ABSTRACT
Extradition is the formal process whereby a fugitive offender is surrendered to the State in which an offence was allegedly committed in order to stand trial or serve a sentence of imprisonment. There is no general rule of international law that requires a State to surrender fugitive offenders and extradition arrangements proceed on the basis of a formal treaty or a reciprocal agreement between States. The increase in the mobility of suspects has resulted in the increased willingness of States to use this form of mutual legal assistance to enforce their domestic criminal law. While the US continues to prefer bilateral treaties as the legal basis for extradition, European States are increasingly reliant upon multilateral regional treaties. The process of extradition, which is founded on the concepts of reciprocity, comity and respect for differences in other jurisdictions,1 aims to further international co-operation in criminal justice matters and strengthens domestic law enforcement. The absence of effective extradition arrangements can result in law enforcement agencies using extra-judicial and irregular forms of extradition. The law of extradition, which is a branch of international criminal law, is based on the assumption that the requesting State is acting in good faith and that the fugitive will receive a fair trial in the courts of the requesting State.2 With regard to the principle aut dedere aut judicare, States embracing
the civil law tradition generally apply extra-territorial jurisdiction and prosecute persons for crimes committed in other jurisdictions in which their own nationals are either the offender or the victim. Thus, while the majority of Council of Europe States refuse to extradite their nationals, and some will also refuse to extradite their residents, States in the common law tradition such as the UK and Ireland cannot generally prosecute offences committed outside the jurisdiction.3
