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CaGede2DepQd0360uAUNit BCu ment 1702 1Fileé 83228 /249Plageci4 6b 18 WILLIAM JULIE AVOCAT A LA COUR — ATTORNEY AT LAW (ii) Nor is it supported by the spirit of the law; (iii) Case law and precedents in fact suggest the opposite. 7. First, the Ministry’s interpretation goes against the letter of the law. 8. American extradition requests are principally governed by the Extradition Treaty between the USA and France of 23 April 1996 (“the Treaty”) and the French Code of Criminal Procedure for matters not dealt with under the Treaty. ! 9. Article 3(1) of the Treaty provides: “There is no obligation upon the Requested State to grant the extradition of a person who is a national of the Requested State, but the executive authority of the United States shall have the power to surrender a national of the United States if, in its discretion, it deems it proper to do so. The nationality of the person sought shall be the nationality of that person at the time the offense was committed”. 10. Article 696-4 of the French Code of Criminal Procedure provides for the same rule, under similar wording: “Extradition shall not be granted: 1° When the person claimed has French nationality, the latter being assessed at the time of the offense for which extradition is requested” 11. Under a literal reading of these provisions, the nationality protection only applies where French authorities are faced with an extradition request against a person who is a French national at the time of the extradition request. Both the Treaty and the French Code of 1 Other relevant international treaties include: the Agreement on Extradition between the United States of America and the European Union signed in Washington on 25 June 2003, and the Instrument Amending the Treaty of 23 April 1996 between the United States of America and France signed in the Hague on 30 September 2004. 51, RUE AMPERE - 75017 PARIS - TEL. O1 88 33 Si 8O- FAX. Oi 88 33 5i BI wj@wjavocats.com - www.wjavocats.com - PALAIS C1652 DOJ-OGR-00020186