Artur Jósef Marcisz v The Regional Court in Bielsko-Biala Republic of Poland
[2024] EWHC 2441 (Admin)
Furman v Polish Judicial Authority
31 October 2024
[2024] EWHC 3062 (Admin)
High Court
A man is fighting extradition to Poland for a drug offence. He says it's unfair because he'd likely get out of prison early in Poland. The judge decided to wait for a higher court decision before making a ruling on the extradition.
Key Facts
- •Application for permission to appeal against extradition order (29 January 2024).
- •Extradition sought by Poland for a 2017 drug supply offence.
- •Applicant sentenced to 2 years 3 months in Poland in 2018; served 17.5 months.
- •Applicant argues extradition disproportionate under Article 8 ECHR (due to prospect of early release under Polish law).
- •Applicant's argument hinges on the prospect of early release under Article 77 of the Polish Criminal Code.
- •District Judge considered Article 77 factors and found good prospect of early release but deemed it insignificant due to remaining sentence length.
- •Applicant has a significant criminal record.
- •Applicant established a new life in the UK since 2018.
Legal Principles
Proportionality under Article 8 ECHR in extradition cases.
ECHR
Assessment of proportionality at the time of appeal.
Grigaliunaite [2021] EWHC 2068 (Admin)
Assessment of proportionality at the date of permission determination.
Molik v Poland [2020] EWHC 2836 (Admin)
Consideration of early release provisions under Article 77 of the Polish Criminal Code.
Dobrowolski [2023] EWHC 763 (Admin)
Public interest in extradition.
Case law (implicit)
Impact of pending Supreme Court appeal (Andrysiewicz) on Article 77 interpretation
Andrysiewicz v Circuit Court in Lodz, Poland UKSC 2024/0109
Outcomes
Appeal stayed; permission to appeal refused at this stage.
Pending Supreme Court decision in Andrysiewicz, which may impact the interpretation of Article 77 and the Dobrowolski approach to early release. The court felt it inappropriate to grant permission without further guidance, given the applicant had served nearly two thirds of his sentence.