The Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in two appeals this week.
On 8 October 2024, a panel of Lord Reed, Lord Sales, Lord Stephens, Lady Rose, and Lady Simler will hear Dartmoor National Park Authority v Darwall & Anor. The appellant landowners are seeking a declaration that section 10(1) of the Dartmoor Commons Act 1985 does not grant the public a right to camp or wild camp in the commons of Dartmoor National Park. That section provides that “the public shall have a right of access to the commons on foot and on horseback for the purpose of open-air recreation”. The High Court found for the landowners, while the Court of Appeal found that the statute included wild camping in its scope. The Court will grapple with that question and is also expected to address the Court of Appeal’s treatment of Pepper v Hart with respect to certain materials that the appellants say support their preferred interpretation.
On 9 October 2024, a panel of Lord Reed, Lord Lloyd-Jones, Lord Briggs, Lord Leggatt and Lord Stephens will tackle El-Khouri v Government of the United States of America. The appellant is accused of participating in a securities fraud. The Financial Conduct Authority investigated and concluded that there was insufficient evidence to prosecute. In New York, a grand jury indicted him and the US government sought his extradition. The appeal concerns whether the appellant’s alleged conduct constitutes an “extradition offence” under the Extradition Act 2003 in light of the requirement under section 137(3)(b) that his conduct would constitute an offence under UK law if it occurred there. The Court can be expected to consider the approach to assessing that query in circumstances where the conduct crosses international borders.
