Court to hear Article 50 prevents UK use of European Arrest Warrant
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The Court of Appeal will hear today arguments that a European Arrest Warrant (EAW) issued by the UK is no longer valid because of Brexit, the Belfast Telegraph reports.
Michael Forde SC, representing Irish businessman Thomas Joseph O’Connor, will argue that the triggering of Article 50 means the UK can no longer use the EAW system to have his client returned to the UK.
Mr O’Connor was sentenced to four-and-a-half years in jail by a London judge, but fled to Ireland on bail and was arrested by gardaí.
According to court documents seen by the Belfast Telegraph, Mr Forde will argue that the length of his client’s sentence is a sticking point.
He will argue the 2002 EU Council “framework decision” on EAW provides human rights protections to prisoners for the length of their sentence. However, the UK will have left the EU in two years, invalidating Mr O’Connor’s rights during the rest of his sentence.
The case marks the first time that Brexit has been invoked in a court challenge to a surrender to the UK. A legal source told the Belfast Telegraph that there are “many more to come”.
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