Does the Attorney General’s guidance address concerns of unfairness in the UK/US extradition process? Richard Burger reports
In the summer 2006 the ‘NatWest three’ finally lost their gallant fight to resist extradition to the US (see 156 NLJ 7244, p 1542). However, although their fate faded from the headlines this was not the end of the matter. Other UK business executives facing extradition to the US have taken up the baton to oppose US requests rigorously. In January 2007 the Attorney General’s office published the Guidance for Handling Criminal Cases with Concurrent Jurisdiction Between the United Kingdom and the United States of America (the guidance). The office also issued the Domestic Guidance for Handling Criminal Cases Affecting Both England, Wales or Northern Ireland and the United States of America (the domestic guidance).
UK/US guidance
The guidance refers to “…a need to enhance the exchange of information in criminal cases involving concurrent jurisdiction”, which means a case with the potential to be prosecuted in both the UK and the US. The guidance is to be used only in “the most serious, sensitive or complex criminal
