24 June 2010
Dos Santos v Cascais Court Second Criminal Chamber, Portugal [2010] All ER (D) 123 (Jun)
It was settled law that a person who enjoyed refugee status in the UK could not be extradited to his country of nationality for as long as that person enjoyed refugee status. Further, a person could not be extradited to the territory of which he was a national while his asylum claim remained pending, in the sense of not having been finally determined.
Only in exceptional cases where there were grounds for regarding refugee status as questionable was the appropriate course to adjourn an extradition hearing so that the secretary of state could make a final determination on refugee status.
