The High Court has ordered the surrender of János Juhász to Hungary, where he is sought for prosecution over two alleged fraud offences. The order followed the court’s dismissal of objections concerning the European Arrest Warrant and the proposed surrender.
The warrant, issued on 24 October 2017, initially referred to alleged acts on 7 July 2005, 7 March 2006 and 9 March 2006, and to both fraud and forgery. The court sought clarification from the Hungarian issuing authority. It confirmed that the forgery investigation had ended because that offence was time-barred, and that surrender was sought for fraud allegations connected to acts on 7 July 2005 and 9 March 2006. The court held that the warrant was no longer ambiguous about the offences and dismissed that objection.
The respondent also argued that the fraud offences were time-barred. The issuing authority described investigative and procedural acts that it said interrupted the limitation period, and explained how the applicable period was calculated under the Hungarian criminal law regimes identified in its responses. The High Court was satisfied that the offences were not time-barred under either regime and dismissed that objection.
On whether surrender was sought only for investigation, the respondent relied on evidence from a Hungarian lawyer that no indictment had been filed and the case remained at an investigation stage. Hungarian authorities told the court that the competent prosecutor intended to charge and try him, that there was sufficient evidence to do so, and that this intention did not depend on further investigation. They also said that an indictment could be filed without an interview if the relevant proceedings-in-absence conditions applied. Applying the statutory presumption and the approach in earlier case law, the High Court found that the presumption of a decision to charge and try had not been rebutted. It dismissed this objection; it did not determine the respondent’s guilt.
The respondent also relied on delay and his personal and family circumstances. He said he had lived and worked in Ireland since 2006 and had recently moved to rented accommodation in Carlow with his partner. The court found no evidence of culpable delay by the Hungarian authorities and said the delay had not reached the level required to bar surrender. It dismissed this ground as well.
The judgment was delivered by Ms Justice Caroline Biggs on 24 February 2022. The court ordered surrender to Hungary under section 16(1) of the European Arrest Warrant Act 2003, as amended.