On Or Extradite Or Prosecute "obligations

The legal maxim"aut dedere aut judicare"is the modern adoption of"aut dedere aut punire"which was first presented by Hugo Grotius in his immortal masterpieces"The Law of War and Peace".In its English form,"aut dedere aut judicare"means the obligation to extradite or prosecute. This obligation is founded on the base of common interest of the international society as a whole. It is the common interest that makes it necessary and proper for the custodial state to extradite the alleged offenders or to prosecute them if it decides not to extradite.As far as the international law sources of the obligation to extradite or prosecute concerned, it is full of controversies about whether the obligation has the status of customary international law or not. And according to the analysis of state practice and articles of conventions, there has been no customary international law on this obligation so far.The operation of this obligation differs because of the various versions of articles prescribed in conventions. The obligation to extradite or prosecute arises when: the alleged offenders present in one state or the state in which the alleged offenders present receives extradition request from another state. What's more, the priority of the options differs as well. In the first situation, the obligation to prosecute has priority and in the latter one the obligation to extradite has precedence.The obligation to extradite or prosecute inextricably links with the principle of universal jurisdiction. It is easy to separate this obligation from the pure principle of universal jurisdiction, while it is getting complicated for this obligation and quasi-principle of universal jurisdiction. Based on the articles of conventions, this paper holds the view that the obligation to extradite or to prosecute is essential for the quasi-principle of universal jurisdiction.