The High Court of Trinidad and Tobago has permanently halted extradition proceedings against former FIFA vice-president Jack Warner, ruling that the decade-long process violated his constitutional right to liberty in what legal observers are describing as one of the most significant extradition judgments in the country’s recent history.
In a comprehensive 71-page judgment delivered on July 17, Madame Justice Karen Reid found that the extradition proceedings were fundamentally flawed because the Authority to Proceed (ATP) was issued without the legal arrangements required under Trinidad and Tobago’s Extradition (Commonwealth and Foreign Territories) Act, Chap. 12:04, to guarantee Warner’s specialty protections before he could be surrendered to the United States.
Justice Reid ruled that continuing the extradition proceedings under those circumstances constituted a breach of Warner’s constitutional rights.
The court also found that representations made during earlier proceedings claiming that a special or bespoke specialty arrangement existed between Trinidad and Tobago and the United States in relation to Warner were themselves unconstitutional.
As a result, Justice Reid permanently stayed the extradition proceedings, ordered the Attorney General to pay damages for breaching Warner’s constitutional rights, and directed the State to pay his legal costs, certified fit for both Senior and Junior Counsel.
The assessment of damages has been scheduled for a case management conference on September 30, 2026.
A Legal Battle Lasting More Than a Decade
Warner has been fighting extradition since 2015, when United States authorities sought his surrender on allegations of money laundering and corruption linked to FIFA.
A provisional warrant for his arrest was issued on May 27, 2015, and he surrendered to authorities the same day before being granted bail.
The United States formally submitted its extradition request on July 16, 2015, and on September 21, 2015, then Attorney General Faris Al Rawi issued an Authority to Proceed under the Extradition Act, allowing formal proceedings to begin before the Magistrates’ Court.
Warner immediately challenged the legality of that decision through judicial review proceedings. His claim was dismissed by the High Court in 2017, while the Court of Appeal upheld that decision in 2019.
His final appeal before the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council was dismissed in December 2022, allowing the extradition proceedings to resume before the Chief Magistrate.
However, Warner subsequently mounted a constitutional challenge, arguing that fundamental protections guaranteed under Trinidad and Tobago’s Constitution had been violated throughout the process.
“A Course of Misrepresentation”
A central issue before the court was whether Trinidad and Tobago had complied with Section 8(3) of the Extradition Act, which requires specialty protections to be in place before extradition proceedings can lawfully commence.
During earlier proceedings, Warner’s attorneys repeatedly sought disclosure of the alleged specialty arrangement between Trinidad and Tobago and the United States.
Justice Reid noted that during an inter parties hearing in December 2015, attorneys representing the Attorney General informed the court that such an arrangement existed and indicated that a copy would be produced.
But when documentation was eventually disclosed, Warner’s legal team received only a certificate dated September 21, 2015, signed by then Attorney General Faris Al Rawi, stating that an arrangement had been made pursuant to Section 8(3) of the Act.
According to Warner’s attorneys, the certificate merely asserted the existence of an arrangement—it was not the arrangement itself.
Justice Reid agreed.
In her judgment, she found that the requested specialty agreement was never produced because no bespoke specialty arrangement ever existed between Trinidad and Tobago and the United States in relation to Warner.
She further concluded that the Attorney General failed in the duty of candour by not correcting the record and by permitting subsequent representations to be made before the Privy Council suggesting that such an arrangement existed.
Justice Reid described the conduct as “a course of misrepresentation” that deprived Warner of the opportunity to challenge the Authority to Proceed at a much earlier stage.
She said the seriousness of the conduct “cannot be overstated,” adding that making representations to a court that are known to be false in order to influence judicial proceedings amounts to an abuse of the court’s process.
At the same time, Justice Reid clarified that she did not conclude that then Attorney General Faris Al Rawi knowingly certified the existence of a non-existent bespoke arrangement when issuing the 2015 certificate. Rather, she found that the certificate appeared to refer to the specialty protections already contained within the extradition treaty itself.
Regional Interest
The ruling is expected to resonate beyond Trinidad and Tobago, particularly in Guyana, where Opposition Leader Azruddin Mohamed is pursuing legal challenges after being sanctioned by the United States alongside his father Nasir “Shell” Mohamed.
Mohamed has repeatedly argued that his constitutional rights have been infringed and has accused Guyanese authorities of abusing legal processes for political purposes. His matter is now before the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ), which is expected to deliver its ruling on July 29, 2026, making the Warner decision a closely watched development for legal observers across the region.
