Senate Passes Extradition (Amendment) Bill, 2021

Minister without Portfolio in the Ministry of National Security, Senator the Hon. Matthew Samuda, is assuring that the amendments to the Extradition Bill will not infringe on the rights of any person being sought for extradition, whether to the United States or any other country.

He noted that the Extradition (Amendment) Bill, 2021, which was passed in the Senate on Friday (July 2) with two amendments, is intended to clarify and amplify the law.

“The rationale for the amendments to the Extradition Act, came out of concerns expressed by the United States State Department on the difficulty in acquiring the affidavits of victims, particularly in cases of lotto scamming and fraud, in extradition proceedings,” Senator Samuda explained while piloting the Bill.

He noted that in recognising the difficulties, which were also shared by the Director of Public Prosecutions who concurred in relation to the challenges encountered and amendment of the law, the Government of Jamaica decided to amend the Act to facilitate the admission of certain other certified documents in extradition proceedings.

The Minister informed that the amendments will explicitly allow for the admission of records of the evidence of a case, which will be in addition to the other forms of evidence already permitted under the Act.

“The Bill defines records of the evidence of the case to include, among other things, documents or statements which describe the identity and probable location of the person sought, and statements of the facts of the case, including the time and location of the offence,” he noted.

The Bill seeks to amend the Extradition Act to provide for the admission of evidence in the form of records of evidence of the case in extradition hearings and allow any Judge of the Parish Court, whether or not that Judge is within the same jurisdiction as the person who is being sought for extradition, to issue an arrest warrant for the purpose of committal.

“The amendments to the Extradition Act do not interfere with the Court’s inherent power to request more evidence or to deny the request if the evidence presented is not deemed satisfactory or sufficient to accede to the extradition request,” Mr. Samuda said.

The Bill was passed in the Lower House on Tuesday (June 22) with one amendment.