter’).

    ...

    15) Therefore, the referring court states that the first question referred concerns whether, after the pre-trial hearing, the prohibition in the national legislation on signalling defects in the information submitted with regard to the charges and, in that regard, the impossibility of remedying those defects, are consistent with Article 6(3) of Directive 2012/13. It asks, in particular, whether that provision is also applicable after the pre-trial hearing, for example at subsequent hearings, once the evidence gathering is complete, but before the court has given judgment on the substance of the charges. Furthermore, the referring court considers that that prohibition may be incompatible with the first and second paragraphs of Article 47 of the Charter, which concern the right to an effective remedy and to a fair trial.

    ...

    21) Thus, in the context of the second question, the referring court asks whether those possible procedural avenues are consistent with EU law and, in particular, with Article 6(3) of Directive 2012/13. Moreover, with regard to Article 47 of the Charter, it asks whether those procedural avenues are the most consistent with the rights to an effective remedy and access to a fair trial.

    ...

    23) In those circumstances, the Spetsializiran nakazatelen sad (Specialised Criminal Court, Bulgaria) decided to stay proceedings and refer the following questions to the Court of Justice for a preliminary ruling:

    1. 'Is a national law, namely Article 248(3) of the Criminal Procedure Code of the Republic of Bulgaria, which does not provide for any procedural remedy for errors and omissions in the content of the indictment which prejudice the right of the accused person to know what he or she is accused of, after the end of the first hearing in a criminal case (pre-trial hearing), compatible with Article 6(3) of Directive 2012/13 and Article 47 of the [Charter]?
    2. If the answer to that question is in the negative: would an interpretation of the national provisions governing amendment of the charges that allows the prosecution service to rectify those substantive ambiguities and shortcomings in the indictment at the hearing, so as to take proper and effective account of the accused person’s right to be informed of the accusation, be in keeping with the aforesaid provisions and with Article 47 of the Charter, or would it be in keeping with those provisions to refrain from applying national legislation prohibiting the staying of court proceedings and referral of the case back to the public prosecution service with directions to draft a new indictment?’

    24) By its first question, the national court asks, in essence, whether Article 6(3) of Directive 2012/13 and Article 47 of the Charter must be interpreted as precluding national legislation which does not provide for a procedural means of remedying errors and defects in the content of the indictment which prejudice the right of the accused person to be provided with detailed information about the charges, following the pre-trial hearing in a criminal case.

    ...

    26) As stated, in essence, in recitals 14 and 41 of Directive 2012/13, that directive builds on the rights set out, inter alia, in Articles 47 and 48 of the Charter and seeks to promote those rights. More specifically, Article 6 of that directive expressly establishes one aspect of the right to an effective remedy and the rights of the defence, enshrined in Article 47 and Article 48(2) of the Charter (see, to that effect, judgment of 5 June 2018, Kolev and Others, C‑612/15EU:C:2018:392, paragraph 88, and of 14 May 2020, Staatsanwaltschaft Offenburg, C‑615/18EU:C:2020:376, paragraph 71).

    ...

    31) It follows that such legislation does not comply with Article 6(3) of Directive 2012/13 or Article 47 of the Charter since, after that hearing, the absence of a procedural mechanism for remedying the defects in the indictment prevents the accused person from knowing, in sufficient detail, the charges brought against him or her, which is liable to impede the effective exercise of the rights of the defence.

    32) Therefore, the answer to the first question is that Article 6(3) of Directive 2012/13 and Article 47 of the Charter must be interpreted as precluding national legislation which does not provide for a procedural mechanism for remedying errors and omissions in the indictment which prejudice the right of the accused person to be provided with detailed information concerning the charges following the pre-trial hearing in a criminal case.

    33) By its second question, the referring court asks, in essence, whether Article 6(3) of Directive 2012/13 and Article 47 of the Charter are to be interpreted as requiring an interpretation of national law concerning the amendment of the charges, which allows the prosecutor to remedy errors and omissions in the indictment at the trial, while actively and effectively safeguarding the rights of the defence of the accused person, or whether those provisions require that the prohibition in national law on suspending court proceedings and referring the case back to the prosecutor to draw up a new indictment be disapplied.

    ...

    43) It is important to note that such a mechanism appears to be consistent with Article 6(3) of Directive 2012/13 and Article 47 of the Charter, in that it allows for an effective application of the requirements of Article 6(3), and also appears likely to ensure the right of the accused person to effective judicial protection.

    ...

    45) In the light of the foregoing considerations, the answer to the second question is that Article 6(3) of Directive 2012/13 and Article 47 of the Charter must be interpreted as requiring the referring court to give an interpretation of the national rules on the amendment of the indictment, as far as possible in a manner consistent with that law, so as to enable the prosecutor to remedy errors and omissions in the content of the indictment at the trial, while at the same time actively and genuinely safeguarding the rights of the defence of the accused person. Only if the referring court considers that such an interpretation is not possible should it disregard the national provision prohibiting the suspension of court proceedings and refer the case back to the public prosecutor in order for the latter to draw up a new indictment.