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German court rejects Poland extradition over justice reforms
BERLIN, March 10, 2020 (BSS/AFP) – A German court has for the first time
rejected a request to extradite a suspect to Poland over concerns about
judicial independence in the fellow European Union member, AFP has learned.
Judges at the superior state court in Karlsruhe said there was a “high
probability” that an extradition “would prove to be illegal, at least for the
moment, because of current developments in Poland related to the ‘justice
reform’.”
They lifted an extradition order against the male suspect, according to the
decision first reported Monday by RND newspaper group and seen by AFP.
There is “cause to believe that in case of his extradition, the defendant
would run the real risk of a breach of his right to a fair trial,” the
Karlsruhe judges said.
They added that more information was needed about “punishments threatened
against judges and prosecutors in the framework of the justice reform”.
The court did not specify what the suspect was accused of, but RND reported
that charges related to “fraud, among other things”.
Since taking office in 2015, Poland’s right-wing Law and Justice (PiS)
party has introduced a slew of controversial judicial reforms that it insists
are designed to tackle corruption.
But critics, including the European Commission and top European judicial
bodies, argue they threaten judicial independence and the rule of law.
“Other member states are having a hard time supporting the criminal trials
of a country that is moving further and further away from the EU’s collective
understanding of the rule of law,” German Judges’ Federation (DRB) director
Sven Rebehn said.
Poland’s reforms threaten “to isolate it within the European justice
community”, Rehbehn added.
BSS/AFP/RY/20:35 hrs