Extradition

Extradition occurs when a suspected criminal being held by a government is given to another government for the express purpose of a trial or to serve their sentence.

In general, extradition is seen as a gesture of goodwill from the country that is holding the suspect toward the country they give the suspect to. Most countries are not obliged to give up a suspected criminal to another country’s legal system. Since there are no international laws governing extradition, countries have set up individualized extradition treaties with other countries regarding the act.

No one country has an extradition treaty with every other country in the world. The US doesn’t have extradition treaties with over fifty countries.  The US does, however, have very close and specific extradition treaties with other nations. Many countries do not have extradition treaties with the US because of the United States death penalty, which is opposed in many places throughout the world. 

A treaty often lays out the specificities of how an extradition will take place and under what circumstances. The treaty will list, for example, the offenses for which a person can be extradited. There are several factors that play into whether or not a government will extradite a person to another country, even if the two countries do have valid and current extradition treaties. 

Sometimes a country may hold a person who is also suspected of committing crimes in the country in which he or she is being held.  In cases like this, the laws of the country where the suspect is being held usually override the extradition treaty.  The person may still be extradited, however, if it is found that the crime they are suspected of doing in their home country is more severe than the crime they are being held for.

There are, however, several instances where a suspect will be deported to their home country because of committing crimes in a foreign country. In cases of deportation, extradition is not used because the person is not being sought for crimes by another country.

Many countries have laws that make extradition of their citizens illegal. In some cases it may be possible to try a person for a crime they commit on foreign soil even if the trial does not take place where the crime was committed. These countries usually try their citizens as if the crime took place at home, rather than abroad.

Most countries will deny extradition in cases that are political in nature, and many will not extradite persons to countries where capital punishment or torture is a possibility. Sometimes a refusal of extradition will cause strained relations between nations, but this happens very rarely between countries with active extradition treaties.

If you or someone you know has been involved in an extradition case, there may be something you can do.  Contact an experienced extradition lawyer through this Web site for a free consultation.