All You Need To Know About Extradition Law
A person who has committed a crime or alleged of committing an offense is often tried in a country where the crime has taken place. But what happens when a person escapes from the country to avoid facing trials? Or what will happen when a convict crosses the country’s territory to avoid getting caught?
In such cases, the country from where the accused or convict has fled away can officially request other countries to return the convict. The process of returning the accused or convict to the nation where they committed a crime is called extradition. In this article, we shall discuss extradition law, so continue reading.
What Exactly Is Extradition?
Extradition law refers to the process of a country requesting another country to return an accused or convicted. The convict or accused is to be returned or trials for committing a crime or alleged of a crime. They will be later punished by the law if found guilty; if not, they can hire a criminal attorney. Extraditable persons are those who are charged with crimes but have yet to be tried in front of the court, those who have been accused and escaped custody, and those convicted of absentia.
The request differentiates extradition from other situations, such as expulsions, banishment, and deportations. It can also result in forcibly removing undesirable persons. However, according to the territoriality of criminal law, the states don’t apply penal laws to acts committed beyond their boundaries. Therefore, while helping to suppress or hide the crimes, the states are usually willing to bring fugitives to justice.
Purpose Of Extradition Law
Territorial states extradite a convict or accused to the requesting state for the following purposes:
- To Prevent Punishment Escape: Most accused persons or fugitive convicts run away from the competent jurisdiction to other countries. This is because they want to escape impending punishment for the crimes they committed or are accused of. Such inexcusably motivated convicts or accused persons should be deported, so their offenses don’t go unpunished.
- Extradition As A Preclusion: Every successful extradition acts as a threat to the criminals or accused persons planning or intending to escape from the territory of the jurisdiction. So extradition stops them from escaping and has a deterrence effect on the convicts. They can hire a criminal attorney if they are not guilty or want to reduce their punishment.
- To Maintain Peace: If the accused or convicts are not deported by the territorial state, it will send a wrong message to the criminals who are planning to escape the country. It can make the system look nonchalant and weak. Such countries may become a haven for international criminals and invite more trouble, threatening peace and safety within the territory.
Wrapping Up
Extradition is an important law that renders justice and tests diplomatic ties between two countries dealing with the accused. Unfortunately, the absence of extradition law in many countries has become a home for fugitive criminals. A convict or accused can hire a good law expert, such as a criminal attorney, instead of escaping and hiding from the trials.
