Section 71: Arrest warrant following extradition request
213.Extradition requests to the United Kingdom, and accompanying arrest of the person concerned, can follow one of two paths. The first is a request for the provisional arrest of a person considered to be at risk of leaving or travelling to another jurisdiction. Such requests are generally made through police channels pending receipt of a formal extradition request and supporting documentation. The second is a full order request, where the formal request and supporting documentation is submitted through the diplomatic channel in advance of arrest. This section is concerned with full order requests.
214.Subsection (1) states that this section applies if the Secretary of State sends the documents to the appropriate judge under section 70 above. Subsection (2) allows the judge to issue a warrant for arrest if he has reasonable grounds for believing that the relevant conditions are met. These conditions are that the offence for which extradition has been requested is an extradition offence and that there is evidence that would justify the issue of an arrest warrant if the person was accused of the offence or was unlawfully at large following a conviction for that offence (subsection (3)). Subsection (4) replaces the requirement to submit evidence with a requirement to submit information for those countries that have been designated for that purpose by order made by the Secretary of State. Subsection (5) provides that a warrant issued under this section may be executed by any police constable or customs officer, or by any person to whom it is directed, even if neither the warrant nor a copy is held by that person at the time of execution.
215.Where a warrant is directed to a service policeman it may be executed only in a place where that service policeman would have the power to arrest a person under the relevant service law (subsections (6) and (8)). In all other cases a warrant can be executed in any part of the United Kingdom (subsection (7)).
