Minister for Justice and Equality v RO.
Date: 2018-09-19
30


In the second place, as regards the criterion relating to urgency, it is necessary, in accordance with the Court’s settled case-law, to take into account the fact that the person concerned is currently deprived of his liberty and that the question as to whether he may continue to be held in custody depends on the outcome of the dispute in the main proceedings. In addition, the situation of the person concerned must be assessed as it stands at the time when consideration is given to the request that the reference be dealt with under the urgent procedure (judgment of 10 August 2017, Zdziaszek, C‑271/17 PPU, EU:C:2017:629, paragraph 72 and the case-law cited).
34


In that regard, it must be borne in mind that, as follows from Article 2 TEU, EU law is based on the fundamental premiss that each Member State shares with all the other Member States, and recognises that they share with it, a set of common values on which the European Union is founded. That premiss implies and justifies the existence of mutual trust between the Member States that those values will be recognised, and therefore, that EU law implementing them will be respected (judgments of 6 March 2018, Achmea, C‑284/16, EU:C:2018:158, paragraph 34, and of 25 July 2018, Minister for Justice and Equality (Deficiencies in the System of Justice), C‑216/18 PPU, EU:C:2018:586, paragraph 35).
35


The principle of mutual trust between the Member States requires, particularly as regards the area of freedom, security and justice, each of those States, save in exceptional circumstances, to consider all the other Member States to be complying with EU law and particularly with the fundamental rights recognised by EU law (see, to that effect, judgment of 25 July 2018, Minister for Justice and Equality (Deficiencies in the System of Justice), C‑216/18 PPU, EU:C:2018:586, paragraph 36).
36


The purpose of the Framework Decision, as is apparent, in particular, from Article 1(1) and (2) and recitals 5 and 7 thereof, is to replace the multilateral system of extradition based on the European Convention on Extradition of 13 December 1957 with a system of surrender between judicial authorities of convicted or suspected persons for the purpose of enforcing judgments or of conducting prosecutions, the system of surrender being based on the principle of mutual recognition. The Framework Decision thus seeks, by the establishment of that simplified and more effective system, to facilitate and accelerate judicial cooperation with a view to contributing to the attainment of the objective set for the European Union of becoming an area of freedom, security and justice, and has as its basis the high level of trust which must exist between the Member States (judgment of 25 July 2018, Minister for Justice and Equality (Deficiencies in the System of Justice), C‑216/18 PPU, EU:C:2018:586, paragraphs 39 and 40).
37


The principle of mutual recognition is applied in Article 1(2) of the Framework Decision, which lays down the rule that Member States are required to execute any European arrest warrant on the basis of the principle of mutual recognition and in accordance with the provisions of the Framework Decision. Executing judicial authorities may therefore, in principle, refuse to execute such a warrant only on the grounds for non-execution exhaustively listed in the Framework Decision. Accordingly, while execution of the European arrest warrant constitutes the rule, refusal to execute is intended to be an exception which must be interpreted strictly (judgment of 25 July 2018, Minister for Justice and Equality (Deficiencies in the System of Justice), C‑216/18 PPU, paragraph 41).
38


Accordingly, the Framework Decision explicitly states the grounds for mandatory non-execution of a European arrest warrant (Article 3), the grounds for optional non-execution (Articles 4 and 4a), and the guarantees to be given by the issuing Member State in particular cases (Article 5) (judgments of 10 August 2017, Tupikas, C‑270/17 PPU, EU:C:2017:628, paragraph 51, and of 25 July 2018, Minister for Justice and Equality (Deficiencies in the System of Justice), C‑216/18 PPU, EU:C:2018:586, paragraph 42).
39


Nonetheless, the Court has recognised that limitations may be placed on the principles of mutual recognition and mutual trust between Member States ‘in exceptional circumstances’ (judgments of 5 April 2016, Aranyosi and Căldăraru, C‑404/15 and C‑659/15 PPU, EU:C:2016:198, paragraph 82, and of 25 July 2018, Minister for Justice and Equality (Deficiencies in the System of Justice), C‑216/18 PPU, EU:C:2018:586, paragraph 43).
40


The Court has thus acknowledged that, subject to certain conditions, the executing judicial authority has the power to bring the surrender procedure established by the Framework Decision to an end where that surrender may result in the requested person being subject to inhuman or degrading treatment within the meaning of Article 4 of the Charter (judgments of 5 April 2016, Aranyosi and Căldăraru, C‑404/15 and C‑659/15 PPU, EU:C:2016:198, paragraph 104, and of 25 July 2018, Minister for Justice and Equality (Deficiencies in the System of Justice), C‑216/18 PPU, EU:C:2018:586, paragraph 44).
41


