Leaving Poland and taking up residence in another European Union Member State does not mean that criminal proceedings conducted in Poland cease to be relevant. If a Polish court has issued a European Arrest Warrant (EAW) against you, you may also be arrested outside Poland and subsequently brought before a court in the country where you are staying in connection with proceedings concerning your surrender to Poland.

For a person living abroad, information that an EAW has been issued often comes unexpectedly. It may come from family members, a Polish attorney, law enforcement authorities, or only be revealed during a police check or at an airport. In such a situation, the most important thing is not to wait for the arrest and to determine as quickly as possible why the European Arrest Warrant was issued and what steps can be taken even before it is executed.

What is a European Arrest Warrant?

A European Arrest Warrant is an instrument of judicial cooperation between the Member States of the European Union. Its primary purpose is to enable the swift arrest and surrender of a wanted person to the state conducting criminal proceedings against that person or seeking to enforce a custodial sentence imposed on that person.

In practice, this means that if a person suspected of committing an offence or convicted by a Polish court has left Poland and is, for example, staying in France, Germany, Belgium or the Netherlands, the Polish authorities may – once certain conditions are met – initiate proceedings aimed at their arrest and surrender to Poland.

A European Arrest Warrant is not, in this respect, a traditional extradition. In relations between the Member States of the European Union, a simplified mechanism of mutual recognition of judicial decisions applies. The EAW procedure has been designed so that the surrender of a person between Member States takes place significantly faster than in the case of traditional extradition proceedings.

When can Poland issue a European Arrest Warrant?

Under the Polish legal system, a European Arrest Warrant may be issued in connection with ongoing criminal proceedings or for the purpose of enforcing a final sentence of imprisonment or another measure involving deprivation of liberty.

In the first case, a person staying abroad is wanted because the Polish authorities wish to conduct criminal proceedings against that person. This may concern, for example, a situation in which a suspect has left Poland and fails to appear when summoned by the procedural authorities.

The second situation concerns a person against whom a final judgment has already been issued and who should serve a sentence of imprisonment but is outside Poland.

This distinction is extremely important because the legal strategy for a wanted person may be completely different depending on whether the EAW was issued for the purpose of conducting criminal proceedings or for the purpose of enforcing a sentence.

Therefore, the first step after receiving information about a European Arrest Warrant should be to determine the precise basis on which it was issued.

What does an EAW issued by Poland mean if you live abroad?

Being outside Poland does not mean that Polish criminal proceedings lose their effectiveness. On the contrary – one of the primary purposes of a European Arrest Warrant is precisely to enable the state conducting criminal proceedings to locate a person who is staying in the territory of another European Union Member State.

Therefore, if Poland has issued an EAW against you, you may be arrested in the country where you live or are temporarily staying. This may happen during a routine police check, a roadside check, an identity check, and, in certain circumstances, also while travelling.

A European Arrest Warrant may be linked to an appropriate alert in the Schengen Information System (SIS), which enables the authorities of the states participating in the system to exchange information concerning wanted persons.

Can you be arrested abroad on the basis of a Polish EAW?

Yes. If a person wanted on the basis of a European Arrest Warrant is located in another Member State, they may be arrested there.

At this point, the legal situation becomes more complicated because two parallel aspects of the case arise.

On the one hand, there are proceedings conducted in Poland which led to the issuance of the EAW. On the other hand, in the state where the person was arrested, proceedings are conducted concerning the execution of the European Arrest Warrant and the surrender of that person to Poland.

This means that in cross-border cases, it is often necessary for lawyers in two countries to act.

Does the issuance of a European Arrest Warrant mean that surrender to Poland is inevitable?

No.

The mere fact that an EAW has been issued does not automatically mean that the person will be surrendered to Poland in every situation. European Union law provides for specific grounds for refusing to execute a European Arrest Warrant. Some of them are mandatory, while others leave the court of the executing state a certain degree of discretion.

Among other things, relevance may be given to a previous final decision concerning the same act, the principle of ne bis in idem, issues of limitation, jurisdiction or the conduct of proceedings in the state where the person was arrested. In certain situations, issues relating to the protection of fundamental rights may also be examined. This does not, however, mean that every person against whom an EAW has been issued can effectively avoid surrender. The possibility of refusing to execute the warrant always depends on the specific factual and legal circumstances.

What should you do if you have learned that Poland has issued an EAW against you?

If you have received information that a European Arrest Warrant has been issued against you, it is not advisable to limit yourself to simply confirming that it has been issued.

First and foremost, it should be determined which court issued the EAW, when this occurred, in which case and whether the warrant was issued for the purpose of conducting criminal proceedings or enforcing a sentence.

It may also be necessary to analyse the case file that led to the issuance of the warrant. It may turn out that what is crucial for the further strategy is not the provisions concerning the EAW themselves, but the previous procedural decisions issued in Poland.

Depending on the circumstances, it may be possible to take action before a Polish court or prosecutor. The nature of such action will, however, depend on the stage of the proceedings and on the decisions that have previously been issued.

You should not, however, assume on your own that the best solution is to return to Poland immediately or, conversely, to remain abroad. Each of these decisions may have significant consequences and should be preceded by an analysis of the specific case.

What happens after an arrest on the basis of a European Arrest Warrant?

Following the arrest, the person is brought before the competent authorities of the executing state. They are informed of the grounds for the arrest and of their rights.

A person arrested on the basis of an EAW has the right to a lawyer and – where necessary – to the assistance of an interpreter. The detailed rules governing the exercise of these rights arise from the law of the state in which the arrest took place.

The competent judicial authority of the executing state then decides whether the EAW should be executed and whether the person should be surrendered to Poland.

However, these proceedings are not a trial in which the court of the executing state is to determine whether the person actually committed an offence. Their subject matter is primarily the execution of the European Arrest Warrant and the surrender of the person to the state that issued the warrant.

How long do proceedings concerning an EAW take?

One of the most important characteristics of a European Arrest Warrant is the speed of the proceedings.

As a rule, the final decision on the execution of an EAW should be made within 60 days of the person’s arrest. If the person consents to the surrender, the decision should, as a rule, be made within 10 days.

Once a final decision on surrender has been issued, the person should be surrendered to the issuing state within no more than 10 days, subject to the exceptions provided for by law.