Smuggling:
The Interaction between Administrative
and Penal Proceedings -
Supreme Administrative Court Judgment 680/2017
(Grand Chamber)
Assistant Judge, Greek Supreme Administrative Court (Council of State)
The legislator may classify the most serious tax evasion infringements not only as administrative but also as criminal offences. The dual proceedings should be organised and carried out in such a way so that the criminal court hears the case after the final judgment on the merits by the administrative courts. The application of Article 4 of Protocol No. 7 to the European Convention on Human Rights in smuggling cases does not violate the allocation of jurisdiction between administrative and criminal courts, neither the principles of primacy, unity and effectiveness of European Union law. The later judgment of the European Court of Human Rights in the case of A and B v. Norway does not overturn its reasoning in the case of Sismanidis and Sitaridis v. Greece.
