teknopaul,
No politician makes the law here. Other than the MPs who voted for it 15 years ago. Extradition has a political element. Which is basically allowing politicians to block extradition if there's a reason to - the Home Secretary doesn't have the power to make anything happen or cause anybody to go to prison, but they do have the power to stop the whole process. Which is a good thing in my opinion - and in both the cases of the US extradition treaty and the European Arrest warrant system - I woulld argue that we've taken too much power out of the hands of politicians to stop foreign courts from gaining access to our citizens.
Also, in these cases, the Home Secretary is acting in a quasi-judicial role, which means that their decision is subject to lots of legal process that they, and the civil servants advising them, have to strictly follow - or their decision will be subject to judicial review.
Biting the hand that feeds IT
