The Extradition Act 2003 (
c. 41) is an
act of the
Parliament of the United Kingdom
The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, and may also legislate for the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace ...
which regulates
extradition
In an extradition, one Jurisdiction (area), jurisdiction delivers a person Suspect, accused or Conviction, convicted of committing a crime in another jurisdiction, into the custody of the other's law enforcement. It is a cooperative law enforc ...
requests by and to the United Kingdom. The Act came into force on 1 January 2004. It transposed the
European Arrest Warrant framework decision into British law and implemented the UK side of the controversial
UK–US extradition treaty of 2003 before the treaty came into force in April 2007 after being ratified by the
United States Senate
The United States Senate is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the United States House of Representatives, U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and ...
in 2006.
Provisions
The act is divided into five parts.
*Parts 1 and 2 deal with "category 1" and "category 2" territories respectively. While it is not mentioned in the Act, category 1 territories are all other member states of the
European Union
The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...
and Part 1 of the Act is the United Kingdom's implementation of the
European Arrest Warrant framework decision. Part 2 of the Act is concerned with extradition to all other countries which have an extradition treaty with the United Kingdom.
*Part 3 deals with issuing European Arrest Warrants from the UK and extradition requests.
*Part 4 regulates powers of arrest, search and seizure regarding individuals subject to European Arrest Warrants and extradition warrants.
*Part 5 contains miscellaneous provisions including extradition to and from
British overseas territories
The British Overseas Territories (BOTs) or alternatively referred to as the United Kingdom Overseas Territories (UKOTs) are the fourteen dependent territory, territories with a constitutional and historical link with the United Kingdom that, ...
.
The procedure used by the courts is set down in the Criminal Procedure Rules 2015, part 50.
Examination by Parliament
The act has been examined in two reviews by Parliament. The first in 2011 by
Sir Scott Baker making a series of recommendations and the second examination by the House of Lords Extradition Law Committee in 2014.
As a result of campaigning and scrutiny by Parliament, several amendments were made in 2014 in the
Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014. These included proportionality under section 21A and decision to try or charge under section 12A.
Part 2 territories
Territories are designated as Category 2 territories both for the purposes of Part 2 of the Extradition Act, i.e. export extradition from the United Kingdom, and Part 3, i.e. import extradition to the United Kingdom.
These are the countries that the UK presently has extradition arrangements with:
References
External links
cps.gov.uk- the
Crown Prosecution Service
The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) is the principal public agency for conducting criminal prosecutions in England and Wales. It is headed by the Director of Public Prosecutions.
The main responsibilities of the CPS are to provide legal adv ...
guidelines on extradition to Category 2 territories
The UK government guidance on extradition from Category 2 territories
{{United Kingdom–United States relations
United Kingdom Acts of Parliament 2003
Extradition in the United Kingdom
Extradition law
United Kingdom–United States relations