The Supreme Court has dismissed Thomas O’Connor’s application to set aside its March 2017 decision in proceedings concerning his surrender to the United Kingdom under a European Arrest Warrant (EAW). The ruling leaves his separate Brexit argument to be addressed in the High Court.
O’Connor had asked the Supreme Court to undo its earlier order and remit the case to the High Court. The proposed hearing, scheduled for 4 July 2017, was to address Brexit and other issues concerning the EAW. The Court said the Constitution makes its decisions final and conclusive, subject only to an exceptional jurisdiction to set aside a decision where there has been a fundamental failure of justice.
The earlier proceedings began after the High Court ordered O’Connor’s surrender to serve a UK sentence for tax fraud offences and to face trial for failing to answer bail. The Supreme Court unanimously dismissed his appeal on 30 March 2017. That appeal concerned whether the legal aid arrangements for EAW cases breached constitutional equality or required a reference to the Court of Justice of the European Union. The Court ruled against him on both points.
In the new application, O’Connor also sought to raise matters including an earlier unsuccessful surrender attempt and alleged delay in issuing the second EAW. The judgment records these as arguments advanced on his behalf; it does not determine their underlying accuracy. The Court noted that these substantive objections had not been pursued in the original High Court proceedings and could not be revived by setting aside the Supreme Court’s decision. It also said that even if its own judgment were set aside, the case would return to the Supreme Court, not be sent back to the High Court.
The Minister for Justice accepted that O’Connor could argue that Brexit affected the proposed surrender. The Supreme Court said its ruling did not restrict that argument or the High Court’s power to decide how to hear it. It observed that the application to set aside the earlier judgment was not needed to allow the Brexit point to proceed.
Finding no arguable case under the exceptional jurisdiction, the Supreme Court dismissed the application. It did not decide the Brexit argument or make a new determination on surrender.