International Law Extradition

Definition of International Extradition - This term refers to a formal international process whereby a person found in one country is surrendered to another country for the administration of punishment if the person has already been tried and found guilty and sentenced or for extradited for trial if the person is wanted to stand trial for a crime. There is no such thing as extradition for civil matters, it has to be criminal. Extradition requests must be made by national governments not by smaller government agencies like cities. Extradition is a diplomatic procedure going through diplomatic channels so there is not a massive amount of this type of process taking place. Diplomatic channels are slow, expensive and the diplomats are worried about being thought to abuse or take advantage of the treaty or relationship. When an extradition is fought by the suspect or convicted fleeing criminal it takes its toll on the resources, court system, prosecutors, budget etc. of the country being requested to extradite.

Legal Basis for Extradition – Extradition can be granted two ways. One way is by treaty between two countries. The treaty can specify crimes covered and other particulars such as dual criminality. Dual criminality means the offense must also be an offense in the country being requested to conduct the extradition. The treaty may even include a list of extraditable offenses. Some countries while lacking an extradition treaty with the requesting government may still grant the extradition due to the diplomatic relations they have with the country which is the second method – diplomatic. They may grant the extradition to preserve the diplomatic relations with the requesting country, or it could be because they do not want that individual in their country, or it could be because the individual being extradited did not legally fight the extradition, or any one of a number of reasons. Remember this area of law is often ill defined and political implications can be powerful.

Extradition Exceptions – Every extradition treaty in existence in the world limits extradition to certain crimes and conditions. Often a country will not allow its citizens to be extradited to other lands, even if they are a dual or multi-national. Usually the person would have to have had this citizenship prior to the date the crime in question was committed. Some countries that follow this practice are: France, Germany, Austria, China and Japan. Mexico, Canada and most of the EU countries will not allow extradition if the death penalty is involved. To get such an extradition the requesting country must guarantee that there will be no death penalty in the case. Some countries will try and punish their own citizens, in their own country even though they committed the crime abroad as a replacement for extradition. Imagine one fighting an extradition only to be tried at home and getting a longer sentence. Remember this area of law is most ill defined and vague. Dual criminality is another feature found in many extradition treaties and practices. This means that in order for an extradition to be successful the crime in question must be a crime not only in the requesting country but also in the country where the person being extradited is residing at the time of the extradition request. Let us use Panama for an example. Let us say a person is living in Panama and has committed income tax fraud in another nation where it is a crime. Now that nation is requesting extradition from Panama. The dual criminality provision would apply and Panama has no laws making any sort of tax offense including income tax fraud a crime, so the extradition would fail due to the lack of dual criminality. Statue of limitations is another area that comes into play with extradition if the person has not been tried and sentenced. Crimes are usually only prosecutable for certain periods of time and then it is over. This is referred to as a statue of limitations. This can be a complex area and things could happen to stop the statue of limitations with some countries under certain conditions. What happens if one fights the extradition hard enough to cause the statue of limitation to run out? These laws are ill defined and only a legal expert in the country in question has a chance of being able to give accurate advice and even he or she may not decisively know how things will turn out. Remember international political undercurrents can have influence as to the outcome.