topic 13

Conditions for Extradition

• Specialty rule: Prosecution limited to the offense for which extradition was granted.

• Human rights protections:

  • Extradition denial possible if individual faces torture, inhuman treatment, or unfair trial in the requesting state.

  • Soering v. UK case: Established extradition can violate the European Convention on Human Rights.

• Prohibition on extraditing nationals: Many countries, especially civil law countries, refuse to extradite their own nationals but may prosecute them domestically.

• Simplified/accelerated procedures:

  • EU (European Arrest Warrant): Extradition simplified, now largely judicial rather than diplomatic.

Aut dedere aut judicare (Extradite or Prosecute)

• Principle: Found in many treaties, especially on international crimes (torture, terrorism, etc.).

• Two approaches:

  1. Subsidiary: Obligation to prosecute only after refusal to extradite.

  2. Automatic: Duty to prosecute arises ipso facto, unless extradition occurs.

• International Law Commission: Noted growing importance and potential status as jus cogens, though debated.

Irregular Rendition and Abduction

• Illegal renditions or abductions bypassing extradition violate international law and human rights norms.

  • Example: Eichmann case (abduction from Argentina by Israel).

• US and UK courts differ on asserting jurisdiction over persons brought by illegal means.

• US: Jurisdiction usually upheld unless the extradition treaty explicitly prohibits abduction.

• UK: Courts may refuse jurisdiction if UK agents participated in unlawful abduction.

International Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL)

General Overview

• Description: World’s largest international police organization, facilitating cross-border cooperation against international crime.

• Established: 1923 (as the International Criminal Police Commission).

• Renamed: INTERPOL in 1956.

• Headquarters: Lyon, France.

• Membership: 195 member countries (as of 2024).

• Legal status: Intergovernmental organization, recognized by the United Nations.

Goals

• Primary Goal: Facilitate international police cooperation to combat all forms of transnational crime, while respecting the sovereignty and legal systems of member states.

• Seven Global Policing Goals:

  1. Counter and prevent terrorism through international cooperation.

  2. Promote border security worldwide.

  3. Enhance law enforcement response to protect vulnerable communities.

  4. Reduce global harm and impact of cybercrime.

  5. Tackle corruption and financial crime.

  6. Counter serious organized crime and drug trafficking.

  7. Strengthen environmental security and counter crimes affecting the environment and climate.

Core Objectives

• Ensure cooperation of national police forces.

• Establish institutions to fight crime.

• Ensure communication between states (suspects, missing persons, stolen objects).

• Maintain databases (criminals, fingerprints, stolen objects, art).

• Article 3 of the Charter (1956): Interpol does not carry out activities of political, military, religious, or racial nature.

  • Not part of the UN system; does not deal with political crimes (but combats terrorism).

• INTERPOL does not: Conduct investigations or make arrests itself.

• INTERPOL provides: Tools, databases, services to national police, issues international alerts and notices, supports real-time information exchange.

Main Organs

1. General Assembly

2. Executive Committee

3. General Secretariat

4. National Central Bureau (NCBs): Established by Member States, work with home country agencies, NCBs of other countries, and the General Secretariat.

• Headquarters: Lyon, France.

• General Secretariat: Coordinates day-to-day activities, run by the Secretary General, staffed by police and civilians.

  • Includes headquarters in Lyon, a global complex for innovation in Singapore, and satellite offices in different regions.

• National Central Bureau (NCB): Central point of contact for the General Secretariat and other NCBs; run by national police officials, usually in the government ministry responsible for policing.

• General Assembly: Governing body, brings all countries together annually to make decisions.

Areas of Activity

• The General Secretariat provides expertise and services to member countries:

  • Manages 19 police databases with crime and criminal information (names, fingerprints, stolen passports), accessible in real-time.

  • Offers investigative support (forensics, analysis, locating fugitives).

  • Provides training for officials to work efficiently with INTERPOL services.

• Focus on combating crimes in four global areas:

  1. Terrorism

  2. Cybercrime

  3. Organized crime

  4. Financial crime and anti-corruption

• Specialized crime area activities include investigative support, field operations, training, and networking.

