The High Court has said it is prepared to grant bail to a man awaiting a Supreme Court appeal against an order for his surrender to the United Kingdom, finding that the State had not shown a real risk he would commit further offences to delay that process.
In a judgment delivered on 4 March 2014, Mr Justice Edwards considered the man’s application for bail under section 16(12) of the European Arrest Warrant Act 2003. The High Court had ordered his surrender in July 2013, and he had appealed after receiving a certificate that the case raised a point of law of exceptional public importance.
The applicant was wanted in Scotland for prosecution on seven alleged offences, including threats, a hoax involving noxious substances and five bomb hoaxes. He had been in custody since July 2012. The allegations in the European arrest warrant had not been tried in the Irish proceedings, and the judgment stressed that he remained presumed innocent.
The State did not argue that he was likely to abscond. Its objection was that he might use telecommunications or internet access to commit further offences deliberately, delaying any eventual surrender if his appeal failed. A Garda detective cited the applicant’s two prior Irish convictions involving menacing communications, as well as the alleged offences in the warrant and reports of a possible United States indictment. The court said there was no substantive evidence before it supporting the alleged Scottish offences or the reported US indictment.
The judge found that the applicant had a demonstrated propensity to communicate menacing threats, but no evidence that he had previously done so to frustrate a court process. There was no cogent evidence he planned further offences for that purpose. The risk relied on by the State was therefore speculative, and the presumption in favour of bail had not been rebutted.
The court outlined routine bail conditions, including residence at an approved address, signing on at a Garda station, remaining in the jurisdiction, pursuing the appeal diligently, attending court when required, and keeping the peace and being of good behaviour. It also proposed that he have no internet access and not acquire, own or use an internet-capable phone. A basic phone without internet access or a landline could be used for routine calls and emergencies. He would have to tell Gardaí the number of any mobile phone he acquired and make it available for call-history checks when signing on.
The State would have liberty to apply if concerns arose about compliance. The judgment says the court would discuss the final form of the order with counsel; it does not record a completed final bail order.