Aut dedere aut judicare : the duty to extradite or prosecute in international law

The emergence of a global community is accompanied by a realization that greater cooperation is essential to its welfare. This is particularly true in the area of crime prevention and control. The increase in international, transnational, transboundary and national crime has contributed to a genuine growth in the body of international criminal law. The most effective way to combat such crimes is for states to accept an obligation to try international criminal law offenders before their own courts or surrender them for trial before the courts of another state or an international court. Until such time as an effective system of international criminal justice is established, the duty to prosecute or extradite will remain the foundation for international criminal law enforcement. This book examines in detail the variety of international instruments which impose a duty to prosecute or to extradite. It asks how far this duty goes and whether one aspect of this obligation supersedes the other, and whether it can now be regarded as an obligation imposed by general international law. In discussing these questions, the book provides a highly illuminating account of the basic postulates of international criminal law and their relationship to competing visions of the nature of the international legal order. There is an evident need for international law to settle some of these questions. The ICJ, for example, needs to address the question in the case brought before it by Libya against the U.S. and the United Kingdom. Moreover, it will be a question of some significance with respect to the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia. Lastly, the prospect of a permanent international criminal court presently before the United Nations, is, in part, dependent on the effectiveness of aut dedere aut judicare. The two authors who address these difficult questions have contributed to the advancement of international law in general, and international criminal law in particular. They have produced a book which is a balanced blend of scholarly research and legal analysis. Title Page Copyright Page Table of Contents Preface Part I The Duty to Extradite or Prosecute as a Rule of Conventional and Customary International Law 1. Introduction: The Principle Aut Dedere Aut Judicare 2. The Principle in International Conventions International Offenses Forms of Obligation The Obligation to Extradite or Prosecute 3. The Case for Customary Status Forms and Consequences of Customary Status The Broad Form of the Argument 4. The Principle Aut Dedere Aut Judicare and the Hypothesis of a Civitas Maxima The Aims of Extradition The Hypothesis of a Civitas Maxima Alternative Paradigms The Society of States Extradition in a Society of States a. Reciprocal Self-Interest b. Extradition and State Responsibility 5. Evidence of Customary Status State Practice “Speech Acts” Postulates of International Criminal Law 6. The Principle as a Rule of Jus Cogens Jus Cogens and Related Concepts The Problem of Content The Lockerbie Case Conclusion Part II International Criminal Law Conventions Establishing a Duty to Extradite or Prosecute Introductory Note A. Substantive Conventions 1. The Prohibition Against Aggression 2. War Crimes 3. Unlawful Use of Weapons 4. Crimes Against Humanity 5. The Prohibition Against Genocide 6. Racial Discrimination and Apartheid 7. Slavery and Related Crimes 8. The Prohibition Against Torture a. United Nations b. Council of Europe c. Organization of American States 9. Unlawful Human Experimentation 10. Piracy 11. Aircraft Hijacking and Related Offenses a. United Nations b. Council of Europe 12. Crimes Against the Safety of International Maritime Navigation 13. Use of Force Against Internationally Protected Persons a. United Nations b. Organization of American States 14. Taking of Civilian Hostages 15. Drug Offenses 16. International Traffic in Obscene Publications 17. Protection of National and Archaeological Treasures 18. Environmental Protection 19. Theft of Nuclear Materials 20. Unlawful Use of the Mails 21. Interference with Submarine Cables 22. Counterfeiting 23. Corrupt Practices in International Commercial Transactions 24. Mercenarism B. Procedural Conventions 1. United Nations 2. Council of Europe 3. Organization of American States List of Documents Discussed INDEX