Legal Controversy in the A.G. Oates Extradition Case

A.G. Oates was handed over to Australian authorities on June 20, 2003, ending the longest-running extradition case in Poland, which was submitted in July 1996. The proceedings were prolonged by conflicting treaties concerning extradition, one signed between Poland and Great Britain in Warsaw on January 11, 1932, and the other signed between Poland and Australia on June 3, 1998. The debate which reached the Polish Supreme Court centered on the language of the 1998 Treaty, with the Court ruling that its provisions ?shall generally apply from the entry into force of this agreement, including the pending proceedings.? Yet a conflict arises because the provisions of the 1932 Treaty should have applied as well, since the case was filed while it was still in effect. The author offers several arguments in favor and against the Court?s ruling, though he ultimately believes the Polish Supreme Court erred in its decision, due in part to their reliance on national laws rather than principles of international law.