Preface

• Author: Nancy L. Dennison/Seth Weinstein
• Pages: 15-17

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The investigation, prosecution and suppression of crime for the protection of

the citizen and the maintenance of peace and public order is an important

goal of all organized societies. The pursuit of that goal cannot realistically be

confined within national boundaries. … [The objectives of extradition] go

beyond that of suppressing crime, simpliciter, and include bringing fugitives to

justice for the proper determination of their guilt or innocence.

LaForest J, USA v Cotroni; USA v El Zein, [1989] 1 SCR 1469

To assist in the global fight against crime, Canada extradites individuals wanted in

foreign jurisdictions to face trial or to serve sentences pursuant to bilateral and multi-

lateral extradition treaties. The Extradition Act provides Canada with the authority to

extradite those located in Canada who are being sought for extradition by one of its

treaty partners.

Extradition has a unique place in the criminal justice system. Extradition is not akin

to a criminal trial in that it is intended to be an expedited process to determine whether a

trial should take place in the requesting state. Extradition is largely a political process in

which the minister of justice determines whether extradition proceedings should com-

mence and, ultimately, whether the person sought for extradition should be surren-

dered. There is also a judicial phase in the middle, in which a court determines whether

there is sucient evidence to justify committal of the person sought for an oence in

the requesting state that is equivalent to an oence under Canada’s Criminal Code.

This text seeks to give readers an understanding of the entire extradition process,

from the time that Canada receives a request to extradite a person sought to a requesting

state, to the time the person is surrendered to the requesting state.

The main focus of the text is to provide practical guidance on how to navigate an

extradition case. The text therefore explains how the Extradition Act operates at each

stage. There are charts, samples, and templates to assist counsel in conducting an extradi-

tion case. The text also explains how the courts have interpreted the Act and how they

have applied the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms to the extradition process,

and it refers extensively to the relevant extradition jurisprudence from across Canada.

Preface