• Keeps an eye on the future through research and development in international crime and trends.

Jurisdiction of States over International Crimes

• International law places criminal responsibility on the individual who committed the crime, not the State (though the State may incur international responsibility).

• International law allows a State to prosecute such crimes regardless of where they were committed or the nationality of the accused (universal jurisdiction).

• Prosecution in domestic courts depends on the laws of that State; specific legislation may be needed to confer jurisdiction.

• Acts constituting international crimes are not new, but treating them as such is largely a 20th-century development (except for piracy).

• ‘International crimes’ term also describes crimes covered by treaties (terrorist crimes, drug offenses) that obligate parties to criminalize activities and prosecute or extradite.

• International community deems these crimes serious enough to warrant international cooperation.

• International crimes can be prosecuted within the domestic order:

  • States may enact special laws, establish special courts, and use universal jurisdiction.

• They can also be prosecuted directly within the international order:

  • By international criminal courts and investigative bodies.

• These crimes are not subject to statutes of limitations; execution of manifestly unlawful orders does not exempt the perpetrator.

• Individual responsibility under ICCs does not exclude State responsibility.

Examples of International Crimes

1. Piracy

   • Customary Status: Recognized in customary international law as subject to universal jurisdiction.

   • Definition: Illegal acts of violence or detention on the high seas for private ends by a private ship against another ship.

   • Jurisdiction: Any State may board, seize, and prosecute a pirate ship on the high seas.

     • Prosecution depends on domestic law or another State's willingness to prosecute.

   • Legal Basis:

     • UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (1982): Articles 101, 105, 107, and 110.

     • UNSC Resolutions: e.g. 1816 and 1846 (2008).

2. Slavery

   • Historical Roots: An ancient practice still present in the modern world.

   • Customary Law: Prohibited, though universal jurisdiction is debated.

   • ICC Recognition:

     • Enslavement: Exercise of ownership powers over a person.

     • Includes trafficking, especially of women and children.

   • Jurisdiction:

     • ICC can try enslavement only if committed as part of a widespread or systematic attack on civilians (crime against humanity).

     • National courts may increasingly apply universal jurisdiction even to isolated acts of slavery.

3. Genocide

   • Genocide Convention (1948): Acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnic, racial or religious group:

     1. Killing members of the group.

     2. Causing serious bodily or mental harm.

     3. Deliberately inflicting conditions to bring about physical destruction.

     4. Preventing births within the group.

     5. Forcibly transferring children.

   • Special intent to destroy the group (dolus specialis) is indispensable.

   • Features:

     • No immunity: Heads of State can be held criminally responsible.

     • Not a political offense for extradition.

     • Not subject to universal jurisdiction under the Convention (debated).

     • Genocide vs. Crimes Against Humanity:

       • Genocide requires intent to destroy a group.

       • Most ethnic cleansing crimes are better classified as crimes against humanity.

4. Crimes Against Humanity *Crimes against humanity are intentional violent acts committed as part of a widespread or systematic attack against civilians, including murder, extermination, enslavement, deportation, imprisonment, torture, rape, political, racial or religious persecution and other inhumane acts.

   • Characterized by context (widespread/systematic attack against civilians) which must be understood by the perpetrator.

     • Large-scale implies a large number of victims; systematic implies a high level of organization.

   • May be committed in peacetime or wartime.

5. War Crimes

   • Serious violations of the Geneva Conventions of 1949 and the customs of war.

   • Intentional acts directed against persons or objects protected by these conventions and customs (murder, torture, unlawful deportation, taking hostages, use of prohibited means of warfare).

   • Unlike crimes against humanity, they may be committed in the absence of a specific text.

   • Can be committed during international and non-international conflicts.

6. Aggression

   • Defined in 2010 (ICC Statute Review Conference, Article 8-bis).

   • Aggression encompasses acts of armed force by a State against the sovereignty, territorial integrity, or political independence of another State.

   • Furthermore, it also includes any annexation or occupation of territory, as well as support for insurgent groups that undermine the stability of a sovereign state.

   • This definition serves as a critical framework for assessing the legality of military actions on a global stage, emphasizing the need for accountability and adherence to international norms.