EBA members have already withdrawn from the police station and Justice of the Peace Court duty schemes.

In a statement, EBA said: “The extradition court is a national court but is one which sits only at Edinburgh. Since its inception, a dedicated group of Edinburgh criminal solicitors with an expertise in extradition law has developed. They are paid at rates set in 1992 for all work with the exception of travel – something which a lawyer has no control over – which is paid at half the rate set 27 years ago.”

EBA president Leanne McQuillan said that the Scottish government’s announcement of a three per cent increase in fees was not enough and its members were taking a stand.

“The 3 per cent increase is too low as far as we’re concerned,” she told The Herald.

“We don’t feel that the 3 per cent will do anything to alleviate our concerns about the future of the legal aid profession.”

The statement adds: “It is imperative that those facing extradition proceedings are represented by an independent and skilled advocate who is able to understand the considerable nuances presented by that field of law. Often those people face return to court proceedings in countries where the criminal justice system does not conform to the norms which we expect of our own.

“It is a matter of profound regret that our members have reached a point at which the continued service of the duty scheme is impossible. That this point has been reached is the inevitable consequence of the refusal of the Scottish government to fund the system of criminal Legal Aid adequately.

“It is hoped that the withdrawal which we are now announcing will go some way to alleviating the pressures which continue to mount on criminal solicitors in Edinburgh. However, we will continue to monitor our position closely and frequently in order to see whether there are further measures which require to be taken.”

“We’re still on the duty plans for domestic matters and normal custodies, but we have considered whether we’ll continue to be on both of those,” Ms McQuillan said.

“We have discussed whether to withdraw from all of them and some people are in support of doing that – I personally support it. They are both under review.”

A SLAB spokesman said extradition cases average two a week and that lawyers from the Public Defence Solicitors’ Office (PDSO) would cover gaps in the rota left by the six firms which have left.

“The PDSO solicitors are on duty one week in three in line with Scottish government policy on PDSO duty allocations. The other six private firms were on duty one week in nine,” he said.

“Four of the six private firms have given us the four weeks’ notice required to withdraw from the duty plan.

“PDSO Edinburgh will cover the small number of extradition cases that require the assistance of the duty solicitor if private firms aren’t available for duty slots.”