Beauxdine Peter Delamere of New Zealand filed a claim with the court challenging their jurisdiction, challenging the lawfulness of his conviction, and by extension says his detention is unlawful, among other things.
He was sentenced by a judge on August 9, 2001 to spend three years and five months in prison for being convicted of the following: intentionally impending breath (not certain what this is), aggravated assault, indecent assault of a female over 16, assault with intent to injure, threatening to kill/commit grievous bodily harm, contravening a protection order and perverting the course of justice. He is not to be released until April 29, 2023.
His rationale for why he is being held unlawfully stems from “Certain international treaties and other international law instruments including the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) and He Whakaputanga the Declaration of Independence had been breached in the course of his engagement with the criminal justice process.”
His arguments are being recognized by the court as being sovereign citizen in nature. The court notes that sovereign citizen arguments in New Zealand have been “consistently rejected by the court.”
“In Che v The Department of Corrections, this Court said “incomprehensible statements about being the natural person or not being the natural person or a trustee or a beneficiary and not being susceptible to the laws of the country are properly and summarily rejected by the Courts.”
Ultimate, his application was refused.
So far, I’m not aware of any cases in the United States, and now beyond the United States, in which the sovereign citizen argument has been successful.