CJEU: Extradition of EU citizens from another EU state

7 Sep 2016 12:28 PM

However, before extraditing the citizen, the Member State concerned must give priority to the exchange of information with the Member State of origin and allow that Member State to request the citizen’s surrender for the purposes of prosecution.

Aleksei Petruhhin, an Estonian national, was made the subject of a priority Red Notice on Interpol’s website. He was arrested on 30 September 2014 in the town of Bauska (Latvia), then placed in provisional custody. On 21 October 2014, the Latvian authorities received an extradition request from Russia. That request stated that criminal proceedings were initiated against Mr Petruhhin and that he had to be placed in custody for attempted large-scale, organised drug-trafficking. Under Russian law, that offence is punishable with a term of imprisonment of between 8 and 20 years.

The Latvian Public Prosecutor’s Office authorised Mr Petruhhin’s extradition to Russia. However, Mr Petruhhin filed an appeal against the extradition decision, on the ground that, under the agreement on judicial assistance and judicial relations concluded between the Baltic countries, he enjoyed the same rights in Latvia as a Latvian national and that, since Latvian law prohibits in principle the extradition of Latvian nationals and, in accordance with a treaty concluded with Russia, Latvia does not extradite its own nationals to that country, Latvia was required to protect Mr Petruhhin against unjustified extradition.

The Augstākā tiesa (Supreme Court, Latvia) observed that neither Latvian national law nor any of the international agreements signed by Latvia with, in particular, Russia or the other Baltic countries restrict the extradition of an Estonian national to Russia. Under those international agreements, protection against such extradition is conferred only on Latvian nationals. Nonetheless, the lack of protection of Union citizens against extradition, when they have moved to a Member State other than the one of which they are nationals, could be contrary to the right of Union citizens to protection equivalent to that of a Member State’s own nationals.

In those circumstances, the Latvian Supreme Court asked the Court of Justice whether, for the purposes of applying an extradition agreement concluded between a Member State and a nonmember State, the nationals of another Member State must benefit, in the light of the principle of non-discrimination on grounds of nationality and the freedom of movement and of residence of Union citizens, from the rule which prohibits the extradition by the first Member State of its own nationals. The Latvian Supreme Court also asked whether the requested Member State (namely, the Member State from which a non-member State requests the extradition of a national of another Member State, in this case Latvia) must verify (and, if necessary, according to which criteria) that the extradition will not prejudice the rights protected by the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union. 

Click here for full press release