Benjamin Seifert

Extradition

Benjamin’s extensive extradition practice concerns the full range of challenges to extradition including the validity of European Arrest Warrants, rights to retrial, dual criminality, passage of time, decisions to charge or try and also habeas corpus.

He regularly acts in cases concerning prison conditions and the rights of individuals pursuant to the European Convention on Human Rights (“ECHR”) in Hungary, Poland, Bulgaria and Italy among others. He appeared in the only extradition case to be heard in the Supreme Court in 2018 and returned to the Court in 2021.

He has had numerous successes recently in cases concerning Article 8 of the ECHR representing individuals whose rights to a private and family life outweighed the public interest in extradition.

Benjamin has written articles and given many seminars on extradition law and is a co-author of the latest book on extradition law- A Practical Guide to Extradition Law Post-Brexit.

Selected Cases

• Court of Justice of the European Union – VA v The Prosecutor Of The Regional Prosecutor’s Office In Ruse, Bulgaria Case C‑206/20: The Court of Justice of the European Union considered the dual level of protection required by an underlying national arrest warrant which precedes the decision to issue a European Arrest Warrant.
• Supreme Court – Zabolotnyi v Mateszalka District Court, Hungary UKSC 2019/0210: The use of assurances in cases concerning prison conditions.
• Supreme Court – Konecny v District Court In Brno Venkov (Czech Republic) UKSC 2017/0200: Whether an individual can properly described as accused when he had been convicted but the conviction was not final and he had an unequivocal right to a retrial.
• Dumitrache v Court of Pordenone, Italy [2021] EWHC 958 (Admin): Sole counsel for the appellant in the Divisional Court against David Perry QC. (Trials in absence and retrial rights).
• Udriste [2021] EWHC 2476 (Admin): Appeal against an order of extradition concerning Article 8 ECHR.
• Perry v USA [2021] EWHC 1956 (Admin): Representing the US government in an appeal concerning the definition of kidnapping
• Taylor & Anor v The Prosecutor General’s Office of Florence [2019] EWHC 2938 (Admin): Retrial rights in Italy.
• BY v District Court In Paphos, Cyprus [2019] EWHC 2637 (Admin): The Article 8 ECHR rights of a family with five children with significant medical problems.
• XY v Public Prosecutor’s Office, Oost Nederland [2019] EWHC 624 (Admin): The Article 8 ECHR rights of a man who had already served a sentence which was subsequently increased on appeal.
• Lis, Lange & Chmielewski v Polish Judicial Authorities [2018] EWHC 2848 (Admin): Allegations of the break down in the rule of law in Poland.
• Attila Imre v The District Court In Szolnok (Hungary) [2018] EWHC 218 (Admin): Notwithstanding a first instance conviction the EAW was an accusation warrant.
• Grecu & Bagarea [2017] 4 WLR 139: Romanian Prison conditions and breaches of Article 3 ECHR.
• Raimundo Felix v Comarca De Lisboa, Portugal [2016] EWHC 3518 (Admin): The invalidity of an EAW pursuant to Section 2 of the 2003 Extradition Act.
• Zagrean, Sunca & Chihaia v Romanian Judicial Authorities [2016] EWHC 2786 (Admin): Romanian prison conditions and breaches of Article 3 ECHR.
• Marku & Murphy v Greek Judicial Authorities [2016] EWHC 1801 (Admin): Greek prison conditions and breaches of Article 3 ECHR.
• Puceviciene, Conrath & Savov v Three Judicial Authorities [2016] 1 WLR 4937: The leading case on Section 12A of the 2003 Extradition Act.
• Spain v Warne [2015] EWHC 981 (Admin): A successful appeal against a discharge in relation to oppression.
• France v Charbit [2015] 1 W.L.R. 2359 : A EAW which attached an annex was invalid.