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On appeal from the QBD
Divisional Court (England and Wales)
Issues
What are the minimum requirements to constitute good
notice of appeal for the purposes of section 108(4)
of the Extradition Act 2003?
If an individual is notified by fax sent after
4:30p.m. that the Secretary of State has decided to
order his extradition, when does time begin to run
for the purposes of the 14-day time limit in section
108(4) of the Extradition Act 2003?
Facts
The Appellant was arrested under a provisional
arrest warrant issued under section 73 of the
Extradition Act 2003. He was remanded in custody
while the Secretary of State considered whether to
order his extradition to the USA. On 22 December
2010 officials acting on behalf of the Secretary of
State sent a fax to the Appellant informing him that
the Secretary of State had decided to order his
extradition. It is not clear whether the fax was
sent before or after 4:30pm on that day.
Seven days later, on 29 December 2010, the
Appellant’s solicitors filed a full notice of appeal
in form N161 with the Administrative Court. On the
same day, the Appellant also sent a handwritten
letter to the Secretary of State asking her to
‘accept this letter as notice and service of my
intent to appeal that order’ and stating that he had
instructed solicitors and counsel for that purpose.
On 4 January 2011 the 14-day time limit for filing
and serving a notice of appeal prima facie expired.
On 5 January 2011 the Appellant’s solicitors faxed a
sealed copy of the Appellant’s form N161 to the
Crown Prosecution Service and posted a sealed copy
of the form to the Secretary of State.
On trial of a preliminary issue, the Divisional
Court held that it did not have jurisdiction to
entertain an appeal against the Secretary of State’s
decision to order the Appellant’s extradition since
the Appellant had failed to comply with the
requirements of section 108(4) of the Extradition
Act 2003. The court held that the Appellant’s
handwritten letter was not a notice of appeal
because it was no more than an indication that the
Appellant intended to appeal. The court also held
that the 14-day time limit began to run on the day
that the Appellant was informed that the Secretary
of State had ordered his extradition, regardless of
what time during the day the fax notifying him of
the decision was actually sent. Accordingly, the
time-limit for filing and serving a valid notice of
appeal had expired on 4 January 2011 – before the
Appellant served his form N161 on the Secretary of
State and the CPS.
Subject Matter catchwords for indexing
Extradition – Appeals – Requirements of valid notice
of appeal – When time begins to run for purposes of
statutory 14-day time limit
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