Orzechowski, R (On the Application Of) v Regional Court In Katowice Poland
2014
ADMINISTRATIVE COURT
UK
CORAM
- MR JUSTICE CRANSTON
Areas of Law
- Criminal Law and Procedure
- Human Rights Law
2014
ADMINISTRATIVE COURT
UK
CORAM
AI Generated Summary
The 34-year-old appellant's extradition to Poland under a European Arrest Warrant was upheld. The warrant involved previous convictions for assault and drink driving, with a history of non-compliance with court orders. The appellant's challenge based on compliance with probation terms and Article 8 rights failed, with the court emphasizing the public interest in extradition and the necessity to decide each case on its own facts. The appeal was dismissed.
J U D G M E N T
1. MR JUSTICE CRANSTON: The 34-year old appellant in this case challenges a decision of District Judge Coleman dated 18 August of this year ordering his extradition to Poland under a European Arrest Warrant. That is a conviction warrant issued by the Regional Court in Katowice on 28 January 2012 and certified by the National Criminal Agency on 31 October of 2013.
2. The warrant contains two offences. The first occurred on 19 February 2001 and involves an assault involving a knife. The warrant itself describes how the appellant jointly and in concert with two other persons took part in assaulting the victim. The appellant used a knife as a result of which the victim suffered a superficial incision on the left side of the neck and a contusion of the lower back which resulted in a disorder of health for less than seven days.
3. That offending led eventually in mid January 2007, six years later, to a sentence of two years imprisonment suspended for five years with a condition that the appellant should keep in touch with his probation officer. The sentence of two years imprisonment was activated on 19 August 2008 since the appellant had not kept in touch with the probation officer as required.
4. The second offence in the warrant is drink driving. That occurred on 21 September 2003 and in April 2005 led to a sentence of eight months imprisonment suspended for two years and a fine of 500 Polish zlotys. That sentence was activated on 8 August 2008 since the appellant had committed a further offence for which he received a sentence of imprisonment.
5. Indeed the record shows that the appellant had committed a series of other offences in Poland before he left the country. He was sentenced to 18 months imprisonment suspended for three years in June 2004 for another assault. On that same day, other sentences were imposed for other offences, for example, a sentence of 18 months imprisonment, suspended for three years, for drink driving and he was disqualified from driving for two years. On 26 September 2005, he was sentenced to ten months imprisonment suspended for two years and fined for attempted fraud. In July 2007, he was sentenced to eight months imprisonment suspended for four years and fined for an offence of forgery.
6. The appellant came to this country in 2007. In December of that year, he was convicted of drink driving and sentenced to a two year community order with 100 hours of unpaid work and disqualified from driving for two