Who pays for travel to court from abroad?

[vanordinaire]

One of my friends is a UK citizen but currently lives and works in New Zealand. He came home for a short holiday recently but his name was flagged up at passport control and he was arrested and charged with a historical offence from when he lived here. He was bailed to return for court in a few months and has now returned back to NZ for work in the meantime.
There is no suggestion of his not returning for trial, he is quite sure he can prove his innocence and obviously wishes to do so.
My question is quite simply, does he have to arrange and pay for flights etc himself? He has the money, but what if he didn't, would there be some kind of action to bring him back? The UK Police knew of his whereabouts while he was in NZ originally but didn't contact him and he had no idea they wished to speak to him, if he had, he would have cooperated fully.

[marshalla]

1. Yes.
2. International Arrest Warrant and/or extradition proceedings if it's deemed serious enough.

[TooMany2cvs]

vanordinaire said:

My question is quite simply, does he have to arrange and pay for flights etc himself?

Yes. Why on earth wouldn't he?

[vanordinaire]

marshalla said:

1. Yes.
2. International Arrest Warrant and/or extradition proceedings if it's deemed serious enough.

Thanks for that,
1. When found innocent, can he claim expenses back?
2. Not sure if they think it serious enough for that, as in my OP, they knew where he was (and has been for many years) but didn't contact him or isue any kind of warrant. He fully intends to return anyway, just wondered what would happen if he couldn't afford flights.

[marshalla]

vanordinaire said:

Thanks for that,
1. When found innocent, can he claim expenses back?
2. Not sure if they think it serious enough for that, as in my OP, they knew where he was (and has been for many years) but didn't contact him or isue any kind of warrant. He fully intends to return anyway, just wondered what would happen if he couldn't afford flights.

He could apply for his costs to be reimbursed, but it's not automatic. His solicitor will be able to advise on the correct procedure.

[vanordinaire]

TooMany2cvs said:

vanordinaire said:

My question is quite simply, does he have to arrange and pay for flights etc himself?

Yes. Why on earth wouldn't he?

Because he is innocent until proven guilty, why should he have to pay out a substantial sum from his own pocket to voluntarily comply with a request from the UK court.

[anonymous-user]

IANAL, however absent some poor behaviour from the prosecutor, the costs reclaimable on acquittal or discontinuance are not spectacular. Legal Aid rates for your solicitor, for example. Try getting a solicitor to act for you at Legal Aid rates!

[paintman]

vanordinaire said:

TooMany2cvs said:

vanordinaire said:

My question is quite simply, does he have to arrange and pay for flights etc himself?

Yes. Why on earth wouldn't he?

Because he is innocent until proven guilty, why should he have to pay out a substantial sum from his own pocket to voluntarily comply with a request from the UK court.

Because whether we agree with it or not that's the way it works here. Choice after charge - depending on the offence - is bail to appear at court or remand in custody. The latter is usually to the next available court after which that court will decide whether to release on bail or remand to prison pending trial.

As far as the OP's friend is concerned there appears to have been sufficient evidence to charge him with whatever offence(s) have been alleged.
At that time he could have agreed to return for his court date or said he wasn't going to. If he had opted for the latter he would probably have been remanded in custody. Clearly it was believed that he will attend court on the appointed date & was released on bail - which I'm presuming was unconditional.
If he chooses not to return then it will either be extradition proceedings - which could see him arrested & held in custody in NZ followed by escorted flight to UK & remand in custody - or the next time he returns he will be arrested at the point of entry for failing to answer bail & remanded in custody pending the matter going to court.

[TooMany2cvs]

vanordinaire said:

TooMany2cvs said:

vanordinaire said:

My question is quite simply, does he have to arrange and pay for flights etc himself?

Yes. Why on earth wouldn't he?

Because he is innocent until proven guilty, why should he have to pay out a substantial sum from his own pocket to voluntarily comply with a request from the UK court.

He doesn't HAVE to appear in court, of course. He could submit his defence remotely.

[vanordinaire]

TooMany2cvs said:

vanordinaire said:

TooMany2cvs said:

vanordinaire said:

My question is quite simply, does he have to arrange and pay for flights etc himself?

Yes. Why on earth wouldn't he?

Because he is innocent until proven guilty, why should he have to pay out a substantial sum from his own pocket to voluntarily comply with a request from the UK court.

He doesn't HAVE to appear in court, of course. He could submit his defence remotely.

I didn't realise that was an option, I don't know whether he does, but as I've said previously it's all academic, he fully intends to return to prove his innocence, it was just my personal opinion that it is rather unfair to expect someone to have to pay to defend themselves with no recompense when found innocent.

[Stoofa]

Surely he could also not bother responding to the court papers and if/when extradition processes begin he'll get "free travel" back to the UK for trial

[wgl2014]

TooMany2cvs said:

He doesn't HAVE to appear in court, of course. He could submit his defence remotely.

