Conor Lenihan (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail)

This amendment relates to the application of the rule of speciality in respect of persons surrendered by Ireland and entailed an amendment to section 69 which inserts a revised section 22 in the European Arrest Warrant Act.

The rule of speciality provides that a person may be proceeded against only in respect of the offence for which he or she was surrendered. Article 27 of the framework decision provides that the rule shall generally apply under the European arrest warrant arrangements except where a member state declares that as an executing state it shall not require its application or where any of the exceptions in article 27 apply. Ireland has not made a declaration on this matter so as executing State we will apply the speciality rules.

The amendment seeks to ensure that the speciality rule will not operate to prevent the conviction, sentencing and detention in the issuing state of persons surrendered by Ireland in respect of an alternative but lesser offence within the same group of offences, murder or manslaughter being the most notable example of this. To achieve this it is necessary to amend the revised section 22 inserted by section 69 to allow that the prohibition for proceedings for other offences, ie., the normal effect of the speciality rule, does not go so far as to prevent a conviction in the issuing state for an alternative but lesser offence where that offence arises from the same facts or circumstances as gave rise to the charge for which the person was surrendered.

This amendment has the effect of restoring the position that applied under the extradition laws in place prior to the European arrest warrant coming into force.

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