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Extracted Text (OCR)
Case 1:20-cr-00330-AJN Document 97-22 Filed 12/14/20 Page 20 of 30
William JULIE
avocat a la cour — attorney at law
63. The wording of these international agreements, which do not contain a prohibition on
the extradition of nationals, raises some important questions. In particular, could France
decide to extradite its nationals on the basis of these international agreements without
violating applicable international law, European law, or French constitutional law?
64. In order to determine whether the French government may grant an extradition request
relating to a French citizen under the Extradition Treaty between France and the USA, it
is thus necessary to evaluate the strength and status of the prohibition of the extradition
of nationals under (i) applicable international law, (ii) European law, and (iii) French
constitutional law.
(i) International law
65. As outlined, international treaties pertaining to extradition generally leave Contracting
States a right not to extradite their nationals, and State practice largely varies in this
regard. Some States are strongly committed to the rule against the extradition of nationals
and have conferred the principle constitutional status (Germany, Poland, Greece,
Portugal, Estonia, Austria). Others have codified the principle in their national legislation
(France, Lebanon, Chili, Qatar, Slovenia). By contrast, many States - in particular,
Common law jurisdictions, including the United Kingdom, Australia, and the USA,
extradite their own citizens.
66. Thus, there is no uniform rule regarding the extradition of nationals under international
law.
(ii) European law
67. European law does not prohibit the extradition of nationals either. As mentioned, Article
6 of the European Convention on Extradition 1957 provides States with a discretionary
right on whether or not to extradite their own citizens.
68. More interestingly, the European Arrest Warrant Framework Decision of 13 June 2002
(hereafter, “EAW FD”), which governs extradition matters between Member States of
the European Union, does not allow Member States the possibility to refuse the surrender
of their nationals when the EAW is issued for the purpose of conducting a criminal
prosecution. In fact, the surrender of a national who is the subject of criminal proceedings
in another Member State of the European Union is at the cornerstone of the EAW FD.
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DOJ-OGR-00002144
Document Details
| Filename | DOJ-OGR-00002144.jpg |
| File Size | 767.3 KB |
| OCR Confidence | 95.1% |
| Has Readable Text | Yes |
| Text Length | 2,549 characters |
| Indexed | 2026-02-03 16:20:31.289641 |