Danielle Barden

Extradition is where politics and law collide – it is the coming together of law, human rights, and international relations. It has political ramifications far beyond individual cases and is an area where authoritarian regimes can try to influence the outcomes of UK legal proceedings. Human rights remain at the forefront of the issues raised in extradition cases. In particular, the state of foreign and UK prisons and the use of torture against suspects.

EXTRADITION: An Introduction for Chambers & Partners 2023 UK Bar Guide Extradition involves the forceable transfer of accused or convicted persons from one jurisdiction to another in order to face trial or serve a sentence for a criminal offence. The advent of Brexit has meant a change to the way the UK’s extradition relationships with the EU function. There remain significant numbers of non-EU (Part 2) extradition requests which are complex and often highly politicised.

On 24 March 2022, Deputy Senior District Judge Ikram discharged the extradition case of Government of Armenia v AB. The judge found there was a real risk of a breach of the Requested Person’s Human Rights.