The High Court has ordered the surrender of a woman to the United Kingdom to serve 223 days remaining on a Northern Ireland prison sentence, rejecting her objection that surrender would unjustifiably interfere with her private and family life.
In a judgment delivered on 3 March 2021, Mr Justice Paul Burns dismissed the respondent’s objection under section 37 of the European Arrest Warrant Act 2003. He said the lapse of time and the changes in her circumstances did not make surrender incompatible with Ireland’s obligations under Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights.
The surrender request related to a European arrest warrant dated 1 October 2020. The respondent had been sentenced in Northern Ireland in April 2010 to 15 months’ imprisonment and a further 15 months subject to release on licence. She served the initial term and was released on licence in October 2010. Her licence was revoked in June 2011, and the UK sought her return to serve the remaining 223 days.
The respondent argued that the delay was significant: the warrant decision followed a review of outstanding warrants in 2018, about seven years after the licence was revoked, and the European arrest warrant was issued about two years later. Her counsel submitted that this delay, together with changes to her personal and family life, made surrender disproportionate.
In an affidavit, the respondent described her difficult childhood, addiction issues, work and courses since 2011, and efforts to rebuild relationships with her two sons and help her granddaughter. She also described medical conditions, said she had been heroin-free since 2015 and was receiving methadone treatment, and said she faced elevated risk if she contracted Covid. These were her account and submissions before the court.
The Minister for Justice and Equality opposed the objection, arguing that the delay was not exceptional enough to outweigh the public interest in surrender. The Minister also submitted that the respondent had effectively absconded and had not reconnected with Northern Ireland authorities to regularise her position.
Justice Burns accepted that there had been a significant lapse of time but found it was not so egregious as to justify refusing surrender. He said the respondent’s circumstances and the disruption surrender would cause were not truly exceptional, and noted there was no evidence that her health needs could not be met after surrender. The court also found that the statutory requirements for surrender were met, including that the sentence exceeded the minimum gravity threshold and that the corresponding offence was possession of diamorphine with intent to supply.
The court dismissed the objections and ordered surrender under section 16 of the 2003 Act. The judgment records that the respondent had been granted bail after appearing before the High Court in December 2020; it does not specify the timing of the surrender order’s execution.