Surrender on foot of assurances The Higher Regional Court in Munich, also recently considered both the issues of surrender in the context of concerns of prison conditions, but also relating to assurances. The Court refused a surrender request to Bulgaria on account of prison conditions. The first case related to conditions in Burgas, where the court found that detainees were ill-treated by the penitentiary staff and that there were instances of violence between the prisoners. In addition, the detainees were kept almost 23 hours in their cells since there were no outdoor activities. Reference was made to the CPT report of 26th March 2015, where three prisons were visited, but the court considered it a systematic problem which reached beyond the three institutions reported. The Bulgarian authorities submitted a report and referred to the prison conditions in terms of ventilation, lighting, sanitary facilities, and explained that standards could be guaranteed in relation to the particular need of the individual, and where specific assurances were requested. The Court sought assurances and noted that they would only be deemed adequate where they were notified of the prison the person would be detained in on surrender, as well as providing a specific assurance that the minimum standards and conditions would be ensured pursuant to Article 3 ECHR. To this end, they sought a description of the prison conditions including details of the number of prisoners, the capacity, the size of the cell, the sanitation facilities available, access to healthcare and guaranteed access for the diplomatic and consular representatives to the person concerned throughout their imprisonment.135 On foot of a communication from the authorities in Bulgaria, the Court found that the statements could not be seen as adequate as no assurance was given per se, it was only stated that the imprisonment is normally carried out near the place of residence, and in that case it would be Burgas. The authorities stated that the minimum safeguards in Burgas could not be guaranteed, and the possibility of a move to another prison was not deemed a sufficient guarantee. In addition there was no assurance made in respect of diplomatic access. In a subsequent case between the Higher Regional Court in Munich relating also to a surrender request to Bulgaria, the court again addressed the issue of assurances and prison conditions. In contesting the EAW, Article 3 ECHR, Article 6 TEU and Section 73 of the International Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters Act were relied upon. In that case the surrender was deferred due to the prison conditions in Bulgaria which it was found to amount to inhuman and degrading treatment on cumulative grounds. As with the previous case, assurances were requested in relation to detention conditions, in particular that the minimum European standards had to be met to safeguard Article 3 ECHR. In response, the Ministry of Justice in Bulgaria submitted that the situation in Sofia prison had significantly improved and a detailed description of the conditions were provided to the Court in Munich. The description noted that the detainees had almost 4sqm per person as well as heating, heating ventilation and sanitary facilities and the additional facilities corresponding to the standards required by the German authorities, as well as the nutrition requirements and the access to medical treatments. Since 2015, the detainees were also give the possibility of 2 hour slots of outdoor activities, and educational facilities including training and courses geared at reintegration. The authorities also guaranteed that the diplomatic and consular representatives could access the individual throughout their imprisonment. In light of these assurances, and the subsequent confirmation that the individual would be brought to the prison in Sofia the individual was surrendered.136 135 OLG München Beschluss 14 December 2015 – 1 AR 392/15, available at http://www.gesetze-bayern.de/Content/Document/Y-300-Z-BECKRS-B-2016-N-04622?hl=true. 136 OLG München Beschluss 08 March 2016, 1 AR 2/16. Available at http://www.gesetze-bayern.de/Content/Document/Y-300-Z-BECKRS-B-2016-N-05463?hl=true. 37