The Principle Of Non-extradition Of The Political Offence

The Principle of non-extradition of the political offence has been established during French Bourgeois Democratic Revolution in the form of domestic law of western European country and treaties among them. Afterwards it gradually came into an important principle of international law. The principle is always connected with protection of human rights because a political offender is easily persecuted by rulers. Today almost all nations in the world admit this principle. However, their understanding on what it is differs greatly. The reason lies in its dual feature. On one hand, the principle plays a special role in getting rid of international disputes and safeguarding human rights. On the other hand it easily becomes a legal excuse of some nations to refuse extradition by consideration of their own interests since universal definition of"political offence"does not exist in international community, every country can freely explain"political offence"upon its needs. It gives some terrorists room escaping penalty. From this angle, the principle has hindered international judicial assistance. This is why many countries that have been attacked by terrorism stick to abolition of the principle.This thesis consists of six parts, nearly 40,000 words altogether. Part I The prelude illustrates the purpose of the writer in analyzing the principle of non-extradition of political offence, the sources of the materials needed for this thesis, and how the writer would state her ideas in this thesis.Part II Chapter I- a general introduction of the principle. It explains the course of the formation of the principle from its contents. This principle plays an important role in international and national legislation and practice, so it's worth a deep-through analysis.Part III Chapter II– A theoretic analysis of the principle. This chapter first introduces some general viewpoints about the principle put forward by scholars, and then, tries to construct a theoretical platform for discussion.Part IV Chapter III– Extradition legislation and practice in major western nations. This chapter illustrates the legislation and practice of major western nations related to the principle, the relationship between international extradition law and national legislation, typical extradition procedures, exception to the principle, as well as how they define the term"political offence".Part V Chapter IV– The improvement of the legislation and practice of the principle in China. This chapter illustrates the legislation and practice of the principle in China, so as to provide a platform to compare with that of the principle in Western nations. On the basis of comparison, the writer brings forward her suggestions to improve the standard of legislation and extradition practice in China.Part VI The epilogue serves as a conclusion of the whole thesis and emphasizes that, to play an active role in the international judicial cooperation, there is a long way for China to go.