Extradition Act 2003 (Amendment to Designations) Order 2010

In truth, that is the case because the noble Baroness gave me notice of the question and I managed to misinterpret it in my own mind, and then in seeking expert opinion, I misled the experts. When looking at the ECHR and other issues, the important thing I have been asked is whether the district court will have to look at the regime generally or at the specific circumstances of the case. That is the question as I now understand it. The answer is that it will have to consider both. The person whose extradition is being sought will be able to draw the court’s attention to the circumstances in Libya generally. If it concerns a crime with a sentence of more than 12 months for something that we may not recognise in the United Kingdom as being an offence, such as freedom of association, the rights of the media and so on, that can be brought to the attention of the court. Moreover, the person can bring in their personal circumstances in terms of whether they would be in danger and whether it is likely that they would be given a fair trial. A case could be made on the ground that extradition would risk a breach of the judgments reached by the European Court of Human Rights. That would be a factor that had to be taken into account by the district judge. I hope that my rather clumsy attempt to answer the question is sufficient. For my own conscience, if nothing else, I will write to the noble Baroness with a more articulate and expanded version of this response. Motion agreed.