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England and Wales High Court (Administrative Court) Decisions |
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You are here: BAILII >> Databases >> England and Wales High Court (Administrative Court) Decisions >> Weszka v Regional Court In Poznan, Poland [2017] EWHC 168 (Admin) (10 February 2017) URL: http://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWHC/Admin/2017/168.html Cite as: [2017] EWHC 168 (Admin) |
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QUEEN'S BENCH DIVISION
ADMINISTRATIVE COURT
Strand, London, WC2A 2LL |
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B e f o r e :
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IN THE MATTER OF AN APPEAL PURSUANT TO S.26 OF THE EXTRADITION ACT 2003 TADEUSZ WESZKA |
Appellant |
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- and - |
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REGIONAL COURT IN POZNAN, POLAND |
Respondent |
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Florence Iveson (instructed by CPS) for the Respondent
Hearing date: 10 February 2017
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Crown Copyright ©
Mr Justice Blake :
Introduction
i) A new translation of part of the arrest warrant.
ii) A detailed psychiatric report into his mental health and additional medical notes.
iii) A witness statement and supplementary updates from himself and his present partner as to his domestic circumstances.
iv) E Mail communications with the Polish court in the spring of 2016 .
The DJ hearing and decision
i) There were no conditions attached to his suspended sentence. He did not have to report to the probation or the police. As there were no conditions he wasn't in breach.ii) He informed the Polish court that he was going back to the UK which he considered his home and to his family, the court agreed.
iii) On the day he was discharged / released from prison he got on a coach and came to the UK.
iv) Nobody informed him; they all have his address here but they did not inform him there was a problem.
v) He employed a solicitor and he put forward an application to re-suspend sentence again because of his health problems.
vi) "My health is very bad I had two heart attacks, severe problems with my lungs, asthma and high blood pressure".
vii) "I understood the sentence was 18 months suspended for five years. The time I was in prison up to the hearing that was used instead of paying the court costs. I was in prison for just under three months. They calculated the costs they told me that each day in prison would be about 20 zloty so I was not required to pay any court costs".
viii) It was agreed and discussed with the court and prosecution that he will not have a probation officer in this case because he was going back to England
ix) At this point the DJ interjected and indicated that he has never heard of a suspended sentence that has no conditions. The appellant repeated that there were no conditions because he went to prison voluntarily.
x) The DJ said: No – you were extradited under accusation warrant? A: Yes I was and I went straight to prison and after about three months there was a hearing and I was then released.
xi) DJ: Why impose a suspended sentence that can never be activated? A: the condition was that I would not go back to Poland in this period of time and I stay out of trouble.
xii) DJ: Why not ask your solicitor to make enquires about why suspended sentence was activated? A: The information is not obtainable.
xiii) DJ: that is a ridiculous thing to say? A: that is Polish law.
xiv) DJ: On what do you base that?
xv) DJ: Did you ask lawyer to find out why activated? A: That was the first question I asked, he was not informed. It doesn't say in the EAW why it was activated.
xvi) The appellant then supplied information about his health problems on his return, the breakdown of his marriage, a period in prison here, admission to a psychiatric hospital, a period of homelessness and the fact that he couldn't come to terms with having lost his family. Assistance was given to him by his ex-wife to find accommodation and sought himself out; he now has a good relationship with ex-wife and children who visit and stay every weekend as they live not far away.
xvii) "Everything is going well at the moment I work 4 hours a day as my health does not permit me to work longer. If I am extradited this is like a death sentence here I have life and medical care. I did not receive care in prison in 2010; when I asked for a tablet they did not give it; when I had an asthma attack and asked for an inhaler they said open the window; 16 prisoners in a cell supposed to accommodate four; in the summer extremely hot and basically suffering because of my medical problem. After three weeks I was given an appointment to go see the doctor and was told the doctor was too busy too many patients to see."
xviii) There was no cross examination.
xix) Submissions were made on the balance of competing Article 8 factors. Judgment was reserved.
"Although the warrant is silent about the reason for the activation of the suspended sentence the activation took place in 2013 which suggests that the requested person failed to comply with his probation requirement"
He went on to conclude:
"I found Mr Weszka to be an unreliable and unsatisfactory witness on this issue of his sentence and Polish judicial procedure. It sounded very unlikely that he was sentenced to imprisonment subject to a condition that he did not return to Poland. I did not believe him when he said that the term of his suspended imprisonment was not subject to a probation requirement and that his Polish lawyer was unable to find out why his suspended sentence was activated."
