Case C-439/16 PPU: Judgment of the Court (Fourth Chamber Chamber) of 27 October 2016 (request for a preliminary ruling from the Spetsializiran nakazatelen sad — Bulgaria) — Criminal proceedings against Emil Milev (Reference for a preliminary ruling — Urgent preliminary ruling procedure — Judicial cooperation in criminal matters — Directive 2016/343/EU — Articles 3 and 6 — Temporal application — Review by the courts of the remand in custody pending trial of an accused — National legislation prohibiting, during the trial stage of the proceedings, inquiry into whether there are reasonable grounds to suspect that the accused has committed an offence — Incompatibility with Article 5(1)(c) and (4) of the European Convention on Human Rights — Discretion left by the national case-law to the national courts to decide whether or not to apply that convention)
Date: 2016-10-27
Institutions: Court of Justice
Subjects: European Convention on Human Rights, application of the law, approximation of laws, criminal proceedings, detention before trial, judicial cooperation in criminal matters in the EU, offence, rights of the defence








C_2017006EN.01002301.xml










9.1.2017   


EN


Official Journal of the European Union


C 6/23





Judgment of the Court (Fourth Chamber Chamber) of 27 October 2016 (request for a preliminary ruling from the Spetsializiran nakazatelen sad — Bulgaria) — Criminal proceedings against Emil Milev
(Case C-439/16 PPU) (1)

((Reference for a preliminary ruling - Urgent preliminary ruling procedure - Judicial cooperation in criminal matters - Directive 2016/343/EU - Articles 3 and 6 - Temporal application - Review by the courts of the remand in custody pending trial of an accused - National legislation prohibiting, during the trial stage of the proceedings, inquiry into whether there are reasonable grounds to suspect that the accused has committed an offence - Incompatibility with Article 5(1)(c) and (4) of the European Convention on Human Rights - Discretion left by the national case-law to the national courts to decide whether or not to apply that convention))
(2017/C 006/28)
Language of the case: Bulgarian

Referring court

Spetsializiran nakazatelen sad

Party in the main proceedings

Emil Milev

Operative part of the judgment

The opinion delivered on 7 April 2016 by the Varhoven kasatsionen sad (Supreme Court of Cassation, Bulgaria) at the beginning of the transposition period of Directive 2016/343/EU 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, which confers on the national courts having jurisdiction to hear an action brought against a custody decision the ability to decide whether, during the trial stage of the criminal proceedings, the continued custody of an accused must be subject to a review by the court of whether, in addition, there are reasonable grounds to suspect that he committed the offence with which he is charged is not likely seriously to compromise, after the expiry of the period prescribed for transposition of the directive, the attainment of the objectives prescribed by that directive.


(1)  OJ C 364, 3.10.2016.