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Extracted Text (OCR)
Case 1:20-cr-00330-AJN Document 97-21 Filed 12/14/20 Page 14 of 29
specific concerns, such as access to medical care”’. In those circumstances, it is highly unlikely that
Ms Maxwell would be able to rely on Article 3 to defeat a request for her extradition.
Article 6 (fair trial)
37. Article 6 ECHR protects the right to a fair trial, and the European Court of Human Rights has noted
that Article 6 is “strikingly similar” to the Eighth Amendment to the US Constitution”. An issue may
exceptionally be raised under Article 6 in an extradition case in circumstances where the requested
person risks suffering a flagrant denial of justice in the requesting country”. The test of ‘flagrant
denial’ is particularly high, requiring a court to find not only that the trial would be unfair, but that
there would be “a total nullification of the right to a fair trial’”® In practice, this threshold is rarely
overcome in extradition cases and it has never been met in a US extradition case. In those
circumstances, it is highly unlikely that Ms Maxwell would be able to successfully invoke Article 6 to
resist her extradition.
Article 8 (private and family life)
38. Article 8 ECHR protects the right to private and family life. In assessing Article 8, the court is
required to conduct a balancing exercise where factors in favour of extradition, including the
“constant and weighty” public interests in honouring extradition treaties and ensuring that people
accused of crimes should be brought to trial, are weighed against any personal or other factors that
would render extradition an interreference with private or family life. The test is whether any
interference would be disproportionate to the legitimate aims pursued by extradition”. In practice, the
more serious the offence, the more difficult it is to establish that extradition would be
disproportionate. Given the nature of the charges that she faces, it is highly unlikely that such an
argument would succeed in Ms Maxwell’s case.
Conclusion
39. In conclusion, if the United States were to request Ms Maxwell’s extradition in circumstances where
she had absconded to the United Kingdom in breach of bail conditions imposed in the United States, it
is extremely unlikely that she would be granted bail and highly unlikely that she would be able
? See, for example, Miao at para. 37 where the court stated that: “Assurances are commonly given in extradition cases in
order to mitigate risks which might otherwise bar extradition. It is common for assurances to be given in respect of
conditions of detention and the treatment of physical and mental illness (and associated suicide prevention) and they
form an important part of extradition law”.
** Ahmad v United Kingdom 51 EHRR SE6, para. 133.
*° Othman v United Kingdom (2012) 55 EHRR 1, para. 258.
°° Othman, para. 260.
*7 R (on the application of HH) v Westminster City Magistrates’ Court [2013] 1 AC 338, para. 30.
1922623.1
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DOJ-OGR-00002109
Extracted Information
Dates
Document Details
| Filename | DOJ-OGR-00002109.jpg |
| File Size | 863.4 KB |
| OCR Confidence | 94.4% |
| Has Readable Text | Yes |
| Text Length | 2,971 characters |
| Indexed | 2026-02-03 16:20:10.559652 |