Courts / Cork / Report
French request for Bailey extradition points 'a storm in a teacup'
Summary
In a High Court hearing on 18 May 2020, Mr Justice Paul Burns dismissed two letters from French authorities that sought access to Ian Bailey's legal submissions regarding his extradition. The judge ruled the correspondence was not from the Issuing Judicial Authority and therefore irrelevant to the proceedings, describing the request as "a storm in a teacup." Bailey, 63, faces a 25‑year sentence for the murder of Sophie Toscan du Plantier and is scheduled to contest the extradition on 15 July. Counsel for the Minister, Robert Barron SC, noted the State had brought the letters to the court's attention, while Bailey's solicitor, Ronan Munro SC, argued the request was non‑justiciable and outside statutory procedure. Mr Justice Burns emphasised that proper communication should have been with the Issuing Judicial Authority, and the court would treat the letters as a matter of caution until further instruction.
Who, what, where, when and why
What: Report matter: French request for Bailey extradition points 'a storm in a teacup'. Procedural stage: charge_or_pretrial
When:
- July 15 Adjournment
- March 18 Hearing Or Sentence
- April 14 Hearing Or Sentence
- December 1996 Hearing Or Sentence
- May 2019 Adjournment
- 2020-05-18 Publication
Why: Last week, Mr Munro explained that a request was received from French authorities to view the submissions from both the State and Mr Bailey ahead of the extradition hearing in July. CNI source report
Places mentioned
Topics
Stage Charge Or Pretrial Violent Crime
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 submissions 'unprecedented'
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