On Friday 5 September 2025, Joint Head of Extradition at GT Stewart, Will Bergstrom, spoke at a webinar hosted by European Criminal Bar Association (ECBA)/European Fraud and Compliance Lawyers (EFCL) on Extradition and EAW Challenges.
The session, “In Absentia Trials and the Right to Retrial: Lessons from the UK High Court’s Refusal to Extradite to Portugal,” explored the significant implications for defence practitioners working in Criminal Law and cross-border justice.
In light of recent UK High Court decisions, Will focused on Section 20 of the Extradition Act 2003, discussing:
- Deliberate absence from trial in the context of s.20 EA 2003;
- The right to a retrial or review amounting to a retrial in the s.20 context, with a particular focus on Portugal.
Key takeaways included:
- Evidential considerations – there are evidential considerations when trying to persuade judges that judicial authorities have not met the standard of proof in relation to deliberate absence from trial;
- Portuguese appeals – understanding that Portuguese appeals do not amount to a re-trial or a ‘review amounting to a re-trial’, and consider how this affects extradition arguments;
- Recent case law impact – the recent 2025 Portuguese case was a practical example of how the Supreme Court decision in Bertino v Italy (2024) has given us more room to challenge arguments by the judicial authorities that our clients were deliberately absent from trial;
- High Court position on Extradition – the High Court seems to have confirmed that any requested person who was not deliberately absent from their trial, cannot be extradited to Portugal, as their extradition is barred under section 20(5) of the Extradition Act 2003.
Thank you to the ECBA and EFCL for hosting such an important discussion.
Find out more about Will Bergstrom and his work supporting clients in complex extradition and cross-border cases here.
