Arava v Court of Constanta, Romanian Judicial Authority
2014
ADMINISTRATIVE COURT
UK
CORAM
- MR JUSTICE HOLROYDE
Areas of Law
- Criminal Law and Procedure
- Civil Procedure
2014
ADMINISTRATIVE COURT
UK
CORAM
AI Generated Summary
Marcel Arava, a Romanian national, faced multiple convictions in Romania and contested extradition from the UK. His bail application was denied due to risks of him failing to surrender and his history of giving false identities.
J U D G M E N T
MR JUSTICE HOLROYDE: This is an application for bail pending extradition proceedings by Marcel Arava. The history is a lengthy and rather complicated one. In very brief summary, Mr Arava was arrested in 1990 in his native Romania and was accused of murder. He denied that allegation. He was detained in custody for some ten days, during which, he says, he was badly treated, but was then released without charge and without being subject to any form of bail. In 1991, on a date which does not emerge with clarity from the papers before the court, he legitimately obtained a passport in Romania, left that country and went to the United States of America. He entered the United States illegally, but having done so he successfully claimed asylum.
Meanwhile, on I believe 19 June 1991, an indictment charging him with murder had been issued against him in Romania. In the following months he was tried and convicted in his absence, and on 5 February 1992 he was sentenced to 14 years' imprisonment in Romania. That conviction and sentence were successfully appealed. Quite what mechanism brought about that favourable result is, as yet, unclear, because Mr Arava's case is that he was ignorant of the conviction and indeed ignorant of the successful appeal until he was told about some proceedings by his parents in 1994. Mr Jones, who represents Mr Arava's interests today, suggests to me that it may simply be a feature of the Romanian legal system that the court may appoint a legal representative who may conduct proceedings and bring appeals on behalf of the accused person without the accused person necessarily knowing about it.
It seems that in 1994 Mr Arava was again tried for murder in Romania and was again convicted in his absence. His case is that he learned from his parents that that was so, and he returned to Romania where he successfully appealed against his conviction. He then remained in Romania for a number of years, during which time he married, later divorced and then met his present wife. In I think 1995, it seems he was arrested and detained for about 30 days, but no charge was brought.
Although again the date is uncertain, it seems that Mr Arava and his wife came to the United Kingdom in about 1998. They entered this country illegally. Mr Arava made a claim for asylum which failed. He nonetheless remained in the United Kingdom with his wife, and over the years which have passed since then three children have been born to them.
It seems that t