The Pinochet Case

These essays are concerned with the legal and constitutional issues surrounding the Pinochet case and are aimed at all those,whether lawyers or non-lawyers, with an interest in the House of Lords' decisions and their implications. The Introduction provides a calendar of events and considers the interaction between the courts and Home Secretary in the extradition process. Thereafter, the book is divided into two parts. The first consists of three related essays, which critically assess the suitability of the House of Lords, in the light of Pinochet, as the final court of appeal for constitutional and political cases, its decision on the 'Hoffmann question', and, in this context, its failure to take account of the jurisprudence of the ECHR. Part Two also consists of three essays. These are concerned with the wider, international implications. They consider the concept of justice in relation to Pinochet, the internationalisation of criminal justice and its conflict with the freedom of states to grant national amnesties, and the decision of the House of Lords to refuse Pinochet, as a former head of state, immunity from prosecution.The three House of Lords judgments on Pinochet are included in an Annex to the essays, enabling the reader to make instance reference to the cases.