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36 German Y.B. Int'l L. 46 (1993)
Some Reflections on Extradition

handle is hein.journals/gyil36 and id is 47 raw text is: Some Reflections on Extradition' By Yoram Dinstein* I. The Nature of Extradition To understand the phenomenon of extradition better, it is advisable to start from the five basic questions that every cub reporter is trained to ask: What?, Why?, 'When?, Where?, and How?. What is extradition? - The surrender of an alleged offender to stand trial or (if he is a convicted fugitive from justice) to serve sentence in the requesting country. Why? - As a rule, because the requested State is legally bound by treaty to assist law enforcement in the requesting State. While extradition sometimes takes place as a matter of comity in the absence of an extradition treaty, there is no international legal duty of extradition except on the ground of a (bilateral or multilateral) treaty.2 When? - Once certain conditions are fulfilled. These range from procedural requirements to the rule of double criminality (denoting that the acts which form the basis for the extradition request constitute a crime under the laws of both the requesting and the requested States3). Where? - Legal action is taken both in the requesting and in the requested States. Proceedings in the latter are, however, restricted to the issue of surrender of the alleged offender (as distinct from his conviction or acquittal). How? - Through recourse to various procedures (e. g., provisional arrest) of a judicial and / or an administrative nature. * M. Jur., LL.M., Dr. Jur.; Yanowicz Professor and President, Tel-Aviv University (Israel). This paper is based in part on a General Report submitted by the author to an Internation- al Seminar on Extradition, International Review of Penal Law, vol. 62, 1991, 31-43. Cf also Remarks by the author on Major Contemporary Issues in Extradition Law, Proceedings of the American Society of International Law, vol. 84, 1990, 389 et seq., 404-407. 2 L. Oppenheim, International Law, vol. 1, England 1992 (9th ed., by Sir RobertJennings / Sir Arthur Watts), 948- 952. 3 Marjorie M. Whiteman (ed.), Digest of International Law, vol. 6, 1968, 773.