HomeLondon Extradition Lawyers and Interpol Red Notice Defence
Every extradition request made to the United Kingdom is heard in London. If you have been arrested on an extradition request, or you have learned that an Interpol Red Notice has been issued against you, the decisions taken in the first days shape everything that follows.
London is where extradition law in the United Kingdom is actually practised. All extradition proceedings for England and Wales are listed in a single court in the capital, appeals are heard a mile away at the Royal Courts of Justice, and the body that handles Interpol channels for the country sits in London as well. Whichever state is asking for your surrender, and wherever you were living when the request was made, the case will be argued here.
Key facts
- Court: every extradition case for England and Wales is heard at Westminster Magistrates’ Court in London.
- Appeal: to the High Court at the Royal Courts of Justice, with permission; the Supreme Court only on a certified point of law of general public importance.
- Two routes: Part 1 of the Extradition Act 2003 covers EU states and is decided by the court alone; Part 2 covers treaty partners such as the United States, the United Arab Emirates, India and Turkey, where the Secretary of State takes the final decision.
- Red Notice: a notice is not an arrest warrant and obliges no country to detain anyone; the United Kingdom’s Interpol channel runs through the National Crime Agency.
- Deleting a notice: decided in Lyon by the Commission for the Control of INTERPOL’s Files, not by a British court, and independently of any extradition proceedings.
- Bail: available in extradition proceedings, usually on conditions such as surrender of passports, sureties and electronic monitoring.
Where extradition cases in London are heard
Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Marylebone Road is the designated court for extradition proceedings in England and Wales. Cases are heard by district judges specifically designated to deal with extradition, which is why the same small group of judges decides these matters for the whole jurisdiction.
An appeal against an extradition order, or against a discharge, is made to the High Court sitting in the Administrative Court at the Royal Courts of Justice in the Strand, and permission to appeal is required. A further appeal to the Supreme Court is possible only where the High Court certifies a point of law of general public importance. In Scotland the equivalent proceedings are heard in Edinburgh, and in Northern Ireland in Belfast; everything described on this page concerns requests handled in London.
Two routes under the Extradition Act 2003
The Extradition Act 2003 divides requesting states into two categories, and the route determines both the timetable and who takes the final decision.
- Part 1 covers category 1 territories, in practice the member states of the European Union. Since the United Kingdom left the EU these requests arrive as arrest warrants under the surrender arrangements of the Trade and Cooperation Agreement, and the decision is taken by the court alone, without any involvement of a government minister.
- Part 2 covers category 2 territories, the states with which the United Kingdom has extradition arrangements outside that scheme, among them the United States, the United Arab Emirates, India and Turkey. Here the court decides first, and if it does not discharge the person the case passes to the Secretary of State, who takes the decision on surrender.
The practical consequence matters for strategy. In a Part 1 case the entire argument is legal and evidential, and it is made in court. In a Part 2 case there is a second stage before the Home Office, where assurances offered by the requesting state and the person’s own representations can still change the outcome after the judge has ruled.
What happens after an arrest on an extradition request
Arrest may follow a certified warrant or, where the request is urgent, a provisional arrest made before the full paperwork has arrived. The person must be brought before the court as soon as practicable, and that first hearing is short but consequential.
- The initial hearing: identity is established, the person is told what is alleged and by whom, and the question of bail or remand is decided.
- Case management: the court sets the timetable for evidence, expert reports and skeleton arguments, and fixes the date of the extradition hearing.
- The extradition hearing: the judge considers whether the statutory requirements are met and whether any bar to extradition applies, including compatibility with the European Convention on Human Rights.
- The decision: the person is either discharged or, in a Part 2 case, the matter is sent to the Secretary of State.
- Appeal: with permission, to the High Court, and only exceptionally beyond it.
Bail is available in extradition proceedings, and the argument for it is usually the first real contest in the case. Conditions commonly include surrender of passports, a fixed address, sureties, reporting requirements and electronic monitoring. A refusal at the initial hearing is not final and can be revisited as the case develops.
Grounds on which extradition can be resisted
The Act sets out the bars to extradition, and a defence is normally built from several of them at once rather than from one decisive point.
- The conduct alleged is not a criminal offence under the law of England and Wales, so the requirement of dual criminality is not satisfied.
