Reference for a preliminary ruling – Convention implementing the Schengen Agreement – Article 54 – Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union – Article 50 – Ne bis in idem principle – Article 21 TFEU – Freedom of movement of persons – Interpol red notice – Directive (EU) 2016/680 – Lawfulness of the processing of personal data contained in such a notice
In Case C-505/19 - WS v Bundesrepublik Deutschland - on 12 May 2021, the Court (Grand Chamber) ruled that:
1. Article 54 of the Convention implementing the Schengen Agreement of 14 June 1985 between the Governments of the States of the Benelux Economic Union, the Federal Republic of Germany and the French Republic on the gradual abolition of checks at their common borders, signed in Schengen on 19 June 1990 and which entered into force on 26 March 1995, and Article 21(1) TFEU, read in the light of Article 50 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, must be interpreted as not precluding the provisional arrest, by the authorities of a State that is a party to the Agreement between the Governments of the States of the Benelux Economic Union, the Federal Republic of Germany and the French Republic on the gradual abolition of checks at their common borders, signed in Schengen on 14 June 1985, or by those of a Member State, of a person in respect of whom the International Criminal Police Organisation (Interpol) has published a red notice, at the request of a third State, unless it is established, in a final judicial decision taken in a State that is a party to that agreement or in a Member State, that the trial of that person in respect of the same acts as those on which that red notice is based has already been finally disposed of by a State that is a party to that agreement or by a Member State respectively.
2. The provisions of Directive (EU) 2016/680 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 April 2016 on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data by competent authorities for the purposes of the prevention, investigation, detection or prosecution of criminal offences or the execution of criminal penalties, and on the free movement of such data, and repealing Council Framework Decision 2008/977/JHA, read in the light of Article 54 of the Convention implementing the Schengen Agreement, signed on 19 June 1990, and of Article 50 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights, must be interpreted as not precluding the processing of personal data appearing in a red notice issued by the International Criminal Police Organisation (Interpol) in the case where it has not been established in a final judicial decision taken in a State that is a party to the Agreement between the Governments of the States of the Benelux Economic Union, the Federal Republic of Germany and the French Republic on the gradual abolition of checks at their common borders, signed in Schengen on 14 June 1985, or in a Member State that the ne bis in idem principle applies in respect of the acts on which that notice is based, provided that such processing satisfies the conditions laid down by that directive, in particular in that it is necessary for the performance of a task carried out by a competent authority, within the meaning of Article 8(1) of that directive.
The judgment can be found at the following link:
https://curia.europa.eu/juris/document/document.jsf?text=&docid=241169&pageIndex=0&doclang=en&mode=req&dir=&occ=first&part=1&cid=2098669
The CJEU Press release of Case C-505/19 can be found at the following link:
https://curia.europa.eu/jcms/upload/docs/application/pdf/2021-05/cp210076en.pdf