Links
- Irish Aires Home Page
- IA Houston Links
- IA Links Page
- IA News Links
- Irish Aires Archived
- IA Email Lists
- Irish Aires Blog
- IAUC
Archives
- October 2004
- November 2004
- December 2004
- January 2005
- February 2005
- March 2005
- April 2005
- May 2005
- June 2005
- July 2005
- August 2005
- September 2005
- October 2005
- November 2005
- December 2005
- January 2006
- February 2006
- March 2006
- April 2006
- May 2006
- June 2006
- July 2006
- August 2006
- September 2006
- October 2006
- November 2006
- December 2006
- January 2007
- February 2007
- March 2007
- April 2007
- May 2007
- June 2007
- August 2007
- September 2007
- October 2007
- November 2007
- December 2007
- January 2008
- February 2008
- March 2008
- April 2008
- May 2008
- June 2008
- July 2008
- November 2008
- December 2008
- February 2009
- April 2009
- May 2009
- January 2010
- April 2011
- May 2011
- June 2011
- July 2011
- August 2011
- February 2012
News about the Irish & Irish American culture, music, news, sports. This is hosted by the Irish Aires radio show on KPFT-FM 90.1 in Houston, Texas (a Pacifica community radio station)
September 15, 2006
Legal Inadequacies of US UK Extradition Treaty
To the Honorable Members of the United States Senate
Re: The Legal Inadequacy of the Ratification Resolution for
the Proposed Extradition Treaty
Between the United States and the United Kingdom (Treaty
Document 108-23)
Dear Senator:
The Ratification Resolution for the Proposed Extradition
Treaty Between the United State and the United Kingdom,
adopted by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on
September 7, 2006 (Resolution,) fails to remedy the serious
legal and human rights concerns raised by the Irish
American and Human Rights communities. Even as modified by
the Resolution, this treaty strips American citizens of
meaningful access to U.S. Federal courts, violates several
provisions of the United States Constitution, including the
Bill of Rights, violates the International Covenant on
Civil and Political Rights, and violates customary
international human rights law. None of the congenital
defects inherent in the treaty have been rectified by the
Resolution:
1. The first "understanding" purports to amend treaty
article 4 in order to restore partial access to U.S.
Federal courts. But this requires a formal amendment to
the text of the treaty itself. Upon ratification, it is the
text of the treaty itself that will become "the Supreme Law
of the Land" under Article VI of the U.S. Constitution.
2. The first "declaration" effectively concedes that there
are fatal defects within this treaty under the United
States Constitution, including the Bill of Rights, but then
fails to rectify any of the treaty's numerous
constitutional law violations.
3. The second "declaration" purports to restore partial
access to U.S. courts. But since treaty article 4
effectively amends the time-honored "political offense
exception" out of existence, the role of U.S. federal
Judges will be reduced to a ministerial function,
consisting of certification that the documents submitted by
the U.K. government appear to be in order.
4. The proposed treaty eliminates the Rule of Inquiry set
forth in article 3 of the current 1986 Supplementary
Extradition Treaty, and therefore subjects American
citizens to prosecution in the so-called Diplock Courts in
Northern Ireland, which abrogate most of the rights of
accused citizens recognized by U.S. courts and do not
afford the judicial guarantees which are recognized as
indispensable by civilized peoples.
5. The first "proviso" approves correspondence between the
United States and the United Kingdom, copies of which are
attached to the Resolution, wherein the U.K. government
confirms that it will pursue the extradition of Irish
American citizens for any alleged activities after the 19 9
8 Good Friday Agreement that it does not approve of; and
that the U.K. government reserves the right to pursue the
extradition of Irish American citizens for any activities
before the 19 9 8 Good Friday Agreement that it does not
approve of. It will make no difference that such alleged
activity by Irish American citizens were and still are
protected by the First Amendment to the United States
Constitution, which will be, as a practical matter,
retroactively and permanently repealed for Irish American
citizens engaged in peaceful and non-violent campaigns for
peace and justice in Ireland.
6. The second "proviso" will permit Irish American
citizens to be prosecuted at least twice for the same
offense in violation of the Double Jeopardy Prohibition set
forth in the Fifth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution –
part of America's Bill of Rights – as well as in violation
of article 14(7) of the International Covenant on the Civil
and Political Rights, to which both the United States and
the United Kingdom are contracting parties.
7. The third "proviso" is empty language, where the UK
government simply confirms that the U.S. Senate has
responsibility under the U.S. Constitution to monitor the
implementation of a ratified U.S. treaty.
