Yes. A country can ask another country to surrender someone wanted for prosecution or to serve a sentence, but the request is not automatically granted. The requested country applies its own law and any applicable treaty or other legal basis, and the outcome depends on the case.
What extradition means
Extradition is the legal process by which one country seeks the surrender of a person from another country. The country making the request is the requesting country; the country asked to surrender the person is the requested country. The person may be wanted for a pending prosecution or, after conviction, to serve a sentence. This is the U.S. Department of Justice Criminal Division’s description of international extradition.
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“Suspect” is common shorthand, but it does not describe every person involved: extradition can concern someone already convicted as well as someone wanted for trial.
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There is no single worldwide procedure. The applicable treaty or other legal basis and the requested country’s domestic law shape the process. In the DOJ’s general account of U.S. practice, the process commonly has judicial and executive stages:
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- Review of the request. The request is assessed against the applicable legal requirements and supporting materials.
- Judicial consideration. A court considers whether the person may be surrendered under the relevant treaty and domestic law.
- Executive decision. A favorable judicial finding does not itself complete the surrender. In the typical process described by the DOJ, an executive authority decides afterward whether to surrender the person.
For requests to the United States, DOJ guidance describes roles for the Department of State and the Department of Justice’s Office of International Affairs. The State Department reviews matters including treaty status, whether the offense is extraditable, document certification, and foreign-policy concerns. These are U.S. institutional roles, not a description of how every country handles requests.
What provisional arrest does—and does not do
Where the governing treaty allows it, a requesting country may seek provisional arrest as an urgent interim measure while it prepares the formal extradition request. Arrest at this stage is not a final decision to extradite. The formal request and supporting documents must follow within the deadline set by the applicable treaty.
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The DOJ’s manual describes U.S. treaty-dependent examples ranging from 30 days to three months. Those examples are not a general international deadline; the relevant treaty determines the period for a particular request.
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There is no one factor that decides every case. The DOJ identifies these considerations in assessing extraditability in U.S. cases:
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- Where the person is and their citizenship. A country’s rules on surrendering its own citizens may matter. The DOJ notes that many countries do not extradite their citizens, but that does not establish the rule for any particular country or case.
- The alleged offense and its treatment in each country. The offense must meet the requirements of the governing legal framework. Some agreements use dual criminality: broadly, the conduct must be criminal in both jurisdictions. The DOJ identifies this standard in the U.S.–EU extradition agreement; it should not be assumed to apply in every country pair.
- The person’s case status and the facts alleged. Whether the request concerns prosecution or service of a sentence, along with the underlying offense facts, can be relevant.
- Time limits and the request package. Limitation periods, the availability of evidence, and the ability to prepare required documents in time can affect the assessment.
The U.S.–EU agreement also provides for the possibility of conditioning extradition on non-application of the death penalty. Whether a comparable protection applies elsewhere depends on the governing legal framework; neither that protection nor dual criminality is universal.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.How to assess a specific country pair
For a real case, identify both countries and check the requested country’s current law alongside the treaty or other legal basis that applies between them. The following questions help focus that check:
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- Is a treaty or other legal basis in force between the two countries, and does it cover the request?
- How does the requested country treat its own citizens and dual nationals?
- Is the conduct extraditable, and does the governing agreement require dual criminality?
- Do rules concerning political offenses, the death penalty, limitation periods, or human rights affect surrender?
- What judicial and executive steps apply?
- If provisional arrest is available, what deadline and document requirements govern the formal request?
In U.S.-related practice, DOJ materials identify treaty status, citizenship, the offense, deadlines, and certified or translated documents as relevant topics. That does not answer how an unspecified country pair handles every defense, appeal, detention question, or timeline.
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This is general legal information, not a finding that any person is extraditable. Someone facing an active request or arrest risk should get advice from a lawyer qualified in the relevant jurisdictions.
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