Non-Extradition Agreements

The Nigerian Senate has nullified a pact signed on June 30, 2003 between the United States and Nigeria that prohibited each country from handing over citizens of either side to the International Criminal Court without the consent of the other country.^[1] Because the Nigerian National Assembly was not consulted during negotiations, the Nigerian Senate determined that the pact ran contrary to section 12 of the Nigerian Constitution, and was therefore null and void.^[2] Furthermore, the Nigerian Senate observed that “since Nigeria was a signatory to the Rome Statute establishing the ICC, the contentious pact was a misnomer as it contravenes that statute.”^[3]

These types of non-extradition pacts are extremely controversial. The United States has cut aid to two dozen nations that have refused to sign immunity agreements that American officials contend are designed to shield Americans from politically motivated prosecutions.^[4] The behavior is perceived by some as heavy-handed diplomacy, which squanders good will and generates resentment.^[5] In Colombia, a number of treaties have created tension, including the 1974 treaty protecting American soldiers from criminal charges,^[6] and the extradition treaty^[7] between the United States and Colombia.^[8] As to the former, a Colombian senator, Jimmy Chamorro, says “These treaties say that everyone in Colombia must respect the law, Indians, Chinese, the Colombians. … Everyone except the Americans.”^[9] As to the latter, in response to a controversy in the Colombian Congress about a potential reworking of Colombia’s extradition laws, Colombian senator Dario Martinez said a reworking was necessary because “foreigners responsible for crimes in [that] country ‘are not punished,’ while ‘Colombians extradited to the United States are so severely sentenced that it goes beyond [Colombia’s] internal law.’”^[10]

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[1] Habeeb I. Pindinga, Senate Nullifies Nigeria-US Non-Extradition Pact, Daily Trust, Aug. 17, 2005, available here.
[2] Id.
[3] Id.
[4] Juan Forero, Bush’s Aid Cuts On Court Issue Roil Neighbors, N.Y. Times, Aug. 19, 2005, at A1, also available here.
[5] Id.
[6] Agreement Concerning an Army Mission, a Naval Mission, and an Air Force Mission of the United States Armed Forces in Colombia, Oct. 7, 1974, U.S.-Colom., 29 U.S.T. 2901.
[7] Extradition Treaty, Sep. 14, 1979, U.S.-Colom., S. Treaty Doc. 97-8 (1982).
[8] Forero, supra note 4. at A7.
[9] Id.
[10] Extradition Law Stirs Controversy in Colombia Congress, Prensa Latina, Aug. 19, 2005, available here.