International Extradition

International extradition is the primary legal process by which one country responds to the request of a second country to send (extradite) suspected criminal offenders to face criminal charges in the second country. The person who is extradited (sometimes referred to as the fugitive or relator) may have fled the jurisdiction of the second country in an effort to avoid prosecution. Increasingly, however, the alleged offender has not fled and instead faces charges that arise out of his or her conduct in the first country and that had effects in the second country. Every year, executive and judicial authorities in scores of countries collectively request the extradition of hundreds of people to face criminal charges. In the United States, federal prosecutors bring slightly more than ...