Judgment of the Court (First Chamber) of 15 December 2022 (request for a preliminary ruling from the Lietuvos vyriausiasis administracinis teismas – Lithuania) – Regionų apygardos administracinio teismo Kauno rūmai

(Case C-88/21) ¹

(Reference for a preliminary ruling – Judicial cooperation in criminal matters – Second generation Schengen Information System (SIS II) – Decision 2007/533/JHA – Alert on an object sought – Article 38 – Objectives of the alert – Seizure or use as evidence in criminal proceedings – Article 39 – Execution of the action based on an alert – Measures taken in accordance with the national law of the Member States – National legislation laying down an obligation to prohibit the registration of vehicles which are the subject of alerts in SIS II)

Language of the case: Lithuanian

Referring court

Lietuvos vyriausiasis administracinis teismas

Parties to the main proceedings

Applicant: Regionų apygardos administracinio teismo Kauno rūmai

Intervener: Lietuvos Respublikos vidaus reikalų ministerija

Operative part of the judgment

Article 39 of Council Decision 2007/533/JHA of 12 June 2007 on the establishment, operation and use of the second generation Schengen Information System (SIS II), read in conjunction with Article 38(1) of that decision,

must be interpreted as meaning that:

it does not lay down any general obligation to prohibit the registration of a motor vehicle which is the subject of an ongoing alert in the second generation Schengen Information System (SIS II);

it does not require the executing Member State to provide for general rules prohibiting actions relating to the object which has been located, other than those which enable the objectives of Article 38(1) of that decision to be achieved;

it does not preclude that Member State from providing for derogations from a general prohibition on registering such a vehicle.

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¹ OJ C 163, 3.5.2021.