Clause 6 - Person arrested under section 5
Extradition Bill
4:00 pm
Mr Bob Ainsworth (Parliamentary Under-Secretary, Home Office; Coventry North East, Labour)
The clause stipulates that the person must be brought before an appropriate judge—a district judge or the equivalent—within 48 hours. The relevant certified part 1 warrant must be produced for the judge at that hearing, and if either condition is not met, the person must be discharged.
The second function of the clause is to ensure that the person can be legally detained for the period between his arrest and the initial hearing. That is a necessary precaution to ensure that the person can be held for a brief period after his arrest. I do not see the need to shorten the 48-hour period, although I can see that difficulties might arise in some circumstances. However, I ask the Committee to accept that that is a reasonable period to require as a maximum.
Question put and agreed to.
Clause 6 ordered to stand part of the Bill.