Szalai v The Tribunal of Veszpre, Hungary [2019] EWHC 934 (Admin) (16 April 2019)

Szalai v The Tribunal of Veszpre, Hungary [2019] EWHC 934 (Admin) (16 April 2019)

The Court held that while there was evidence of short-term breaches of assurances in a small number of UK extradition cases, these were remedied and did not demonstrate a systemic problem or undermine the reliability of assurances given by Hungary to the UK. Evidence of alleged breaches in cases involving other states (e.g., Germany) was not directly relevant or of real importance to the core issue. The mutual trust underlying the European Arrest Warrant system was not displaced, and the assurances provided in these cases were sufficient to address any real risk of Article 3 ECHR violations. The appeals were therefore dismissed.

Citation
[2019] EWHC 934 (Admin)
Parties
1st Appellant: Silvester Ferenc Szalai; 1st Respondent: The Tribunal of Veszpre, Hungary; 2nd Appellant: Oleksandr Zabolotnyi aka Zoltan Dani; 2nd Respondent: The Mateszalka District Court, Hungary
Jurisdiction
England and Wales
Judgment Date
16 April 2019
Procedural Posture
Extradition Appeal / High Court Judgment on Appeal
Outcome
appeals dismissed
Legal Topics
European Arrest Warrant, Article 3 ECHR, Prison Conditions, Mutual Trust, Assurances in Extradition, Admissibility of Fresh Evidence
Extradition Law Human Rights Law European Union Law European Arrest Warrant Article 3 ECHR Prison Conditions Mutual Trust Assurances in Extradition +1 more

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Parties

Silvester Ferenc Szalai

1st Appellant

The Tribunal of Veszpre, Hungary

1st Respondent

Oleksandr Zabolotnyi aka Zoltan Dani

2nd Appellant

The Mateszalka District Court, Hungary

2nd Respondent

Procedural Posture

Extradition Appeal / High Court Judgment on Appeal

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether assurances given by Hungarian authorities regarding prison conditions can be relied upon in the context of extradition to Hungary under the European Arrest Warrant system
  2. 2 Whether fresh evidence of alleged breaches of past assurances (including those given to other states) is admissible and relevant
  3. 3 Whether the extradition of the appellants would expose them to a real risk of inhuman or degrading treatment contrary to Article 3 ECHR

Ratio Decidendi

The Court held that while there was evidence of short-term breaches of assurances in a small number of UK extradition cases, these were remedied and did not demonstrate a systemic problem or undermine the reliability of assurances given by Hungary to the UK. Evidence of alleged breaches in cases involving other states (e.g., Germany) was not directly relevant or of real importance to the core issue. The mutual trust underlying the European Arrest Warrant system was not displaced, and the assurances provided in these cases were sufficient to address any real risk of Article 3 ECHR violations. The appeals were therefore dismissed.

Court Disposition

appeals dismissed

Orders

  • Permission to admit fresh evidence refused as to German cases; evidence admitted as to UK cases only
  • No order for further assurances or remittal; extradition to proceed