TMI Blog2001 (4) TMI 913X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... said decree certifies to sustain under Extradition Treaty between the United States and the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland with the Government of Republic of India and specifies the offences for which the accused, mentioned in the extradition order could be tried. It is the contention of the petitioner that he cannot be tried for the offences other than the offences mentioned in the extradition order as that would be a contravention of Section 21 of the Extradition Act as well as the contravention of the provisions of the International Law and the very Charter of Extradition Treaty. The Special Leave Applications are directed against the order of Rajasthan High Court wherein the High Court refused to entertain a Habeas Corpus Petition and decide the question as to the jurisdiction of the Designated Court under the provisions of the Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act, 1987, on the ground that an objection to the said jurisdiction could be made under Section 18 of the Act before the very Designated Court and an application for issuance of a Writ of Habeas Corpus would not lie. The question for consideration in the said Special Leave Petitions, therefore, is ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... hich if committed in India, would be an extradition offence, is surrendered or returned by a foreign State or Commonwealth country, that person shall not, until he has been restored or has had an opportunity of returning to that State or country, be tried in India for an offence committed prior to the surrender or return, other than the extradition offence proved by the facts on which the surrender or return is based. This section is based on Section 19 of the United Kingdom Extradition Act, 1870. The original Act of 1962 was amended by Act 66 of 1993. Under the 1962 Act, a distinction had been maintained between Commonwealth countries and foreign States and the foreign States were considered as treaty States. The extradition with Commonwealth countries were separately governed by the Second Schedule of the Act and the Central Government was given power under Chapter III to conclude special extradition arrangements with respect to Commonwealth countries only. The amended Act of 1993 enables India to conclude extradition treaty with foreign State, including the Commonwealth countries, without treating them structurally different. It provides for extra-territorial jurisdiction ove ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ich Article 7 is rather significant for our purpose, which may be quoted herein below in extenso:- Article 7. A person surrendered can in no case be kept in custody or be brought to trial in the territories of the High Contracting Party to whom the surrender has been made for any other crime or offence, or on account of any other matters, than those for which the extradition shall have taken place, until he has been restored, or has had an opportunity of returning, to the territories of the High Contracting Party by whom he has been surrendered. This stipulation does not apply to crimes or offences committed after the extradition. The aforesaid Article unequivocally indicates that the person concerned cannot be tried for any other crime or offence than those for which the extradition shall have taken place until he has been restored or has had the opportunity of returning to the territories of the High Contracting Party by whom he has been surrendered. The provisions of Section 21 of the Extradition Act is in consonance with the aforesaid Article of the Extradition Treaty. In the modern world interdependence of States is natural and essential and consequently the importanc ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... a State to surrender a fugitive in the absence of extradition treaty. The law of extradition, therefore, is a dual law. It is obtensibly a municipal law; yet it is a part of international law also, inasmuch as it governs the relations between two sovereign States over the question of whether or not a given person should be handed over by one sovereign State to another sovereign State. This question is decided by national courts but on the basis of international commitments as well as the rules of international law relating to the subject. A number of attempts have been made, to conclude a convention governing extradition requests among nations. The Pan American Conference of 1902 produced a treaty of extradition signed by twelve States but it was not ratified. In 1933 the Seventh Pan American Conference concluded an Extradition Convention which was ratified by a number of States, including United States of America but the League Codification Committee had doubted the feasibility of the general convention on extradition. In 1935, the Havard Law School brought out a draft convention on the subject. The International Law Association has also considered legal problems relating to extra ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... whenever a State uses its formal process to surrender a person to another state for a specific charge, the requesting State shall carry out its intended purpose of prosecuting or punishing the offender for the offence charged in its request for extradition and none other. (see M.Cherif Bassiouni International Extradition and World Public Order). In the book International Law by D.P. OCONNELL, the principle of Speciality has been described thus; According to this principle the State to which a person has been extradited may not, without the consent of the requisitioned State, try a person extradited save for the offence for which he was extradited. Many extradition treaties embody this rule, and the question arises whether it is one of international law or not. The United States Supreme Court, while not placing the rule on the plane of international law, did in fact arrive at the same conclusion in the case of United States vs. Rauscher 1019 US 407. The Supreme Court denied the jurisdiction of the trial court even though the Treaty did not stipulate that there should be no trial and held :- The weight of authority and sound principle are in favour of the proposition that a ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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