Government publishes updated extradition guidance

On 24 February 2021, the Home Office published updated guidance on ‘extradition: processes and review’. The guidance reflects the changes to extradition procedure under Part 1 of the Extradition Act 2003, as brought about by the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement 2020 (‘TCA’), and the new power of provisional arrest without a warrant in Part 2 cases, as introduced by the Extradition (Provisional Arrest) Act 2020 (‘the 2020 Act’). While much of the guidance remains unchanged, the limited amendments serve to bring the guidance up to date with the post-Brexit position.

Particular amendments of note to practitioners include:

• an outline of the transitional arrangements in place for EAWs issued before the end of the Brexit transition period on 31 December 2021; the position of these EAWs was recently considered by the High Court in the case of Polakowski v Westminster Magistrates’ Court and ors [2021] EWHC 53 (Admin);
• guidance on what will give rise to the power of provisional arrest without a warrant under the 2020 Act, namely, the issue of an INTERPOL Red Notice or Diffusion by a ‘trusted’ territory listed in Schedule A1 to the Extradition Act 2003; and
• guidance on the opt-in nationality exception contained in the TCA, confirming that, as a matter of policy, the UK will continue to extradite its own nationals.

The updated guidance can be accessed here.