Extradition: Harazin v Lord Advocate [2010] HCJAC 65

25 June 2010

In Harazin v Lord Advocate [2010] HCJAC 65  the High Court of Justiciary were considering whether a Polish farmer should be extradited from Scotland  to Poland to serve prison sentences in respect of convictions by the Polish courts. 

The European Arrest Warrant on which the extradition request was based was challenged as invalid.   A common problem faced by the courts in extradition cases under the first part of the Extradition Act 2003 is that the 2003 Act is supposed to implement an EU Framework Directive, but uses different language.   In this case the High Court of Justiciary had to apply purposive interpretative principles derived from EU law in determining whether the contents of the European Arrest Warrant met the necessary standards.   They decided that the warrant was valid, and the farmer required to be extradited.

Anna Poole of Axiom Advocates acted on behalf of the Lord Advocate, representing the Polish authorities. 

The full decision can be found at http://www.scotcourts.gov.uk/opinions/2010HCJAC65.html.