Canada did not "void" the court's decision, not did it deny his application "despite" the court's ruling.
The court's decision was fully executed. He won his appeal on the basis of a different statutory provision that was in effect at the time of his application. The government obeyed the court when it accepted a fresh application from Khadr.
But even in the court's reasons there was obiter dicta to the effect tht Khadr's fresh application would be governed by the new rules that had been passed while the appeal was under way and that the new rules would govern and that they would not be favourable to Khadr's case.
The story glided past the obiter dicta and the headline was just plain misleading.
Agreed that obiter dicta are not binding but they are a clear signal as to how the court would be disposed to rule if the issue came before it.
Also trust the Globe not to include the little detail of how many times Kadr and his kin have “lost” their passports and demanded replacements.