Sky ECC: French Conseil d’État rejects challenge to extradition to Montenegro
On 26 February 2026 France’s Conseil d’État dismissed a challenge to an extradition decree. The applicant disputed, among other things, his ability to challenge French Sky ECC evidence in Montenegro.
Montenegro sought extradition for prosecution over offences including participation in a criminal organisation, aggravated murder and drug offences. France’s government authorised it on 26 August 2025. The requested man is anonymised in the official documents. The published opinion of the rapporteur public, the court’s independent legal adviser, says the allegations relied partly on Sky ECC messages supplied by France.
The man invoked fair-trial rights and effective remedies. He argued that he could not effectively challenge in Montenegro the lawfulness of data collected in France. On the case file, including replies from Montenegro’s authorities, the Conseil d’État found that its courts could examine the evidence’s legality. General criticisms of the justice system did not establish a personal risk of an unfair trial.
The challenged French rules on annulment and European evidence exchange did not govern this extradition, the court held. It therefore declined to refer the constitutional question to the Conseil constitutionnel. It dismissed the challenge and also found no reason for a reference to the EU Court or an advisory-opinion request to the European Court of Human Rights.
