Lord Davies of Gower (Con)

Well, we have certainly heard one very powerful elucidation of why Clause 212 should be removed from the Bill. In essence, my concern is that this clause grants a foreign court a greater say in whether a British citizen should be extradited when a person is convicted in absentia where they did not deliberately absent themselves from the trial—that is to say, they were convicted without their knowledge. Currently, the British judge at the extradition hearing has to decide whether the person would receive a retrial should they be extradited. This is absolutely right. If a person is convicted without their knowing that they have been faced with the charges in person and without the ability to defend themselves, they have not received a fair trial. The Extradition Act 2003 therefore places the decision as to whether a fair trial can take place firmly in the hands of British judges. This has been strengthened by the Supreme Court’s ruling in Merticariu and Romania, where the court ruled that the entitlement to a retrial must be a guaranteed right, not a conditional one. Essentially, the person must be entitled, rather than might be entitled, to a retrial should they be extradited. Clause 212 undoes this. It would mean that the British judge would have to order a person’s extradition on the simple assertion by the requesting country that the person could be committed to stand trial in person, regardless of whether that is true or not. This places more powers over the extradition of British citizens in the hands of foreign courts and not our own courts. It does not guarantee that British citizens will receive the right to a fair trial. In Committee, the Minister stated that the Supreme Court’s interpretation of the Extradition Act as requiring a guaranteed trial is somehow problematic, because that is “something some states cannot offer. Without this fix, certain legitimate extradition requests could be blocked”.—[Official Report, 5/2/26; col. 1749.] I have to say to the Minister that, if a foreign country cannot guarantee that a British citizen will be entitled to a fair trial, we should not be extraditing them to that country. If they cannot guarantee it, the request for extradition should be denied by the court. For these reasons, I firmly support the amendment of the noble Lord, Lord Carter, to remove the clause from the Bill and, should he press it to a Division, we will support him.