Victoria Stumbre v Prosecutor General’s Office (Lithuania)(No.2)
[2023] EWHC 556 (Admin)
Victoria Stumbre v Prosecutor General’s Office of the Republic of Lithuania
27 February 2024
[2024] EWHC 406 (Admin)
High Court
A mom is wanted in Lithuania for fraud. She fled after being extradited once before. If she goes back, her kids may be put in foster care. The court says she must go back to Lithuania because the crimes are serious, even though it means her kids will likely be separated and put in care. It's a tough situation with no easy answers.
Key Facts
- •Appeal against extradition order for Victoria Stumbre to Lithuania.
- •Extradition request based on 36 offences (swindling, influencing witnesses, forgery).
- •Previous extradition request (21 of the same offences) resulted in extradition in 2020, followed by Stumbre's absconding.
- •Central issue: disproportionate interference with Article 8 ECHR rights (family life) due to potential impact on Stumbre's three younger children if she is extradited.
- •District Judge found that extradition was proportionate despite the significant impact on children.
- •Stumbre's mother, initially willing to care for the children, was deemed unwilling and unsuitable.
- •Children would likely enter foster care and potentially be separated if Stumbre is extradited.
- •Stumbre admitted guilt to some offences.
- •Stumbre absconded from Lithuania after initial extradition.
- •Stumbre deceptively obtained a new passport to leave Lithuania.
Legal Principles
Article 8 ECHR (right to respect for private and family life)
European Convention on Human Rights
Proportionality test in extradition cases involving Article 8
Norris v Government of United States of America (No.2) [2010] 2 AC 487, HH v Deputy Prosecutor of Italian Republic Genoa [2013] 1 AC 338, Polish Judicial Authority v Celinski [2016] 1 WLR 551
Appellate review of proportionality decisions
Celinski and Re B (a child) (care proceedings: threshold criteria) [2013] 1 WLR 1911
Extradition Act 2003, sections 11(1)(j) and 19B (forum bar)
Extradition Act 2003
Outcomes
Appeal dismissed.
The Court of Appeal found that the District Judge's decision, though difficult, was not wrong. While acknowledging the severe impact on the children, the Court weighed the strong public interest in upholding extradition arrangements against Stumbre's serious offences and her status as a fugitive. The judge's balancing exercise fell within the acceptable range of reasonable judicial opinions.