Extradition to Romania for enforcement of sentence

Case no. 12/2020
Order made on 10 September 2020

The Prosecution Service
vs.
T

The case concerned the question of whether T, a Romanian citizen resident in Denmark, was to be extradited to Romania for enforcement of a sentence. In 2010, a Romanian court sentenced T to 18 months in prison for blackmail and other offences, and in 2011, the Romanian authorities issued an arrest warrant for T. T preferred to serve his sentence in Denmark instead of being extradited to Romania.

In November 2018, the Public Prosecutor ordered that T be extradited, referring to the then applicable rules in the Danish Extradition Act. The decision was brought before the District Court and the High Court, which both held that the Public Prosecutor’s decision was lawful. After the High Court’s decision, the new Extradition Act entered into force, transferring the competence to rule on the issue of extradition to the courts of law.

Consequently, the Supreme Court treated the Public Prosecutor’s decision as a recommendation for a decision on extradition. The Supreme Court stated that the conditions for extradition were fulfilled, and that there were no circumstances justifying a refusal of extradition.

The Supreme Court held that, as a general rule, an EU Member State must execute any European arrest warrant. Refusing extradition for enforcement on the grounds that the convicted person can serve his sentence in Denmark is an exception to this rule. Based on an overall assessment of T’s personal affairs and the nature and severity of the crime, the Supreme Court ruled that there were no grounds for refusing extradition.

Furthermore, the Supreme Court refused to refer a request for a preliminary ruling to the EU Court of Justice on three questions from T, as there was no reasonable doubt as to the interpretation of EU law.

T was thus to be extradited for enforcement in Romania.