Courts / Cork / Report

Third French bid to extradite Ian Bailey comes before High Court

Date
2019-12-02

Stage
Sentence

Primary locality
Schull

County
Cork

Summary

The High Court will decide later this month whether to endorse a French warrant for the extradition of Ian Bailey to France for the murder of filmmaker Sophie Toscan du Plantier. This is the third French attempt to secure Bailey's surrender. Bailey, 62, lives in Schull, Cork, and was convicted in absentia by a Paris court earlier this year, receiving a 25‑year prison sentence. He denies any involvement, did not attend the French trial, and has called the proceedings a "farce." Lawyers for the Minister for Justice presented a third European Arrest Warrant and noted that previous extradition attempts failed because the Supreme Court had ruled in 2012 that extradition was prohibited on extraterritoriality grounds. The Minister argued that new provisions in the Criminal Law (Extraterritorial Jurisdiction) Act 2019 might allow a different interpretation. Bailey's counsel, Ronan Munro SC, urged the court not to endorse the warrant, citing potential liberty loss.

Who, what, where, when and why

What: Report matter: Third French bid to extradite Ian Bailey comes before High Court. Charges or matters: the Frenchwoman's murder in his absence in a Paris court earlier this year. Procedural stage: sentence. Findings: Convicted

When:

December 1996 Hearing Or Sentence
December 16 Hearing Or Sentence
2019-12-02 Publication

Why: The Supreme Court had refused to extradite Mr Bailey in 2012, holding that surrender was prohibited 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