.


If he has been bailed to appear at court, that means he does have to attend.

Under some circs such as a speeding summons then a solicitor could defend the case without the accused present however that is different and does not appear to apply here.

[TooMany2cvs]

wgl2014 said:

If he has been bailed to appear at court, that means he does have to attend.

Hey, I'm not saying it's a smart move, but...

[wgl2014]

TooMany2cvs said:

Hey, I'm not saying it's a smart move, but...

Fair play!

OP - without anything too specific what is the allegation? I assume that the date your friend has is to enter a plea following which a date will be set for trial either at Mags or Crown court and this is worth bearing in mind as it 'may' be possible to have a plea entered on his behalf by a solicitor however this is likely to need to be agreed on by CPS prior to the day. Your friend may well end up having to come back to the UK more than once before the wheels of justice stop turning!

[vanordinaire]

wgl2014 said:

TooMany2cvs said:

Hey, I'm not saying it's a smart move, but...

Fair play!

OP - without anything too specific what is the allegation? I assume that the date your friend has is to enter a plea following which a date will be set for trial either at Mags or Crown court and this is worth bearing in mind as it 'may' be possible to have a plea entered on his behalf by a solicitor however this is likely to need to be agreed on by CPS prior to the day. Your friend may well end up having to come back to the UK more than once before the wheels of justice stop turning!

He's already been to court (sheriff court, it's in Scotland) and plead not guilty and given unconditional bail. There's a preliminary hearing in 6 weeks followed by a trial 2 weeks later if they decide to proceed at that point.

[TooMany2cvs]

wgl2014 said:

OP - without anything too specific what is the allegation?

To have put a flag on the passport, and arrested at the airport, then I'm guessing it's not a speeding ticket... I idly find myself wondering if it might be related to him emigrating in the first place.

[wgl2014]

vanordinaire said:

He's already been to court (sheriff court, it's in Scotland) and plead not guilty and given unconditional bail. There's a preliminary hearing in 6 weeks followed by a trial 2 weeks later if they decide to proceed at that point.

OK.. At this point I will bow out, I have no experience of the system North of the border.

[vanordinaire]

TooMany2cvs said:

wgl2014 said:

OP - without anything too specific what is the allegation?

To have put a flag on the passport, and arrested at the airport, then I'm guessing it's not a speeding ticket... I idly find myself wondering if it might be related to him emigrating in the first place.

I can't give details, but it was from an allegation made by an ex of his about an incident that occurred over 20 years ago. Apparently the allegation was made fairly recently after some communication between them while he was abroad. He had no idea that the allegation had been made and completely denies the incident. He has given evidence to the police that at least some of the details given of the incident are provably false, although he wasn't able to produce that evidence at the time of his arrest.

[jith]

vanordinaire said:

TooMany2cvs said:

wgl2014 said:

OP - without anything too specific what is the allegation?

To have put a flag on the passport, and arrested at the airport, then I'm guessing it's not a speeding ticket... I idly find myself wondering if it might be related to him emigrating in the first place.

I can't give details, but it was from an allegation made by an ex of his about an incident that occurred over 20 years ago. Apparently the allegation was made fairly recently after some communication between them while he was abroad. He had no idea that the allegation had been made and completely denies the incident. He has given evidence to the police that at least some of the details given of the incident are provably false, although he wasn't able to produce that evidence at the time of his arrest.

There's no way to break this to you gently, but I'm afraid there is no facility in a Scottish Criminal Court to award expenses such as travel, unless you are a witness. Even if your friend wins, he would have to pay all of his expenses, including a solicitor.

I am also going to assume that he would not be eligible for legal aid as he is not a Scottish resident.

Can I strongly urge you to advise him to contact a Scottish Solicitor to contact the Fiscal and find out exactly what the charges are against him and what evidence they have. I have met some humdingers in the Fiscal service who give not one jot for the accused's rights and frequently tread all over them only to drop the case from lack of evidence after several court appearances. This is inconvenient in the extreme at the best of times; but to travel from NZ for this to happen is bloody outrageous!!

GET A SOLICITOR!

J

[Cooperman]

The questions which come to mind are:

Is the alleged offence serious enough to justify extradition?
Is the alleged offender likely to want to return to the UK at some time?
What would be the situation if he simply couldn't afford to travel to the UK at his own expense?

Maybe a letter from a NZ lawyer to the Procurator Fiscal to the effect that the alleged offender can't afford the cost of the travelling to and accommodation in the UK and asking for the advice of the PF. The letter could state that the alleged offender will be pleased to return to the UK upon receipt of an air ticket and that he will be robustly defending his innocence in court.

At a guess is that unless the alleged offence is one which could result in a long prison term it will be dropped as not in the public interest to try to proceed. But then it may be a very serious offence, in which case why was unconditional bail granted in the first place and his passport not confiscated?