Extradition

The approach adopted to Art 8 rights in extradition cases did not have to be radically different from that adopted in deportation or expulsion cases. The public interest in giving effect to a request for extradition was a constant factor in cases of that kind. Great weight would always have to be given to it, and the more serious the offence the greater would be that weight. The question, so far as the Art 8 right was concerned, was the same in both cases. Even in decisions concerning separation of parents from their children for deportation, detention or imprisonment, the best interests of the child had to be a primary consideration. The starting point was to assess whether the children’s best interests were outweighed by the strength of any other considerations. However, that did not require the decision-taker always to examine the interest of the children at the very beginning of the exercise. It would only be in exceptional