Nationality and Treaty Department
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Circular Letter to
Attorneys-General of the
Dependent Territories
(see distribution below)
Your reference
GNX 384/1/1
Our reference
7 June 1988
Date
Lee (37
Dear Attorney General.
CRIMINAL JUSTICE BILL
1. You will doubtless be aware that Part I of the Criminal Justice Bill now proceeding through Parliament will, inter alia, further amend the Extradition Act 1870.
2. Possibly the most important change will be that, the Home Secretary will in future, have discretion to authorise the extradition of a fugitive offender to a foreign country with which the United Kingdom does not have a bilateral extradition treaty (ad hoc extradition). It is possible, although not yet certain, that the Bill will permit the extension of this ad hoc procedure to dependent territories. If this is agreed we shall, in due course, be seeking your views on whether or not you would wish to take advantage of this procedure. I understand that certain of you may already have standing arrangements for the supply of all new UK statutes. If those who do not will let me know, I will arrange to send a copy of the appropriate Part of the Act, once it has received the Royal Assent and been printed.
3. On the assumption that the Bill becomes law in much its present form, it would then be our intention to sign, (and in due
However course ratify) the European Convention on Extradition. this may well depend on our ability to agree a number of declarations/reservations on the various Articles, where we shall be unable to honour them fully even with the passage of the Criminal Justice Bill. Article 27 permits the extension of the application of the Convention, by agreement, to dependent territories, but one interpretation of the Convention suggests that this must be done at the time of ratification (ie if a territory does not "join" then, it will have no further opportunity). I am accordingly enclosing a copy of the Convention so that you can give some preliminary consideration to this matter, and will let you have the reservations/declarations that we intend to make as soon as possible.