The High Court has ordered the surrender of Constantin Hitu, also known as Costea Ivanov, to France to serve a three-year prison sentence imposed in his absence. Mr Justice Patrick McGrath delivered the judgment on 6 August 2025.
France seeks his surrender under a European Arrest Warrant issued on 19 October 2020. The judgment says the sentence was imposed by the Correctional Court on 1 October 2020 after convictions for seven acts of theft and participation in a criminal association. The alleged thefts took place between December 2017 and May 2018; the association offence covered December 2017 to May 2018.
The respondent challenged the warrant on several grounds, including that its description of the offences was unclear and that correspondence with Irish offences had not been established. The judge found the warrant and additional information sufficiently clear about the number and nature of the offences, their locations and circumstances, and the respondent’s participation. He also found the described conduct corresponded to theft and/or burglary offences under Irish law. Although the judgment notes confusion over the category marked on the warrant, it said that issue was not fatal.
The court also rejected an objection under section 45 of the European Arrest Warrant Act. The French authorities had not directly answered a request asking whether a retrial or appeal would be automatic. The judge nevertheless concluded that, if surrendered, Mr Hitu would be served with the decision, told of his right to seek a retrial or appeal and given the applicable time limit. The judgment says he would have a right to participate in a rehearing on the merits, which could consider fresh evidence and overturn the original decision. His earlier attempt to challenge the conviction from outside France had failed after he did not attend a hearing there.
On prison conditions, the court considered country information submitted by the respondent and sought details about his likely detention. The French authorities identified Rennes-Vezins prison but did not answer each question about conditions or give the specific assurances sought. The judge dismissed the objection, finding the material generalised and insufficient to establish a real risk of treatment contrary to Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights at that prison.
The respondent said he had come to Ireland in 2019 and lived in Dublin with his wife and young daughter. The judge found there was no evidence that surrender would be disproportionate in light of his family and personal rights, and dismissed that objection too.
Having rejected all the objections and found the warrant complied with the applicable requirements, the High Court ordered Mr Hitu’s surrender to France.