Judgment of the Court (First Chamber) of 6 October 2021 (request for a preliminary ruling from the Zalaegerszegi Járásbíróság – Hungary) – Proceedings relating to the recognition and enforcement of a financial penalty imposed on LU

(Case C-136/20) ¹

(Reference for a preliminary ruling – Area of freedom, security and justice – Framework Decision 2005/214/JHA – Enforcement of financial penalties – Principle of mutual recognition – Article 5(1) –Offences giving rise to the recognition and enforcement of penalty decisions without verification of the double criminality of the act – Article 5(3) – Offences in respect of which the Member State has the option of making the recognition and enforcement of penalty decisions subject to the double criminality of the act – Verification by the executing Member State of the legal characterisation given to the offence by the issuing Member State in the certificate accompanying the penalty decision)

Language of the case: Hungarian

Referring court

Zalaegerszegi Járásbíróság

Parties to the main proceedings

Defendant: LU

Operative part of the judgment

Article 5(1) of Council Framework Decision 2005/214/JHA of 24 February 2005 on the application of the principle of mutual recognition to financial penalties, as amended by Council Framework Decision 2009/299/JHA of 26 February 2009, must be interpreted as meaning that the authority of the executing State, apart from where one of the grounds for non-recognition or non-execution expressly provided for in that framework decision apply, may not, in principle, refuse to recognise and execute a decision imposing a final financial penalty where the authority of the issuing State has classified the offence in question, in the certificate provided for in Article 4 of that framework decision, as falling within one of the categories of offences in respect of which Article 5(1) of that framework decision does not provide for verification of the double criminality of the act.

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¹ OJ C 215, 29.6.2020.