Lords investigate access to legal advice, legal aid and the right to appeal extradition
The House of Lords Select Committee investigating Extradition Law will question district judges and legal aid experts at the Ministry of Justice on Wednesday 29 October.
In the first session, at 10.10am, the Committee will hear from Chief Magistrate Howard Riddle, Deputy Chief Magistrate Emma Arbuthnot and Judge Zani, district judges from the Westminster Magistrate's Court where the majority of extradition cases are heard.
Following on, at 11.00am, the Committee will hear from Hilda Massey, Deputy Director Legal Aid Policy, and Hugh Barratt, Director of Legal Aid Commissioning and Strategy, from the Ministry of Justice.
The Committee will ask the witnesses questions on issues including whether there is a problem with people receiving poor legal advice in extradition cases; if they agree that in extradition cases, legal aid should be automatically granted; and if the removal of the automatic right to appeal has removed an important safeguard against wrongful extradition.
The Committee will also give the magistrates the opportunity to expand on their proposal, expressed in their written evidence that now would be “an appropriate time to investigate independently what has happened to those who have been extradited under the Extradition 2003 Act.”
The evidence sessions will take place on Wednesday 29 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.
