Artur Lewandowski v. Her Majesty’s Advocate [2016] HCJAC 55

Application for leave to appeal against extradition:- In this case the applicant sought leave to appeal to enable legal aid to be applied for with a view to obtaining further reports for further evidence to be led in relation to the applicant’s mental condition. The sheriff at Edinburgh considered that he could not conclude that extradition would be unjust or oppressive on account of the appellant’s mental condition there being no evidence that the Polish authorities would not be in a position to provide appropriate medical or psychiatric care. The sheriff decided that there was insufficient evidence to suggest that it would be oppressive or unjust to order extradition. At paragraph 11 of the opinion in Jantos v LA [2015] HCJAC 32 the court stated:- “There is a strong but rebuttable presumption that member states of the European Union will not infringe the Convention rights of persons. Extradition is based on reciprocity and there is a general obligation to surrender those who are the subject of legitimate European Arrest Warrants to the extraditing country, except in certain specified circumstances...The onus is on an appellant to demonstrate such oppression. As a generality, it is assumed that the prison system of a Category One requesting state will provide necessary medical treatment for prisoners”. Here the court refused the application for leave to appeal against extradition there being no arguable point upon which leave could be granted and it would have been purely speculative to do so for the reasons advanced on behalf of he applicant.