Michael McDowell (Dublin South East, Progressive Democrats)

The main purpose is to insert a new subsection, subsection (5) in section 23 of the European Arrest Warrant Act 2003. As mentioned in regard to the previous group of amendments, section 23 deals with requests for the surrender of persons by the issuing state to other member states. Section 23 gives effect to Article 28 of the framework decision and that article deals with the question of a person being surrendered on to another member state, other than the one to which he or she was originally first surrendered.

Amendment No. 32 inserts a new subsection (5) dealing with the question of consent by the Irish authorities to the departure from the general rule set out in Article 28. The exceptions to the general rule include situations covered under Article 28(3) where the executing judicial authority consents to requests from the issuing state for onwards surrender to another member state. The circumstances under which the executing judicial authority must give its consent are set out in Article 28.3. The issues involved here are the same as those under section 69, which we have just considered. Members will recall that I mentioned Ireland had made a statement at the time of the adoption of the framework decision to the effect that for the purpose of Article 28.3, the central authority was the consenting authority.

However, it is now proposed for the reasons to which I referred earlier, to accept the advice of the Attorney General's office and to transfer that consenting jurisdiction to the High Court. A new subsection 23(5) is therefore being added in which the High Court is given the authority to consent. The amendments to lines 5 and 6 on page 66 are a consequence of the new subsection (5). The new subsection (6) confirms that the consent to be given under subsection (5) shall be withheld where surrender would be refused on the general safeguard grounds provided in Part 3 of the European Arrest Warrant Act. The amendment on line 48 of page 66 which is embodied in amendment No. 31 is purely textual and the numbering of the new subsections (5) and (6) in section 23 of the European Arrest Warrant Act is correct since amendment No. 29 inserting a new subsection (3) has already been accepted by the House.