Extradition Act 2003 (Amendment to Designations) Order 2006

rose to move, That the draft order laid before the House on 7 November be approved [First Report from the Statutory Instruments Committee]. The noble Baroness said: My Lords, we are concerned here with the further secondary legislation required to amend the Extradition Act 2003 (Designation of Part 1 Territories) Order 2003 and the Extradition Act 2003 (Designation of Part 2 Territories) Order 2003. This is to reflect the separation of Serbia and Montenegro into two independent states and the accession of Bosnia-Herzegovina to the European Convention on Extradition, and to allow Romania and Bulgaria to operate the European arrest warrant procedure when they accede to the European Union on 1 January 2007. These amendments are necessary to ensure that the United Kingdom is able to comply with its obligations under the relevant international extradition agreements. A referendum was held in Montenegro on 21 May 2006, and its citizens voted to separate from Serbia. Montenegro subsequently declared independence in June, and Montenegro and Serbia are now two separate countries. The amendment simply reflects the new political status of those two countries, and extradition will continue to take place under the European Convention on Extradition, to which they are both a party. Bosnia-Herzegovina is now also a party to the European Convention on Extradition (ECE), and an amendment is needed to reflect the changes required to update our extradition arrangements with that country, which currently fall under an old bilateral extradition treaty with Yugoslavia. That treaty required prima facie evidence in support of an extradition request, which is not a requirement under the European Convention on Extradition. This instrument therefore amends the designation of Bosnia-Herzegovina to make us comply with the terms of the ECE. This will mean that Bosnia-Herzegovina will no longer be required to submit prima facie evidence in support of its extradition requests in the same way as the UK is no longer required to provide prima facie evidence in any extradition requests made to Bosnia-Herzegovina. Your Lordships will be aware that on 1 January 2007 Romania and Bulgaria will accede to the European Union. That means that, from that date onwards, EU extraditions with those states will cease to take place under the European Convention on Extradition and will fall under the European arrest warrant (EAW) procedure instead. It is therefore necessary to redesignate them as Part 1 territories to ensure that we comply with our obligations under the framework decision on the EAW. The accession of Romania and Bulgaria to the EU was not a decision taken lightly. The European Council and the Commission monitored both countries very carefully in order to be sure that they were ready to accede to the EU. Robust benchmarks for progress in justice and home affairs have been set for both countries. The benchmarks cover continued reform of the judiciary in both countries, including measures to enhance efficiency, transparency and accountability. The Commission will monitor them closely and will report to the Council and European Parliament on progress against the benchmarks by June 2007. In the event that they are not addressed adequately, the Commission can trigger the justice and home affairs safeguard, which means that it can suspend, on a temporary basis, specific rights of Bulgaria and Romania under EU laws and standards; for example, that could enable current member states to refuse automatic recognition and enforcement of certain civil and criminal judgments and arrest warrants in Bulgaria or Romania. That could include the European arrest warrant. The monitoring mechanism is a robust and unprecedented approach, which will also act as a powerful lever for further reform. Failure to redesignate Bulgaria and Romania would place the United Kingdom directly in breach of our international obligations under the framework decision on the European arrest warrant. We have had extradition relations with Bulgaria and Romania since they became parties to the European Convention on Extradition in September 1995 and December 1997 respectively. Since that time they have not had to provide prima facie evidence in support of extradition requests made to the United Kingdom. Indeed, although the number of extradition requests between our two countries has been small, the arrangement is working well. In any event, we are satisfied that sufficient safeguards are in place for those who may find themselves the subject of an European arrest warrant request from Bulgaria and Romania, as indeed there would be for any request received from one of our extradition partners. The Extradition Act 2003 contains a number of very effective safeguards. For example, the subject of a European arrest warrant cannot be surrendered to another member state if it appears that he or she is being prosecuted or punished on account of race, religion, nationality, gender, sexual orientation or political opinions. Extradition would also be barred if the judge decided that it would not be compatible with human rights. No UK national, nor indeed a national of any country, will be extradited to another country if it is believed that to do so would be a flagrant breach of the human rights of the person sought. In the event that a UK national was extradited to another country, they would be entitled to consular support from the UK’s embassy or high commission in the country concerned. Romania and Bulgaria are also parties to the European Convention on Human Rights, which obliges them to ensure that any subsequent domestic criminal trial does not breach a person’s human rights under that convention. I hope that, with that explanation, I can invite the House to agree to this order. I beg to move. Moved, That the draft order laid before the House on 7 November be approved [First Report from the Statutory Instruments Committee].—(Baroness Scotland of Asthal.)