This Friday the CJEU will be hearing evidence in the case of Artur Celmer, a Polish national who is wanted on drug trafficking charges. He is currently being held in an Irish prison on a European Arrest Warrant. The case was referred, by Justice Donnelly of the Irish High Court, to the CJEU on the question of whether the Polish justice system could protect Mr Celmer’s fundamental rights given that there has been a breakdown of the rule of law in Poland.
Lawyers for the Irish Attorney General, will argue that a fair trial in Poland is possible and therefore Mr Celmer should be extradited. Whereas Mr Celmer’s lawyers will be arguing that given the erosion of the Rule of Law, in Poland, Mr Celmer will not face a fair trial for the drug trafficking crimes he has been charged with.
In Poland this week, the Deputy Justice Minister accused the Irish High Court of playing “political games.” These comments were in response to Justice Donnelly’s previous suggestion that Polish legal reforms had bought the independence of the Polish judiciary into doubt and consequently undermined trust in the European Arrest Warrant system.
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