1. (1) Where in the first instance a warrant is sought for the arrest of a person charging him or her with having committed an indictable offence, the complaint shall be made to a Judge and shall be made by information on oath and in writing (Form 15.3 Schedule B).

(2) Having received such complaint, the Judge may issue a warrant (Form 16.1 Schedule B) if the offence is stated to have been committed, or if such person resides, within the Judge's district.

(3) A Judge may issue such warrant whether the information has been sworn before him or her or before another Judge. Where the information has been sworn before another Judge, the duly completed information shall be produced to the Judge issuing the warrant.

(4) Any such information may be sworn and any such warrant may be issued or executed on any day and at any time.

Signing of warrants

2.(1) A warrant shall be signed by the Judge who issues it and no warrant shall be signed in blank.

(2) A warrant shall not be avoided by reason of the death of the Judge who signed it or by reason of his or her ceasing to hold office.

O.15, rr. 8 and 9 to apply to warrants.

3. The provisions of Order 15, rules 8 and 9 of these Rules shall apply to warrants charging offences and those provisions shall be construed accordingly.

Summons in lieu of warrant, but warrant may issue at any time.

4. Having received a complaint to which rule 1 (1) of this Order relates, a Judge may issue a summons instead of a warrant notwithstanding that the complaint had been made by sworn information. A Judge who has issued such summons may at any time (the complaint having been made by sworn information) issue a warrant for the arrest of the person to whom the summons was directed.

Power to arrest without warrant — warrant may still issue.

5.^[1]

Where suspect is within Judge's jurisdiction Judge may issue warrant

6. Where a complaint is made to a Judge that a person has committed or is believed to have committed, outside the jurisdiction of such Judge, any indictable offence and that such person is, or is suspected to be, within the limits of the jurisdiction of such Judge, the Judge may, upon the complaint being made on oath and in writing, issue a warrant (Form 16.1 Schedule B) for the arrest of the said person.

Binding over of informant

7. Where an information is made on oath and in writing, the Judge before whom it is made may, if he or she thinks fit, bind the informant by recognisance to appear at the Court where the person against whom the compliant was made is to be tried or the compliant is to be heard and at any adjournment thereof to give evidence in the matter of the said compliant.

Application for Issue of European Arrest Warrant

8^[2] (1) In this rule, the expressions “alert”, “Central Authority in the State”, “European arrest warrant”, “Framework Decision”, “judicial authority”, and “Member State” have the meanings given to each of them by the European Arrest Warrant Act 2003 (the “Act of 2003”)

(2) An application to the District Court by or on behalf of the Director of Public Prosecutions, for the issue of a European arrest warrant (constituting a request for entry of an alert) pursuant to section 33 of the Act of 2003 in respect of a person shall be made by information on oath and in writing to a Judge of the District Court sitting in the District Court which has issued the domestic warrant. Such information shall be in the Form 16.2, Schedule B. Such information shall include the particulars required by sub-rule (3). The Judge may issue a European arrest warrant:

(a) where the Judge is satisfied that-

(i)  a domestic warrant has been issued for the arrest of that person but has not been executed, and

(ii) the person is not in the State, and

(b) where-

(i) the person would, if convicted, be liable to a term of imprisonment or detention of 12 months or more than 12 months, or

(ii) a term of imprisonment or detention of not less than 4 months has been imposed on the person in respect of the offence concerned and the person is required to serve all or part of that term of imprisonment or detention.

(3) A European arrest warrant shall be in the Form 16.3, Schedule B, and in so far as is practicable, be in the form set out in the Annex to the Framework Decision, and shall specify the following particulars 

(a) the name and the nationality of the person to whom it relates,

(b) the name, address, fax number and e-mail address of the District Court Office for the District in which the Court was sitting when it issued the European arrest warrant,

(c) the offence to which the European arrest warrant relates including a description thereof,

(d) that a conviction, sentence or detention order is immediately enforceable against the person, or that a warrant for his or her arrest has been issued in respect of that offence,

(e) the circumstances in which the offence was committed or is alleged to have been committed, including the time and place of its commission or alleged commission, and the degree of involvement or alleged degree of involvement of the person in the commission of the offence, and

(f) (i) the penalties to which the person named in the European arrest warrant would, if convicted of the offence to which the European arrest warrant relates, be liable,

(ii) where the person named in the European arrest warrant has been convicted of the offence specified therein and a sentence has been imposed in respect thereof, the penalties of which that sentence consists, and

(iii) where the person named in the European arrest warrant has been convicted of the offence specified therein but has not yet been sentenced, the penalties to which he or she is liable in respect of the offence.

(4) Where it is not practicable for the European arrest warrant to be in the form set out in the Annex to the Framework Decision, the European arrest warrant shall, in addition to containing the information specified in subsection (2) of section 33 of the Act of 2003, include such other information as would be required to be provided were it in that form.