United States of America (Extradition) Order in Council 1935

Extradition Act 1968

(Section 3)

United States of America (Extradition)
Order in Council 1935

2024 REVISED EDITION

(18 December 2024)

The following Order of His Majesty in Council made on the 6th day of June, 1935, entitled the “United States of America (Extradition) Order in Council, 1935”, is published for general information:

At the Court at Buckingham Palace, the 6th day of June, 1935.

Present,

The King’s Most Excellent Majesty in Council.

Whereas by the Extradition Acts, 1870^(a) to 1932^(b), it was amongst other things enacted that, where an arrangement has been made with any foreign State with respect to the surrender to such State of any fugitive criminals, His Majesty may, by Order in Council, direct that the said Acts shall apply in the case of such foreign State; and that His Majesty may, by the same or any subsequent Order, limit the operation of the Order, and restrict the same to fugitive criminals who are in or suspected of being in the part of His Majesty’s dominions specified in the Order, and render the operation thereof subject to such conditions, exceptions and qualifications as may be deemed expedient:

^(a) 33 and 34 V. c. 52.

^(b) 22 and 23 G. 5c. 39.

And whereas by Orders in Council dated the 21st March 1890, the 26th June 1901, and the 11th February 1907, the Extradition Acts, 1870 to 1906, were respectively made applicable in the case of the United States of America under and in accordance with the several Conventions concluded between His Majesty and the President of the United States on the 12th July 1889, the 13th December 1900, and the 12th April 1905:

And whereas a Treaty was signed on the 22nd day of December, 1931, between His Majesty and the President of the United States of America for mutual extradition of fugitive criminals, which Treaty is in the terms following:

His Majesty the King of Great Britain, Ireland and the British Dominions beyond the Seas, Emperor of India,

And the President of the United States of America;

Desiring to make more adequate provision for the reciprocal extradition of criminals,

Have resolved to conclude a Treaty for that purpose, and to that end have appointed as their plenipotentiaries:—

His Majesty the King of Great Britain, Ireland and the British Dominions beyond the Seas, Emperor of India:

For Great Britain and Northern Ireland:

The Right Honourable Sir John Simon, G.C.S.I., M.P., His Principal Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs;

And the President of the United States of America;

General Charles G. Dawes, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America at the Court of St. James;

who, having communicated their full powers, found in good and due form, have agreed as follows:

Article 1

The High Contracting Parties engage to deliver up to each other, under certain circumstances and conditions stated in the present Treaty, those persons who, being accused or convicted of any of the crimes or offences enumerated in Article 3, committed within the jurisdiction of the one Party, shall be found within the territory of the other Party.

Article 2

For the purposes of the present Treaty the territory of His Britannic Majesty shall be deemed to be Great Britain and Northern Ireland, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man, and all parts of His Britannic Majesty’s dominions overseas other than those enumerated in Article 14, together with the territories enumerated in Article 16 and any territories to which it may be extended under Article 17. It is understood that in respect of all territory of His Britannic Majesty as above defined other than Great Britain and Northern Ireland, the Channel Islands, and the Isle of Man, the present Treaty shall be applied so far as the laws permit.

For the purposes of the present Treaty the territory of the United States shall be deemed to be all territory wherever situated belonging to the United States, including its dependencies and all other territories under its exclusive administration or control.

Article 3

Extradition shall be reciprocally granted for the following crimes or offences:

Murder (including assassination, parricide, infanticide, poisoning), or attempt or conspiracy to murder.

Manslaughter.

Administering drugs or using instruments with intent to procure the miscarriage of women.

Rape.

Unlawful carnal knowledge, or any attempt to have unlawful carnal knowledge, of a girl under 16 years of age.

Indecent assault if such crime or offence be indictable in the place where the accused or convicted person is apprehended.

Kidnapping or false imprisonment.

Child stealing, including abandoning, exposing or unlawfully detaining.

Abduction.

10.

Procuration: that is to say the procuring or transporting of a woman or girl under age, even with her consent, for immoral purposes, or of a woman or girl over age, by fraud, threats, or compulsion, for such purposes with a view in either case to gratifying the passions of another person provided that such crime or offence is punishable by imprisonment for at least one year or by more severe punishment.

11.

Bigamy.

12.

Maliciously wounding or inflicting grievous bodily harm.

13.

Threats, by letter or otherwise, with intent to extort money or other things of value.

14.

Perjury, or subornation of perjury.

15.

Arson.

16.

Burglary or housebreaking, robbery with violence, larceny or embezzlement.

17.

Fraud by a bailee, banker, agent, factor, trustee, director, member, or public officer of any company, or fraudulent conversion.

18.

Obtaining money, valuable security, or goods by false pretences; receiving any money, valuable security, or other property, knowing the same to have been stolen or unlawfully obtained.

19.

—(a)	Counterfeiting or altering money, or bringing into circulation counterfeited or altered money.

(b)	Knowingly and without lawful authority making or having in possession any instrument, tool, or engine adapted and intended for the counterfeiting of coin.

20.

Forgery, or uttering what is forged.

21.

Crimes or offences against bankruptcy law.

22.

Bribery, defined to be the offering, giving or receiving of bribes.

23.

Any malicious act done with intent to endanger the safety of any persons travelling or being upon a railway.

24.

Crimes or offences or attempted crimes or offences in connection with the traffic in dangerous drugs.

25.

Malicious injury to property, if such crime or offence be indictable.

26.

—(a)	Piracy by the law of nations.

