Malta / Court of Criminal Appeal / Case No. 359/2024/2

The Police (Inspector Roderick Spiteri) v. Paul-Philippe Al-Romaniei
Deciding body type
National Court/Tribunal
Decision date
24/02/2024
  • Malta / Court of Criminal Appeal / Case No. 359/2024/2

    Key facts of the case: 

    Paul-Philippe Al-Romaniei, a Romanian national, was subject to a European arrest warrant (EAW) issued by the Braşov Court of Appeal in Romania. The Maltese authorities were requested to surrender Paul-Philippe to the Romanian authorities. Paul-Philippe contested the extradition. Initially, the Court of Magistrates in Malta refused to execute the EAW, citing concerns that Paul-Philippe would be subjected to inhumane treatment in Romanian prisons, thus breaching Article 4 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the EU and Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). The Court of Magistrates had determined that extraditing Paul-Philippe Al-Romaniei would expose him to a real risk of inhumane or degrading treatment in Romanian prisons, violating his fundamental rights. Based on this assessment, the first court refused to execute the European Arrest Warrant.

    The Attorney General appealed the decision, arguing that the Magistrates' Court had overstepped its authority in assessing the risk of fundamental rights violations and that this issue should be examined by the First Hall of the Civil Court in Malta.

    The case involved the application of the European arrest warrant Framework Decision (2002/584/JHA) that obliges EU Member States to honor arrest warrants unless specific exceptions apply. These exceptions include risks of inhumane or degrading treatment in the requesting state, as recognized in the Aranyosi and Caldararu judgments of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU). The case was also guided by relevant EU laws, including Article 4 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the EU and Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), which prohibit inhumane or degrading treatment.  

    The Attorney General’s appeal that followed was grounded on two points: (1) that the Magistrates' Court was not competent to rule on fundamental human rights issues and (2) that the court's assessment of Romanian prison conditions was insufficient to substantiate the refusal.

    Key legal question raised by the Court: 

    Whether the requested extradition of Paul-Philippe Al-Romaniei to Romania under the European Arrest Warrant (EAW) should be refused due to the potential violation of his fundamental human rights, particularly the prohibition of inhumane or degrading treatment under Article 4 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the EU and Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). 

    Outcome of the case: 

    The Court of Criminal Appeal ruled that the Magistrates' Court was not competent to decide on fundamental rights issues related to extradition. It held that such matters should be handled by the First Hall of the Civil Court. As a result, it partially upheld the Attorney General’s appeal, revoking the Magistrates' decision and sending the case back for reconsideration, excluding any assessment of human rights risks. 

  • Paragraphs referring to EU Charter

    88. It follows that, where the judicial authority of the executing Member State is in possession of evidence of a real risk of inhuman or degrading treatment of individuals detained in the issuing Member State, having regard to the standard of protection of fundamental rights guaranteed by EU law and, in particular, by Article 4 of the Charter (see, to that effect, judgment in Melloni, C-399/11, EU:C:2013:107, paragraphs 59 and 63, and Opinion 2/13, EU:C:2014:2454, paragraph 192), that judicial authority is bound to assess the existence of that risk when it is called upon to decide on the surrender to the authorities of the issuing Member State of the individual sought by a European arrest warrant. The consequence of the execution of such a warrant must not be that that individual suffers inhuman or degrading treatment. 

  • Paragraphs referring to EU Charter (original language)