Edward M. Wise

Aut dedere aut judicare: The Duty to Extradite or Prosecute in International Law

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. 3. The Case for Customary Status. 4. The Principle aut dedere aut judicare and the Hypothesis of a civitas maxima. 5. Evidence of Customary Status. 6. The Principle as a Rule of jus cogens. 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. 9. Unlawful Human Experimentation. 10. Piracy. 11. Aircraft Hijacking and Related Offenses. 12. Crimes against the Safety of International Maritime Navigation. 13. Use of Force against Internationally Protected Persons. 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.

The Obligation to Extradite or Prosecute

This paper is concerned with the alternative obligation to extradite or prosecute contained in multilateral treaties requiring suppression of “international offenses”. Such an obligation appears, for instance, in Article 7 of the Hague Convention for the Suppression of Unlawful Seizure of Aircraft of 1970, and in provisions of other anti-terrorism treaties modelled on the Hague Convention. The first part of this paper considers the extent to which the principle underlying Article 7 of the Hague Convention has been incorporated into multilateral treaties; the second part, the question of the extent to which that principle can be regarded as a norm of customary international law generally applicable to “international offenses” even apart from the specific treaties in which it is embodied. Broadly defined, “international offenses” are offenses on the part of individuals which states have an obligation, usually under a multilateral treaty, to proscribe or prosecute. Such offenses more or less coincide with those which Professor Feller designates as delicta juris gentium (although he further assumes that all such offenses permit the exercise of “universal jurisdiction”).