Extradition
The surrender of a fugitive by one state to another for prosecution
Overview
Extradition runs on bilateral and multilateral treaties requiring double criminality, the act be criminal in both states, and respecting the specialty rule limiting prosecution to surrendered charges. Political offense exceptions protect dissidents but frustrate terrorism cases, and most states refuse to surrender their own nationals, France and Germany notably. The European Arrest Warrant replaced the process within the EU in 2004 with mutual recognition. Death penalty assurances and human rights bars shape modern practice. Political offense exceptions trace to the Belgian law of 1833, drafted after an era of revolutionary surrender.
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