The Court of appeal has upheld findings by the District Court and the High Court that Kim Dotcom is eligible for extradition to the United States, but Dotcom quickly signalled what was expected, he would seek leave too appeal from the Supreme Court.
RNZ: Kim Dotcom eligible to be extradited to US, court rules
The Court of Appeal released its finding today, upholding the decision of the High Court and District Court.
Mr Dotcom and his three co-accused – Bram Van der Kolk, Matthias Ortmann and Finn Batato – are eligible for surrender on charges of money-laundering and copyright breaches related to the defunct file-sharing website Megaupload.
The court also ruled that evidence Mr Dotcom and his co-accused said they were prevented from calling would not have affected the decision to extradite.
“The evidence the appellants say the United States wrongfully prevented them from calling would not affect the question of whether there is sufficient evidence to make out a prima facie case.”
From the judgment:
[332] We accordingly confirm the eligibility determination made by the District Court. We direct that the District Court should now proceed without further delay to complete its duties under s 26 of the Extradition Act in accordance with the determination.
[333] We dismiss the appeal against Gilbert J’s decision to decline judicial review.
RNZ:
The decision on extradition now rests ith the Minister of Justice Andrew Little, according to the Extradition Act.
That may not be the case, given Dotcom’s response:
But three different courts have supported extradition.
Dotcom has the money to take this to the highest judicial level, and his money has bought him years of time, but the time at least could be running out.
Stuff: Kim Dotcom loses appeal against extradition, will take case to Supreme Court
After losing their case against extradition in the North Shore District Court, and then on appeal in the High Court, the four men had appealed to the Court of Appeal, which on Thursday rejected their arguments.
Dotcom said he was “extremely disappointed” by the decision, and would appeal it to the Supreme Court.
“My legal team are confident that the Supreme Court will hear the appeal given there are such significant legal issues at stake,” Dotcom said.
Dotcom, in his response to the judgment, said: “The court’s interpretation of the relevant copyright provisions cannot be right.
“The precedent set is concerning and has ramifications in New Zealand outside my case. The decision exposes Internet Service Providers to criminal liability for the misuse of their services by users, as is claimed against me.
This is something that, as any rudimentary review of the legislative history makes clear, and the High Court accepted, was never intended. The Court was taken through that history but has not referred to it.
“As people will know, I am prepared to fight to get justice, whether it is for me or others,” Dotcom said.
More to the point, he is trying to avoid facing the US justice system.
However, acting Prime Minister Winston Peters said the possibility of appealing wasn’t clear cut.
“I am told he seeks to appeal, whether he can or not is a matter of debate.
I think that seeking leave to appeal from the Supreme Court will happen before it goes to the Minister of Justice for a final decision.
