12th Oct 2021
On 4 October 2021, Carles Puigdemont, former regional President of Catalonia, and leader of the Catalonian separatist movement, was released from a court in Sardinia, having been arrested, pursuant to a European Arrest Warrant (‘EAW’) issued in 2017, and detained in September 2020 by Italian police. Mr. Puigdemont is wanted by the Spanish authorities on charges […]
26th Jul 2021
Background Facts The appellant Requested Person, Mr Gabriel Balaz, appealed against the decision of the District Judge to order his extradition to Slovakia, pursuant to a European Arrest Warrant (‘EAW’) – issued on 1 April 2019 – in respect of an offence of fraud. Mr Balaz was arrested in the UK on 12 May […]
14th May 2021
On 12 May 2021, the Grand Chamber of the Court of Justice of the European Union (‘CJEU’) handed down judgment in the case of WS v Bundesrepublik Case C-505/19. The Court was required to interpret the application of the principle of ne bis in idem, or double jeopardy, as contained in Article 54 […]
6th May 2021
On Friday 30 April 2021, the Supreme Court handed down judgment in the case of Zabolotnyi v The Mateszalka District Court, Hungary [2021] UKSC 14. In a unanimous decision, the five-person court upheld the Divisional Court’s decision to dismiss the appellant’s appeal against an order for his extradition to Hungary but held that its […]
Austria, Croatia, Czech Republic, European Union, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Latvia, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia, United Kingdom
31st Mar 2021
In a letter sent to the EU Security and Justice Sub-Committee of the House of Lords earlier this month, the Home Office confirmed that ten EU States will opt-in to the nationality exception in Title VII of Part 3 of the Trade and Cooperation Agreement 2020 (“the TCA”), which makes provision for post-Brexit surrender […]
12th Aug 2020
Hong Kong announced on Wednesday 12 August that it had suspended extradition arrangements with France and Germany. The announcement comes in the wake of corresponding announcements by the two European Member States in response to the imposition by China of controversial national security legislation on the region. Germany announced the suspension of extradition to Hong […]
31st Jul 2020
German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas announced on Friday 31 July that his country had suspended extradition arrangements with Hong Kong. The decision was taken in response to the decision to postpone the upcoming Hong Kong election. It is also the latest in a string of international and diplomatic reactions to the imposition of the controversial […]
9th Mar 2020
A German court has refused to extradite a Polish citizen wanted to face charges of fraud in Poland. The court issued a press release in the wake of its ruling which said that there were serious doubts about the independence of the judiciary and whether the right to a fair trial was guaranteed in Poland, […]
31st Jan 2020
The impact of Brexit on the operation of the European Arrest Warrant (“EAW”) and its attendant extradition arrangements has been the topic of much debate since the 2016 referendum. The EAW system, in place since 2004, allows for a streamlined extradition process between EU Member States. While co-operation between the UK and EU on justice […]
27th Nov 2019
The Court of Justice delivered two judgments in May 2019 which considered whether the Public Prosecutors’ Offices of Member States fell within the definition of an “issuing judicial authority” for the purposes of the EAW Framework Decision. The cases considered the position of the prosecuting authorities of Germany and Lithuania. In deciding those cases the […]
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