Extradition

Extradition can happen when a crime is alleged to have been committed in one country, but a key person involved is living in another country. The country where the crime is committed can ask that the person is surrendered to them for:

• Prosecution
• Sentencing
• Completion of a sentence.

The process itself can take time and depends on factors such as countries involved and the rights of objection to deportation. There are many reasons why your extradition may not be legal. These include:

• The double jeopardy rule (a person can’t be tried twice for the same offence)
• If the request is made so that a person can be punished for their race, religion, sexual orientation, gender or political opinions – or if these could affect the person’s case
• If the offence took place long ago
• The age of the wanted person
• The human rights of the wanted person
• The physical or mental condition of the wanted person.

If you’re facing extradition proceedings or would like to negotiate better extradition arrangements, we’re here to help. We know that this will be stressful for you and your family. Our years of experience helping people with these cases has taught us it’s not just your life that’s in the balance.

You’ll be concerned about what the future will hold if you’re extradited out of the UK. This drives us even more to get justice for you and your family. We’ll support you throughout, while doing everything we can to help resolve the situation in your favour and help you stay in the UK. Our specialist extradition lawyers can help you in various ways, including:

• Help before extradition proceedings – attempt to avoid extradition completely
• Advising before arrest about voluntary surrender, representations to the police, and preparing a strong argument in favour of bail
• Challenging extradition in court
• Representation in extradition appeals.

We also have contacts in various countries. This allows us to work with overseas lawyers to get expert reports to challenge extraditions. It also ensures easier communication with the country that is requesting the extradition.