Lords quiz British prosecutors and lawyers on decisions to extradite
Sue Patten and Nick Vamos of the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), will face questions from the House of Lords Select Committee on Extradition Law on Wednesday 15 October in the latest evidence session of its ongoing inquiry.
They will be followed by a session with two experienced extradition solicitors, Rebecca Niblock and Edward Grange.
Following on from the sessions in which the Committee had the opportunity to question American legal experts, it will be using this session with the CPS and extradition solicitors to explore how decisions to pursue extradition are reached and how authorities decide where to prosecute multi-jurisdictional crimes, for instance in cases where a crime could be tried in the UK or in another country.
Questions the witnesses are likely to face include:
- What proportion of cases investigated involve criminal conduct in multiple countries?
- To what extent do you agree with the suggestion that the US's approach to extradition is not based on an inappropriate interpretation of jurisdiction, but rather on better resources and a different prosecuting culture?
- If the courts discharge the request for extradition in a case which arguably could have been prosecuted in the UK, what steps are taken to ensure that justice is done?
- Whether the recently introduced proportionality and forum bars will influence prosecuting decisions.
The evidence sessions will take place on Wednesday 15 October at 10.10am in Committee Room 2A of the House of Lords.
The session will be webcast at www.parliamentlive.tv and is also open to the public. Journalists wishing to attend should go to Parliament's Cromwell Green Entrance and should allow time for security screening.
