Amelia Nice acts as extradition request discharged in Poland v S

On 29 March 2022, DJ Griffiths discharged an extradition request in Poland v S. The Requested Person had been convicted of a series of thefts some years ago when he was 18 years old. In discharging the request, the Judge took account of the Requested Person’s difficult childhood, during which he spent many years in care. He moved to this country when his mother became ill and he wanted to help pay for her medical care. He had paid the court fine and compensation resulting from the conviction. He has since transformed his life, now has a partner and the couple now have a baby. His partner suffered abuse by her father as a child, sexual abuse by another man and suffers from depression. This was also properly relevant to the Judges decision who acknowledged that the partner would suffer considerable emotional distress in the Requested Person’s absence and would find it difficult to cope with care of their baby. 

Applications had been made in Poland to compromise the warrant but were refused. The extradition hearing in this case shows the vital role which can be played by the extradition courts in examining the proportionality of extradition.  Amelia Nice represented the Requested Person, instructed by Natalia Chichosz at Lawrence and Co.