"I find that whilst he is not a classic fugitive he is nevertheless a fugitive who was unlawfully at large when he travelled to the United Kingdom after his sentencing hearing in 2013 (sic- in fact the sentencing hearing was in 2010). In reaching that view I was assisted (by) the decision of Mr Justice Supperstone in the Budzik [2015] EWGC 2856 (Admin) which was an appeal against a decision I made in this court."
Errors in the DJ's decision
'judgment of the District Court Poznan of 8th July 2010, imposing an aggregate sentence of 1 year and 6 months imprisonment…conditionally suspended for a period of 5 years' probation. Pursuant to a decision dated 10th January 2013, the District Court. Activated the above custodial sentence.'
(i) "3. Execution of the custodial sentence was suspended for a period of 5 years' probation. Probation commenced on the date on which the judgment became final and enforceable.
The requested person requested to be convicted and sentenced without holding a full trial. The court gave a judgment the same day in the requested person's presence."
(ii) "4. The requested person evaded complying with the punitive measure imposed on him by the court through paying compensation to the victim of the offence and disregarded the court's order in this regard. The judgement became final and enforceable on 16/07/10 and although the amount due in compensation was not high, by the date of the activating the judgment the requested person failed to pay any sum in compensation and did not even attempt to try and straighten out the situation. In the course of their enquiries, police officers established that the requested person had moved out from his address and court letters were not called for".
(iii) "6. The requested person was permitted to leave the jurisdiction of the requesting judicial authority but was also required to comply with instruction issued by the competent authorities aimed at executing the custodial sentence."
(iv)"7. The requested person was not required to inform the court of his whereabouts but was also cautioned in the course of criminal proceedings that failing to inform the authorities of his whereabouts will result in court letters being sent to his last known address and deemed to have been duly served."
"19. The aim is to ensure that litigants in person understand what is going on and what is expected of them at all stages of the proceedings – before, during and after any attendances at a hearing.
20. This means ensuring that:
i) The process is (or has been) explained to them in a manner that they can understand;
ii) They have access to appropriate information ( e.g. the rules, practice directions and guidelines – whether from publications or websites0;
iii) They are informed about what is expected of them in ample time for them to comply;
iv) Wherever possible they are given sufficient time according to their own needs.
40. Judges are often told; 'All you have to do is to ring Mr X and he will confirm what I am saying.' When it is explained that this is not possible, litigants in person may become aggrieved and fail to understand that it is for them to prove their case.
i) They should be informed at an early stage that they must prove what they say by witness evidence so may need to approach witnesses in advance and ask them to come to court.
ii) The need for expert evidence should also be explained and the fact that no party can call an expert witness unless permission has been given to the court, generally in advance.
41. When there is an application to adjourn, bear in mind that litigants in person may genuinely not have realised just how important the attendance of such witnesses is. If the application is refused a clear explanation should be given.
44. The judge is a facilitator of justice and may need to assist the litigants in person in ways that are not appropriate for a party who has employed skilled legal advisers and an experienced advocate. This may include:
a) Attempting to elicit the extent of the understanding of that party at the outset and giving explanations in everyday language;
b) Making clear in advance the difference between justice and a just trial on the evidence (i.e. that the case will be decided on the basis of the evidence presented and the truthfulness and accuracy of the witnesses called).
The judge's role
48. It can be hard to strike a balance in assisting a litigant in person in an adversarial system. A litigant in person may easily get the impression that the judge does not pay sufficient attention to them or their case, especially if the other side is represented and the judge asks the advocate on the other side to summarise the issues between the parties.
a) Explain the judge's role during the hearing.
b) If you are doing something which might be perceived to be unfair or controversial in the mind of the litigant in person, explain precisely what you are doing and why.
c) Adopt to the extent necessary an inquisitorial role to enable the litigant in person fully to present their case but not in such a way as to appear to give the litigant in person an undue advantage).
Remaking the decision
"I consider that a person subject to a suspended sentence who voluntarily leaves the jurisdiction in question, thereby knowingly preventing himself from performing the obligations of that sentence and in the knowledge that the sentence may as a result be implemented cannot rely on passage of time resulting from his absence from the jurisdiction as a statutory bar to extradition if the sentence is as a result subsequently activated."
"It is not necessary in order that a requested person be treated as a fugitive that he knows that his sentence has been activated. It is enough that he knows it is liable to be activated because of his breach of the terms of its suspension".
"Unfortunately the email address you have been using had not been provided to the court earlier in writing for the purpose of being attached to the protocol or the official note prepared by Customer Services as the address on which you could receive the unclassified information from the ongoing proceedings".
"I am writing to ask what I have to do to register my electronic address for the purpose of finding out about my court cases."
At 7.48 the same day information at Poznan District Court replied
"It is necessary to come in person to the court to verify your identity"
Conclusions