Council Regulation (EU) 2017/1939Show full title

Article 10 U.K. The Permanent Chambers

1. The Permanent Chambers shall be chaired by the European Chief Prosecutor or one of the Deputy European Chief Prosecutors, or a European Prosecutor appointed as Chair in accordance with the internal rules of procedure of the EPPO. In addition to the Chair, the Permanent Chambers shall have two permanent Members. The number of Permanent Chambers, and their composition, as well as the division of competences between the Chambers, shall take due account of the functional needs of the EPPO and be determined in accordance with the internal rules of procedure of the EPPO.

The internal rules of procedure of the EPPO shall ensure an equal distribution of workload on the basis of a system of random allocation of cases and shall, in exceptional cases, establish procedures, where necessary for the proper functioning of the EPPO, to allow the European Chief Prosecutor to decide to deviate from the principle of random allocation.

2. The Permanent Chambers shall monitor and direct the investigations and prosecutions conducted by the European Delegated Prosecutors in accordance with paragraphs 3, 4 and 5 of this Article. They shall also ensure the coordination of investigations and prosecutions in cross-border cases, and shall ensure the implementation of decisions taken by the College in accordance with Article 9(2).

3. In accordance with the conditions and procedures set out by this Regulation, where applicable after reviewing a draft decision proposed by the handling European Delegated Prosecutor, the Permanent Chambers shall decide on the following issues:

(a) to bring a case to judgment in accordance with Article 36(1), (3) and (4);

(b) to dismiss a case in accordance with point (a) to (g) of Article 39(1);

(c) to apply a simplified prosecution procedure and to instruct the European Delegated Prosecutor to act with a view to finally dispose of the case in accordance with Article 40;

(d) to refer a case to the national authorities in accordance with Article 34(1), (2), (3) or (6);

(e) to reopen an investigation in accordance with Article 39(2).

4. Where necessary, the Permanent Chambers shall take the following decisions, in accordance with the conditions and procedures set out in this Regulation:

(a) to instruct the European Delegated Prosecutor to initiate an investigation in accordance with the rules in Article 26(1) to (4) where no investigation has been initiated;

(b) to instruct the European Delegated Prosecutor to exercise the right of evocation in accordance with Article 27(6) where the case has not been evoked;

(c) to refer to the College strategic matters or general issues arising from individual cases in accordance with Article 9(2);

(d) to allocate a case in accordance with Article 26(3);

(e) to reallocate a case in accordance with Article 26(5) or 28(3);

(f) to approve the decision of a European Prosecutor to conduct the investigation himself or herself in accordance with Article 28(4).

5. The competent Permanent Chamber, acting through the European Prosecutor who is supervising the investigation or the prosecution, may in a specific case give instructions in compliance with applicable national law to the handling European Delegated Prosecutor, where it is necessary for the efficient handling of the investigation or prosecution, in the interest of justice, or to ensure the coherent functioning of the EPPO.

6. The Permanent Chamber shall take decisions by simple majority. The Chamber shall vote at the request of any of its members. Each member shall have one vote. The Chair shall have a casting vote in the event of a tie vote. Decisions shall be taken after deliberation in meetings of the Chamber on the basis, where applicable, of the draft decision proposed by the handling European Delegated Prosecutor.

All case material shall be accessible upon request to the competent Permanent Chamber for the purpose of preparing decisions.

7. The Permanent Chambers may decide to delegate their decision-making power under point (a) or (b) of paragraph 3 of this Article, and in the latter case only in respect of the rules set out in points (a) to (f) of Article 39(1) to the European Prosecutor supervising the case in accordance with Article 12(1) where such delegations can be duly justified with reference to the degree of seriousness of the offence or the complexity of the proceedings in the individual case, with regard to an offence that has caused or is likely to cause damage to the financial interests of the Union of less than EUR 100 000. The internal rules of procedure of the EPPO shall set guidelines with a view to ensuring a consistent application within the EPPO.

The Permanent Chamber shall inform the European Chief Prosecutor of any decision to delegate their decision-making power. On reception of that information, the European Chief Prosecutor may within 3 days request the Permanent Chamber to review its decision if the European Chief Prosecutor considers that the interest to ensure the coherence of the investigations and prosecutions of the EPPO so requires. If the European Chief Prosecutor is a Member of the relevant Permanent Chamber, one of the Deputy European Chief Prosecutors shall exercise the right to request the said review. The supervising European Prosecutor shall report to the Permanent Chamber about the final disposal of the case as well as any information or circumstance he/she deems to be likely to necessitate a new assessment of the opportunity to maintain the delegation, in particular in circumstances referred to in Article 36(3).

The decision to delegate decision-making power may be withdrawn at any time on the request of one of the Members of the Permanent Chamber and shall be decided in accordance with paragraph 6 of this Article. A delegation shall be withdrawn when a European Delegated Prosecutor has substituted the European Prosecutor in accordance with Article 16(7).

To ensure coherent application of the principle of delegation, each Permanent Chamber shall report annually to the College on the use of delegation.

8. The internal rules of procedure of the EPPO shall authorise the Permanent Chambers to take decisions by means of a written procedure to be laid down in detail in the internal rules of procedure of the EPPO.

All decisions taken and instructions given in accordance with paragraphs 3, 4, 5 and 7 shall be recorded in writing and become part of the case file.

9. In addition to the permanent Members, the European Prosecutor who is supervising an investigation or a prosecution in accordance with Article 12(1) shall participate in the deliberations of the Permanent Chamber. The European Prosecutor shall have a right to vote, except as regards the Permanent Chamber’s decisions on delegation or withdrawal of delegation in accordance with paragraph 7 of this Article, on allocation and reallocation under Article 26(3), (4) and (5) and Article 27(6) and on bringing a case to judgment in accordance with Article 36(3), where more than one Member State has jurisdiction for the case, as well as situations described in Article 31(8).

A Permanent Chamber may also, either at the request of a European Prosecutor or a European Delegated Prosecutor or on its own initiative, invite other European Prosecutors or European Delegated Prosecutors who are concerned by a case to attend its meetings without a right to vote.

10. The Chairs of the Permanent Chambers shall, in accordance with the internal rules of procedure of the EPPO, keep the College informed of the decisions taken pursuant to this Article, in order to enable the College to fulfil its role under Article 9(2).