Brookfield Aviation International Ltd v The Guildford Crown Court [2015] EWHC 3465 (Admin) (04 December 2015)

Brookfield Aviation International Ltd v The Guildford Crown Court [2015] EWHC 3465 (Admin) (04 December 2015)

The German allegations, as presented in the ILORs and court order, contained sufficient indications of dishonesty to satisfy the double criminality requirement for a UK indictable offence. The claimant's lack of cooperation and the nature of the allegations justified the issue of a search warrant rather than a production order. Non-disclosure of the HMRC inquiry and the absence of a recording or reasons for the warrant did not undermine the lawfulness of the warrant.

Citation
[2015] EWHC 3465 (Admin)
Parties
Claimant: Brookfield Aviation International Limited; 1st Defendant: The Guildford Crown Court; 2nd Defendant: The Chief Constable of the Surrey Police Force; Interested Party: The Secretary of State for the Home Department
Jurisdiction
England and Wales
Judgment Date
04 December 2015
Procedural Posture
Judicial Review / Renewed Application for Permission After Initial Refusal
Outcome
Permission for judicial review refused
Legal Topics
Search Warrants, Mutual Legal Assistance, Double Criminality, Disclosure Obligations, Tax Evasion, Employment Status
Criminal Law Judicial Review International Cooperation Search Warrants Mutual Legal Assistance Double Criminality Disclosure Obligations Tax Evasion +1 more

Case Brief

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Parties

Brookfield Aviation International Limited

Claimant

The Guildford Crown Court

1st Defendant

The Chief Constable of the Surrey Police Force

2nd Defendant

The Secretary of State for the Home Department

Interested Party

Procedural Posture

Judicial Review / Renewed Application for Permission After Initial Refusal

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether the conduct alleged in the German request would constitute an indictable offence under UK law (double criminality)
  2. 2 Whether a search warrant was necessary or a production order would suffice
  3. 3 Whether non-disclosure of the HMRC inquiry affected the validity of the warrant

Ratio Decidendi

The German allegations, as presented in the ILORs and court order, contained sufficient indications of dishonesty to satisfy the double criminality requirement for a UK indictable offence. The claimant's lack of cooperation and the nature of the allegations justified the issue of a search warrant rather than a production order. Non-disclosure of the HMRC inquiry and the absence of a recording or reasons for the warrant did not undermine the lawfulness of the warrant.

Court Disposition

Permission for judicial review refused