Procedural aspects: Information and Consent ever, practitioners in some Member States (Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Greece, Hungary, Latvia and Slovakia) pointed out that it is difficult to recognize whether certain practices exist because there have only been very few cases, or no cases at all, under these two Framework Decisions. 6.6. Obtaining informed consent As noted, only the Framework Decision on the ESO refers to the notion of ‘informed consent’ (in Article 9 (1)). As a general rule, under the Framework Decision on transfer of prisoners, consent is not required when a sentenced person is to be transferred to the Member State: of nationality and residence; to which the sentenced person will be deported following expulsion proceedings; or to which the sentenced person fled or otherwise returned in view of the criminal proceedings. Consent for transfer is required in all remaining cases, which might include a transfer to the Member State of nationality but not habitual residence, or to the Member State of habitual residence but not nationality, or another state. Even when obtaining an individual’s opinion is not legally required, when a sentenced person is still in the issuing state, they should be given an opportunity to state their opinion in all cases. Such opinion is not binding, but nevertheless should be taken into account by authorities. Finally, the Framework Decision on probation and alternative sanctions neither requires consent nor an opportunity to express one’s opinion. It is for domestic laws or practice to establish procedures aimed at obtaining informed consent from, or the opinion of, affected persons. Table 12 presents an overview of the situation in EU Member States in regard to the Framework Decision on transfer of prisoners. Table 12: Procedures in EU Member States for obtaining informed consent for/opinion on transfers with regard to Framework Decision on transfer of prisoners Consent Opinion (when consent not required) AT BE BG CY CZ DE DK EE EL ES FI FR HR HU IE IT LT LU LV MT NL PL PT RO SE SI SK UK Legend Procedure established in law Procedure established in practice No practice established No procedure Not implemented Source: FRA, 2015 93