Extradition trap OK (1)
01 January 1991
Extradition trap OK
artdoc August=1994
The House of Lords decided that it had no common law power to
rule an extradition invalid for abuse of process when the
fugitive had been tricked by the police. Norbert Schmidt was
wanted by the German authorities for supplying and possessing
cannabis. They tried to extradite him from Ireland in 1991, but
the warrant was not in order. In 1992 a Metropolitan police
officer tricked Mr Schmidt into meeting him in London and
arrested him. He was detained pending extradition. Habeas corpus
was refused. The House of Lords said that the Home Secretary
could refuse to hand fugitives over but that the English courts'
hands were tied. Even if it had the power, the police's behaviour
was not so serious as to warrant interference.
Re Schmidt, Independent 30.6.94.
Statewatch, Vol 4 no 4, July-August 1994