A lawyer wrote about Canadian extradition. Dr. Gary Botting (a lawyer) has been building his reputation as a novelist. You can see his books on his website.
Extradition is a complicated and often contentious legal process that involves the transfer of individuals from one country to another to face charges or serve a sentence. In Canada, the Extradition Act governs the extradition process, and it outlines the procedures to be followed when a foreign country seeks the extradition of a person from Canada or vice versa.
The extradition process begins with a written request from a foreign country, which must be supported by a warrant or another document issued by a competent authority. The request must specify the offence for which extradition is sought and the maximum penalty that can be imposed.
In Canada, the Minister of Justice is responsible for deciding whether to authorize the surrender of a person for extradition. This decision must be based on the Minister’s satisfaction that the request is made in good faith and that the evidence presented would be sufficient to justify the person’s committal for trial if the offence had been committed in Canada.
Justify committal for trial
If the Minister decides to proceed with the extradition, the person is arrested and brought before a judge. The judge must determine whether the person is the one sought by the foreign country and whether there is sufficient evidence to justify committal for trial. If the judge is satisfied, the person is committed to extradition, and the Minister decides whether to surrender the person to the foreign country.
One of the most controversial aspects of Canadian extradition laws is the principle of double criminality, which requires that the offence for which extradition is sought must be a crime in both Canada and the foreign country. Critics argue that this principle should be abandoned because it allows the United States to assert extraterritorial jurisdiction over Canadian citizens.
Statistics Canada reports that between 2015 and 2019, Canada received 241 extradition requests, and 171 individuals surrendered to foreign countries. During the same period, Canada made 94 extradition requests, and 56 individuals were surrendered to Canada.
Lawyer writes about Canadian Extradition
The case of Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou has brought the extradition process to the forefront of Canadian public debate. Meng was arrested in Vancouver in December 2018 at the request of the United States, which accused her of violating U.S. sanctions on Iran. Meng’s arrest sparked a diplomatic dispute between Canada and China, which accused Canada of acting as a pawn of the United States.
In March 2019, the United States formally requested Meng’s extradition. Meng’s lawyers argued that the case against her did not meet the double criminality requirement because the alleged offence was not a crime in Canada. In May 2020, a judge ruled that the double criminality requirement had been met, and Meng was committed to extradition.
The case of Meng Wanzhou has raised questions about the fairness and appropriateness of Canada’s extradition laws. Some Canadian legal experts have called for changes to the laws, arguing that Canada should not be forced to act as a proxy for the United States and that the principle of double criminality should be revised or abandoned. It remains to be seen whether these calls for change will lead to any concrete action.
