Extradition Act 2003

Extradition Act 2003
Act of Parliament
coat of arms
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Long titleAn Act to make provision about extradition.
Citation2003 c. 41
Territorial extent United Kingdom
Dates
Royal assent20 November 2003
Commencement1 January 2004
Other legislation
Amends
Repeals/revokes
Amended by
Status: Amended
Records of Parliamentary debate relating to the statute from Hansard, at TheyWorkForYou
Text of statute as originally enacted
Revised text of statute as amended
Text of the Extradition Act 2003 as in force today (including any amendments) within the United Kingdom, from legislation.gov.uk.
Extradition Act 1873
Act of Parliament
coat of arms
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Long titleAn Act to amend the Extradition Act, 1870.
Citation36 & 37 Vict. c. 60
Territorial extent United Kingdom
Dates
Royal assent5 August 1873
Commencement5 August 1873
Repealed31 January 2013
Other legislation
AmendsExtradition Act 1870
Amended by
Repealed byStatute Law (Repeals) Act 2013
Status: Repealed
Text of statute as originally enacted
Revised text of statute as amended
Extradition Act 1870
Act of Parliament
coat of arms
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Long titleAn Act for amending the Law relating to the Extradition of Criminals.
Citation33 & 34 Vict. c. 52
Territorial extent United Kingdom
Dates
Royal assent9 August 1870
Commencement9 August 1870
Repealed27 September 1989
Other legislation
Repeals/revokes
Amended by
Repealed byExtradition Act 1989
Status: Repealed
Text of statute as originally enacted

The Extradition Act 2003 (c. 41) is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which regulates extradition requests by and to the United Kingdom. The act came into force on 1 January 2004. It transposed the European Arrest Warrant framework decision into British law and implemented the UK side of the controversial UK–US extradition treaty of 2003 before the treaty came into force in April 2007 after being ratified by the United States Senate in 2006.

Provisions

The act is divided into five parts.

The procedure used by the courts is set down in the Criminal Procedure Rules 2015, part 50.

Examination by Parliament

The act has been examined in two reviews by Parliament. The first in 2011 by Sir Scott Baker making a series of recommendations and the second examination by the House of Lords Extradition Law Committee in 2014.

As a result of campaigning and scrutiny by Parliament, several amendments were made in 2014 in the Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014. These included proportionality under section 21A and decision to try or charge under section 12A.

Part 2 territories

Territories are designated as Category 2 territories both for the purposes of Part 2 of the Extradition Act, i.e. export extradition from the United Kingdom, and Part 3, i.e. import extradition to the United Kingdom.

These are the countries that the UK presently has extradition arrangements with:

Proposed reform

The 2003 UK-US treaty has been criticised for not applying the same test in both the United States and the United Kingdom, and changing this would require amending the act.

Notes

References

  1. ↑ Human Rights Joint Committee (22 June 2011). "The UK's bilateral extradition treaties: US-UK Extradition Treaty 2003". The Human Rights Implications of UK Extradition Policy. Retrieved 8 August 2012.
  2. ↑ Torres, Carlos (30 September 2006). "Senate Unanimously Ratifies US, UK Extradition Treaty". Bloomberg L.P. Retrieved 12 September 2008. Ratification had been slowed by complaints from some Irish- American groups that the treaty would create new legal jeopardy for U.S. citizens who opposed British policy in Northern Ireland.
  3. ↑ "Extradition Act 2003". The Guardian. 19 January 2009. Retrieved 3 February 2026.
  4. ↑ "US-UK extradition: The law explained". BBC News. 10 April 2012. Retrieved 10 April 2012.
  5. ↑ "Rules and Practice Directions". www.justice.gov.uk. Retrieved 18 October 2019.
  6. ↑ "Review" (PDF). gov.uk. 30 September 2011. Retrieved 9 November 2019.
  7. ↑ "Extradition Law Committee". UK Parliament. Retrieved 18 October 2019.
  8. ↑ "Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014". www.legislation.gov.uk. Retrieved 18 October 2019.
  9. ↑ This article contains OGL licensed text This article incorporates text published under the British Open Government Licence v3.0: "Annex C: Extradition with Territories outside the European Union". Archived from the original on 30 November 2016.
  10. ↑ "Extradition: processes and review". GOV.UK. Retrieved 18 October 2019.
  11. ↑ "UK-US extradition treaty overhaul urged". BBC News. 30 March 2012. Retrieved 3 February 2026.