When can individuals be extradited for pre-2003 cartel offences? Francesca Richmond reports
The recent judgment of the House of Lords in Norris v Government of the United States of America and others [2008] UKHL 16, [2008] All ER (D) 158 (Mar) has made clear that individuals can be extradited to the US for involvement in price-fixing activities that occurred prior to June 2003 and the implementation of the statutory criminal cartel offence under s 188 of the Enterprise Act 2002 (EnA 2002). Extradition on this basis will only be granted where some aggravating feature, such as dishonesty, is also alleged against the individual because agreements to fix prices have not historically been treated as dishonest in themselves (and so entering into such an agreement and/or failing to declare participation in a cartel alone cannot be treated as an indictable criminal offence prior to 2003).
EXTRADITION ACT
The Extradition Act 2003 requires that the offending conduct cited by any state requesting extradition must be criminal in and and also the state requesting extradition at the time that the conduct occurred.
