Now another hearing will take place to decide whether Pinochet, as a former head of state, still enjoys sovereign immunity, a British law that protects foreign dignitaries visiting England. The legal questions are complex, and how a new panel will rule is anybody's guess. "It's like replaying a football match," notes TIME London bureau chief Barry Hillenbrand. "There's no guarantee it will still turn out 3-2." Pinochet's attorneys are appealing extradition on several other fronts as well. Clearly, the only people who are guaranteed to do well in this case are Pinochet's lawyers.
Pinochet Gets a Stay
Hold that plane to Spain -- Augusto Pinochet is staying put for now.
Britain's House of Lords has ordered yet another hearing after overturning
a lower court ruling that would have extradited the former Chilean dictator to
Spain. Pinochet's
lawyers had appealed the lower court's decision because the judge on the
five-person panel who cast the deciding
vote is affiliated with Amnesty International, one of the prime
movers in the push to bring Pinochet to trial.