§ Lord Rotherwickasked Her Majesty's Government:
Which are the countries to which the United Kingdom might not extradite persons due to the death penalty. [HL1506]
§ Lord RookerThe Extradition Act 1989 provides that extradition may be refused if the fugitive stands accused or convicted of an offence for which he could be or has been sentenced to death. This discretion must be interpreted in the light of the wording of the Sixth Protocol to the European Convention on Human Rights which outlaws the application of the death penalty and to which the United Kingdom is a signatory. This Government will therefore refuse to extradite persons to any jurisdiction where the offence for which they could be or have been tried carries the death penalty unless sufficient assurances are provided by a requesting state that the death penalty will not be imposed or, if imposed, will not be carried out.
On the rare occasions where the death penalty has been an issue in an extradition case we have always been able to obtain sufficient assurances.