Extradition

‘Temple Garden Chambers includes senior silks handling international criminal law, alongside a growing extradition team.’
Legal 500 2019

Temple Garden Chambers’ growing extradition team is highly ranked in the Legal 500 and Chambers UK, both as a team and individually.

The team has a broad range and depth of experience, regularly appearing in courts at all levels from the Magistrates’ Court to the Supreme Court representing requested persons, the National Crime Agency, the Secretary of State, foreign governments, and judicial authorities within the European Union as well as advising Government departments and agencies on extradition issues.

Several members have undertaken secondments in the Extradition Unit at the Crown Prosecution Service. Members of the team also lecture extensively and provide training in Extradition practice and regularly comment in the media on extradition issues. Two are current committee members of the Defence Extradition Lawyers’ Forum.

Members of Chambers have been involved in some of the most important extradition cases since the Extradition Act 2003 came into force.

Court of Justice of the European Union

VA v The Prosecutor of the Regional Prosecutor’s Office in Ruse, Bulgaria CO/1965/2019

Supreme Court

Zabolotnyi v Mateszalka District Court, Hungary UKSC 2019/0210

Konecny v District Court Czech Republic [2019] UKSC 8

Goluchowksi v District Court In Elblag, Poland and Sas v Circuit Court and District Court in Jelenia Gora, Poland [2016] UKSC 36

High Court decisions

Shirnakhy & Anr v Weiden Local Court & Anr [2020] EWHC 1103

Bartulis v Lithuania [2019] EWHC 504 (Admin); [2019] EWHC 3504 (Admin)

Taylor & Anor v The Prosecutor General’s Office of Florence [2019] EWHC 2938 (Admin)

BY v District Court In Paphos, Cyprus [2019] EWHC 2637 (Admin)

Kotsev v Sofia District Public Prosecutor’s Office, Bulgaria [2019] 1 WLR 2353

Lis, Lange And Chmielewski v Poland [2018] EWHC 2848 (Admin)

Balazs v Crown Prosecution Service [2018] EWHC 2540 (Admin)

Scott v Government of The United States of America [2018] EWHC 2021 (Admin)

Shumba, Henta And Bechian v France [2018] EWHC 1762 (Admin)

L. Georgiev, I. Dimitrov And B. Georgiev v Bulgaria [2018] EWHC 359 (Admin)

Attila Imre v The District Court In Szolnok (Hungary) [2018] EWHC 218 (Admin), [2018] All Er (D) 79 (Feb)

Bobbe v Poland [2017] EWHC 3161 (Admin)

Debiec v Poland [2017] EWHC 2653 (Admin)

Grecu & Bagarea [2017] 4 Wlr 139, [2017] EWHC 1427 (Admin)

Alexander v France & Di Benedetto v Italy [2017] EWHC 1392 (Admin)

R (Shields-Mckinley) v Secretary of State For Justice And Lord Chancellor [2017] EWHC 658 (Admin)

BS v Court of First Instance Brussels (Belgium) [2017] All Er (D) 172 (Mar)

Puceviciene, Conrath And Savov v Three Judicial Authorities [2016] 1 Wlr 4937; [2016] EWHC 1862 (Admin)

Cretu v Local Court Of Suceava, Romania [2016] 1 W.L.R. 3344

Ijaz v Court Of Milan, Italy [2015] 1 W.L.R. 5097

Regina (Neteczca) v Governor Of Holloway Prison [2015] 1 W.L.R. 1337

R. (On The Application Of Klimeto) v Westminster Magistrates’ Court [2013] 1 W.L.R. 420

Barristers

Key Cases

Zabolotnyi v Mateszalka District Court, Hungary UKSC 2019/0210

On 23 February 2021 the Supreme Court will consider the first ever extradition appeal concerning prison conditions in a requesting state. It will deal with the viability of assurances which purport to guarantee compliance with Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights. It concerns the following question of public importance:

Wozniak v Poland [2020] EWHC 1459

The lead case in the rule of law challenge to extradition to Poland. Fordham J granted permission to the requested person challenging the independence of the judiciary in view of legislative amendments concentrating power in the hands of the Minister of Justice.

The judgement in the full hearing is to be handed down in the autumn of 2021.

Émilie Pottle was led by Clare Montgomery QC

VA v the Prosecutor of the Regional Prosecutor’s Office in Ruse, Bulgaria CO/1965/2019

In the first and, perhaps, only UK extradition case to be considered by the Court of Justice of the European Union (“CJEU”) the Divisional Court (Simon LJ and William Davis J) has referred the following questions;

Koc v Turkey [2021] EWHC 1234 (Admin)

Saoirse Townshend represents Appellant whose extradition to Turkey for kidnap is barred by the High Court under passage of time, deliberate absence and Article 8 ECHR.

Kotsev v Sofia District Public Prosecutor’s Office, Bulgaria [2019] 1 WLR 2353

The case dealt with whether the District Judge was entitled to find that the Appellant had deliberately absented himself from his trial and whether he was entitled to a re-trial upon his return. The High Court held that the District Judge had erred in seeking to interpret foreign law without the assistance of expert evidence. Furthermore, the bare fact that a requesting state was a signatory to the European Convention on Human Rights was not of itself sufficient to show that section 20(5) and (8) of the 2003 Act would be satisfied.

Shirnakhy v Germany [2020] EWHC 1103

The lead case concerning the validity of European Arrest Warrants issued by Germany following the CJEU’s decision that warrants issued by prosecutors there were invalid. Important guidance on the meaning of the term ‘issuing judicial authority’ under UK law was given.

Émilie was led by David Perry QC.

Sanchez v U.S.A. [2020] EWHC 508 (Admin) [2020] 2 WLUK 502 [2020] A.C.D. 51

Kathryn Howarth represented the Government of the USA before a Divisional Court comprised of Fulford LJ and Laing J.

Practice Areas

Extradition

Court of Justice of the European Union

Supreme Court

High Court decisions

Barristers