Case C-432/22, PT (Agreement concluded between the prosecutor and the perpetrator of an offence): Judgment of the Court (Third Chamber) of 28 November 2024 (request for a preliminary ruling from the Spetsializiran nakazatelen sad – Bulgaria) – Criminal proceedings against PT (Reference for a preliminary ruling – Area of freedom, security and justice – Judicial cooperation in criminal matters – Criminal offences and penalties in the field of illicit drug trafficking and the fight against organised crime – Possibility to reduce applicable penalties – Scope – Framework Decision 2004/757/JHA – Articles 4 and 5 – Framework Decision 2008/841/JHA – Articles 3 and 4 – National legislation not implementing EU law – Article 51(1) of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union – Effective judicial protection – Second subparagraph of Article 19(1) TEU – Criminal proceedings against several persons – Agreement for settlement of the case provided for in national law – Approval by an ad hoc court – Consent of the other defendants)
Date: 2024-11-28
Institutions: Court of Justice
Subjects: alternative sentence, criminal proceedings, drug traffic, fight against crime, judicial cooperation in criminal matters in the EU, organised crime, public prosecutor's department, right to an effective remedy








C_202500362EN.000101.fmx.xml












Official Journal of the European Union


EN
C series













C/2025/362


27.1.2025






Judgment of the Court (Third Chamber) of 28 November 2024 (request for a preliminary ruling from the Spetsializiran nakazatelen sad – Bulgaria) – Criminal proceedings against PT


(Case C-432/22,
                (1)
PT (Agreement concluded between the prosecutor and the perpetrator of an offence))

(Reference for a preliminary ruling - Area of freedom, security and justice - Judicial cooperation in criminal matters - Criminal offences and penalties in the field of illicit drug trafficking and the fight against organised crime - Possibility to reduce applicable penalties - Scope - Framework Decision 2004/757/JHA - Articles 4 and 5 - Framework Decision 2008/841/JHA - Articles 3 and 4 - National legislation not implementing EU law - Article 51(1) of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union - Effective judicial protection - Second subparagraph of Article 19(1) TEU - Criminal proceedings against several persons - Agreement for settlement of the case provided for in national law - Approval by an ad hoc court - Consent of the other defendants)
(C/2025/362)
Language of the case: Bulgarian

Referring court

Spetsializiran nakazatelen sad

Party in the main proceedings

PT

Intervening party: Spetsializirana prokuratura

Operative part of the judgment







1.


The second subparagraph of Article 19(1) TEU must be interpreted as not precluding a provision of national law which confers on an ad hoc court, and not on the court responsible for the case, jurisdiction to rule on an agreement for settlement of the case entered into by a defendant and the public prosecutor during the trial stage of criminal proceedings, where other defendants are also prosecuted in the same proceedings.










2.


The second subparagraph of Article 19(1) TEU must be interpreted as not precluding a provision of national law which, in criminal proceedings brought against several defendants on the basis that they had participated in the same organised criminal group, makes the judicial approval of an agreement for settlement of the case, entered into by one of the defendants and the public prosecutor during the trial stage of those proceedings, subject to the consent of all the other defendants.






(1)  
            OJ C 408, 24.10.2022.


ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/C/2025/362/oj
ISSN 1977-091X (electronic edition)