U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government, Department of Justice.

NCJRS Virtual Library

The Virtual Library houses over 235,000 criminal justice resources, including all known OJP works.
Click here to search the NCJRS Virtual Library

Political Offender Exception in International Extradition Law: Terrorism Versus Human Rights

NCJ Number
122205
Journal
International Journal of Comparative and Applied Criminal Justice Volume: 13 Issue: 2 Dated: (Fall 1989) Pages: 45-59
Author(s)
M Lippman
Date Published
1989
Length
15 pages
Annotation
The political offense exception in the law of international extradition is one of the issues in the debate over the justifiability of terrorist violence, but this exception was effectively eliminated for violent offenders in the 1986 Supplementary Treaty between the United States and the United Kingdom.
Abstract
The exception is based on the historical view of liberal democracies that individuals had a right to rebel against and to replace monarchical and arbitrary regimes. The development of the exception also reflected the desire of third-party nations to maintain neutrality in their relations between the factions competing for power. The debate over this exception clearly shows the differing perceptions of terrorism as either a common crime or as a justifiable act of political rebellion. Nations' views tend to correspond to whether they are aligned with those favoring incremental and peaceful change or with those who support the demands of the impatient and disenfranchised in the world. Although unnecessary and excessive violence should certainly be subject to criminal prosecution, it is unrealistic and historically myopic to refuse to recognize that instances occur in which political violence is justified and will be used by a group suffering the gross and persistent violation of their basic human rights. 26 references. (Author abstract modified)