Robbery
The accused in this case allegedly assisted in the planning of a robbery of a post office vehicle in Gdansk, Poland on 5 October 1999, that was carried out by an organized criminal group known as ‘Willy’s Group’. It was further alleged that he was involved in an earlier heist which led to his association with the group and the 1999 robbery. The accused was subsequently apprehended in Canada.
加拿大
波兰The Republic of Poland sought the extradition of Miroslaw Grynia to be prosecuted there for crimes allegedly committed by him and others in 1999 in Poland.
Supreme Court of British Columbia
On the basis of Article 16 of the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime (Organized Crime Convention), the Republic of Poland sought the extradition of the accused from Canada to be prosecuted in Poland. The crimes allegedly committed by the accused in Poland in 1999 corresponded to the Canadian offences of robbery (Criminal Code, RSC 1985, c C-46, ss 343 and 344), participation in activities of a criminal organization (Criminal Code s 467.11), and commission of an indictable offence for a criminal organization (Criminal Code s 467.12).
The Court addressed whether the Attorney General of Canada on behalf of the Republic of Poland had met the test for Mr. Grynia's committal under s 3 of the Extradition Act, SC 1999, c 18. The Court then addressed Mr. Grynia's application for a stay of the proceedings brought under section 7 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedomsas an abuse of process due to Poland's inordinate and inexcusable delay in not seeking Mr. Grynia's extradition until 14 December 2009.
The Court found that the test was met for the committal of the accused to Poland under s 3 of the Extradition Act and dismissed the application for a stay of proceedings. The Court held that accused was to be extradited.
The accused further applied for a stay of proceedings pursuant to section 7 of the Charter on the basis of his claim that Canada and Poland’s use of the United Nations Convention against Transnational Crime, as an alleged backdoor to effect extradition where no bilateral extradition treaty existed, constituted an abuse of process. The application was not addressed in this proceeding, but was considered by the Supreme Court of British Columbia in a separate hearing, namely Poland v Grynia, 2013 BCSC 1777 (discussed below).
Supreme Court of British Columbia
The accused filed an application for stay of proceedings pursuant to s 7 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The accused alleged an abuse of process concerning the alleged misuse by the Republic of Poland of the Organized Crime Convention as a "backdoor" approach to effect extradition for an alleged domestic offence where no bilateral extradition treaty between Canada and Poland existed.
The Court received written submissions by the counsel of Mr. Grynia in respect of the constitutional question as well as submissions by Poland, the State requesting extradition, and a reply to those submissions by the counsel of the accused. Poland asserted that the Court lacks jurisdiction to entertain the application for the alleged abuse of process concerning the alleged improper use of the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime. Counsel for Mr. Grynia invited the Court to formally declare its lack of jurisdiction. This request was denied by the Court.
The Court, satisfied with its review of the material filed and the arguments delivered stated that the application should be dismissed. It did not give further reasons for its decisions.
Supreme Court of British Columbia
Following the committal for extradition to Poland and the dismissal of the application for a stay of proceedings due to Poland's delay in seeking extradition, no appeal was taken from the committal order. Hence, on 29 January 2014, the Minister of Justice ordered Mr. Grynia to be surrendered to Poland for the prosecution of the offences. Pursuant to s 57 of the Extradition Act, Mr. Grynia applied for judicial review of the surrender order.
However, Mr. Grynia died on 7 June 2014 with the judicial review application still outstanding. Counsel Mr. Grynia applied for an order of abatement of the application and the applicant's friend, Christopher Puzio, who acted as a surety for him, applied for the return of his CAD 5,000 deposit. Both applications were granted by the judge.
The accused was born in Poland, but became a Canadian citizen in 1989. He died on 7 June 2014 before the end of the proceedings.
Supreme Court of British Columbia
The question of how the Organized Crime Convention can be used to extradite a fugitive in the absence of a bilateral (or other) extradition treaty between two States stood at the heart of this case. In the absence of any bilateral extradition treaty, Poland sought his extradition of the accused on the basis of Article 16 of the Organized Crime Convention. The Supreme Court of British Columbia approved the accused’s extradition.
The accused then applied for a stay of proceedings under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, arguing that Poland misused the Organized Crime Convention as a ‘backdoor’ approach to effect his extradition for an offence under domestic Polish law for which no bilateral treaty with Canada existed. The Court did not find an abuse of process and recommended to dismiss the argument.
Due to the death of the accused before the end of the proceedings, he was never extradited to Poland to face prosecution for his charges relating to robbery, participation in the activities of, and committing indictable offences for an organized criminal group.