Article 6 - Right to liberty and security
Article 47 - Right to an effective remedy and to a fair trial
Article 51 - Field of application
Reference for a preliminary ruling — Urgent preliminary ruling procedure — Judicial cooperation in criminal matters — Directive (EU) 2016/343 — Strengthening of certain aspects of the presumption of innocence and of the right to be present at the trial in criminal proceedings — Article 6 — Burden of proof — Continuation of the detention on remand pending trial of an accused person.
Key facts of the case:
Outcome of the case:
On those grounds, the Court (First Chamber) hereby rules:
Article 6 of Directive (EU) 2016/343 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 9 March 2016 on the strengthening of certain aspects of the presumption of innocence and of the right to be present at the trial in criminal proceedings, and Articles 6 and 47 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union do not apply to a national law that makes the release of a person held in detention on remand pending trial conditional on that person establishing the existence of new circumstances justifying that release.
1) This request for a preliminary ruling concerns the interpretation of Article 6 of Directive (EU) 2016/343 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 9 March 2016 on the strengthening of certain aspects of the presumption of innocence and of the right to be present at the trial in criminal proceedings (OJ 2016 L 65, p. 1) and of Articles 6 and 47 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union (‘the Charter’).
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17) Moreover, according to the referring court, the rights guaranteed in Articles 6 and 47 of the Charter must be taken into account. As regards, in particular, Article 6, which corresponds to Article 5 of the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, signed in Rome on 4 November 1950, it follows in particular from the judgment of the European Court of Human Rights of 27 August 2019, Magnitskiy and Others v. Russia (CE:ECHR:2019:0827JUD003263109) that establishing a presumption in favour of the lawfulness of keeping an accused person in detention is contrary to Article 5(3) of that convention.
18) In those circumstances, the Spetsializiran nakazatelen sad (Specialised Criminal Court) decided to stay the proceedings and to refer the following question to the Court of Justice for a preliminary ruling: ‘Is a national law that, during the trial stage of criminal proceedings, requires a change in circumstances as a condition for granting the defence’s application for the release of the accused person from detention, consistent with Article 6 and recital 22 of Directive 2016/343 and with Articles 6 and 47 of the [Charter]?’
25) By its question, the referring court asks, in essence, whether Article 6 of Directive 2016/343, read in the light of recital 22 of that directive, and Articles 6 and 47 of the Charter preclude a national law that makes the release of a person held in detention on remand pending trial conditional on that person establishing the existence of new circumstances justifying that release.
40) Further, as regards Articles 6 and 47 of the Charter, it is important to recall that, under Article 51(1) of the Charter, the provisions of the Charter are addressed to Member States only when they are implementing EU law.
41) Since the allocation of the burden of proof within the context of a procedure such as that in the main proceedings is not governed by EU law, the provisions of the Charter, including Articles 6 and 47 thereof, do not apply to national rules making that allocation (see, by analogy, judgment of 7 March 2017, X and X, C‑638/16 PPU, EU:C:2017:173, paragraph 45 and the case-law cited).
42) In the light of all the foregoing considerations, the answer to the question referred is that Article 6 of Directive 2016/343 and Articles 6 and 47 of the Charter do not apply to a national law that makes the release of a person held in detention on remand pending trial conditional on that person establishing the existence of new circumstances justifying that release.
43) Since these proceedings are, for the parties to the main proceedings, a step in the action pending before the national court, the decision on costs is a matter for that court. Costs incurred in submitting observations to the Court, other than the costs of those parties, are not recoverable.
