Extradition Essay ⋆ Political Science Essay Examples ⋆ EssayEmpire

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Extradition is an action of international cooperation in handing over a person accused of criminal activities. In this process one sovereign state delivers an accused criminal or fugitive to another sovereign state at the request of the latter state. There are two major reasons for this transfer: first, to repress criminal activities, and second, to allow for the lawbreaker’s being punished according to the penal laws of the state where the crime was committed. The process of extradition has advanced among nations to maintain law, order, and tranquility, thus promoting a general sense of peace and happiness in society.

The history of extradition treaties dates back to 1280 BCE between Ramses II of Egypt and the Hittite prince Hattusuli III. It was signed after Ramses defeated Hattusuli. Originally it was a peace treaty between the two rival kings, but provisions were put in place for the return of criminals of one party who had fled and taken refuge in the territory of the other. The word extradition is derived from a Latin word extradere, which means “forceful return of a person to his or her sovereign.” The term extradition was first used in a French decree of 1792; this is refuted by some scholars who argue that the term was employed as early as 1555 by the parliament of Paris against the extradition of its nationals.

Historically, extradition was sought not only in criminal cases but also for the handover of political and religious opponents of the ruling party or the reigning families. In European history, religious and political opponents were delivered by the formal procedure of extradition. Sovereigns obliged other sovereigns by surrendering a person or a group of people who were responsible for affecting the stability of the political order of the requesting state. By the nineteenth century Western Europe turned against the extradition of fugitives accused of political offenses. Belgium was one of the first states to enact a law, in 1833, that incorporated the principle of no extradition for political offenses.

In international law extradition is generally defined as “the surrender of an individual by the state within whose territory he is found to the state under whose laws he is alleged to have committed (or already have been convicted) of a crime.” In the United States, international extradition is governed by federal law, leaving the states with no power to extradite persons to foreign countries. The European Union (EU) adopted the European Arrest Warrant Act in 2002, which was designed to harmonize EU state responses to threats of terrorism and cross-border crime. The European Arrest Warrant Act also abolishes the system of extradition among EU members and replaces it with obligations of mutually recognized arrest warrants issued by judicial authorities of the member states.

Bibliography:

Bedi, Satya Deva. Extradition: A Treatise on the Laws Relevant to the Fugitive Offenders within and with the Commonwealth Countries. Buffalo, N.Y.: William Hein, 2002.
Damrosch, Lori F., Louis Henkin, Sean D. Murphy, and Hans Smit. International Law: Cases and Materials. 5th ed. St. Paul, Minn.: West, 2009.