(b)	Revolt, or conspiracy to revolt, by two or more persons on board a ship on the high seas against the authority of the master; wrongfully sinking or destroying a vessel at sea, or attempting to do so; assaults on board a ship on the high seas, with intent to do grievous bodily harm.

27.

Dealing in slaves.

[S 104/2026]

Extradition is also to be granted for participation in any of the aforesaid crimes or offences, provided that such participation be punishable by the laws of both High Contracting Parties.

Article 4

The extradition shall not take place if the person claimed has already been tried and discharged or punished, or is still under trial in the territories of the High Contracting Party applied to, for the crime or offence for which his extradition is demanded.

If the person claimed should be under examination or under punishment in the territories of the High Contracting Party applied to for any other crime or offence, his extradition shall be deferred until the conclusion of the trial and the full execution of any punishment awarded to him.

Article 5

The extradition shall not take place if, subsequently to the commission of the crime or offence or the institution of the penal prosecution or the conviction thereon, exemption from prosecution or punishment has been acquired by lapse of time, according to the laws of the High Contracting Party applying or applied to.

Article 6

A fugitive criminal shall not be surrendered if the crime or offence in respect of which his surrender is demanded is one of a political character, or if he proves that the requisition for his surrender has, in fact, been made with a view to try or punish him for a crime or offence of a political character.

Article 7

A person surrendered can in no case be kept in custody or be brought to trial in the territories of the High Contracting Party to whom the surrender has been made for any other crime or offence, or on account of any other matters, than those for which the extradition shall have taken place, until he has been restored, or has had an opportunity of returning, to the territories of the High Contracting Party by whom he has been surrendered.

This stipulation does not apply to crimes or offences committed after the extradition.

Article 8

The extradition of fugitive criminals under the provisions of this Treaty shall be carried out in the United States and in the territory of His Britannic Majesty respectively, in conformity with the laws regulating extradition for the time being in force in the territory from which the surrender of the fugitive criminal is claimed.

Article 9

The extradition shall take place only if the evidence be found sufficient, according to the laws of the High Contracting Party applied to, either to justify the committal of the prisoner for trial, in case the crime or offence had been committed in the territory of such High Contracting Party, or to prove that the prisoner is the identical person convicted by the courts of the High Contracting Party who makes the requisition, and that the crime or offence of which he has been convicted is one in respect of which extradition could, at the time of such conviction, have been granted by the High Contracting Party applied to.

Article 10

If the individual claimed by one of the High Contracting Parties in pursuance of the present Treaty should be also claimed by one or several other Powers on account of other crimes or offences committed within their respective jurisdictions, his extradition shall be granted to the Power whose claim is earliest in date, unless such claim is waived.

Article 11

If sufficient evidence for the extradition be not produced within two months from the date of the apprehension of the fugitive, or within such further time as the High Contracting Party applied to, or the proper tribunal of such High Contracting Party, shall direct, the fugitive shall be set at liberty.

Article 12

All articles seized which were in the possession of the person to be surrendered at the time of his apprehension, and any articles that may serve as a proof of the crime or offence shall be given up when the extradition takes place, in so far as this may be permitted by the law of the High Contracting Party granting the extradition.

Article 13

All expenses connected with the extradition shall be borne by the High Contracting Party making the application.

Article 14

His Britannic Majesty may accede to the present Treaty on behalf of any of his Dominions hereafter named — that is to say, the Dominion of Canada, the Commonwealth of Australia (including for this purpose Papua and Norfolk Island), the Dominion of New Zealand, the Union of South Africa, the Irish Free State, and Newfoundland — and India. Such accession shall be effected by a notice to that effect given by the appropriate diplomatic representative of His Majesty at Washington which shall specify the authority to which the requisition for the surrender of a fugitive criminal who has taken refuge in the Dominion concerned, or India, as the case may be, shall be addressed. From the date when such notice comes into effect the territory of the Dominion concerned or of India shall be deemed to be territory of His Britannic Majesty for the purposes of the present Treaty.

The requisition for the surrender of a fugitive criminal who has taken refuge in any of the above-mentioned Dominions or India, on behalf of which His Britannic Majesty has acceded, shall be made by the appropriate diplomatic or consular officer of the United States of America.

Either High Contracting Party may terminate this Treaty separately in respect of any of the above-mentioned Dominions or India. Such termination shall be effected by a notice given in accordance with the provisions of Article 18.

Any notice given under the first paragraph of this Article in respect of one of His Britannic Majesty’s Dominions may include any territory in respect of which a mandate on behalf of the League of Nations has been accepted by His Britannic Majesty, and which is being administered by the Government of the Dominion concerned; such territory shall, if so included, be deemed to be territory of His Britannic Majesty for the purposes of the present Treaty. Any notice given under the third paragraph of this Article shall be applicable to such mandated territory.

Article 15

The requisition for the surrender of a fugitive criminal who has taken refuge in any territory of His Britannic Majesty other than Great Britain and Northern Ireland, the Channel Islands, or the Isle of Man, or the Dominions or India mentioned in Article 14, shall be made to the Governor, or chief authority, of such territory by the appropriate consular officer of the United States of America.

Such requisition shall be dealt with by the competent authorities of such territory: provided, nevertheless, that if an order for the committal of the fugitive criminal to prison to await surrender shall be made, the said Governor or chief authority may, instead of issuing a warrant for the surrender of such fugitive, refer the matter to His Majesty’s Government in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.