News
JFH Crime secures the discharge of Romanian EAW
Extradition victory Solicitor John Howey has secured the discharge of a Romanian client who was facing extradition under EAW (European Arrest Warrant). on the grounds that his extradition would breach his Article 3 Human Rights. This is the result of the High Court decision in Grecu and others. In that case, the Court followed the decision of the European Court of Human Rights in Muršic v...Read More
0
Should I have a solicitor in the police station?
Why should I have a solicitor at the police station? Why wouldn’t you? For a start, it’s free. To everybody, no matter how much or how little they earn. That should probably be a good enough reason in itself, but many people still choose not to have a solicitor. What happens in the police station goes a long way to deciding the outcome of the case If you end up in court many months...Read More
0
Extradition ordered? What happens next?
If your extradition is ordered on an European Arrest Warrant, you have 7 days to apply for permission to appeal. You must send your appeal to the Court, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) and the National Crime Agency. There is a fee to pay when it is submitted. You can also submit a legal aid application at the same time. If you do not submit an appeal, then your extradition should take...Read More
0
The role of NGOs and EU committees in Extradition
One of the arguments often raised against extradition is the right not to be subjected to degrading/inhuman treatment whilst in prison. The state of prison conditions across Europe varies widely; poor conditions have been reported in Belgium (read our article about Belgian prison conditions here) whilst across the border in the Netherlands, there are a lack of prisoners to fill their prisons....Read More
0
‘Cannot be named for legal reasons’; what is that all about?
Yesterday’s news included the all too familiar reports of a young man being sentenced for a knife murder. Whilst the victim is named and pictured, the reports state that the defendant ‘cannot be named for legal reasons’, without setting out what those legal reasons are. It seems that an application was made in court to name the defendant, but this was refused. What are these legal reasons? The...Read More
0
The Official Secrets Act
Even as a criminal solicitor in London, in over 20 years I have never come across a client accused of breaching the Official Secrets Act. Reference is often made to someone ‘signing the Official Secrets Act’, and this week I came across such a signed document, headed ‘Official Secrets Act’, amongst the papers of an elderly relative who died recently. Contrary to many people’s belief, those who...Read More
0
Can I get bail in my extradition case?
Bail in an extradition case is decided in a similar way to bail in criminal cases in this country. The law is contained in the Bail Act and the Criminal Procedure Rules. However, the rules are very different to many other countries. The short answer to the question ‘can I get bail’ is yes, you can. Whether you do get bail or not will depend on a lot of things. The offence The...Read More
0
Prison break; mental health inside prison
Since May 2017 the prison population has grown beyond projected figures to 86,413 despite fewer offences being brought to court. An official capacity of 87,209 in the UK’s prisons is fast being approached. With conditions in prisons already at breaking point and provisions for prisoners worse than ever, the simple fact is that our country needs to overhaul the way in which we they are treated,...Read More
0