3 Principles

PrincipleContentWhy it exists Double criminalityThe conduct must be an offence in both statesA state should not assist in punishing conduct it does not criminalise SpecialtyThe requested state may try the person only for the offence for which he was surrenderedProtects the requested state's control over the surrender Non-extradition of nationalsMany states refuse to surrender their own citizensDistrust of foreign criminal process; the duty then is to prosecute at home Political offence exceptionPolitical offences are not extraditableRefusal to assist political persecution — now narrowed by treaty definitions that exclude terrorism and violence Aut dedere aut judicareExtradite or prosecuteCloses the gap that the political exception opens Human rights limitsRefusal where surrender would expose the person to torture or a flagrantly unfair trialExtradition must not become complicity in ill-treatment