Niculaie Aurel Bob-Dogi

On 1 June 2016, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) has rendered its judgment in Case C-241/15 (Bob-Dogi), which clarified interesting legal aspects on the need for the existence of a national arrest warrant issued prior to and separately from the European arrest warrant.

In this case, the Court of Appeal of Cluj (Romania), as executing authority of a European arrest warrant issued by the Hungarian competent authorities against the Romanian national Niculaie Aurel Bob-Dogi, has referred the following questions to the CJEU, for a preliminary ruling:

“1. For the purposes of the application of Article 8(1)(c) of the Framework Decision, must the expression “evidence of … an arrest warrant” be understood to refer to a national arrest warrant issued in accordance with the procedural rules of the issuing Member State, and therefore distinct from the European arrest warrant?

2. If the first question is answered in the affirmative, may the non-existence of a national arrest warrant constitute an implied reason for non-execution of the European arrest warrant?”.

In its judgment, the CJEU ruled as follows:

“1. Article 8(1)(c) of the Council Framework Decision 2002/584/JHA of 13 June 2002 on the European arrest warrant and the surrender procedures between Member States, as amended by Council Framework Decision 2009/299/JHA of 26 February 2009, is to be interpreted as meaning that the term ‘arrest warrant’, as used in that provision, must be understood as referring to a national arrest warrant that is distinct from the European arrest warrant.

2. Article 8(1)(c) of Framework Decision 2002/584, as amended by Framework Decision 2009/299, is to be interpreted as meaning that, where a European arrest warrant based on the existence of an ‘arrest warrant’ within the meaning of that provision does not contain any reference to the existence of a national arrest warrant, the executing judicial authority must refuse to give effect to it if, in the light of the information provided pursuant to Article 15(2) of Framework Decision 2002/584, as amended, and any other information available to it, that authority concludes that the European arrest warrant is not valid because it as in fact issued in the absence of any national warrant separate from the European arrest warrant.”

Source: EJN website http://www.ejn-crimjust.europa.eu/ejn/NewsDetail.aspx?Id=496