Lawyers for Ian Bailey are seeking orders requiring the State to pay costs at the highest level of his successful challenge to efforts to extradite him to France in connection with the 1996 murder in west Cork of French film-maker Sophie Toscan du Plantier.
The Supreme Court, which last week unanimously allowed Mr Bailey’s appeal against a High Court order for his extradition, was told today his lawyers are seeking costs at the highest level - on a solicitor/client basis - of the case. The costs are likely to amount to several million euro according to legal sources.
Mr Bailey’s lawyers also want the costs orders to include the costs incurred in securing expert opinion on areas of French law relevant to the appeal. Mr Bailey’s side had provided material from a French lawyer for the High Court case.
Several of the judges had remarked last week that it was only during the hearing of the Supreme Court appeal last January that the State had provided a document, regarded as crucial to the court’s ultimate decision there was no decision to “try”
Mr Bailey as required under Irish law, setting out the intentions of the French prosecution authorities.
When the proceedings were mentioned before the five judge court today, Martin Giblin SC, for Mr Bailey, said they would be seeking costs to include items not normally covered, include the cost of a French lawyer.
Following the court’s unanimous decision last week, the court said on that occasion that Mr Bailey was entitled to costs against the State of the High and Supreme Court extradition proceedings.
He was given liberty to apply for costs at the highest level but, when the matter came back before the court yesterday, Mr Giblin said he wanted an adjournment as a difficulty had arisen in the costs application.
It seemed specific items which had been incurred in the case were not covered by normal cost orders including the cost of a French lawyer, he said. He needed an opportunity to write to the Minister for Justice, who had brought the extradition case, about this, he added.
Asked by the Chief Justice, Mrs Justice Susan Denham, if he wanted the adjournment so as to make an application for solicitor/client costs, Mr Giblin said he did. Following consultation with the other judges, the Chief Justice adjourned the matter for three weeks.
Mr Bailey (55), a Manchester-born former journalist and law graduate who has lived here for many years, has always denied any involvement in the murder of Ms Toscan Du Plantier near her holiday home in Schull.
All five judges gave separate judgments last week allowing Mr Bailey’s appeal with some noting it arose in “unique circumstances” and raised “unprecedented” questions of law.