George Hepburne Scott Appears in Groundbreaking Judicial Review Claim Against Home Secretary’s Decision to Certify Warrant in UK’s First Japanese Extradition Case. 

The hearing took place in the High Court on 22 November 2022 before Nicola Davies LJ and Choudhury J. George was led by Mark Summers KC of Matrix.

This claim challenges the Secretary of State’s certification, under s.70 of the Extradition Act 2003 (‘the Act’), of the first ever extradition request to the UK from a Japanese authority. The extradition proceedings, concerning each of the three Claimants, proceed under rare ‘special extradition arrangements’ referred to in s.194 of the Act, and form the basis for continuing restrictions on their liberty.

Despite the clear terms of the extradition arrangements contained in a Memorandum of Cooperation of 6 July 2021 between the two States expressly requiring that any request be made only by the Government of Japan, the request for the extradition of each of the Claimants has in fact been made in every meaningful sense by the Japanese police.

To certify this request nonetheless as ‘made in the approved way’ under s.70 of the Act, the Secretary of State has relied on a perfunctory intervention of the Japanese Embassy (in correspondence initially withheld) in transmission of the police request, to circumvent that basic flaw. The permissibility of that approach is the subject matter of this application for judicial review.

Click here to view the judgement.

George is instructed by Lisa French of Foxes Solicitors

Barristers featured in this news

Year of Call - 1999

More news

Shortlist ( )

Criminal Law

Business Crime

Extradition

Immigration Law

Regulatory and Disciplinary Law

Sports Law