In many extradition cases, it may be possible to obtain legal aid from the State (for free). Regrettably, our firm does not offer any assistance to those Clients who may otherwise qualify for a lawyer, paid for by the State. You may also contact local ORA (Advocates’ Regulatory Body in Poland) or OiRP (Solicitors Regulatory Authority in Poland) for further details how to appoint state lawyer in Poland, or ask the court for granting you lawyer in a written application to the court (usually made at the commencement of your case).

Extradition is not the same as the European Arrest Warrant – but it is similar. The European Arrest Warrant (EAW) is one of the forms of extradition. To avoid confusion, we use the term “handing – over” or “transfer a criminal or suspect” under various legislations.

Polish courts are known to be the authors of most European Arrest Warrants in Europe. Statistically, however, the number of EAWs issued decreases year to year. Based on the data published by our Ministry of Justice in Poland, in 2021, 1,531 extradition orders were made in Poland (the most of them were in 2009 – when Poland ‘requested’ 10,312 convicts). Poland in turn, sent the most of its applications to Portugal (319 applications), Ireland (169) and Italy (96).

In 2021, 626 applications were sent to Poland, from all EU countries taken together (+ from the United Kingdom, which was also included in these statistics, despite its exit from the EU). In 2021 –most people were requested from Germany (327), Czech Republic (33), while the smallest numbers from Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, Malta, Portugal, Slovakia and Sweden – where Poland did not receive any European Arrest Warrants.

Unfortunately, as can be seen from the list above, Polish courts are still on the top of the lists at issuing European Arrest Warrants, and the reality is that in many cases warrants would not relate to most dangerous criminals (leaders of gangs / organized criminal groups) but to the petty criminals – who in many cases, are very well settled abroad.

Transfer of a criminal or suspect to the requesting state, based on an EAW, usually takes place within one to two months. In the case of extradition (based on provisions other than the European Arrest Warrant), the proceedings may take longer, be very complex and many State Agencies or lawyers may be involved in this process. In the course of extradition proceedings based on provisions governed by European law, many decisions can be made.

There are some reasons where a decision on the handing over a convicted or suspected offender may be disproved by a foreign court.

These are most often humanitarian or family, health or administrative grounds (time of committing the crime, failure to recognize the act as a crime in the country of residence of the convicted person). In some cases, EU courts have refused extradition from foreign countries due to the lack of guarantees of a fair trial.

There may also be situations in which a crime in one country is not a crime in another. Sometimes a foreigner is subject to legal protection in Poland (he is an asylum seeker) – and in this case the court will not generally seem to impose an extradition order either.

In each of these cases, foreign lawyers should be consulted on these criteria, as the proceedings are pending before a court of a foreign country. In Poland, we can usually provide only evidence of the above-mentioned circumstances and describe them well for the needs of the trial in a foreign country.

Please note that statistically, the vast majority of requests for handing over of a suspect or criminal, under the European Arrest Warrant, are accepted by both Polish and foreign courts – which result in a very quick decision to remove a person to the requesting country (to Poland).

Issuing of the European Arrest Warrant (EAW) may be caused by a court, within a proceedings where the convicted person is not aware (the sentence could have been made in the absence of the convicted person). Unfortunately these are frequent cases and we cannot always bring a positive remedy in such situations.

In each case, the positive outcome of the case largely depends on the cooperation between the Polish and foreign defenders of the convicted person. We often act on behalf of foreign law firms, trying to fight the extradition warrant, at the source.

Please note that the procedure for transfer on the basis of an EAW issued in Poland is generally not subject to appeal in the Poland. The EAW is examined by a foreign court and it can only be challenged at the source (usually in the country when it was issued).

In Poland, the EAW may be revoked. This is, in general terms, a procedure different from an appeal. It may occur when the EAW was made with ‘procedural irregularity’.

In the case of a one-off task, such as the analysis of court records, advice on the grounds of filing an objection or the preparation of evidence for a foreign court, our costs are usually fixed. In this case, our fees start from 1,500.00 PLN + VAT (approximately 320 Eur / US Dollars) for the first few hours of our work. Details and scope are agreed individually with each Client before we commence our work.

Whenever we defend in extradition cases, we take into account the complexity of the proceedings and level of responsibility we assume; generally our fees are predictable, and based on clear and fair rules.

If we cannot present a one-off fixed fee for a specific task, we use either hourly rates or a staged procedure, where we present fees for specific stages in the case.

Our costs are calculated based on the complexity of the task, our commitment and the level of responsibility we assume.

Please contact us at info@wsalegal.com or at (+48) 22 203 54 91 if you are interested in extradition services.

Below you will find information on some of the most interesting extradition cases, in which we have been involved so far:

• In partnership with lawyers from the United Kingdom, we were able to prevent the extradition of a Polish citizen from the United Kingdom

The grounds were the allegation of ‘triviality’ of the proceedings in Poland (the client was convicted many years ago in Poland, for the petty crime of driving under the influence of alcohol, on a bicycle in hamlet road, causing no harm to anyone. The decision to issue an EAW in the District Court in Warsaw was overturned, while the Client’s lawyers from Great Britain effectively blocked the Client’s extradition from the UK.

• We represented a client from Ukraine in a case of extradition warrant, due to a crime committed 12 years before the activation of an order.

The client managed to avoid extradition, due to the risk of violating his right to a family life and violation of rights to a fair trial in Ukraine;

• For our Client who was detained in Edinburgh during a routine inspection and brought to a court, we were able to secure stay in the UK. With the lawyers from the United Kingdom, we were able to overturn the request for extradition of a Polish court, in a case, where he was convicted in criminal proceedings in Poland, of which he was not properly and effectively notified.

Please note that above summary is not intended to be a substitute for a professional legal advice relating to extradition matters; this is only provided to give our Clients general understanding of our services.

We always act in the best interest of our Clients cases,

however previous results are never a promise to achieve similar outcomes, in your individual matter.

Please contact us at info@wsalegal.com or at (+48) 22 203 54 91 if you are interested in services related to the handling of the European Arrest Warrant or extradition on the basis of separate regulations.