For all of the above reasons as well as those set forth in
my written submissions to the Senate Foreign Relations
Committee dated 4 March 2004, 19 July 2006, and 21 July
2006, the U.S. Senate must reject this unconstitutional and
unconscionable treaty.
Respectfully submitted,
Francis A. Boyle, Esq.
Professor of Law
Board of Directors,
Amnesty International
USA (1988-92)
15 September 2006
----
To Index of Monthly Archives
To September 2006 Index
To receive this news via email, click HERE.
To unsubscribe from this list, click HERE
No Message is necessary.
To Get RSS Feed for Irish Aires News click HERE
(Paste http://irishaires.blogspot.com/atom.xml into a News
Reader)
Re: The Legal Inadequacy of the Ratification Resolution for
the Proposed Extradition Treaty
Between the United States and the United Kingdom (Treaty
Document 108-23)
Dear Senator:
The Ratification Resolution for the Proposed Extradition
Treaty Between the United State and the United Kingdom,
adopted by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on
September 7, 2006 (Resolution,) fails to remedy the serious
legal and human rights concerns raised by the Irish
American and Human Rights communities. Even as modified by
the Resolution, this treaty strips American citizens of
meaningful access to U.S. Federal courts, violates several
provisions of the United States Constitution, including the
Bill of Rights, violates the International Covenant on
Civil and Political Rights, and violates customary
international human rights law. None of the congenital
defects inherent in the treaty have been rectified by the
Resolution:
1. The first "understanding" purports to amend treaty
article 4 in order to restore partial access to U.S.
Federal courts. But this requires a formal amendment to
the text of the treaty itself. Upon ratification, it is the
text of the treaty itself that will become "the Supreme Law
of the Land" under Article VI of the U.S. Constitution.
2. The first "declaration" effectively concedes that there
are fatal defects within this treaty under the United
States Constitution, including the Bill of Rights, but then
fails to rectify any of the treaty's numerous
constitutional law violations.
3. The second "declaration" purports to restore partial
access to U.S. courts. But since treaty article 4
effectively amends the time-honored "political offense
exception" out of existence, the role of U.S. federal
Judges will be reduced to a ministerial function,
consisting of certification that the documents submitted by
the U.K. government appear to be in order.
4. The proposed treaty eliminates the Rule of Inquiry set
forth in article 3 of the current 1986 Supplementary
Extradition Treaty, and therefore subjects American
citizens to prosecution in the so-called Diplock Courts in
Northern Ireland, which abrogate most of the rights of
accused citizens recognized by U.S. courts and do not
afford the judicial guarantees which are recognized as
indispensable by civilized peoples.
5. The first "proviso" approves correspondence between the
United States and the United Kingdom, copies of which are
attached to the Resolution, wherein the U.K. government
confirms that it will pursue the extradition of Irish
American citizens for any alleged activities after the 19 9
8 Good Friday Agreement that it does not approve of; and
that the U.K. government reserves the right to pursue the
extradition of Irish American citizens for any activities
before the 19 9 8 Good Friday Agreement that it does not
approve of. It will make no difference that such alleged
activity by Irish American citizens were and still are
protected by the First Amendment to the United States
Constitution, which will be, as a practical matter,
retroactively and permanently repealed for Irish American
citizens engaged in peaceful and non-violent campaigns for
peace and justice in Ireland.
6. The second "proviso" will permit Irish American
citizens to be prosecuted at least twice for the same
offense in violation of the Double Jeopardy Prohibition set
forth in the Fifth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution –
part of America's Bill of Rights – as well as in violation
of article 14(7) of the International Covenant on the Civil
and Political Rights, to which both the United States and
the United Kingdom are contracting parties.
7. The third "proviso" is empty language, where the UK
government simply confirms that the U.S. Senate has
responsibility under the U.S. Constitution to monitor the
implementation of a ratified U.S. treaty.
For all of the above reasons as well as those set forth in
my written submissions to the Senate Foreign Relations
Committee dated 4 March 2004, 19 July 2006, and 21 July
2006, the U.S. Senate must reject this unconstitutional and
unconscionable treaty.
Respectfully submitted,
Francis A. Boyle, Esq.
Professor of Law
Board of Directors,
Amnesty International
USA (1988-92)
15 September 2006
----
To Index of Monthly Archives
To September 2006 Index
To receive this news via email, click HERE.
To unsubscribe from this list, click HERE
No Message is necessary.
To Get RSS Feed for Irish Aires News click HERE
(Paste http://irishaires.blogspot.com/atom.xml into a News
Reader)
