Norris v Government of the United States of America (No 2)

The appeal was against the refusal of extradition to the United States of America on charges of obstruction of justice. The central legal issue was whether the interference with the appellant's right to respect for his private and family life, protected by article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights, would be proportionate to the public interest in extraditing him to the United States to face trial. The court was required to consider the relevant principles and determine whether the appeal should be allowed. The court held that the appeal should be dismissed. It found that the appellant's appeal raised issues of principle concerning the approach that should be adopted in considering whether the extradition of a person against whom the order is sought would be compatible with that person’s human rights. The court considered the Strasbourg jurisprudence and the domestic jurisprudence, including the House of Lords' decision in Huang v Secretary of State for the Home Department. It held that the approach to be adopted in considering the proportionality of interference with article 8 rights in the context of extradition must involve a balancing exercise between the public interest in extraditing a person to be tried for an alleged crime and the interference with that person's right to respect for his private and family life. It held that the public interest in extraditing a person to be tried for an alleged crime weighed very heavily indeed, and that it was not right to equate extradition with expulsion or deportation in this context. The court held that the appeal should be dismissed because the appellant's extradition would not be incompatible with his right to respect for his family life under article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights.