The case centres on an appeal by Soufiane Mountassir, 40, whose prison term was almost doubled after he forced his then-partner into the boot of her car and later subjected her to a violent assault.

In a recently published determination, a three-judge panel confirmed the court would hear Mountassir’s appeal, after the Court of Appeal ruled in October that his original three-year sentence was unduly lenient and increased it to five-and-a-half years.

The Supreme Court judges said the case raised issues of general public importance, particularly concerning how the Domestic Violence Act 2018 should be applied in sentencing for violent offences in intimate-partner contexts – an area not yet addressed by the court.

They said it was in the interests of justice that sentencing practices in this area be clarified.

Mountassir, of Mountjoy Square, Dublin 1, pleaded guilty in December 2023 at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to one count of false imprisonment and one count of assault causing harm to his then-partner. The offences took place in the early hours of 13 November 2022 on Blackhall Street, Dublin 7.

The court heard that he had been drinking, taking Dalmane and cocaine, and smoking cannabis throughout the day. He then launched into what Judge Orla Crowe was told by his ex-partner was a “blind rage”. She told the court she feared for her life as she was subjected to nearly two hours of beating and kicking. He was said to have punched her and rammed her head into the steering wheel.

He was sentenced to three years’ imprisonment. The Director of Public Prosecutions appealed the sentence as unduly lenient. It was overturned on appeal, resulting in one of five-and-a-half years.