EVERY Extradition Treaty Means The Same Thing: We Trust Your System, and You Trust Ours. [View all]

[Fred Sanders]

Otherwise why bother with them?
________________

RONALD REAGAN.

LETTER OF SUBMITTAL

DEPARTMENT OF STATE,

Washington, April 10, 1984.

The PRESIDENT,

The White House.

THE PRESIDENT: I have the honor to submit to you the Treaty on Extradition between the
United States of America and Italy, signed at Rome on October 13, 1983. I recommend that
the Treaty be transmitted to the Senate for advice and consent to ratification.

The Treaty follows generally the form and content of extradition treaties recently concluded
by this Government.

Article 1 obligates each State to extradite to the other, in accordance with the terms of the
Treaty, any persons charged with or convicted of an extraditable offense by the requesting
State. (Extradition [*3] shall also be granted, Article 2 explains, for attempts to commit,
participation in the commission of, and conspiracy to commit extraditable offenses.)

Article 2 permits extradition for any offense punishable under the laws of both States by
imprisonment for more than one year. Instead of listing each offense for which extradition
may be granted, as was United States practice until recently, this Treaty adopts the modern
practice of permitting extradition for any crime punishable under the laws of both contracting
Parties for a minimum period. This obviates the need to renegotiate or supplement the Treaty
should both States pass laws covering new types of criminal activity, such as computer-
related crimes.

Article 2 also follows the practice of recent United States extradition treaties in indicating
that the dual criminality standard should be interpreted liberally in order to effectuate the
intent of the Parties that fugitives be brought to justice.