This Word Means: Extradition

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What is extradition?

Extradition is the formal process of one country surrendering an individual to another country for prosecution or punishment for crimes committed in the requesting country’s jurisdiction. It is typically governed by a bilateral treaty between the two countries involved, or a larger multilateral treaty. Indeed it is extremely rare for an individual to be extradited without a treaty; even in the presence of treaties, extraditions are often contentious, long-drawn processes.

What do extradition treaties say?

Older extradition treaties often listed specific offences. Only individuals charged or convicted of these offences could be extradited to the requesting country. The latest treaties, however, tend to follow the principle of “dual criminality” which classifies as extraditable offences that are punishable in both jurisdictions.

Generally, extradition treaties also contain a host of exceptions, that is, specific cases in which extradition can be refused. For instance, India’s treaty with Bangladesh allows either country to refuse extradition if the offence is of “political nature” or in cases where an accusation has not been “made in good faith in the interests of justice”.

According to the website of the Ministry of External Affairs, India has extradition treaties in force with 48 countries, and non-binding extradition arrangements with another 12.

What is the process for extraditing someone?

While the specifics differ from treaty to treaty, the process usually begins with the country in whose jurisdiction the offence has been committed making an official request for an individual’s extradition.

Once an extradition request has been made, there is generally a legal process in the country where the individual is currently in to determine whether she can and should be extradited. Again, the specifics vary. Some treaties allow for extradition only when an individual has been convicted of the crime in the requesting country. Others only require an official charge to be made.

An individual can finally be extradited once the request has been granted, and she exhausts all her appeals. Generally, officials from the requesting country come to the other country to take custody of the individual. In Rana’s case, a team of senior National Investigation Agency (NIA) officials flew to Los Angeles to take him in custody.

What makes extraditions difficult?

At the end of the day, most extradition treaties allow countries enough leeway to reject extradition requests in almost all cases. This means that extraditions end up being political and diplomatic issues rather than matters of legalese. While some requests are granted in a matter of weeks, politically sensitive ones might take months, or even years, to go through, if at all.

India had first requested Rana’s extradition more than a decade ago. However, its request was only granted in 2023 on the back of support from the Joe Biden administration in the US. On the other hand, India’s request for the extradition of David Headley, the man who scouted locations that the Lashkar-e-Taiba could target, has not been granted. He entered a plea deal which protected him from being extradited to India, and is currently serving a 35-year prison sentence in the US.