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Marcin Romanowski's case was brought to a Hungarian court. The matter of transfer to Poland has not proceeded

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The issue of the possible transfer of PiS MP Marcin Romanowski to Poland was dealt with by the Metropolitan Court of Budapest. He ruled that the procedure for transferring Romanowski “can only be initiated after the relevant authorities have found, detained and brought the wanted person to court.”

The procedure for handing over Marcin Romanowski to the Polish side can be initiated only after he is found, detained and brought to court by the competent authorities, the Budapest Metropolitan Court announced on Tuesday.

As the court emphasized, Poland's submission of the European Arrest Warrant (EAW) in the Romanowski case to the Hungarian side on December 20 last year “does not yet mean the initiation of the surrender procedure.”

“In accordance with the relevant EU and Hungarian law, this procedure can be initiated only after the wanted person has been found, detained and brought to justice by the competent authorities,” said the press department of the Budapest Metropolitan Court.

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The message sent to the Polish Press Agency emphasized that until Romanowski is detained, the Metropolitan Court has no jurisdiction in this case.

Bodnar asks about handing over Romanowski

January 10, Attorney General Adam Bodnar sent a letter to the Hungarian Minister of Justice in which he asked about the current status of the transfer of MP Marcin Romanowski to Poland on the basis of the European Arrest Warrant (EAW). This order was sent to the Hungarian authorities on December 20 last year, when the day before Romanowski – a suspect in matters of abuse in the Justice Fund – he received asylum in Hungary.

Prosecutor Anna Adamiak announced on Tuesday in a statement from the National Prosecutor's Office that the Hungarian Ministry of Justice responded to Bodnar's letter.

“Under Hungarian law, the Metropolitan Court of Budapest is the designated judicial authority to conduct European arrest warrant proceedings in the first instance. The ruling of this Court may be appealed to the Court of Appeal of Budapest,” we read.

“The subject is not to determine whether the charges brought against Marcin R. are justified”

The PK spokeswoman pointed out that the provisions on EAW have been incorporated into national legal orders European Union countries based on EU regulations, therefore they are similar in all EU countries. According to the regulations, the process regarding the possible transfer of Romanowski will be conducted exclusively by a Hungarian court, without the participation of the Polish side. The interests of the Polish state and the prosecutor's office will be represented by the Hungarian prosecutor.

– This is a limited proceeding. The subject is not to determine whether the charges brought against Marcin R. are justified or not, this is not subject to the assessment of the Hungarian court. This court only needs to assess, from a legal perspective, the admissibility of transferring Marcin R. to Poland – emphasized prosecutor Adamiak.

She added that the transfer of a suspect under the EAW procedure must take place on the basis of a court decision, while extradition is a decision of an appropriate state authority, such as the president or the minister of justice.

When asked whether in this type of trials there are any deadlines within which a decision must be made, prosecutor Adamiak stated that there are no specific provisions obliging the court to resolve the case within a given time. Such restrictions apply only when a decision on provisional arrest is made in EAW proceedings.

Marcin RomanowskiPaweł Supernak/PAP

What is Marcin Romanowski suspected of?

Former Deputy Minister of Justice and currently PiS MP Marcin Romanowski is a suspect in the investigation into the Justice Fund. Romanowski's crimes allegedly included, among other things, “indicating entities under his subordinates that should win competitions for grants from the Justice Fund.”

The politician also allegedly ordered corrections of erroneous offers before submitting them and allowed grants to be awarded to entities that did not meet formal and material requirements. The charges also concern the misappropriation of money in the total amount of over PLN 107 million and attempted misappropriation of money in the amount of over PLN 58 million.

On December 9 last year, the District Court for Warsaw-Mokotów decided on a three-month detention for Romanowski. However, the MP did not appear at the court hearing, and the prosecutor in charge of the investigation issued an arrest warrant for him.

READ MORE: What is the Marcin Romanowski case about? We summarize

On December 19, 2024, Romanowski received political asylum Hungary. Earlier in the day, the District Court in Warsaw announced the issuance of a European Arrest Warrant against this politician. Interpol was also asked to issue a red notice for the MP.

Granting Romanowski asylum caused tension in Polish-Hungarian relations. Bodnar had already announced that the EAW procedure would be continued despite Romanowski's asylum and the prosecutor's office would take all possible actions. Romanowski declared in December that he treated “his mission on the Danube” as a fight against lawlessness.

READ ALSO: The prosecutor's office request to waive Morawiecki's immunity. “I'm willing to give up”

Author:kgr, ek/aqw, adso

Main photo source: Paweł Supernak/PAP



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