Pedrosa, R (on the application of) v Department of the Public Prosecutor of Poland

An appeal lodged outside the applicable time limit cannot be entertained where there is no proper basis for extending time. The court therefore has no jurisdiction to consider the merits and must dismiss the appeal. The underlying seriousness of the allegations, and the apparent merits of the grounds, do not confer jurisdiction or justify an extension.

The appellant appealed against a district judge’s decision dated 19 November 2014 ordering extradition to Portugal on charges of rape and assault. The appeal was lodged on 28 November 2014 and was out of time. The Administrative Court considered whether time should be extended and whether it had jurisdiction to entertain the appeal.

1. The appeal was lodged out of time. There was no basis for extending time.
2. The court therefore had no jurisdiction to entertain the appeal. The seriousness of the allegations and the fact that the grounds of appeal appeared distinctly unpromising did not alter that conclusion.
3. The appeal was dismissed.

District judge: On 19 November 2014, the district judge ordered the appellant’s extradition to Portugal. The present appeal was lodged out of time and was dismissed by the Administrative Court.