A Briton who is wanted in Sicily to serve a pending three-year jail term for drug trafficking will only be extradited once ongoing criminal proceedings in Malta are concluded, the Constitutional Court has ruled.

Sending the man to Sicily before the drug case in Malta was concluded would be in breach of his right to a fair hearing within a reasonable time, the court said.

In April the Magistrates’ Court ordered the extradition of Richard Alistair Cranston, 43, who had been on the run for two years after being convicted in Sicily of drug trafficking. He had been sentenced to three years and 19 days in jail in Sicily but was released after a year on condition he stayed in Italy. He had filed an appeal and won the right to get his passport back.

Mr Cranston consented to being sent to Italy but asked that he first be allowed to conclude the case in Malta where he was charged with the possession of drugs with the intent to sell.

The court, however, ruled that Mr Cranston was to be returned to Italy to serve the remainder of his term and then return to Malta to continue proceedings.

He, however, took the matter to the First Hall of the Civil Court in its constitutional jurisdiction. He claimed the drug case against him in Malta had reached the phase when he had to defend himself. Sending him back to Sicily would not allow him to make his case and would cause delays that would breach his right to a hearing within a reasonable time.

The First Hall turned down the request as the European Arrest Warrant demanded his return to Sicily. He appealed the decision before the Constitutional Court presided over by Chief Justice Silvio Camilleri, Mr Justice Geoffrey Valenzia and Mr Justice Giannino Caruana Demajo.

They pointed out that, if the case in Malta resumed on his return, that would cause delays that would be in breach of his rights. Lawyers José Herrera and Veronique Dalli represented Mr Cranston.