George Hepburn Scott has recently secured four successful results for his clients in extradition cases at the High Court.
In the case of A.O. v Cyprus, on 22 May 2024, George was granted permission to appeal an extradition order of a district judge at Westminster Magistrates' Court by Hill J on all five argued grounds, which were as follows: (1) S.2(4)(c) of the Extradition Act 2003 ("the 2003 Act") re inadequate particulars of sentence, (2) s.12A of the 2003 Act re no clear decision to prosecute in the requesting state, (3) s.14 of the 2003 Act re passage of time, (4) s.21A of the 2003 Act re disproportionality of extradition, and (5) Article 8 of the Convention re right to respect of private and family life.
Secondly, in the case of M.W. v Poland, on 24 May 2024, Hill J granted George permission to appeal an extradition order of a district judge of Westminster Magistrates' Court under ss.10 & 64 of the Act 2003. George relied on an earlier victory in the High Court which set a precedent in relation to the UK offence of participating in a criminal organisation contrary to s.45 of the Serious Crime Act 2015 (Fedorowicz [2022] EWHC 3088 (Admin)). Fedorowicz essentially established that, when considering like offences (e.g. membership of a criminal organisation) at least some alleged criminal activity had to have taken place in the requesting state. In the case of MW, Hill J granted permission to appeal on the basis that, applying the Fedorowicz principle, this appeal was arguable. The allegation involved a multi million pound international fraud where the appellant was alleged to be the prime conspirator.
Thirdly, in the case of L.E. v USA, on 23 May 2024, Hill J granted George permission to appeal an extradition order of a district Judge in a US case. The grounds where permission was granted were: (1) Section 25 of the 2003 Act re the appellant's mental condition (PTSD and related issues), (2) Article 3 of the Convention re US prison conditions, and (3) Article 8 of the Convention re private and family life.
Finally, in the case of M.B. v Romania, on 14 June 2024, Julian Knowles J discharged George's client following a fully argued substantive appeal hearing re Article 8, as reported here and also reported in Chambers here.