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Part Two – The future of the forum bar
This blog is part two of a two-part blog series. In part one we discussed the forum bar to extradition and the relevant case law of extradition proceedings, following a request from the USA to the UK, in which the forum bar has been successfully argued.
In part two we discuss the future of the forum bar and analyse data which has been provided in response to FOI requests submitted by this firm, and to Parliamentary questions, which reveal the number of extradition requests made and the number of extraditions ordered between the UK and the USA.
What next for the forum bar?
Although we are unlikely to see a sudden flurry of further successes in arguing the forum bar, this body of developing case law provides some reassurance that the forum bar can be relied upon for white-collar crime cases as well as for those that would be considered to be general crime.
Data provided in response to FOI requests submitted by this firm, and to Parliamentary questions, reveal the number of extradition requests made and the number of extraditions ordered between the UK and the USA.
|
Calendar Year |
Number of extradition requests made by the UK to the USA |
Number of requested persons extradited from the USA to the UK |
Number of extradition requests made by the USA to the UK |
Number of requested persons extradited from the UK to the USA
|
|
2009 |
5 |
7 |
19 |
16 |
|
2010 |
8 |
5 |
18 |
10 |
|
2011 |
5 |
5 |
15 |
8 |
|
2012 |
5 |
4 |
23 |
20 |
|
2013* |
<5 |
4 |
6 |
11 |
|
2019 |
10 |
3 |
26 |
13 |
|
2020 |
1 |
2 |
24 |
10 |
|
2021 |
7 |
7 |
26 |
7 |
|
2022 |
‘Neither Confirm Nor Deny’ Response |
2 |
42 |
16 |
*The Forum Bar came into force in October 2013
It is difficult to say with certainty whether this data reveals any trends, but some analysis is possible.
The difference between the number of extradition requests made by the UK to the USA and the number of RPs extradited from the USA to the UK is relatively low. For example, in 2011, 5 requests were made and 5 RPs were extradited (it is possible that some of the RPs extradited in 2011 had been requested in previous years). The greatest difference is in 2019, when the UK made ten requests and the USA extradited three RPs.
One might expect the difference in the number of extradition requests made by the USA and the UK to be commensurate with the relative sizes of each country’s population i.e. a larger population size would mean a greater number of people who might be subject to extradition requests.
In 2009, the USA’s population (306.8m) was 4.93 times larger than the UK’s population (62.28m). In 2021, the proportional difference was the same: the USA’s population (331.9m) was 4.93 times larger than the UK’s population (67.33m). On this basis it would be reasonable to expect, ceteris paribus, that the number of extradition requests made by the USA would be around 5 times greater across this time period i.e. broadly commensurate with its relative population size.
Because the data set is small, an increase or decrease of one RP skews the data for the UK. However, in very general terms, the number of requests made each year by the USA tends to be three to four times higher than the UK. i.e. the number of requests made is lower than might be expected given the USA’s population size. This may provide another perspective on the question of whether the extradition relationship is indeed one-sided.
The forum bar has not, it appears, had the impact of deterring requests from the USA to the UK. It is notable that the number of extradition requests made by the USA in total in the four years from 2019 – 2022 is 118 requests. This is higher than the number of requests made in total in the four years from 2009-2012 which is 75 requests. This may be a reflection of technological changes in the last ten years: more crime is being committed online and across borders, and the authorities are, at the same time, developing better techniques to investigate and prosecute such offences.
The number of RPs extradited by the UK to the USA comes to a total of 46 from 2019 – 2022. This is lower than the 54 RPs extradited from the UK to the USA from 2009-2012. Despite the increase in requests from the USA, therefore, there has been a decrease in extradition to the US over the same time period i.e. eight fewer people were extradited in the latter period, of which four were ‘forum barred’ (see blog part one).
The numbers are too low at the moment to be statistically significant. However, it is possible that the forum bar has had the consequence of encouraging judges to view the USA-UK extradition relationship with a greater degree of circumspection than had been previously the case.
Part One – What is the forum bar?
In this blog we discussed the future of the forum bar and analysed data which has been provided in response to FOI requests submitted by this firm, and to Parliamentary questions, which reveal the number of extradition requests made and the number of extraditions ordered between the UK and the USA.
This blog is part two of a two-part blog series. Part one is here.
We welcome views and opinions about the issues raised in this blog. Should you require specific advice in relation to personal circumstances, please use the form on the contact page.
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