The Treaty of Amsterdam also confers new jurisdiction on the Court of Justice to give preliminary rulings on the interpretation of conventions concluded between Member States relating to police and judicial cooperation in criminal matters. This is the first time that the Court of Justice has exercised that jurisdiction.

Mr Gözütok is a Turkish national who has been lawfully resident in the Netherlands for many years. Investigations by the Netherlands police revealed that he was dealing unlawfully in drugs. The Netherlands Public Prosecutor's Office made him an offer of settlement with a view to discontinuing the criminal proceedings: Mr Gözütok accepted the offer. However, the German authorities charged him in respect of the acts committed in the Netherlands and an Aachen court sentenced him to a term of imprisonment, which was the subject of an appeal. The court hearing the appeal referred a question to the Court of Justice for a preliminary ruling on whether the ne bis in idem principle set out in the SIC constituted a bar to the criminal proceedings.

Mr Brügge, a German national resident in Germany, wounded a Belgian citizen while in Belgium and was indicted before the Belgian courts. However, the Bonn Public Prosecutor's Office conducted an investigation against the defendant in respect of the same facts and offered Mr Brügge an amicable settlement under which the case would be discontinued if he paid compensation: Mr Brügge accepted the offer. The Belgian court asks the Court of Justicewhether the SIC allows it to summon the German citizen to appear before it when the case has been discontinued in Germany.

The Advocate General's Opinion is not binding upon the Court of Justice. His role is, to propose to the Court, acting with complete independence, a decision on the legal points in order that the cases referred to it may be resolved.

The Advocate General states that the ne bis in idem principle constitutes a fundamental safeguard for citizens and is binding both on Member States and on the European Union. It would be contrary to the principles of European construction if a person whose trial in respect of certain acts has been finally disposed of could be tried again in another Member State, irrespective of whether he was acquitted or convicted in the original proceedings.

However, the basic problem lies, according to Mr Ruiz-Jarabo, in determining whether, where a settlement is agreed in a criminal case, the acts concerned are finally disposed of. He takes the view that such a procedure is a form of administering justice which protects the rights of the accused and culminates in the imposition of a penalty. In other words, the settlement is binding and, once it has been executed, constitutes the public authority's final word on the matter. That conclusion relates only to the criminal proceedings and does not affect any rights that the victim may have to claim compensation.

The Advocate General considers, therefore, that the SIC provision concerning the ne bis in idem principle applies to a person who obtains from the Public Prosecutor's Office a decision that criminal proceedings are to be discontinued once the conditions which he has agreed with the representative of the public authority have been fulfilled.

Finally, Mr Ruiz-Jarabo points out that, for the purpose of establishing an area of freedom, security and justice, the Treaty on European Union provides for the adoption of common actions to facilitate and accelerate cooperation between the ministries and judicial authorities of the Member States in relation to proceedings and the enforcement of decisions. That goal cannot be achieved without the mutual confidence of the Member States in their criminal justice systems and without the mutual recognition of their respective decisions, based on the premiss that whilst one State may not deal with a certain matter in the same way as another, the outcome is accepted as equivalent to a decision by one's own State because it reflects the same principles and values.

Unofficial document for media use only; not binding on the Court of Justice. Available in French, English, German, Italian, Spanish and Dutch. For the full text of the Opinion, please consult our internet page www.curia.eu.int  at approximately 3 pm today. For further information, please contact Mr Reinier Van Winden: Tel: (00 352) 4303 3355; Fax: (00 352) 4303 2731.