§ Mr. WrayTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether, under the new extradition treaty with the United States, a US legal team will be required to give evidence to a British court; and whether these extradition arrangements are reciprocal. [123754]
§ Caroline FlintThe new extradition Treaty was signed by my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary, and United States Attorney General John Ashcroft in Washington on 31 March.
When it comes into force it will provide that extradition requests from the United States will, like those from Council of Europe countries, not have to be accompanied by 'prima facie evidence'.
In accordance with the United States constitution extradition requests to the United States will have to be accompanied by sufficient evidence to provide a reasonable basis to believe that the person sought committed the offence for which extradition is sought.
§ Mr. WrayTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what procedures are in place to ensure that foreign legal teams have sufficient evidence to apply for the extradition of a British citizen. [123755]
§ Caroline FlintUnder current arrangements, with the exception of those requests made by the UK's 43 partners under the Council of Europe's European Convention on Extradition 1957, ratified by the UK in 1991, all extradition requests to the UK, have to be 721W supported by 'prima facie evidence'. This must be evidence sufficient to warrant the trial of the arrested person if the extradition crime had taken place within the jurisdiction of the court of committal.
§ Mr. WrayTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the human rights implications of proposals to allow extradition proceedings to occur without evidence submitted to a British court from the prosecuting foreign legal team. [123756]
§ Caroline FlintSince the United Kingdom ratified the European Convention on Extradition (ECE) in 1991, other countries which are also parties to the ECE, of whom there are now more than 40, have not had to submit 'prima facie' evidence to accompany their extradition requests.
We do not believe that this has human rights implications but the Extradition Bill, which is currently before Parliament, makes it clear that we can not extradite in any case where extradition would be incompatible with the Convention rights of the person whose extradition is sought.
§ Mr. WrayTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what extradition arrangements exist between the EU member states and the United States; and what plans there are to change them. [123757]
§ Caroline FlintThe UK's extradition relations with the United States are currently governed by the 1976 bilateral treaty (amended in 1986). We cannot speak for our European Union partners, but all have bilateral treaties with the USA.
The European Union has no extradition relations with the USA at present. However, the European Union and the USA signed bilateral mutual legal assistance and extradition treaties on 25 June 2003. These will come into force in the UK, once the EU and US agree to put them into force and the UK withdraws its declaration that it will not be bound by the agreements until it has completed its constitutional procedures. This declaration means that any necessary legislation will need to be in place before the agreements can be applied to the UK. The EU decision to bring the agreements into force, like the decision to sign, is subject to unanimity.
The EU/US extradition agreement has no significant impact on UK/US extradition relations, but, for example, ensures that all other member states have extradition relations with the USA based on dual criminality and a penalty threshold, rather than a list of offences.