Minister for Justice and Equality v O'Connell
| Jurisdiction | Ireland |
| Judge | O'Donnell J.,McKechnie J.,Charleton J. |
| Judgment Date | 14 May 2019 |
| Neutral Citation | [2019] IESCDET 94 |
| Court | Supreme Court |
| Date | 14 May 2019 |
[2019] IESCDET 94
THE SUPREME COURT
DETERMINATION
O'Donnell J.
McKechnie J.
Charleton J.
IN THE MATTER OF THE EUROPEAN ARREST WARRANT ACT 2003 (AS AMENDED) AND IN THE MATTER OF DANIEL O'CONNELL (DOB: 10 th day of May 1953)
RESULT: The Court does not grant leave to the Respondent / Applicant to appeal to this Court directly from the High Court.
| COURT: High Court |
| DATE OF JUDGMENT OR RULING: 22 nd February, 2019 |
| DATE OF ORDER: 22 nd February, 2019 |
| DATE OF PERFECTION OF ORDER: 22 nd February, 2019 |
| THE APPLICATION FOR LEAVE TO APPEAL WAS MADE ON 8 th March, 2019 AND WAS IN TIME. |
The applicant seeks leave to appeal to this court pursuant to Article 34.5.4° of the Constitution against the decision of the High Court (Donnelly J.) (see [2019] IEHC 95) that he be surrendered to the United Kingdom to serve the remaining portion of a 7 year sentence of imprisonment imposed in default of payment under a confiscation order made on 20 January 2003. The sentence related to a conviction in Middlesex Guildhall Crown Court in August 2000, in respect of five offences of being knowingly concerned in a fraudulent evasion of VAT. After the hearing, the applicant was sentenced to 8 years imprisonment and was released on licence in March 2003. In January of that year, prior to his release, he had been made the subject of a confiscation order which was to be paid by 31 May 2004. In default of compliance with the confiscation order, the 7 year sentence to which the present application for surrender relates was activated. According to the terms of the EAW, which were not contradicted or challenged by the applicant, that additional sentence is considered under the law of the United Kingdom to form part of the overall sentence imposed in respect of the offence of which the applicant was convicted.
A warrant for committal of the applicant was issued on 20 September 2016. As a result, the EAW which is the subject matter of these proceedings was issued. The applicant brought proceedings in the United Kingdom seeking to prevent the sentence being operated against him, and those proceedings were unsuccessful. The EAW proceedings in this jurisdiction were initially adjourned pending the decision of this court in O'Connor v. Minister for Justice and Equality [2018] IESC 3, (Unreported, Supreme Court, 1 February 2018) and the outcome of the reference to the CJEU in Minister for Justice and Equality v. R.O. ( C-327/18 PPU) [2019] 1 C.M.L.R. 20, in which similar issues arose. The reference to the CJEU in O'Connor was subsequently withdrawn and order of the High Court affirmed in light of the judgment of the CJEU in R.O....
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