The High Court ordered the surrender of Sebastian Rafal Kasprzyk to Poland under the European Arrest Warrant Act 2003, after dismissing his objections to the request. Mr Justice Paul Burns delivered the judgment on 31 January 2022.
The European arrest warrant sought his surrender to enforce a two-year prison sentence imposed in Poland on 31 March 2016. The judgment states that one year, 11 months and 27 days remained to be served. The warrant related to three offences arising from events on 20 June 2008: driving with alcohol in his breath, using a car to assault police officers by crashing into a police car and causing injury, and driving at a speed unsuitable for road conditions, causing a vehicle to overturn and injure a passenger.
Kasprzyk objected under sections 38 and 45 of the 2003 Act. On correspondence, his counsel argued that the alcohol reading in the warrant did not match an Irish offence. The Minister’s counsel submitted that the reading equated to 119mg of alcohol per 100ml of breath, above the Irish limit cited in the judgment. The court found that all three offences corresponded to offences under Irish law and dismissed the section 38 objection.
The section 45 objection concerned Kasprzyk’s absence from the Polish trial. He said he had not received notice of the trial or been told about an obligation to keep Polish authorities informed of address changes. Additional information from the Polish issuing authority said he had provided two addresses during questioning and again at a court hearing in June 2008, and had been advised of his address-reporting obligations. The authority said trial notices sent to both addresses were returned; police could not deliver notice and found he had not lived at either address for more than six years.
The court accepted the issuing authority’s account that Kasprzyk had given the addresses and been advised of his obligations. It concluded that he knowingly left Poland while subject to criminal proceedings and failed to provide updated address details, inferring that he had deliberately brought about a situation in which the authorities could not notify him. The judge found that his defence rights had been adequately protected and were not breached, and dismissed the section 45 objection.
Kasprzyk had also sought an adjournment while pursuing an application in Poland to postpone execution of the sentence. The court had granted time for that application, but was told on 31 January that it had failed and that he intended to appeal. It refused a further adjournment, saying he had been given ample time and that such applications should be dealt with urgently.
The court found that surrender was not precluded under the 2003 Act and ordered surrender to Poland under section 16(1).