Lord Bingham, and one of the Law Lords in the first panel who sided with General Pinochet, considered the retrospectivity argument briefly, and then rejected it because the plain language of Britain's 1989 Extradition Act seems explicitly to rule it out.

ECONOMIST: Not much to celebrate

Two of the Law Lords agreed with Lord Bingham's reasoning in the lower court.

ECONOMIST: Bringing the general to justice

Then the first panel of five Law Lords, hearing an appeal of Lord Bingham's decision, found by 3-2 that former heads of state did not enjoy immunity for heinous international crimes.

ECONOMIST: Confusion over Pinochet | The

That was the view taken last October by Thomas Bingham, Lord Chief Justice, sitting in the High Court, and then the following month by two Law Lords in the minority on the first panel to hear the appeal.

ECONOMIST: Not much to celebrate