Extradition treaties

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Introduction

The tradition of extradition treaties has been going on for centuries.The treaty allows a state to bring justice by bringing the fugitives back to the state for a trial. An extraditable person can be someone who escaped custody after being convicted or a person charged with a crime but isn’t tried.

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What Exactly is the extradition treaty, and how does it work?

For a few decades, the approach of the treaty has been shaped into a “dual criminality” approach, meaning an act can not be considered extraditable unless both the requesting and term territorial states statute declare it as a crime.

Previously the treaty was based on how many offenses had been committed by the fugitive.
These Treaties also provide rules for when extradition will not take place. Usually, for military or political offenses, extradition cannot take place, unlike crimes like terrorism and violence. Some Nations won’t allow extraditing their citizens. If done so, it will be limited.

The duration of this process

The timing of transactions or treaties can vary based on cases and their significance. Generally, extradition from countries like the United States takes more than a year. In some cases, surrendering the fugitive can take more than a year. However, many cases have been closed in which they failed to capture the fugitive.

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India and its extradition treaties

The proceedings of extradition in India under the act of 1962 known as the extradition act, give the domestic legislation a governing power over the extradition passes and bilateral treaties. Under this act, they can extradite fugitives from a foreign country or criminals of the state in a foreign state. The minister of external affairs still needs to provide a comprehensive guideline set that includes the rules and procedures for submitting a request for extradition.

Currently, India has 48 extradition treaties with other countries. Among these, under section 3(4) of the expression act, ten countries have entered the treaty without the presence of bilateral extradition.

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An example of one such extradition arrangement is when Italy and Croatia entered into a treaty with India, as all three countries are part of the 1988 UN Convention against illicit traffic in Narcotics drugs and psychotropic substances. The arrangement of this extra edition is confined to two offenses related to this UN Convention. It includes drugs, psychotropic substances, and illicit trafficking in narcotics.

Famous cases and the principle of dual criminality

The Happening of extradition treaty also depends upon the other foreign state and the term of an extraditable offense. A treaty between India and France is only possible if the convicted fugitive’s offense under the state’s Constitution passes at least two years of imprisonment.
In India, any offense passing imprisonment of more than a year is considered extraditable. Presents of the principle of dual criminality are also required for the extradition treaty to pass.

For example, in the famous case of Kingfisher Airlines owner Vijay Mallya, charged under sec. 420 of the Indian penal code, 1860, for “disloyalty and dishonestly inducing delivery of property” and was considered an extradition offender by both India and the United Kingdom; hence the principle of dual criminality in this high-profile case was satisfied. And presently, India is trying to possess extradition of Vijay Mallya from the United Kingdom. However, the courts in the United Kingdom require the Criminality principle to be met to accept the request.

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Such more Indian fugitives include Nirav Modi and Lalit Modi. India has at least requested 23 extradition treaties with the UK so far amongst veg, and only one fugitive was able to be captured in 2016.

India has been able to extradite around 75 fugitives from 20 other countries. Even though this percentage of extradition, which is 36 percent, is relatively low compared to other countries with 120 Fugitives under their belt. But this treaty has still brought justice and maintained the balance of power between the States.

Countries India doesn’t have an extradition treaty with.

India has treaties with the USA (1999), Canada (1987), and Britain (1993) and has Extradition Arrangements with Italy (2003) and Australia, which are running smoothly. Nevertheless, there are still many countries with whom  India doesn’t have a treaty. Moreover, India doesn’t have an extradition treaty with its neighboring countries, including Pakistan, China, the Maldives, and Myanmar.

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