A Romanian prince who is awaiting the outcome of the attorney general’s appeal against a decision not to extradite him has lost a constitutional case claiming that his continued arrest was in breach of his fundamental rights.
75-year-old Paul Philippe Al României is being detained at the Corradino Correctional Facility until the court decides on the AG’s appeal against a magistrate’s decision refusing his extradition.
The case has been deferred to June 17.
In the meantime, through his lawyers, he filed an urgent case in the First Hall of the Civil Court in its constitutional jurisdiction claiming that his continued arrest was in breach of his rights.
He claimed that the law specifically precluded the court from releasing him from arrest just because it was an extradition request.
But Mr Justice Mark Simiana disagreed with this interpretation of the law, stating that contrary to what was being claimed, the court did have the possibility of granting bail and had in fact exercised this discretion.
The judge said that the Court of Criminal Appeal had rejected the applicant’s request for bail because it did not consider that he had brought sufficient guarantees to be released from arrest.
The complaint that the law removes that discretion from the courts was not factually and legally rooted, the judge said.
Al României successfully fought an extradition request claiming that his fundamental rights risked being breached if he were to be sent back to his homeland.
The attorney general has appealed a decision by a Magistrates’ Court turning down the extradition request.
On December 17, 2020, the prince was convicted by the High Court of Cassation in Romania for corruption and was sentenced to a term of imprisonment of three years and four months.
The next day, an alert was issued on the Schengen Information System together with a European Arrest Warrant by the Court of Appeal at Brasov targeting Al Romaniei who was found to have been involved in the illegal restitution and sale of land in Bucharest.
A similar extradition request by the Romanian authorities had been turned down by the two courts in France where Al Romaniei now lives.
The AG claims there was no evidence showing “a real and serious risk” was put forward, the AG added, thus requesting the court to reverse the decision and order Al României’s extradition.
Lawyers Jason Azzopardi and Kris Busietta are defence counsel.
AG lawyers Meredith Ebejer and Sean Xerri de Caro are representing the attorney general.