The Supreme Court granted Christian Sunday Asaiki leave to appeal directly from the High Court against an order for his surrender to Italy, on 31 March 2026.
Italy seeks his surrender to serve a sentence of eight years, imposed on 11 April 2018 after a conviction in his absence. The sentence became final on 7 May 2018.
Mr Asaiki was released from pre-trial detention on 1 March 2015, after appointing his own lawyer and nominating an Italian address for service. He had by then spent six months in pre-trial custody.
Court papers sent to that address were not collected, so they were served on his lawyer. On 3 February 2016 the Italian judge ordered the trial to go ahead without him, finding he knew of the proceedings.
A further order on 11 January 2017 confirmed that finding, and he was then convicted in his absence. On 14 November 2025, Mr Justice Hunt in the High Court ordered his surrender.
Mr Asaiki argues that section 45 of the European Arrest Warrant Act 2003 gives him a right to demand a retrial. The High Court found he had knowingly absented himself from the trial.
The Supreme Court said the law has developed since its 2020 decision in an earlier case. It found it in the public interest to settle the interpretation of section 45 by an authoritative judgment.
Mr Asaiki is currently in custody, and the court expects to be able to give an early hearing date. The panel was Chief Justice O'Donnell and Justices Hogan and Donnelly.