Extradition, political crimes and extraterritorial asylum in the light of the principles of public international law.

Abstract

Abstract. Recent events show that extradition, political offense and the so called diplomatic or extraterritorial asylum present a series of challenges to the theories of International Law, and that the related questions take us to the junction of internal legislation, international treaties and political considerations that collide with the established legal norms. Therefore the article begins with the history of extradition and its evolution, basically through treaties as a mean of state intercourse. Afterwards the political offense exception
is treated together with the judicial arquitecture built around the concept and its limitations. The consequences of this exception are analyzed, and also the alternatives to extradition, basically the two most important that are the abduction and the so called
extraordinary rendition. Finally the political or extraterritorial asylum is studied, and its consequences as a humanitarian exception against the host State sovereignty, within the framework of diplomatic immunities.