The High Court has ordered the surrender of E.P. to Poland under a European Arrest Warrant seeking him for prosecution on five alleged offences: four drug offences and one attempted fraud allegation. Ms Justice Donnelly rejected each of E.P.’s objections. The ruling decides whether he can be surrendered; it does not determine whether he committed any offence.
The warrant, issued on 5 March 2014, alleged that E.P. sold amphetamine and cocaine to another person for onward sale, and assisted a transaction involving cocaine. A fifth allegation said he tried to obtain PLN 600 by falsely promising a woman he could secure her driving licence; the attempt allegedly failed after she failed her driving test. These remain allegations to be addressed in the Polish proceedings.
E.P. argued that no decision had been made to charge and try him, relying on information that he had not yet been questioned as a suspect and that Polish prosecutors would decide whether to lodge an indictment after preparatory proceedings. The court found that the statutory presumption of a decision to charge and try him had not been rebutted. It said a decision to present charges had been made and that the further steps described by the Polish authority did not establish that prosecution depended on an investigation first producing sufficient evidence.
The judge also rejected the argument that the evidence in the Polish files was too weak to justify surrender. Assessing the evidence and witnesses was for the Polish court, she said. The court found that the four drug allegations corresponded to offences under Irish law. It also found that the attempted fraud allegation corresponded to an Irish offence of attempting to make a gain by deception, despite the warrant’s failure to mark the fraud box as a list offence.
E.P.’s request for access to the Polish case materials under EU rules was refused. The judge held that the relevant access-to-documents provisions apply to domestic criminal proceedings, not a person arrested under a European Arrest Warrant. She also rejected his claims that surrender would be disproportionate to his family and private life or expose him to a flagrant denial of justice.
The order permits surrender to an authorised recipient in Poland in relation to all five offences. It does not resolve any pending prosecution against E.P. in Ireland; the judgment noted that surrender could be postponed if appropriate because of such proceedings.