In the case of convicted offenders, neither the 1870 Act nor the 1967 Act contained
any provision requiring that a minimum period of detention must have been imposed
as a condition of surrender. In each case the criterion governing return was that the
person had been convicted of an extraditable offence (that is an offence for which
extradition was available) and was unlawfully at large, with the result that a convicted
person could be surrendered irrespective of the length of the sentence actually
imposed. However, the burden of preparing an extradition request and the cost and
time taken to deal with extradition proceedings meant that as a matter of practice,
requests would not ordinarily be made for individuals subject to short custodial
sentences.