Extradition (Provisional Arrest) Bill [Lords] — House of Commons, 2020-09-08
Topic: International Affairs
Nigel Martin Evans (Conservative, Centre-right): With this it will be convenient to discuss the following: Amendment 2, in page 1, line 6, at end insert— ‘( ) The power to make further amendments under this Act may not be used to make any provision in relation to— (a) the People’s Republic of China, or (b) the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China." This amendment would prevent the power to make amendments under this Bill being used in relation to China and/or Hong Kong. Amendment 7, in clause 1, page 1, line 6, at end insert— ‘( ) The power to make further amendments under this Act may not be used to make any provision in relation to the United States of America." This amendment would prevent the power to make amendments under this Bill being used in relation to the USA. Clause stand part Amendment 3, in clause 2, page 1, line 13, at end insert "except in relation to extradition requests by or on behalf of— (a) the People’s Republic of China, or (b) the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China." This amendment would preclude the exercise in respect of China and /or Hong Kong of the powers under the Extradition Act 2003 in relation to British overseas territories, the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man, in relation to any changes made by this Bill. Amendment 8, page 1, line 13, at end insert "except in relation to extradition requests by or on behalf of the United States of America." This amendment would preclude the exercise in respect of the USA of the powers under the Extradition Act 2003 in relation to British overseas territories, the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man, in relation to any changes made by this Bill. Government amendment 11 Clause 2 stand part New clause 1—Annual statement on provisional arrests— ‘(1) The Secretary of State must, at the end of the period of 12 months beginning on the day on which this Act is passed, lay before both Houses of Parliament a statement setting out how many individuals have been arrested under provisions within this Act (2) The statement must include a list of each incident broken down by protected characteristics of each person arrested, as defined in section 4 of the Equality Act 2010 (3) The Secretary of State must lay before Parliament a report in similar terms covering each subsequent 12 month period, within six months of that period ending." This new clause would require the Secretary of State to lay a statement setting out how many individuals have been arrested under provisions within this Act, broken down by characteristics of each person arrested. New clause 2—Review of the Act— ‘(1) The Secretary of State must appoint a person to review the operation of the provisions of the Extradition Act 2003 as amended by this Act (2) That person may, from time to time, carry out a review of the provisions of this Act and must send a report on the outcome of such a review to the Secretary of State as soon as reasonably practicable after completing the review (3) A review under subsection (2) may, in particular, consider operational effectiveness (4) The person appointed under subsection (1) must carry out and report on the first review before the end of the period of 12 months after the day on which this Act is passed (5) On receiving a report under this section, the Secretary of State must lay a copy of it before Parliament as soon as the Secretary of State is satisfied that doing so will not prejudice any criminal proceedings." This new clause requires the changes made by this Act to be kept under review, and the first review of the Act to be carried out within a year of its being passed. Government amendment 12 Amendment 16, page 3, leave out lines 22 to 24 and insert— ‘(4) The "designated authority" is the National Crime Agency." This amendment would define the "designated authority" as the National Crime Agency. Amendment 4, page 3, line 36, at end insert— ‘( ) Regulations under subsection (7) may not add the People’s Republic of China and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China as a specified category 2 territory." This amendment would preclude the exercise in respect of China and Hong Kong of the proposed power under section 75B(7) of the Extradition Act 2003 to add to the list of specified category 2 territories under Schedule A1 on whose authority a valid extradition request may be made. Amendment 9, page 3, line 36, at end insert— ‘( ) Regulations under subsection (7) may not add the United States of America to the list in Schedule A1 of specified category 2 territories." This amendment would preclude the exercise in respect of the USA of the proposed power under section 75B(7) of the Extradition Act 2003 to add to the list of specified category 2 territories under Schedule A1 on whose authority a valid extradition request may be made. Government amendments 13 and 14 Amendment 17, page 6, line 42, leave out "Liechtenstein" and insert "All the Member States of the European Economic Area" This amendment would allow for all EEA Member States (Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, The Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain and Sweden) to be inserted into new Schedule A1. Amendment 10, page 7, leave out line 2 This amendment would remove the USA from the proposed list of specified category 2 countries to which the provisions of this Bill will apply. Government amendment 15 Schedule stand part.