The US government sought to extradite Ian Norris, the former chief executive officer of FTSE 250 company Morgan Crucible, on charges including conspiracy to fix prices of carbon products between 1989 and 2000. On 12 March 2008, the House of Lords allowed Mr. Norris's appeal in part against the lower court's decision that Mr. Norris should be extradited to the US to face charges of conspiracy to fix prices, obstructing the course of justice and interfering with witnesses. In a unanimous judgment, five Law Lords concluded that Mr. Norris could not be extradited on the cartel allegation because price-fixing was not, at the relevant time, a criminal offence in the UK. The test of double criminality required for the extradition of a UK national to the US was not satisfied in respect of the price fixing charge. This article outlines and analyses this judgment.
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