- The rule against double jeopardy, where the person has already been tried for the same conduct.
- Extraneous considerations, where the request is in substance made because of the person’s political opinions, race, religion, nationality, gender or sexual orientation, or where they would be prejudiced at trial for one of those reasons.
- Passage of time, where surrender after so long would be unjust or oppressive.
- The forum bar, where a substantial measure of the conduct took place in the United Kingdom and it is in the interests of justice for any prosecution to happen here.
- Physical or mental condition, where the person’s health means that surrender would be unjust or oppressive.
- Incompatibility with the European Convention on Human Rights: prison conditions and the risk of ill-treatment under Article 3, the absence of a fair trial under Article 6, and the effect on family life, in particular on children, under Article 8.
- Absence of a decision to charge and try the person, and the related question of whether the request is genuinely for prosecution rather than for investigation.
Country conditions do most of the work in these arguments, which is why evidence about the requesting state’s prison system, its judiciary and its treatment of particular groups of defendants is prepared in parallel with the legal case. The wider picture of proceedings in this jurisdiction is set out on our page for extradition in the United Kingdom.
Interpol Red Notices seen from London
The National Crime Agency acts as the United Kingdom’s National Central Bureau for Interpol, which means Interpol notices and diffusions concerning this country pass through a British law enforcement body rather than through the courts. A notice is not in itself a warrant and does not oblige the United Kingdom to arrest anyone, but it has practical consequences: banking difficulties, refused visas, problems at borders and, in some cases, a subsequent formal extradition request.
A notice or diffusion can be challenged independently of any court proceedings. The Commission for the Control of INTERPOL’s Files in Lyon considers requests for access to the data held about a person and requests for its deletion, applying Interpol’s own rules on the processing of data and the prohibition in its Constitution on activities of a political, military, religious or racial character. Details of that procedure are set out on our pages on work with the CCF from the United Kingdom and on deletion of Interpol notices.
Where both tracks are live at once, they have to be run together. Material filed in Lyon and arguments made at Westminster must tell the same story, because inconsistencies between them are the first thing the other side will use.
How we work with clients whose case is in London
Extradition work is rarely confined to one country. The requesting state, the state where the person now lives and the United Kingdom all have a part in the outcome, and Interpol channels cut across all three.
- Assessment of the request itself: what is alleged, under which route it has come, and which bars to extradition are realistically available.
- Coordination with counsel admitted in England and Wales for hearings before Westminster Magistrates’ Court and the High Court.
- Work in the requesting state, where the underlying case can often be attacked at its source.
- Applications to the Commission for the Control of INTERPOL’s Files where a notice or diffusion is in play.
- Practical consequences: banking, residence and travel, which for most clients start to bite long before the hearing.
If a request or a notice already concerns you, the earliest possible assessment is worth more than anything done later. Our lawyers can be reached through the contact page.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which court in London hears extradition cases?
Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Marylebone Road, which is the designated court for extradition proceedings in England and Wales. Appeals go to the High Court at the Royal Courts of Justice in the Strand, and require permission.
Do I need a lawyer in London if the Red Notice was issued by another country?
If you live in the United Kingdom, or expect to travel through it, then yes, because any arrest and any extradition hearing will happen here. The notice itself, however, is challenged in Lyon before the Commission for the Control of INTERPOL’s Files, and that application is prepared alongside the British proceedings rather than instead of them.
Is bail possible in an extradition case?
Yes. The court can grant bail in extradition proceedings, usually on conditions such as surrender of passports, a fixed address, sureties and electronic monitoring. A refusal at the first hearing can be revisited later in the case.
How long do extradition proceedings in the United Kingdom take?
There is no fixed period. The Act sets short timetables for the opening stages, but a contested case with expert evidence on country conditions and an appeal to the High Court runs for many months, and in Part 2 cases the decision of the Secretary of State adds a further stage after the court has ruled.
Can an Interpol Red Notice be deleted without any court proceedings?
It can. Deletion is decided by Interpol’s own review body in Lyon, not by a national court, and the application is made on the basis of Interpol’s rules on data processing and the prohibition on politically motivated requests. Success depends on the material put before the Commission, not on the stage reached by any criminal case.
