CaseC-644/23, Stangalov: Judgment of the Court (Fourth Chamber) of 16 January 2025 (request for a preliminary ruling from the Sofiyski gradski sad – Bulgaria) – Criminal proceedings against IR (Reference for a preliminary ruling – Judicial cooperation in criminal matters – Directive (EU) 2016/343 – Article 8 – Right to be present at the trial – Information regarding the holding of the trial and the consequences of non-appearance – Inability to locate the accused person notwithstanding the reasonable efforts of the competent authorities – Possibility of a trial and a decision in absentia – Article 9 – Right to a new trial or to another legal remedy which allows a fresh determination of the merits of the case – No such right where the person concerned absconds)
Date: 2025-01-16
Institutions: Court of Justice
Subjects: access to the courts, appeal, charge, criminal proceedings, penalty, right to justice, rights of the defence








C_202501401EN.000101.fmx.xml












Official Journal of the European Union


EN
C series













C/2025/1401


10.3.2025






Judgment of the Court (Fourth Chamber) of 16 January 2025 (request for a preliminary ruling from the Sofiyski gradski sad – Bulgaria) – Criminal proceedings against IR


(CaseC-644/23,
                (1)
Stangalov)
                (2)

(Reference for a preliminary ruling - Judicial cooperation in criminal matters - Directive (EU) 2016/343 - Article 8 - Right to be present at the trial - Information regarding the holding of the trial and the consequences of non-appearance - Inability to locate the accused person notwithstanding the reasonable efforts of the competent authorities - Possibility of a trial and a decision in absentia - Article 9 - Right to a new trial or to another legal remedy which allows a fresh determination of the merits of the case - No such right where the person concerned absconds)
(C/2025/1401)
Language of the case: Bulgarian

Referring court

Sofiyski gradski sad

Party in the main proceedings

IR

interested party: Sofiyska gradska prokuratura

Operative part of the judgment

Articles 8 and 9 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
must be interpreted as not precluding national legislation under which a person who absconds after receiving a preliminary indictment drawn up against him or her during the pre-trial investigation stage of criminal proceedings, thereby preventing the competent authorities from informing him or her in person of the final indictment and of the date and place of the trial, and who, against that background, is convicted in absentia, will not, if located and arrested for the purpose of enforcing the sentence, have a right to a new trial, provided that that legislation restricts that forfeiture of the right to a new trial to persons who (i) in the light of all the relevant circumstances, may be regarded as having been informed of the trial and (ii) were represented during the trial in absentia by a lawyer mandated by them or, in the absence of such representation, were informed in due time that, if they absconded, they risked being tried in their absence.


(1)  OJ C C/2024/534.

(2)  The name of the present case is a fictitious name. It does not correspond to the real name of any party to the proceedings.


ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/C/2025/1401/oj
ISSN 1977-091X (electronic edition)