Extradition has been defined to be: "... the formal name given to the process whereby one sovereign state (the requesting state) asks another sovereign state (the requested state) to return to the requesting state someone present in the requested state (the defendant) in order that he may be brought to trial on criminal charges in the requesting state. The process also applies where the defendant has escaped from lawful custody following conviction in the requesting state - or is otherwise unlawfully at large - and is found in the requested state." [R. v. Evans ex p Pinochet Ugarte, 28 October 1998, CO/4074/98, p. 3, per Lord Bingham of Cornhill CJ].

The Extradition Department at Ullah Law Associates, is well versed in fighting extradition proceedings.

The Extradition Act 2003 came into force on the 1st of January 2003 and it is designed to make it easier for governments to secure the surrender of persons within the jurisdiction of the United Kingdom to states the world over.

Part I deals with territories that are member states of the European Union who operate the new "European Arrest Warrant" scheme. The EAW's are designed to speed up the process of hearing extradition cases so that individuals subject to an extradition request are sent back to the requesting territory far quicker than was possible under the more protracted procedures associated with the 1989 Extradition Act. This has been achieved by removing the need for requesting territories to prove a prime facie case against the defendant, that is to say, states under the 2003 Act are no longer obliged to provide any information other than that contained in the extradition request.

Part II deals with states that, whilst being members of the Council of Europe, are not in the European Union. It is also applicable to members of the British Commonwealth and to the United Kingdom's bi-lateral extradition treaty partners, such as the United States of America.