The requested person challenged an Italian appellate judgment authorising surrender to Bulgaria under a European Arrest Warrant issued for the enforcement of a sentence relating to bodily injury. The appeal relied, first, on the requested person’s alleged family and social integration in Italy and, second, on the risk of inhuman or degrading detention conditions in Bulgaria. The Court held that the five-year period of lawful and continuous residence or stay required by Italian law is a mandatory prerequisite for the optional ground for refusal based on residence, and that the presence of minor children does not by itself preclude surrender where another parent is able to care for them. It further held that the Aranyosi and Căldăraru mechanism is triggered only where the defence produces objective, reliable, specific and duly updated material demonstrating a real risk of inhuman or degrading treatment; generic references to prison overcrowding and an outdated CPT statement were insufficient. The appeal was therefore declared inadmissible and the surrender decision remained in force.

In the context of a European Arrest Warrant, when deciding on a refusal of surrender based on the requested person’s stable integration within the national territory, the Court of Appeal is required—on pain of nullity—to specify in a detailed and reasoned manner the relevant statutory indicators and the corresponding assessment criteria. Accordingly, the failure to assess even one of these indicators constitutes a violation of law subject to review by the Court of Cassation.