Rahardja v The Governor, Long Bay Hospital

In this case, the applicant, Mr Rahardja, applied for a writ of habeas corpus to challenge the legality of his detention. He was detained under the authority of the Attorney General, who was considering whether to extradite him to Indonesia. Mr Rahardja had been convicted in Indonesia in absentia for drug trafficking and was awaiting extradition. The applicant argued that the legal proceedings under the Extradition Act 1988 had been exhausted and that he could not be extradited due to the principle of autrefois convict. Additionally, he contended that the charges for extradition were no longer extant and that the Supreme Court had jurisdiction to issue the writ.

The court was required to determine whether the applicant's detention was lawful and whether the Supreme Court had jurisdiction to issue the writ of habeas corpus. Furthermore, the court needed to consider whether the principle of autrefois convict applied, whether the extradition charges were still extant, and whether the applicant's terminal cancer constituted special circumstances warranting bail pending the hearing.

The court held that the applicant's detention was unlawful as the legal proceedings under the Extradition Act 1988 had been exhausted. It was found that the principle of autrefois convict applied, and the extradition charges were no longer extant. The Supreme Court's jurisdiction to issue the writ was not excluded, and the applicant's terminal cancer constituted special circumstances warranting bail pending the hearing. Consequently, the court granted the writ of habeas corpus and ordered the applicant's release on bail.