High Court decides to seek EU ruling in Artur Celmar surrender case

This report is a localnews.ie summary based on public court reporting and records; sources are listed below.

The High Court decided to seek a ruling from the Court of Justice of the European Union in Artur Celmar’s surrender case. In a judgment delivered on 12 March 2018, Ms Justice Donnelly adjourned the proceedings so the parties could frame questions for the EU court.

Poland sought his surrender for prosecution under three European Arrest Warrants. The first concerned two alleged offences: drug production or trafficking, and participation in an organised criminal group. The second concerned two alleged drug-trafficking offences.

Celmar objected to surrender, arguing that changes to Poland’s judiciary, courts and public prosecutor undermined the possibility of a fair trial. He also opposed surrender because of prison conditions, particularly his concern that his safety could not be guaranteed.

The questions for the EU court concerned the test for surrender where a breakdown in the rule of law creates a real risk to fair-trial rights.