To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Williams of Trafford on 7 October (HL8424), whether they intend any extradition from the UK to any EU jurisdiction after the end of transition period to be possible only with a court ruling that there is a prima facie case to answer; and if not, why not.
Answered on
1 December 2020
There is no intention for extradition to any EU jurisdiction after the end of transition period to be made subject to a court ruling that there is a prima facie case.
In the absence of an agreement on Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice with the European Union, the UK’s extradition relations with EU Member States would be governed by the European Convention on Extradition 1957 and its Additional Protocols. The prima facie evidence requirement for extradition requests from States which are parties to the European Convention on Extradition was removed when the Convention came into force in the UK in May 1991. To introduce a prima facie case requirement would be incompatible with the Convention.
The Government’s approach to negotiations with the EU provides for extradition arrangements which are more streamlined than the European Convention on Extradition. The Government has not sought to introduce a prima facie case requirement, as to do so would render future arrangements with the EU less effective at bringing fugitives to justice than the Convention.