HOME OFFICE News
Release (075/2007) issued by The Government News Network on 26 April 2007
The United Kingdom
and United States have today ratified a bilateral extradition
treaty to ensure more effective arrangements to bring offenders
from either state to justice.
The treaty will modernise and extend the arrangements for
extradition between the US and the UK and for the first time allow
for the extradition of individuals accused of twenty-first century
crimes, such as child internet pornography, which were not
extraditable offences under the old arrangements.
At a ceremony in Central London today the Instruments of
Ratification were exchanged by Home Office Minister Baroness
Scotland and US Ambassador to the UK Mr Robert H Tuttle. This
enables the 2003 bilateral extradition treaty to enter into force
under international treaty protocol. The treaty's new
provisions include:
* Defining an extraditable offence as one punishable by a 12
month or longer sentence in both states. This will replace the
list of extradition offences in the 1972 treaty. Offences not on
the 1972 list, for example child internet pornography, will in
future be classed as extraditable offences if they are punishable
by a year or more imprisonment in both states.
* Removing US statute of limitations issues. Extradition to the
UK could currently be barred if the offence is not prosecutable in
the US due to the lapse of time since it was committed. This will
no longer be applicable to extraditions to the UK.
* Introducing a measure to allow for the temporary surrender of
persons serving a prison sentence in the requested state.
Temporary surrender means the victim does not have to wait until
the suspect has served his sentence in the US for justice to be
done in the UK and vice versa.
* Permitting the waiver of the rule of speciality. This will
enable the prosecution of the extradited person for an offence for
which he was not extradited, providing the state from which he was
extradited consents.
The treaty, and the Extradition Act 2003, have also redressed the
unequal balance that existed under the terms of the 1972 Treaty in
which the UK required more from the US than they asked of the UK.
The US was required to demonstrate a prima facie evidential case
in support of extradition requests made to the UK, whereas the UK
merely had to demonstrate 'probable cause'.
The 'probable cause' test is broadly comparable to the
requirement for 'information which would justify the issue of
a warrant for the arrest of a person' that the UK will now
require of the US.
Home Office Minister, Baroness Scotland, said:
"This Government is committed to ensuring that we rebalance
the criminal justice system in favour of victims and bring
offenders to book wherever they may be. The ratification of this
treaty is a key example of how we are working with our
international partners to achieve these goals
"The ratification of this treaty will allow us to ensure
that criminals in hiding in the US, who have been wanted by this
country for some time, are returned here to face justice.
"At the same time it will provide full and effective
safeguards for the rights of requested persons from the UK."
US Ambassador, Robert Tuttle, said:
"I am very pleased that the United States and the United
Kingdom have taken the steps to bring this important treaty into force.
"The implementation of this treaty benefits both our
countries. It's a practical measure that grows out of the
excellent law enforcement cooperation we share."
Notes to Editors:
1. The Treaty was signed on 31 March 2003 by then Home Secretary
David Blunkett and US Attorney General John Ashcroft.
2. Certain provisions in the Treaty were given effect in the UK
by the entry into force of the Extradition Act 2003 on 1 January 2004.
3. The 2003 Treaty was formally approved by the US Senate on 29
September 2006 and the US Treaty Approval Document was signed by
President Bush on 6 December 2006.
4. The previous extradition arrangements between the US and the
UK were those in the 1972 Treaty, as amended by a supplementary
Treaty in 1985.