Extradition is the legal process by which one state asks another to surrender a person so they can stand trial or serve a sentence. For the requested person (RP), it can mean arrest, an immediate appearance at court, and the prospect of removal from the UK within weeks. The response in those opening days often determines the outcome.

DWK Law represents individuals facing extradition requests and INTERPOL Red Notices in England and Wales.

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What is Extradition?

Extradition from the United Kingdom operates under the Extradition Act 2003, which specifies different procedures depending on which state is making the request.

A request, once certified by the National Crime Agency (NCA) or the Secretary of State for the Home Department, envisages an initial hearing usually within 24 hours of arrest. After determining preliminary issues such as the true identity of the RP, and whether there are any outstanding domestic prosecutions or prison sentences, the RP is asked to indicate whether they consent to extradition. If they do not, a substantive hearing is fixed at Westminster Magistrates’ Court, where a specially qualified District Judge — the 'appropriate judge' — decides whether the warrant is valid, whether any bars to extradition apply, and whether extradition is compatible with the RP’s human rights.

Either party may appeal the District Judge’s decision to the High Court. Where a point of law of 'general public importance' arises, a further appeal lies to the Supreme Court.

Accusation and Conviction Warrants

Extradition warrants come in two forms. An accusation warrant is issued where the RP is wanted to stand trial in the requesting state. A conviction warrant is issued where the person has already been tried and sentenced and is wanted to serve the sentence.

For Part 1 accusation warrants, additional protections apply: extradition is barred where the requesting state has not yet made a decision to charge or try the RP (so the warrant is being used merely to investigate). The court is also required to discharge where extradition is disproportionate considering the seriousness of the offence, the likely penalty, and whether less coercive measures such as temporary transfer are available.

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Extradition under Part 1 of the Extradition Act 2003

Part 1 of the Extradition Act 2003 governs extradition to category 1 territories — the EU member states, Norway, Iceland, and Gibraltar. After the United Kingdom’s withdrawal from the European Union and the end of the European Arrest Warrant (EAW) scheme, warrants are now issued under the Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA). The procedure remains broadly the same: a streamlined regime, with shorter time limits for appeal and removal than under Part 2.

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Extradition under Part 2 of the Extradition Act 2003

Part 2 governs requests from the United Kingdom's treaty partners outside the EU, including the United States, Turkey, Brazil, South Africa, Australia, Canada, and Albania. Part 2 requests face additional formalities. The appropriate judge decides whether the documents are in order, whether the statutory bars apply, and whether extradition is compatible with the RP’s human rights, before sending the case to the Secretary of State, who determines residual matters — including the risk of the death penalty, the existence of speciality arrangements with the requesting state, and any earlier extradition or surrender — before making the final extradition order.

‍Requesting states not designated under section 84(7) of the Act — often called Part 2B states, and including India, the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan — face the additional requirement in accusation cases of showing that there is a case to answer.

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Extradition Bail

‍While bail in extradition proceedings is governed by the Bail Act 1976, it raises challenges distinct from those of domestic bail applications. The very fact of a foreign request creates concern about flight risk. A focused application based on a strong package of conditions and supporting evidence will often make all the difference. Where bail is refused at Westminster, a fresh application can be made to a High Court Judge.

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INTERPOL Red Notices and Diffusions

‍A Red Notice is an international alert published by INTERPOL, the international police-cooperation organisation based in Lyon, France. At the request of one member state, INTERPOL circulates the notice to police forces in the other 195 member states, asking them to locate the named person and arrest them pending surrender. A Diffusion does the same job through a less formal route — circulated directly between national INTERPOL bureaux and subject to a lighter compliance review by INTERPOL than a Red Notice. Neither is an arrest warrant valid in the United Kingdom. However, both appear on police databases, border-control systems and the screening checks run by banks, employers and visa authorities, and either can affect a person's access to international travel, banking and employment long before any UK proceedings begin.

‍A Red Notice or Diffusion may result in a provisional arrest by police or Border Force and production at Westminster Magistrates' Court, after which the requesting state has limited time in which to submit a formal extradition request.

‍We prepare deletion and pre-emptive applications to the Commission for the Control of INTERPOL's Files (CCF) in Lyon, particularly where the underlying proceedings are politically motivated, abusive or in breach of due process.

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Possible Bars to Extradition

‍The Extradition Act 2003 sets out a series of statutory bars on which surrender can be refused, and protects the RP against return where it would breach their human rights. We routinely consider and argue:

• Defects in the warrant — where the requesting state’s documents do not properly describe the conduct alleged, the conviction, or the sentence to be served

• Dual criminality — where the conduct alleged would not amount to a criminal offence under the law of England and Wales

• Conviction in absence — where the RP was tried in absence and is not entitled to a retrial

• Passage of time — where so much time has passed since the alleged offence or conviction that surrender would be unjust or oppressive

• Extraneous considerations — where the request is in fact made on grounds of race, religion, nationality, gender, sexual orientation or political opinion

• Forum — where a substantial part of the criminality occurred in the United Kingdom and should properly be prosecuted here

• Speciality — where the requesting state cannot give reliable guarantees against prosecution for offences other than those set out in the request

• Prison conditions and treatment abroad — where there is a real risk of inhuman or degrading treatment in detention in the requesting state

• Fair trial rights — where the RP faces a real risk of a flagrant denial of justice in the requesting state

• Private and family life in the United Kingdom — the most common human rights challenge to extradition — where surrender would cause exceptionally severe consequences to the RP, their partner, their children or other relative

• Ill-health — where the RP’s physical or mental condition makes surrender unjust or oppressive

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Why Early Advice Matters

‍Extradition timetables are short and unforgiving. A Part 1 case can move from arrest to substantive hearing in a matter of months. Bail is often refused at the initial hearing unless a properly prepared application is presented on the day. Evidence to resist extradition — medical reports, immigration history, family circumstances, expert evidence on prison conditions or fair trial protections in the requesting state — takes time to gather and must be in place before the substantive hearing.

‍For clients who suspect a warrant or Red Notice has been issued but have not yet been arrested, seeking early specialist advice makes all the difference. Pre-emptive engagement with the authorities in the UK and the requesting state favourably influences preliminary issues such as bail, and can often result in the withdrawal of the extradition request.

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Funding

‍We act on a private basis and on Legal Aid where the statutory criteria are met. We will tell you at the outset which applies. On private cases we provide a written cost estimate before work begins.

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Contact our Extradition Team

‍If you, a family member or a client has been arrested on a warrant, served with notice of a mutual legal assistance request or notified of an INTERPOL Red Notice, contact us without delay.

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