nonetheless his application remained one to which s. 13 did not
apply. While the court court
is required to scrutinise the Home
Secretary's decision with care and should not hesitate to
intervene if it appears that an applicant has been prejudiced by
the Home Secretary not properly performing his duties, the court
must also bear in mind that decisions as to extradition can be
highly politically charged. When they are the Home Secretary is
in an advantageous position for determining whether in all the
circumstances it would be unjust or oppressive to order an
applicant's return.
There are two issues which are common both to Mr. Osman's
application for judicial review and his application for habeas
corpus. They relate to the corruption offences referred to in
the Schedule to the Order for Return.
The first of these
separate points turns upon the fact that it is a requirement of
the Hong Kong Ordinance that the bribery offences should be
committed "without lawful authority or reasonable excuse". In
accord with the position in English law, at the time when the
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