All extradition proceedings that take place in the UK are governed by the Extradition Act 2003. Are you interested in learning about extradition in the UK, its process, the treaties, arrangements with other countries, the offences for which extradition is allowed in your country, and more? Take a look at the following questions related to extradition in the country to find out everything you need to know!
Q: Has the UK entered into a central register for extradition treaties?
UK’s Foreign and Commonwealth Office has an online register of treaties that you can look up to search for extradition treaties. Any country with an extradition agreement with the UK will be categorised in the 1st or 2nd category. Members of the European Union and Gibraltar fall under Category 1 and have different rules to follow, while the remaining countries with extradition treaties are in category two and have to deal with the laws mentioned in part 2 of the Extradition Act.
Q: Does the UK offer special extradition arrangements to specific foreign countries, such as politically or geographically close nations?
The Extradition Act 2003 has rules and policies to deal with the extradition proceedings with all countries. However, part 1 of the act includes procedural requirements for EU member states. Now that the United Kingdom is no longer part of the EU, the UK does not have to comply with the European Arrest Warrant system. Today, surrender or extradition between EU members and the UK are governed by the EU-UK TCA or Trade and Cooperation Agreement, which came into effect on 1st January 2021.
However, if an individual was arrested before this date, they will be dealt with under the EAW system. With that said, if an EAW was issued before 1st January 2021, but the person was not arrested before the date, then the UK will treat the EAW as an arrest warrant and deal with it under the new provisions in the TCA.
Q: Does the UK offer extradition to countries not part of the treaty agreements?
Section 194 of the Extradition Act 2003 allows the UK to make an ad hoc arrangement for a specific extradition request from a country that has not yet signed an extradition treaty with the United Kingdom.
Q: Does the UK require double or dual criminality? How does the law assess it?
If the UK makes an arrest under Part 1 of the Extradition Act 2003 before January 2021, it does not require double criminality if the EAW deals with offences mentioned in the 32 categories of offences mentioned in the European Arrest Warrant sections 64 (5) and 65 (5). With that said, for an accusation request, the conduct needs to be punishable under the law of the requesting country with at least three years of imprisonment charge. In the case of a conviction, the country must impose a sentence of at least four months of imprisonment. Moreover, none of the criminal acts must have been conducted in the UK.
Moreover, in cases requested from EU member states in which the arrest takes place after 31st December 2020, the state requires double criminality. The court will have to decide whether the conduct mentioned in the extradition request would have been deemed an offence had it taken place on UK soil.
