What Is...
An International Extradition Treaty?

An international extradition treaty is a formal agreement between two countries that authorize the governments of the two countries to assist each other in arresting and returning people facing criminal charges in the other country. An extradition treaty will generally set forth the requirements and procedure for making an extradition request and any limitations negotiated by the countries.

Both the United Kingdom and United States governments have extradition treaties with over 100+ different countries. Almost all these extradition treaties are based on the legal standard of “dual criminality.” Dual criminality means that a person will not be extradited from one country to the other unless the crime that person is accused of committing is also a crime in the country where the person is found. The name of the offense doesn’t have to be the same, but the alleged conduct involved in the case must be a criminal violation of the law of both countries.

Almost all extradition treaties also have a provision that recognizes the “Doctrine of Specialty.” The Doctrine of Specialty is a principle of international law that is included in most extradition treaties. It means that a person who is extradited to a country to stand trial for certain criminal offenses may be tried only for those offenses and not be prosecuted for any other crimes or offenses that were not specifically mentioned in the extradition request. This doctrine allows a nation to require the requesting nation to limit prosecution to declared offenses. Many extradition treaties have other provisions that limit extradition in certain cases. We may be able to support your law firm in negotiations with the authorities to avoid extradition completely, or to obtain a more favorable outcome if a person is extradited. Generally, extradition treaties prohibit extradition if the alleged crime is considered a “political offense” by the requesting country’s government.

The complexity of extradition law means that it is crucial that anyone who is the target of, or believes that they may be at risk of an extradition request, takes legal advice at the earliest opportunity, as preparation is always key to ensuring that protections are in place should an arrest or formal request be made.