A Landmark Step Towards Justice: French Court of Cassation Refers SkyECC Case to the CJEU
- Joint Defense Team
- Sep 16
- 3 min read
Updated: Sep 20
On 16 September 2025, the French Cour de Cassation (Court of Cassation) delivered a ruling that may reshape criminal proceedings across Europe. In decision n° 24-84.262, the Court referred a crucial question to the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU): whether French law – as applied in the SkyECC investigations – complies with the European principle of the right to an effective remedy.
The Background: SkyECC Evidence Without Challenge
The SkyECC cases across Europe share a common problem. In many countries, prosecutions rely solely – or decisively – on data that originated from French investigations. This data was then transmitted to other national authorities through European Investigation Orders.
However, defendants in these cases have had no opportunity to challenge the legality of the underlying French operations in their own national courts. Judges outside France routinely declare themselves incompetent to rule on the legality of French investigative acts under French law.
This situation raised a fundamental concern: if the evidence cannot be contested, can the proceedings truly be fair?
The Role of the Joint Defense Team
To confront this imbalance, Christian Lödden (Germany), Justus Reisinger (Netherlands), and Guillaume Martine (France) – all members of the Joint Defense Team (JDT) – lodged appeals in France. Their position has been consistent: the SkyECC operation violated both French and European Law.
This argument gained weight earlier this year, when another ruling of the Court of Cassation (June 2025) confirmed that a digital investigation with cross-border consequences must include a formal notification of the countries involved. In the SkyECC operation, this obligation was ignored.
The Decision - Referral to the CJEU
In February 2024, the JDT filed an appeal on behalf of an individual facing charges in Germany. That appeal was initially rejected by the Paris Court of Appeal in June 2024. The matter was then taken to the Court of Cassation.
Yesterday, the Court of Cassation recognised the importance of the issue and decided to refer it to the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU). The Court itself emphasised the broad scope of this decision:
“The interpretation requested is likely to have significant consequences, both in terms of other appeals for annulment brought before the French courts on the same basis and in terms of the numerous proceedings currently underway in various Member States of the European Union, in which individuals are being detained, prosecutions based in particular on the transmission, by European investigation order, of evidence similar to that contested by the applicant in the present appeal, all originating from the same procedure known as ‘SkyECC’.”
The full decision can be downloaded here:
What Comes Next?
The CJEU will now examine whether the current French framework complies with EU law. Should the Court conclude that effective judicial remedies have been denied, the consequences will extend far beyond France – affecting numerous proceedings across Europe.
The Joint Defense Team will continue this legal battle before the CJEU. We remain confident: once these challenges are deemed admissible, the illegality of the SkyECC operation will be undeniable. If you or your client are affected by SkyECC proceedings anywhere in Europe, contact the Joint Defense Team for coordinated international defence.
The decision is discussed in detail in the press. For English readers here, for French readers here and for Serbian readers here.
You find our official press release here:
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