Andrysiewicz v Circuit Court in Lodz, Poland [2025] UKSC 23 (11 June 2025)

The Supreme Court allowed an appeal against extradition to Poland. It ruled that extraditing the appellant, a long-term UK resident with a British family, would be a disproportionate breach of his right to family life under Article 8 ECHR due to the exceptionally severe impact on his children.

Facts

The appellant, Mr Michal Andrysiewicz, is a Polish national who has resided in the United Kingdom since 2007. He is married with two young British children and is fully integrated into UK society. In 2022, the Circuit Court in Lodz, Poland, issued a Trade and Cooperation Agreement warrant seeking his extradition to serve a ten-month sentence for theft-related offences committed in 2010. The appellant had established a strong family and private life in the UK over the 15 years since his arrival. He contested his extradition on human rights grounds.

Issues

The central legal issue was whether the appellant’s extradition would be compatible with his and his family’s right to respect for private and family life under Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), as given effect by section 21A of the Extradition Act 2003. The court was required to determine if extradition was a proportionate means of achieving the legitimate aim of enforcing a criminal sentence, by balancing the public interest in extradition against the severity of the interference with the Article 8 rights of the appellant and his family, particularly his children.

Judgment

The Supreme Court unanimously allowed the appeal, discharging the appellant from the extradition proceedings. Lord Stephens, giving the sole judgment, conducted a detailed proportionality analysis. He affirmed the significant public interest in upholding international extradition obligations to ensure that convicted persons face justice and to maintain mutual trust between legal systems.

However, the court found that the Divisional Court had erred in its assessment of the ‘balance sheet’ of factors for and against extradition. It had failed to give sufficient weight to the particularly compelling factors on the appellant’s side. The court stressed that the best interests of the children must be a primary consideration. Directing his reasoning to this point, Lord Stephens stated:

The evidence overwhelmingly demonstrates that the consequences of the appellant’s extradition for his two British children would be exceptionally severe. This is not merely the distress that regrettably accompanies any separation of a parent from a child; the impact here is of a different magnitude, threatening the fundamental stability and well-being of the family unit to a catastrophic degree.

The court reasoned that the combination of factors in this specific case – namely, the long passage of time since the offence, the appellant’s positive and complete integration into the UK, and the truly devastating and lasting impact on his young children – rendered extradition a disproportionate measure. The interference with the family’s Article 8 rights was deemed to be of such gravity that it outweighed the public interest in surrendering the appellant to serve his sentence in Poland.

Implications

The judgment provides significant clarification on the application of the Article 8 proportionality test in extradition law. It reinforces that while the public interest in extradition is substantial, it is not an absolute rule. The decision highlights that a fact-specific, evidence-based assessment of the impact on family life is crucial, and that the ‘best interests of the child’ must be treated as a primary consideration that can, in genuinely exceptional circumstances, be decisive. This case sets an important precedent for future extradition requests where the subject has established deep roots and significant family responsibilities in the UK over a long period.

Verdict: The appeal is allowed and the extradition order is quashed; the appellant is discharged.

Source: Andrysiewicz v Circuit Court in Lodz, Poland [2025] UKSC 23 (11 June 2025)