Cabal v United Mexican States (No 5)

The Federal Court presided over the case of Cabal v United Mexican States (No 5), where the applicants, Mrs Cabal and Mr Cabal, sought bail pending the review of their extradition to Mexico. The applicants argued that the conditions of their detention and the duration of their incarceration constituted special circumstances warranting their release on bail under section 21(6)(f)(iv) of the Extradition Act 1988 (Cth). The court had to determine whether the circumstances presented by the applicants were indeed special and warranted a departure from the statutory presumption against bail for extradition cases.

In assessing the applicants' arguments, the court carefully considered the conditions under which the applicants were detained, the length of time they had spent in custody, and the risk of absconding. The court noted that while it sympathised with the applicants' situation, the statutory presumption against bail applied unless special circumstances were shown. The court found that the conditions of detention, while perhaps harsh, did not diverge significantly from what is typically endured by individuals awaiting extradition. Additionally, the extended period of incarceration, though notable, did not, in the court's view, reach a level that would warrant bail under the Act. The risk of absconding, previously assessed as real, remained unchanged and, combined with the applicants' history of international travel and use of assumed identities, further dissuaded the court from granting bail. Consequently, the court held that the applicants had not demonstrated special circumstances sufficient to rebut the presumption against bail.

The court ultimately dismissed the applicants' motion for bail, reaffirming its earlier stance that the risk of the applicants absconding outweighed any considerations that might favour their release. The court did, however, reserve the applicants' liberty to reapply for bail if conditions materially changed or if new evidence arose that could impact the assessment of special circumstances.