Deputy Prime Minister Tibor Navracsics sincerely hopes that the parties may find a successful resolution to the case of the Irish driver responsible for the deaths of two children, the so-called Tobin case, at the planned meeting with the Irish Minister for Justice and the EU commissioner for justice.

The Minister believes it is a highly positive development in itself that Viviane Reding, Vice-President of the European Commission and commissioner for justice, Fundamental Rights and Citizenship responded to his letter within twenty-four hours, which indicates that the European Commission’s justice chief, too, finds this initiative highly important. The planned meeting is a good opportunity to clarify the case; however, the Minister added that the chance of reaching a satisfactory conclusion is poor, given that the Supreme Court of Ireland has already passed its final and absolute judgment on the case. Viviane Reding promised to convene a meeting between representatives of the Irish and Hungarian authorities in the next few weeks to discuss what may have caused the clearly inadequate operation of the European arrest warrant in the case of Francis Ciarán Tobin, who killed two children in a road accident in Hungary.

The Hungarian Minister declared, he was optimistic that a solution may be found in the case. Also at the contemplated meeting in person, he would “attempt to find out whether there is any scope left in the case”, that is, whether there is any scope for Francis Ciarán Tobin serving his sentence. Navracsics indicated that he is ready to attend the meeting at any time, and Hungary will provide all assistance in the case so that the Vice-President of the EU’s executive body may have access to all relevant information.

Tibor Navracsics contacted Irish Justice Minister Alan Shatter and the commissioner of the European Commission for justice, fundamental rights and citizenship on Tuesday. In his letter to Alan Shatter, the Minister stated, inter alia, he acknowledged with regret that the Supreme Court of Ireland ruled that Tobin, currently in Ireland, who killed a two-year-old and a five-year-old child in a road accident, cannot be extradited to Hungary, and that there are no further legal means in the Irish legal system available that could be resorted to in the man’s case. In his letter sent to Viviane Reding, Tibor Navracsics requested the Commissioner to investigate all circumstances in the case and to consider all possible means so that effective measures may be taken within the boundaries of EU law and in order to prevent cases of this nature in the future.

Irish citizen Francis Ciarán Tobin killed a five-year-old and a two-year-old child in a road accident in Hungary on 8 April 2000. The children died on the spot. The investigation established that the driver responsible for the accident started overtaking at high speed, lost control of the vehicle in the interim, drove onto the pavement and hit the two children, the smaller of whom was in a pram. Tobin left Hungary in November 2000 at the end of his business mission in Hungary. He was sentenced to three years in prison two years later in his absence. The Supreme Court of Ireland stated in the reasoning of its above-mentioned decision that, pursuant to the Irish legal rules in force at the time of the accident, extradition would only have been possible if Francis Ciarán Tobin had escaped from the country that issued a European arrest warrant against him. However, Tobin served bail before leaving the country, and his departure therefore does not qualify as escape. The Hungarian parents have since awaited the closure of the case so that the authorities may finally administer justice in the case of their two children killed in the road accident.

(kormany.hu)