Vojtech Drahonsky v District Court of Usti Nad Laden (Czech Republic)
[2023] EWHC 2858 (Admin)
Monika Fiserova v District Court in Prachatice (Czech Republic)
2 February 2024
[2024] EWHC 204 (Admin)
High Court
A woman is fighting extradition to the Czech Republic for fraud and counterfeiting. A lower court said it was OK to send her back. She argued the crimes weren't that serious, and sending her back would badly affect her young child. The higher court disagreed, saying that she ran away, and the UK has to cooperate with other countries' justice systems.
Key Facts
- •Monika Fiserova appeals her extradition to the Czech Republic for counterfeiting/alteration of money and fraud.
- •The District Judge ordered extradition, finding it proportionate to her Article 8 rights.
- •The appeal argues the Judge mischaracterized the offense severity, inadequately weighed the mother-child separation, and insufficiently considered Fiserova's transformation since arriving in the UK.
- •Fiserova arrived in the UK in 2020 after an abusive relationship and drug dependency, subsequently establishing a law-abiding life.
- •The Czech authorities seek a 54-month sentence.
- •Fiserova has a 15-month-old daughter in the UK and an older son in the Czech Republic.
Legal Principles
Proportionality under Article 8 ECHR in extradition cases; balancing public interest in extradition against interference with family life.
Re HH and PH –v- Deputy Prosecutor of the Italian Republic, Genoa: F-K (FC) –v- Judicial Authority [2012] UKSC 25
Appellate court's role in reviewing proportionality: Can only overturn if the first instance judge 'ought to have decided a question before him…differently' and doing so would require discharge (section 27(2) and (3) Extradition Act 2003).
Love v USA [2018] EWHC 172 (Admin), Re B [2013] 1 WLR 1943
Assessing seriousness of alleged offending: Judgements against domestic standards, respecting requesting state's views; maximum penalty is a relevant but limited consideration; key factors are the nature and quality of acts, culpability, and harm caused.
Miraszewski v Poland [2014] EWHC 4261 (Admin)
Outcomes
Appeal dismissed.
The Court found the District Judge's assessment of the seriousness of the offending, the weight given to family separation, and the consideration of Fiserova's transformation were not wrong. The public interest in extradition, given Fiserova's fugitive status, outweighed the Article 8 concerns.