Council Regulation (EU) 2017/1939Show full title

CHAPTER VI U.K. PROCEDURAL SAFEGUARDS

Article 41 U.K. Scope of the rights of the suspects and accused persons

1. The activities of the EPPO shall be carried out in full compliance with the rights of suspects and accused persons enshrined in the Charter, including the right to a fair trial and the rights of defence.

2. Any suspected or accused person in the criminal proceedings of the EPPO shall, at aa minimum, have the procedural rights provided for in Union law, including directives concerning the rights of suspects and accused persons in criminal procedures, as implemented by national law, such as:

(a) the right to interpretation and translation, as provided for in Directive 2010/64/EU;

(b) the right to information and access to the case materials, as provided for in Directive 2012/13/EU;

(c) the right of access to a lawyer and the right to communicate with and have third persons informed in the event of detention, as provided for in Directive 2013/48/EU;

(d) the right to remain silent and the right to be presumed innocent as provided for in Directive (EU) 2016/343;

(e) the right to legal aid as provided for in Directive (EU) 2016/1919.

3. Without prejudice to the rights referred to in this Chapter, suspects and accused persons as well as other persons involved in the proceedings of the EPPO shall have all the procedural rights available to them under the applicable national law, including the possibility to present evidence, to request the appointment of experts or expert examination and hearing of witnesses, and to request the EPPO to obtain such measures on behalf of the defence.

Article 42 U.K. Judicial review

1. Procedural acts of the EPPO that are intended to produce legal effects vis-à-vis third parties shall be subject to review by the competent national courts in accordance with the requirements and procedures laid down by national law. The same applies to failures of the EPPO to adopt procedural acts which are intended to produce legal effects vis-à-vis third parties and which it was legally required to adopt under this Regulation.

2. The Court of Justice shall have jurisdiction, in accordance with Article 267 TFEU, to give preliminary rulings concerning:

(a) the validity of procedural acts of the EPPO, in so far as such a question of validity is raised before any court or tribunal of a Member State directly on the basis of Union law;

(b) the interpretation or the validity of provisions of Union law, including this Regulation;

(c) the interpretation of Articles 22 and 25 of this Regulation in relation to any conflict of competence between the EPPO and the competent national authorities.

3. By way of derogation from paragraph 1 of this Article, the decisions of the EPPO to dismiss a case, in so far as they are contested directly on the basis of Union law, shall be subject to review before the Court of Justice in accordance with the fourth paragraph of Article 263 TFEU.

4. The Court of Justice shall have jurisdiction in accordance with Article 268 TFEU in any dispute relating to compensation for damage caused by the EPPO.

5. The Court of Justice shall have jurisdiction in accordance with Article 272 TFEU in any dispute concerning arbitration clauses contained in contracts concluded by the EPPO.

6. The Court of Justice shall have jurisdiction in accordance with Article 270 TFEU in any dispute concerning staff-related matters.

7. The Court of Justice shall have jurisdiction on the dismissal of the European Chief Prosecutor or European Prosecutors, in accordance, respectively, with Article 14(5) and Article 16(5).

8. This Article is without prejudice to judicial review by the Court of Justice in accordance with the fourth paragraph of Article 263 TFEU of decisions of the EPPO that affect the data subjects’ rights under Chapter VIII and of decisions of the EPPO which are not procedural acts, such as decisions of the EPPO concerning the right of public access to documents, or decisions dismissing European Delegated Prosecutors adopted pursuant to Article 17(3) of this Regulation, or any other administrative decisions.