Courts / Cork / Report
State seeking to refer Supreme Court ruling on Ian Bailey case to European courts
Summary
Lawyers for the Minister for Justice have asked the High Court to refer a 2012 Supreme Court decision that placed an absolute bar on the extradition of Ian Bailey to France to the European Courts of Justice. The case concerns Bailey, 60, who denies involvement in the 1996 death of Sophie Tuscan du Plantier, found dead outside her holiday home in Schull. French authorities sought Bailey's surrender in 2010 and again in 2016, but the Supreme Court ruled in 2012 that Section 44 of the European Arrest Warrant Act created an absolute jurisdictional bar because the alleged offence was committed outside French territory and Irish law does not allow prosecution for the same offence abroad by a non‑Irish citizen. Counsel for the Minister, Robert Barron SC, argues that the Supreme Court's majority interpretation was incorrect and that the dissenting judge's view should be examined by the European Courts.
Who, what, where, when and why
What: Report matter: State seeking to refer Supreme Court ruling on Ian Bailey case to European courts. Procedural stage: charge_or_pretrial
When:
- December 1996 Hearing Or Sentence
- July 2016 Hearing Or Sentence
- June 14 Hearing Or Sentence
- 2017-06-02 Publication
Why: A five-judge panel of the Supreme Court refused to surrender Mr Bailey in 2012 and four of the five judges upheld Mr Bailey's argument that section 44 prohibits surrender because the alleged offence was committed outside French territory and Irish law does not allow prosecution for the same offence when committed outside its territory by a non-Irish citizen. Prosecution account reported by CNI
Case subjects
Accused
Places mentioned
Topics
Related court reports
- State won't appeal refusal to surrender Bailey
- France fails in third bid to extradite Ian Bailey for filmmaker's murder
- Ireland has bizarrely become 'safe haven' for Ian Bailey, State tells hearing
- Tragic death of Sophie Toscan du Planiter not forgotten, judge says
- Ian Bailey has 'ironclad right' not to be extradited to France over filmmaker's murder, High Court told
- French request for Bailey extradition points 'a storm in a teacup'
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