The Extradition of Assange – A study of the ECtHR's case law on Article 3 regarding the extradition of persons with mental illness, in conjunction with diplomatic assurances
(2022) LAGF03 20221Department of Law
Faculty of Law
- Abstract
- On January 4, 2021, the Westminster Magistrates’ Court ruled the anticipated extradition of Julian Assange to the United States of America unlawful, stating it would be oppressive towards Mr. Assange’s mental health. The ruling was later overturned by the High Court of Justice, as the United States had provided diplomatic assurances to the United Kingdom regarding the treatment of Mr. Assange in the event of his extradition.
The aim of this thesis has been to examine the case of USA v. Assange, by applying relevant ECtHR case law pertaining to the event of extraditing persons with mental illness, and analyzing whether an extradition of Assange potentially would violate Article 3 ECHR. Furthermore, this thesis has also aimed to evaluate... (More) - On January 4, 2021, the Westminster Magistrates’ Court ruled the anticipated extradition of Julian Assange to the United States of America unlawful, stating it would be oppressive towards Mr. Assange’s mental health. The ruling was later overturned by the High Court of Justice, as the United States had provided diplomatic assurances to the United Kingdom regarding the treatment of Mr. Assange in the event of his extradition.
The aim of this thesis has been to examine the case of USA v. Assange, by applying relevant ECtHR case law pertaining to the event of extraditing persons with mental illness, and analyzing whether an extradition of Assange potentially would violate Article 3 ECHR. Furthermore, this thesis has also aimed to evaluate the role of diplomatic assurances in extradition procedures, specifically examining the assurances provided by the US government in the case of Assange.
The legal dogmatic method has been used to determine lex lata in cases of mental illness and extradition in relation to Article 3 ECHR. Noting the difficulties of using the legal dogmatic method while assessing the notion of diplomatic assurances which has evolved through inter-state relations and diplomatic practice, a method of description has also been consulted.
This thesis has found it unclear whether an extradition of Assange would constitute a violation of Article 3 ECHR. Assessing the threshold test laid down by the ECtHR’s case law in Paposhvili v. Belgium, it seems rather unlikely that a violation would be found. This conclusion was strengthened by the Court’s pragmatic approach to diplomatic assurances, and the Court’s prior acceptance of assurances provided by the USA. However, considering the ambiguity of potential suicide risk in relation to the Paposhvili criterion of “significant reduction in life expectancy”, the Court could reach a different conclusion, finding a violation of Article 3 after all. (Less) - Abstract (Swedish)
- Den fjärde januari år 2021, hindrade Westminster Magistrates’ Court Julian Assanges utlämning till USA, eftersom domstolen ansåg utlämningen förtryckande (på engelska oppressive) mot Assanges mentala hälsa. Domslutet ändrades senare av The High Court of Justice, då USA lämnat diplomatiska försäkringar (på engelska diplomatic assurances) till Storbritannien, kring hur Assange skulle behandlas ifall han utlämnades.
Syftet med denna uppsats har varit att undersöka USA v. Assange, genom att applicera relevant praxis från Europadomstolen gällande utlämning av personer med mental ohälsa, och analysera huruvida en utlämning av Assange potentiellt kan strida mot Artikel 3 EKMR. Uppsatsen har också ämnat utreda diplomatiska försäkringars roll i... (More) - Den fjärde januari år 2021, hindrade Westminster Magistrates’ Court Julian Assanges utlämning till USA, eftersom domstolen ansåg utlämningen förtryckande (på engelska oppressive) mot Assanges mentala hälsa. Domslutet ändrades senare av The High Court of Justice, då USA lämnat diplomatiska försäkringar (på engelska diplomatic assurances) till Storbritannien, kring hur Assange skulle behandlas ifall han utlämnades.
