Court Rules

1. These rules may be cited as the District Court (European Arrest Warrant) Rules 2005.

2. These rules shall come into operation on the 2nd day of April 2005 and shall be read together with all other District Court Rules for the time being in force.

3. Order 16 of the District Court Rules 1997 (S.I. No. 93 of 1997) shall be amended by the insertion of the following, immediately after rule 7:

“ Application for Issue of European Arrest Warrant

8 (1). In this rule, the expressions “Central Authority in the State”, “European arrest warrant”, “Framework Decision”, “judicial authority”, and “Member State” shall have the meanings given to each of them by the European Arrest Warrant Act 2003 (the “Act of 2003”)

(2). An application to the District Court by or on behalf of the Director of Public Prosecutions, for the issue of a European arrest warrant pursuant to section 33 of the Act of 2003 in respect of a person shall be made by information on oath and in writing to a Judge of the District Court sitting in the District Court which has issued the domestic warrant. Such information shall be in the Form 16.2, Schedule B. Such information shall include the particulars required by sub-rule (3) hereof. The Judge may issue a European arrest warrant:

(a) where the Judge is satisfied upon reasonable grounds that –

(i) a domestic warrant was issued for the arrest of that person but was not executed, and

(ii) the person is not in the State, and

(b) where –

(i) the person would, if convicted, be liable to a term of imprisonment of 12 months or more than 12 months, or

(ii) a term of imprisonment of not less than 4 months has been imposed on the person in respect of the offence concerned and the person is required to serve all or part of that term of imprisonment.

(3). A European arrest warrant shall be in the Form 16.3, Schedule B, and in so far as is practicable, be in the form set out in the Annex to the Framework Decision, and shall specify the following particulars –

(a) the name and the nationality of the person to whom it relates,

(b) the name, address, fax number and e-mail address of the District Court Office for the District in which the Court was sitting when it issued the European arrest warrant,

(c) the offence to which the European arrest warrant relates including a description thereof,

(d) that a conviction, sentence or detention order is immediately enforceable against the person, or that a warrant for his or her arrest has been issued in respect of that offence,

(e) the circumstances in which the offence was committed or is alleged to have been committed, including the time and place of its commission or alleged commission, and the degree of involvement or alleged degree of involvement of the person in the commission of the offence, and

(f) (i) the penalties to which the person named in the European arrest warrant would, if convicted of the offence to which the European arrest warrant relates, be liable,

(ii) where the person named in the European arrest warrant has been convicted of the offence specified therein and a sentence has been imposed in respect thereof, the penalties of which that sentence consists, and

(iii) where the person named in the European arrest warrant has been convicted of the offence specified therein but has not yet been sentenced, the penalties to which he or she is liable in respect of the offence.

(4). Where it is not practicable for the European arrest warrant to be in the form set out in the Annex to the Framework Decision, the European arrest warrant shall, in addition to containing the information specified in subsection (2) of section 33 of the Act of 2003, include such other information as would be required to be provided were it in that form.”

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5. The Forms numbered 16.2, 16.3, 34.33 and 34.34 in Schedule 1 hereof shall be added to the Forms in Schedule B of the District Court Rules, 1997 (S.I. No. 93 of 1997).