Extradition is the formal process by which one jurisdiction delivers a person accused or convicted of committing a crime in another jurisdiction to the others law enforcement. It is a cooperative law enforcement procedure between two jurisdictions and is typically enabled by a bilateral or multilateral treaty. Extradition is an ancient mechanism, dating back to at least the 13th century BCE, when an Egyptian pharaoh, Ramesses II, negotiated an extradition treaty with a Hittite king, Hattusili III.
Extradition procedures are normally determined by reciprocal agreements between countries or by multilateral agreements between a group of countries. Countries with a rule of law typically make extradition subject to review by that country's courts, which may impose certain restrictions on extradition, or prevent it altogether, if, for instance, they deem the accusations to be based on dubious evidence or evidence obtained from torture, or if they believe that the defendant will not be granted a fair trial in the requesting country.
Some key points about extradition include:
- Extradition is the formal process of one state surrendering an individual to another state for prosecution or punishment for crimes committed in the requesting country's jurisdiction.
- Extradition is typically treaty-based, meaning that countries must have an extradition treaty with the requesting country in order to consider the request for extradition.
- Extradition practice varies greatly, depending on the country involved. Typically, extradition is comprised of a judicial and an executive phase.
- Extradition is regulated within countries by extradition acts and between countries by diplomatic treaties.
