Attorney General -v- Anthony Abimbola and Anthony Abimbola -v- Cloverhill Prison and Ors [2007] IESC 56 (28 November 2007)

Attorney General -v- Anthony Abimbola and Anthony Abimbola -v- Cloverhill Prison and Ors [2007] IESC 56 (28 November 2007)

Once the statutory instrument applying Part II of the Extradition Act, 1965 to Germany was revoked, that Part ceased to apply to Germany, and no further steps could lawfully be taken under it, rendering the appellant's detention and extradition proceedings invalid. Article 32 of the Framework Decision and the Interpretation Acts did not preserve the validity of such proceedings.

Citation
[2007] IESC 56
Parties
Applicant/respondent: Attorney General; Respondent/appellant: Anthony Abimbola; Respondent: Governor of Cloverhill Prison; Respondents: Minister for Justice Equality and Law Reform, Ireland and the Attorney General
Jurisdiction
Ireland
Judgment Date
28 November 2007
Procedural Posture
Extradition/habeas Corpus Appeal / Supreme Court Appeal From High Court Orders
Outcome
Appeal allowed; High Court order set aside; immediate release ordered.
Legal Topics
Extradition Procedures, Revocation of Statutory Instruments, European Arrest Warrant, Interpretation of Statutes, Transitional Provisions, Habeas Corpus
Criminal Law Extradition Law Constitutional Law European Union Law Extradition Procedures Revocation of Statutory Instruments European Arrest Warrant Interpretation of Statutes +2 more

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Parties

Attorney General

Applicant/respondent

Anthony Abimbola

Respondent/appellant

Governor of Cloverhill Prison

Respondent

Minister for Justice Equality and Law Reform, Ireland and the Attorney General

Respondents

Procedural Posture

Extradition/habeas Corpus Appeal / Supreme Court Appeal From High Court Orders

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether Part II of the Extradition Act, 1965 continued to apply to Germany after its revocation by statutory instrument
  2. 2 Whether Article 32 of the Framework Decision on the European Arrest Warrant required continued application of previous extradition law to requests received before 1 January 2004
  3. 3 Whether the Interpretation Acts preserved the validity of extradition proceedings commenced before revocation

Ratio Decidendi

Once the statutory instrument applying Part II of the Extradition Act, 1965 to Germany was revoked, that Part ceased to apply to Germany, and no further steps could lawfully be taken under it, rendering the appellant's detention and extradition proceedings invalid. Article 32 of the Framework Decision and the Interpretation Acts did not preserve the validity of such proceedings.

Court Disposition

Appeal allowed; High Court order set aside; immediate release ordered.

Orders

  • Appellant to be released immediately from custody.
  • High Court order for surrender to Germany set aside.