Order of the Court (Seventh Chamber) of 28 May 2020 — (request for a preliminary ruling from the Špecializovaný trestný súd — Slovakia) — Criminal proceedings against UL, VM

(Case C-709/18) (1)

(Reference for a preliminary ruling - Article 53(2) and Article 99 of the Rules of Procedure of the Court of Justice - Directive (EU) 2016/343 - Articles 3 and 4 - Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union - Articles 47 and 48 - Public references to guilt - National court - Acceptance by order of the guilty plea of one of two co-accused for the offences stated in the indictment - Examination of the guilt of the second co-accused who pleaded not guilty - Conviction by the same court which accepted the guilty plea)

(2020/C 287/22)

Language of the case: Slovak

Referring court

Špecializovaný trestný súd

Criminal proceedings against

UL, VM

intervener: Úrad špeciálnej prokuratúry Generálnej prokuratúry Slovenskej republiky

Operative part of the order

Articles 3 and 4(1) of Directive (EU) 2016/343 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 9 March 2016 on the strengthening of certain aspects of the presumption of innocence and of the right to be present at the trial in criminal proceedings, read in conjunction with recital 16 of that directive and the second paragraph of Article 47 and Article 48 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, must be interpreted as not precluding a national court, first of all, from accepting, in the context of criminal proceedings brought against two persons, by order, the guilty plea of the first person to offences stated in the indictment allegedly committed together with the second person who has not pleaded guilty and, thereafter, from deciding, after taking evidence relating to what the second person is alleged to have done, on the guilt of that person, provided that, first, the reference to the second person as co-perpetrator of the alleged offences is necessary to the characterisation of the legal liability of the person who pleaded guilty and, secondly, that order and/or the indictment to which it refers clearly state that the guilt of that second person has not been legally established and will be the subject of separate taking of evidence and a separate judgment.

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(1)  OJ C 44, 4.2.2019.