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Press Release

Law Society backs review of British extradition agreements

8 September 2010

The Law Society has described the decision by the government to review extradition agreements as an important opportunity to examine whether individuals rights are protected and whether it is an effective tool for fighting crime in Europe.

The Law Society's reaction follows a government announcement today that an independent panel will review the UK's legal arrangements for bringing criminals to justice who flee overseas after committing a crime.

In its Coalition Agreement 'programme for government' the government committed to make sure that the UK’s legal arrangements work efficiently and fairly.

The panel, which will be appointed shortly and will be expected to report back by late summer 2011, will look at five areas: the home secretary's powers to stop extradition, the operation of the European Arrest Warrant, which deals with extradition requests between European countries, where a crime is mainly committed in the UK, whether the person should be tried here, whether the US-UK Extradition Treaty is unbalanced and whether requesting countries should be required to provide sufficient evidence to prove an allegation.

In use since 2003, the European Arrest Warrant replaces traditional extradition proceedings between EU countries with a fast-track arrest and surrender procedure. The Law Society's Criminal Law and EU Committee have identified a number of problems with the European Arrest Warrant in terms of its practical application and its use.

Law Society president Linda Lee says, "This review offers an important opportunity to examine whether individuals rights are protected adequately under the current Extradition Act and whether it is an effective tool for fighting crime in Europe. One issue the Home Office may wish to investigate include the question of proportionality to ensure that the European Arrest Warrant is not used for trivial charges."



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