Antigua and Barbuda have had an Extradition Act for some 20 years and have not only a bilateral extradition treaty but also a mutual legal assistance treaty with the United States of America (US).
According to the US Department of State, Antigua and Barbuda’s location close to the US Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico make it an attractive trans-shipment point for narcotics traffickers. To address these problems, the United States and Antigua and Barbuda signed a series of counternarcotic and anticrime treaties and agreements, including a maritime law enforcement agreement subsequently amended to include overflight and order-to-land provisions, a bilateral extradition treaty, and a mutual legal assistance treaty.
As recorded on the law books of Antigua and Barbuda, the original Extradition Act was signed in 1993, then in 1996, the Extradition Treaty between the Government of Antigua and Barbuda and the Government of the United States of America signed on the 3rd of June 1996 the text of which is set out in the Schedule. No. 12 of 1993.
The Ratification came few months later. The Extradition Treaty signed on the 3rd of June 1996 by Ratification between the Government of Antigua and Barbuda and the Government of the United States of America is hereby ratified and is deemed to have entered into force with respect to Antigua and Barbuda on the 4th day of October 1997.
Since then, in 2000, the parliament of Antigua and Barbuda have passed the Extradition Treaty (Government of 1 Antigua and Barbuda and the Government of the United States of America) Ratification Act 2000.
This is an Act to ratify the Extradition Treaty between the Government of Antigua and Barbuda and the Government of the United States of America and to provide for other matters connected with the enforcement of the Treaty in Antigua and Barbuda.
It was enacted by parliament on 7th September 2000.
The Treaty with Antigua and Barbuda is part of a series of modern Mutual Legal Assistance Treaties (MLATs) negotiated by the United States in order to counter criminal activity more effectively. According to President William ‘Bill’ J Clinton, to the Senate of the United States on September 3, 1997, in the Letter of Transmittal, it was said, the Treaty, “should be an effective tool to assist in the prosecution of a wide variety of crimes, including ‘white-collar’ crime and drug trafficking offenses. The Treaties are self-executing.
Unlike the other Treaties proposed at the time for Dominica, Grenada and St Lucia, the Treaty with Antigua and Barbuda, signed at St John’s on October 31, 1996, was accompanied by an exchange of diplomatic notes which relates to Article 1 of the Treaty and which forms an integral part of the treaty. They represent part of a concerted effort by the State and the Department of Justice to develop modern legal assistance relationships in order to enhance the United States ability to prosecute serious offenders including, especially, narcotics traffickers.
