Facts
- Melloni was convicted in Italy for bankruptcy fraud, where he was tried in absentia (without his presence) and sentenced to 10 years in prison
- Many years later, he was apprehended by Spanish authorities, who sought to extradite Melloni to Italy, where he would be required to serve his sentence
- Melloni argued in front of the Spanish Constitutional Court that his right to a fair trial (in Italy) had been violated
Issue
- Should the Spanish Constitutional Court comply with EU law and extradite Melloni, violating its own national constitution in the process; or could the national constitution’s integrity be upheld?
Decision
- Extradite
Reasoning
- The Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union did not oppose trial in absentia
- The concept of a trial in absentia had been previously permitted by the European Court of Human Rights
- EU law is supreme over both national law and national constitutions
- The Spanish Constitutional Court changed the Spanish Constitution
- Advocate General Bot, in his opinion on this case, suggested that the Court of Justice’s attitude towards fundamental rights is based on an ‘EU way of life’
