Courts / Dublin / Report

State must pay couple's cost in FGM miscarriage of justice case

Date
2026-07-31
Stage
Appeal
Primary locality
Dublin
County
Dublin

Summary

The State must pay a couple's costs in their successful application to have their wrongful conviction for female genital mutilation (FGM) of their one-year-old daughter declared a miscarriage of justice. The couple, who were the first in Ireland to be convicted of FGM, spent two years in prison before their convictions were quashed on appeal in 2021. A miscarriage of justice certificate was granted by the Court of Appeal, and the case was put back for a costs hearing. Mr Justice Patrick McCarthy noted that newly discovered facts in expert reports showed a miscarriage of justice. The court ruled that costs should follow the event, and the couple's legal teams had facilitated the efficient progress of the case. The couple had been convicted in 2019 but their convictions were overturned due to serious inaccuracies in the translation of their testimony to the jury.

Who, what, where, when and why

What: Report matter: State must pay couple's cost in FGM miscarriage of justice case. Procedural stage: appeal

When:

Why: The now 43-year-old man and 34-year-old woman spent two years in prison before their convictions were overturned by the Court of Appeal in November 2021, after it found the trial had been "unfair" because of "serious and far-reaching inaccuracies" in how the mother and father's testimony was translated to the jury. CNI source report

Places mentioned

Court Venue
  • Court of Appeal
  • Dublin
  • Dublin Circuit Criminal Court
Secondary Mention

Topics

Stage Appeal

Related court reports

Read the original CNI report

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