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France fails in third bid to extradite Ian Bailey for filmmaker's murder
Summary
In a High Court hearing on 12 October 2020, Mr Justice Paul Burns refused to order the extradition of British citizen Ian Bailey to France, where he faces a 25‑year prison sentence for the murder of filmmaker Sophie Toscan du Plantier. The judge held that Bailey's surrender remains precluded under Section 44 of the European Arrest Warrant Act 2003, citing an "accrued or vested right" from earlier judicial determinations that barred his surrender. The decision follows two prior French extradition attempts: a 2010 request that was overturned by the Supreme Court in 2012, and a 2017 High Court ruling that deemed the request an abuse of process. Bailey, aged 63, was arrested in December 2019 on a European Arrest Warrant and has been remanded on bail. The judge adjourned formal orders for two weeks to allow the State to seek leave to appeal.
Who, what, where, when and why
What: Report matter: France fails in third bid to extradite Ian Bailey for filmmaker's murder. Charges or matters: the French woman's murder in his absence in a Paris court in May 2019. Procedural stage: sentence
When:
- December 2019 Adjournment
- December 1996 Incident
- July 2017 Incident
- May 2019 Hearing Or Sentence
- October 27 Adjournment
- 2020-10-12 Publication
Why: The judge also found that surrender of the Englishman was prevented because of an "accrued or vested right" on the part of Mr Bailey "to the benefit of the previous judicial determinations refusing such surrender". CNI source report
Case subjects
Defendant
Charges: the French woman's murder in his absence in a Paris court in May 2019 (Alleged Or Contested)
Outcome: Credit: Collins) A third attempt to extradite Ian Bailey to France, where he is facing a 25-year prison sentence for the murder of filmmaker Sophie Toscan du Plantier, has failed after a High Court judge today refused to order his surrender. The three-judge Cour d'Assises (criminal trial court) in Paris accordingly imposed a 25-year prison sentence on Mr Bailey in his absence.; He was remanded on bail after a High Court judge subsequently endorsed what was the third EAW seeking his extradition to France.
Places mentioned
- High Court
- The High Court
- Supreme Court
- France. The Irish High Court
Topics
Related court reports
- State won't appeal refusal to surrender Bailey
- 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'
- French request for Bailey extradition submissions 'unprecedented'
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