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Our devotion to clients and tenacious hard work has gained us recognition as a The Times Best Law Firm 2026 and Leading Firm in both legal directories the Legal500 and Chambers and Partners.
Extradition
Extradition is the official process whereby one country transfers an individual who is accused or convicted of a criminal offence to another country. This may be requested to enable the requesting country to try the individual on outstanding criminal charges or to ensure that they serve their sentence (if they have already been convicted).
The Two Parts
The relevant primary legislation in the UK is the Extradition Act 2003. The Act is divided into two parts.
Part 1 covers the extradition to countries falling under Category 1 territories. These territories are the other Member States of the European Union and Gibraltar. Requests are made by the issuing of an Arrest Warrant. The Arrest Warrant enables a constable to arrest the individual and produce him/her to Westminster Magistrates’ Court where the extradition process begins.
Part 2 of the Act regulates cases involving individuals being sought from countries that are described as Category 2 territories. At present, there are in the region of 100 countries included in this list. The requesting Judicial Authority submits the request and the Court issues a different form of warrant (which may be “full” or “provisional”); the types of legal issues and arguments raised in Court are broadly similar to Part 1 cases. At the conclusion of the extradition hearing, the Court either discharges the individual or commits the case to the Home Secretary for the final decision to extradite
Our Expertise
This is a complicated and specialised area of the law but we are very experienced practitioners in this field. There are often important human rights protections for defendants and the interrelationship between extradition and human rights is crucial. The assistance of expert witnesses can be vital in dealing with such issues as medical considerations, legal processes in the requesting state and the prevailing prison conditions in the proposed country of destination
We have acted in cases involving allegations of the most serious nature and have been closely involved in some of the leading Court decisions which have helped to shape the modern law of extradition.
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We have represented clients facing extradition all over the world, which include:
> Rwanda
> USA
> India
> Australia & New Zeland
> European Countries
WHAT PEOPLE SAY
Legal500
Namita Pawa is a solicitor at the top of her game. She provides an exceptional level of dedication to each and every client.
Chambers and Partners
Hallinans punch very much above its weight. They are in some of the most serious criminal cases and have a stellar reputation.
Recent Client
A world class legal firm who leave no stone unturned.