The accommodation of precursor crimes within extradition.

Arnell, Paul

Abstract

Extradition is the formal legal process whereby accused and convicted persons are transferred from one state or territory to another. It has a considerable pedigree and contains some common features. Several of these features have evolved in the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries, in the wake of heightened efforts to address transnational criminality. This evolution has included a weakening of the political offence exception and changes to the approach taken to double criminality. A limitation of the prima facie evidence requirement and a jurisdictional widening of extradition crimes have also taken place. Further, extradition has come to be conditioned with human rights protection in certain states. Alongside these developments has been the emergence of terrorism precursor crimes. Simply, states have criminalised certain acts related to terrorism in order to take the fight against it "further up the field". In light of both of these changes, a question that arises is whether, and if so how, the law of extradition accommodates the emergence of precursor crimes. This chapter traces the evolution of extradition law in the particular light of the enhanced efforts by states to address terrorism. It argues that the evolution of extradition law has been such that the challenges arising from the emergence of precursor crimes have been met. The chapter also suggests that the impact of human rights law within the process has usefully acted to condition inter-state co-operation where the rights of requested persons are seriously or disproportionately threatened.

Citation

ARNELL, P. 2022. The accommodation of precursor crimes within extradition. In Walker, C., Llobet Anglí, M. and Meliá, M.C. (eds.) Precursor crimes of terrorism: the criminalisation of terrorism risk in comparative perspective. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar Publishing [online], chapter 16, pages 240-253. Available from: https://doi.org/10.4337/9781788976329.00025

• Online Publication Date: Jan 18, 2022
• Publication Date: Dec 31, 2022
• Deposit Date: May 24, 2022
• Publicly Available Date: Jul 19, 2022
• Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing
• Pages: 240-253
• Book Title: Precursor crimes of terrorism: the criminalisation of terrorism risk in comparative perspective
• Chapter Number: 16
• ISBN: 9781788976312
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.4337/9781788976329.00025
• Keywords: Extradition; Precursor crimes; Terrorism; International law
• Public URL: https://rgu-repository.worktribe.com/output/1670213