The Supreme Court dismissed Damian Dolny’s appeal against a High Court order that he be surrendered to Poland under the European Arrest Warrant Act 2003. It affirmed the High Court’s decision on both the adequacy of the warrant’s particulars and whether the alleged conduct corresponded to an offence under Irish law.
The warrant said that on 20 June 2004 in Krzyz Wlkp., Poland, Dolny acted with two other named men and struck a man in the face and head with his fists. It described contused wounds near the man’s left eye and right eyebrow and said the assault exposed him to a direct danger of serious harm. The warrant classified the alleged conduct under a provision of Polish law concerning participation in a beating.
The High Court had ordered Dolny’s surrender on 23 October 2008. On appeal, his counsel argued that the warrant lacked details about the surrounding events and did not set out all the ingredients needed for the Irish offence of assault causing harm. The Minister for Justice argued that the acts described disclosed that offence.
Giving judgment on 18 June 2009, Justice Denham said the warrant contained sufficient particulars. She said the court assessing correspondence had to read the warrant as a whole and decide whether the acts described would constitute an offence if committed in Ireland. It was not necessary to decide whether the warrant’s wording could be used to draft an Irish indictment.
The court agreed with the High Court that the described conduct—striking the man with fists and causing injury—would constitute an offence in Ireland. It therefore affirmed the High Court’s finding that correspondence was established under section 5 of the 2003 Act. The appeal was dismissed, leaving the High Court surrender order affirmed. The Supreme Court judgment did not itself set out a new surrender date or additional directions.