Reference for a preliminary ruling from Supreme Court (Ireland) made on 21 December 2023 – Minister for Justice v SH

(Case C-798/23, Abbottly¹ )

Language of the case: English

Referring court

Supreme Court

Parties to the main proceedings

Applicant: Minister for Justice

Respondent: SH    

Questions referred

Where the surrender of the requested person is sought for the purpose of serving a custodial sentence imposed on that person as a result of violating the terms of a sentence of police supervision previously imposed on him, in circumstances where the court that imposed that custodial sentence had a discretion whether to impose a custodial sentence (though no discretion as to the duration of the sentence if imposed), are the proceedings leading to the imposition of that custodial sentence part of the ‘trial resulting in the decision’ for the purposes of Article 4a(l) of Council Framework Decision 2002/584/JHA¹ ?

Was the decision to convert the sentence of police supervision into a custodial sentence in the circumstances set out in (1) above, one that had the purpose or effect of modifying the nature and/or quantum of the sentence previously imposed on the requested person and, in particular, the sentence of police supervision that formed part of his previous sentence, such as to come within the exception referred to in para. 77 of Ardic¹ ?

____________

¹ The name of the present case is a fictitious name. It does not correspond to the real name of any of the parties to the proceedings.

¹ Council Framework Decision of 13 June 2002 on the European arrest warrant and the surrender procedures between Member States Statements made by certain Member States on the adoption of the Framework Decision (OJ 2002, L 190, p. 1).

¹ Case C-571/17 PPU, Samet Ardic, Judgment of the Court (Fifth Chamber) of 22 December 2017, EU:C:2017:1026.