Extradition and the European Arrest Warrant – Recent Developments

The use of both the European Arrest Warrant system and the UK/US Extradition Treaty have proved contentious in recent years.

This note is designed to complement two earlier Standard Notes on extradition namely: ‘The UK/US Extradition Treaty’ (SN/HA/2204) and ‘The introduction of the European Arrest Warrant’ (SN/HA/1703) which each set out background information to the introduction of the current extradition regime (governed by the Extradition Act 2003).

This note provides detailed information about a number of recent developments in this area, including the independent review of the Extradition system (led by Lord Justice Scott Baker) which reported in October 2011, and subsequent reforms introduced in the Crime and Courts Act 2013 and the Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Bill.