Syftet med denna uppsats har varit att undersöka USA v. Assange, genom att applicera relevant praxis från Europadomstolen gällande utlämning av personer med mental ohälsa, och analysera huruvida en utlämning av Assange potentiellt kan strida mot Artikel 3 EKMR. Uppsatsen har också ämnat utreda diplomatiska försäkringars roll i utlämningsförfaranden, specifikt de försäkringar som har tillhandahållits av den amerikanska statsapparaten i USA v. Assange.
En rättsdogmatisk metod har använts för att fastställa lex lata i situationer av mental ohälsa och utlämning i relation till Artikel 3 EKMR. Denna metod har dock inte använts i förhållande till diplomatiska försäkringar, eftersom dessa har utvecklats genom internationella relationer och diplomatisk praxis. En metod bestående av beskrivning och analys av konceptet har i stället använts.
Utredningen av de för uppsatsen valda frågeställningarna, har funnit det oklart huruvida en utlämning av Assange skulle strida mot Artikel 3. I linje med det ”tröskeltest” som utvecklats av Europadomstolen i Paposhvili mot Belgien, verkar en utlämning troligtvis inte strida mot Artikel 3. Denna slutsats stärktes av domstolens pragmatiska syn på diplomatiska försäkringar, och dess tidigare acceptans av diplomatiska försäkringar från USA. Däremot, skulle tvetydigheten av en potentiell självmordsrisk i förhållande till Paposhvili kriteriet ”significant reduction in life expectancy” kunna få domstolen att nå en annan slutsats, och döma att Artikel 3 överträtts trots allt. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
http://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/record/9081189
- author
- Andersson, Magda LU
- supervisor
- organization
- course
- LAGF03 20221
- year
- 2022
- type
- M2 - Bachelor Degree
- subject
- keywords
- Public international law, folkrätt, criminal law, straffrätt, extradition, diplomatic assurances, mental illness, European Convention on Human Rights, ECHR, European Court of Human Rights, ECtHR, sovereignty, human rights
- language
- English
- id
- 9081189
- date added to LUP
- 2022-06-27 18:51:17
- date last changed
- 2022-06-27 18:51:17
@misc{9081189,
abstract = {{On January 4, 2021, the Westminster Magistrates’ Court ruled the anticipated extradition of Julian Assange to the United States of America unlawful, stating it would be oppressive towards Mr. Assange’s mental health. The ruling was later overturned by the High Court of Justice, as the United States had provided diplomatic assurances to the United Kingdom regarding the treatment of Mr. Assange in the event of his extradition.
The aim of this thesis has been to examine the case of USA v. Assange, by applying relevant ECtHR case law pertaining to the event of extraditing persons with mental illness, and analyzing whether an extradition of Assange potentially would violate Article 3 ECHR. Furthermore, this thesis has also aimed to evaluate the role of diplomatic assurances in extradition procedures, specifically examining the assurances provided by the US government in the case of Assange.
The legal dogmatic method has been used to determine lex lata in cases of mental illness and extradition in relation to Article 3 ECHR. Noting the difficulties of using the legal dogmatic method while assessing the notion of diplomatic assurances which has evolved through inter-state relations and diplomatic practice, a method of description has also been consulted.
This thesis has found it unclear whether an extradition of Assange would constitute a violation of Article 3 ECHR. Assessing the threshold test laid down by the ECtHR’s case law in Paposhvili v. Belgium, it seems rather unlikely that a violation would be found. This conclusion was strengthened by the Court’s pragmatic approach to diplomatic assurances, and the Court’s prior acceptance of assurances provided by the USA. However, considering the ambiguity of potential suicide risk in relation to the Paposhvili criterion of “significant reduction in life expectancy”, the Court could reach a different conclusion, finding a violation of Article 3 after all.}},
author = {{Andersson, Magda}},
language = {{eng}},
note = {{Student Paper}},
title = {{The Extradition of Assange – A study of the ECtHR's case law on Article 3 regarding the extradition of persons with mental illness, in conjunction with diplomatic assurances}},
year = {{2022}},
}