What do I need to know?

European Arrest Warrant

A European Arrest Warrant (“ EAW ”) is a request issued by a judicial authority of one Member State of the European Union (“ EU ”) for the arrest and surrender by another EU Member State of a person identified in the EAW. It is prepared in connection with the suspicion that a given person has committed a crime or in connection with the need to execute a penalty or a protective measure against such person. What is important here, based on this request, in principle, the authorities of the country to which it was sent become obliged to arrest the person covered by the EAW and surrender him or her to the country that has submitted that request.

Criminal defense

The right of defense is a fundamental principle of criminal proceedings that has existed as long as the law itself. A person accused of acting contrary to the rules in force at a given time and place has always had the right to comment on the charges against him or her. The right of defense is the right of a suspect or an accused person, derived from the right to a fair trial, which, however, is a broader concept that includes the right of defense. There is no fair and reliable trial if the right of defense is not properly respected and is only an illusory right.

Extradition

Extradition is a procedure under which the authorities of one country (the requesting country) request the authorities of another country (the requested country) to extradite a person sought in order to hold him or her criminally responsible – i.e. to conduct criminal proceedings against such person  or to enforce the imposed penalty or preventive measure.

Extradition has its legal basis in numerous international agreements, the most important of which is the European Convention on Extradition of 13 December 1957 (Journal of Laws 1994, No. 70, item 307) along with additional protocols.

Moreover, Poland is bound by bilateral extradition treaties, which regulate extradition proceedings between countries in a specific way, including with Australia, Belarus, Egypt, Iraq, North Korea, Cuba, Libya, Morocco, Mongolia, USA, Syria, Thailand, Tunisia and Vietnam.

Safe conduct letter

This is a special document (a ruling issued by a court) under which the defendant (suspect) remains at large until the final conclusion of criminal proceedings, if he or she meets the conditions specified by the applicable Act of Parliament. After a safe conduct letter is issued, the person it protects may not be deprived of liberty in any form, e.g. as a result of detention, detention and forcible bringing to court or prosecutor or provisional arrest in the case in which the safe conduct was issued.

The procedure for issuing a safe conduct letter and the formal requirements to issue such a document are regulated by Articles 281-284a of the Polish Code of Criminal Procedure.

Arrest

Arrest, regardless of how it was conducted, is one of the coercive measures in Polish criminal procedure. It always involves a short-term deprivation of liberty of the person arrested for a purpose and in a manner permitted by law. Arresting means depriving an arrested person of the right to move freely and to communicate with others, as well as prohibiting such a person from receiving or transferring any items without the authorization of the competent authority and subordinating this person to instructions and orders of such authority. Arrested persons are usually placed in isolation and cannot freely dispose of themselves or take actions in accordance with their will.