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    Here are the main bars to extradition under current UK law per the CPS: Archived Message

    Posted by CJ on June 27, 2019, 5:06 pm, in reply to "Excellent piece from James Ricketson : "We must write to journalists who remain silent and ask them "

    http://www.cps.gov.uk/legal-guidance/extradition
    Bars to Extradition

    "The statutory bars to extradition apply to all cases, even if there is no explicit clause in the relevant treaty.

    If the judge finds that any of the bars to extradition apply, the requested person must be discharged.

    The statutory bars to extradition include the following;

    Double Jeopardy - whether the person has already been prosecuted for the same offence;
    Absence of Prosecution Decision - whether the prosecution case against the accused is sufficiently advanced;
    Extraneous Considerations - whether the request for extradition is improperly motivated and there is a risk of prejudice to the requested person;
    Passage of Time - whether extradition would be unjust or oppressive in light of the amount of time that has passed since the offence or since the person has been unlawfully at large;
    Age (EAW cases only) - whether because of age, the requested person could not be guilty of the offence;
    Hostage-taking Considerations (non-EAW cases only) - whether the requested person would be unable to communicate with protective authorities and the extradition offence falls under the Taking of Hostages Act 1982;
    Death Penalty (non-EAW cases only) - whether or not the requested person could be sentenced to death for the extradition offence in the requesting state;
    Specialty - prevents the requested person from being dealt with in the requested state for offences other than those for which they have been extradited;
    Earlier Extradition from Territory / by the International Criminal Court (‘ICC’) - whether the requested person was previously extradited to the UK from another country or by the ICC to serve a custodial sentence and no consent has been given by that country or by the ICC President for further extradition;
    Forum - whether it would be in the interests of justice for the requested person to be prosecuted in the UK instead.

    Human Rights

    In all extradition cases, the judge has to consider whether or not extradition would be compatible with the requested person’s human rights. If the judge finds that extradition would not be compatible with the requested person’s human rights, he cannot order that person’s extradition and must discharge them. Common challenges include claims regarding family or private life in the UK and prison conditions in the requesting state."

    For a full analysis of other issues the UK USA extradition treaty needs to be looked at - but the above rules apply whatever the treaty says. Interesting that the political motivation bar seems to fall under the heading of extraneous considerations in the CPS list above.

    cheers

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