For that purpose, the Court has relied, first, on Article 1(3) of the Framework Decision, which provides that that decision is not to have the effect of modifying the obligation to respect fundamental rights and fundamental legal principles as enshrined in Articles 2 and 6 TEU and, second, on the absolute nature of the fundamental right guaranteed by Article 4 of the Charter (judgment of 25 July 2018, Minister for Justice and Equality (Deficiencies in the System of Justice), C‑216/18 PPU, EU:C:2018:586, paragraph 45).
42


In order to assess whether there is a real risk that a person who is the subject of a European arrest warrant may suffer inhuman or degrading treatment, the executing judicial authority must, in particular, as the referring court has done in the main proceedings, pursuant to Article 15(2) of the Framework Decision, request from the issuing judicial authority any supplementary information that it considers necessary for assessing whether there is such a risk (judgment of 25 July 2018, Minister for Justice and Equality (Deficiencies in the System of Justice), C‑216/18 PPU, EU:C:2018:586, paragraph 76).
45


In that context, it must be observed that such a notification does not have the effect of suspending the application of EU law in the Member State that has given notice of its intention to withdraw from the European Union and, consequently, EU law, which encompasses the provisions of the Framework Decision and the principles of mutual trust and mutual recognition inherent in that decision, continues in full force and effect in that State until the time of its actual withdrawal from the European Union.
46


As is apparent from Article 50(2) and (3) TEU, that article lays down a procedure for withdrawal that consists of, first, notification to the European Council of the intention to withdraw, second, negotiation and conclusion of an agreement setting out the arrangements for withdrawal, taking into account the future relationship between the State concerned and the European Union and, third, the actual withdrawal from the Union on the date of entry into force of that agreement or failing that, two years after the notification given to the European Council, unless the latter, in agreement with the Member State concerned, unanimously decides to extend that period.
47


Such a refusal to execute a European arrest warrant would, as the Advocate General stated in point 55 of his Opinion, be the equivalent of unilateral suspension of the provisions of the Framework Decision and would, moreover, run counter to the wording of recital 10 of that decision, which states that it is for the European Council to determine a breach in the issuing Member State of the principles set out in Article 2 TEU, with a view to application of the European arrest warrant mechanism being suspended in respect of that Member State (judgment of 25 July 2018, Minister for Justice and Equality (Deficiencies in the System of Justice), C‑216/18 PPU, EU:C:2018:586, paragraph 71).
49


However, it remains the task of the executing judicial authority to examine, after carrying out a specific and precise assessment of the particular case, whether there are substantial grounds for believing that, after withdrawal from the European Union of the issuing Member State, the person who is the subject of that arrest warrant is at risk of being deprived of his fundamental rights and the rights derived, in essence, from Articles 26 to 28 of the Framework Decision, as relied on by RO and referred to in paragraph 24 of the present judgment (see, by analogy, judgment of 25 July 2018, Minister for Justice and Equality (Deficiencies in the System of Justice), C‑216/18 PPU, EU:C:2018:586, paragraph 73).
50


As regards the fundamental rights enshrined in Article 4 of the Charter, which correspond to those stated in Article 3 of the ECHR (judgment of 5 April 2016, Aranyosi and Căldăraru, C‑404/15 and C‑659/15 PPU, EU:C:2016:198, paragraph 86), in a situation where the referring court were to consider, as appears to be the case, given the wording of the questions referred for a preliminary ruling and the documents sent to the Court, that the information received enables it to discount the existence of a real risk that RO will suffer, in the issuing Member State, inhuman or degrading treatment, within the meaning of Article 4 of the Charter, it would not be appropriate, as a general rule, to refuse to surrender him on that basis, without prejudice to RO’s opportunity, after surrender, to have recourse, within the legal system of the issuing Member State, to legal remedies that may enable him to challenge, where appropriate, the lawfulness of the conditions of his detention in a prison of that Member State (see, to that effect, judgment of 5 April 2016, Aranyosi and Căldăraru, C‑404/15 and C‑659/15 PPU, EU:C:2016:198, paragraph 103).
53


As regards the other rights relied on by RO, and, first, the rule of specialty which is the subject of Article 27 of the Framework Decision, it must be recalled that that rule is linked to the sovereignty of the executing Member State and confers on the person requested the right not to be prosecuted, sentenced or otherwise deprived of his or her liberty for an offence other than that for which he or she was surrendered (judgment of 1 December 2008, Leymann and Pustovarov, C‑388/08 PPU, EU:C:2008:669, paragraph 44).