An 89-year-old Perth man will not seek compensation for wrongful imprisonment after a court ruled he could not be extradited to Hungary to face a war crimes investigation, his lawyer says.

In the Federal Court in Perth On July 2, Justice Neil McKerracher found Charles Zentai was not an extraditable person and Home Affairs Minister Brendan O'Connor's decision to extradite him was void.

The Commonwealth government is yet to decide whether to appeal the ruling.

Advertisement: Story continues below Mr Zentai is accused in Hungary of being one of three Nazi-backed Hungarian soldiers who assaulted and murdered Jewish teenager Peter Balazs in Budapest in November 1944.

In 2005, a Hungarian military judge issued an arrest warrant for Mr Zentai, alleging he captured and assaulted Mr Balazs over a number of hours before dumping his body in the Danube River.

In his July ruling, Justice McKerracher found Mr O'Connor failed to properly consider whether it would be "oppressive and incompatible with humanitarian consideration" to extradite Mr Zentai due to his age, ill health and the severity of the sentence he might face.

Mr Zentai on Monday was back in the Federal Court to hear legal submissions on his bail status and legal costs.

His lawyer, Malcolm McCusker, told the court "it's not intended to sue the commonwealth and take action over wrongful imprisonment" though, he added, his client should never have been imprisoned.

Mr McCusker sought orders that Mr Zentai was no longer a person on bail and that his court costs for his successful appeal against his extradition should be paid in full by the commonwealth.

The commonwealth has suggested paying 50 per cent of the costs.

Justice McKerracher reserved his decision on the orders which will trigger a 21-day period in which the commonwealth can appeal.

Outside court, Mr Zentai's son Ernie Steiner said there had been no indications from Hungary or the commonwealth about an appeal.

"We are just seeking a statement that my father should never have been imprisoned, he should never have been arrested in the first place.

"We won't be seeking compensation. My father wants to put an end to this," Mr Steiner said.

"We feel that even though he has been wrongfully arrested, wrongfully imprisoned, my father just wants to get on with his life. He wants to live his last few years in peace.

"He's been innocent right from the start. He's been portrayed in this terrible manner and so many things have been untrue."

Mr Steiner said his father, who had an ongoing heart condition, had been treated badly by the government and he hoped no one suffered a similar experience.

Hungarian-born Mr Zentai, a widower and great-grandfather, emigrated to Perth from Germany as a refugee in 1950 before becoming an Australian citizen in 1958.

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