Section 77 Provisional arrest
372.Section 77 amends section 6 of the Extradition Act 2003 so as to exclude weekends and certain specified holidays from the calculation of the 48 hour period during which a person provisionally arrested under section 5 of the Extradition Act 2003 must be brought before, and relevant documents provided to, the appropriate judge. Section 77 also provides a mechanism by which the time limit for providing the relevant documents to the appropriate judge may be extended by up to 48 hours.
373.A power of provisional arrest is available under section 5 of the Extradition Act 2003 where a Part 1 warrant has not been received by a designated UK authority but a constable, a customs officer or a service policeman has reasonable grounds for believing that the warrant has been or will be issued by an authority in a category 1 territory.
374.Section 6(2) of the Extradition Act 2003 requires that someone who has been provisionally arrested must be brought before the appropriate judge within 48 hours of arrest. Section 6(2A) (as inserted by section 77) requires a copy of the Part 1 warrant and the certificate issued under section 2 of the Extradition Act 2003 to be provided to the appropriate judge within 48 hours of arrest. Section 77, however, amends section 6 of the Extradition Act 2003 so as to exclude the days listed in subsections (8A) and (8B) from the calculation of this 48 hour period. Section 77 also amends section 6 of the Extradition Act 2003 so as to enable the authority of the category 1 territory to apply to the appropriate judge for a further 48 hours within which to satisfy the requirements of section 6(2A). By virtue of subsections (3B) and (3C) the appropriate judge may grant such an extension where satisfied on the balance of probabilities that the requirements of section 6(2A) of the Extradition Act 2003 could not reasonably be complied with within the initial 48 hour period. Where the person who has been provisionally arrested has been brought before the appropriate judge in pursuance of section 6(2), but the relevant documents have not been provided in accordance with section 6(2A) subsection (5B) requires the appropriate judge to remand the person who has been provisionally arrested in custody or on bail.
