Steven Powles KC and Jake Taylor secure discharge of extradition warrant in complex Subversive Associations accusation

Steven Powles KC and Jake Taylor secure withdrawal of complex accusation warrant relating to the offence of Subversive Association in Austria. The Requested Person was ultimately discharged by Westminster Magistrates’ Court. 

The Requested Person was alleged to have established an organisation called the Global Court of the Common Law (“GCCL”), a vigilante justice system said to be aimed at undermining and replacing the Austrian judiciary. The Requested Person was said to have exercised a leadership role in the GCCL which intended that so-called ‘sheriffs’ abduct people for them to be put them on trial before judges of the GCCL. Established in 2016, and registered as an NGO with the United Nations, the Requested Person’s case was that the GCCL was set up with the aim of helping people and families who had suffered from child abuse.

The Requested Person had previously been extradited from Lichtenstein to Austria for linked offences but extradition for Subversive Association was barred by Lichtenstein on the ground that it was a political offence. Following the collapse of the linked matters in Austria, the Requested Person travelled to the UK and a subsequent warrant for Subversive Association allegations was issued.

Steven and Jake argued that the request for extradition by Austria amounted to an abuse of process on grounds that it was in breach of the speciality protection afforded to the Requested Person following Lichtenstein’s refusal to extradite him for Subversive Association. They worked closely with experts in both Lichtenstein and Austria (lawyer Michael Ibesich) to ensure that speciality protection was properly applied and respected.

Arguments regarding speciality were ultimately advanced in the Supreme Court of Austria by the Procurator General – the highest instance of public prosecutor's offices in the Republic of Austria who acts, not as a prosecutor, but as a custodian of the law and initiator of jurisprudence. The Supreme Court of Austria accepted arguments in relation to speciality and annulled the arrest warrant. This resulted in the withdrawal of the extradition warrant and the discharge of the Requested Person.

Steven and Jake were instructed by Atabak Eshagian of Eshagian & Co.