Saint Lucia

France requested the extradition of the applicant, who was provisionally arrested in Saint Lucia and subsequently refused provisional release by a magistrate because of flight risk and the absence of exceptional circumstances. The applicant asked the High Court to review that refusal under the Bail Rules 2023. The High Court held that extradition proceedings are governed by a specific statutory and treaty framework that does not confer appellate jurisdiction to review a magistrate’s pre-committal decision on provisional release. Although the High Court retains inherent jurisdiction to determine a fresh bail application, it could not treat the application as an appeal or review, and therefore upheld the preliminary objection and dismissed it.