In the past few years, our litigation team at H&P have represented clients in extradition processes and deportations with political motivations. By definition, extradition refers to the transfer of a suspect or convicted individual to a state where they have been accused of a criminal offense or have already been sentenced by a court, in order to face legal punishment.
When an extradition petition is made, the first step for the lawyers in Thailand is to determine whether an extradition treaty exists between the two states involved. Additionally, it is crucial to examine how the internal laws of the requested state regulate the extradition process.
Extradition process
If there is the treaty, the extradition process involves several legal and diplomatic steps to transfer a suspect or convicted individual from one country to another for prosecution or punishment. It typically consists of the following stages:
1. Request for Extradition – The requesting country by its government submits a formal petition to the country where the suspect is located, usually through diplomatic channels or based on an extradition treaty. Plus, the offense must be punishable under the laws of both the requesting state and the requested state.
2. After the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Thailand reviewed the petition, they will send the petition to the Ministry of interior in Thailand then it will pass to the prosecutor for file the lawsuit to the court. Plus, the Ministry of Interior may issue an order for the defendant’s arrest or request the court to issue an arrest warrant.
3. Legal Proceedings – Once the defendant is arrested, they must appear in court without the possibility of bail. The court will not determine whether the defendant is guilty but will only consider whether the arrest was made on the correct person and whether the offense qualifies for extradition.
The offense in question must be punishable under Thai law by a minimum imprisonment of one year and the offense must not be of a political offense or a military offense. Plus, the extradition cannot apply with the situation if the individual must have been adjudicated finally either for release or for punishment, have completed their sentence, received a pardon, been granted amnesty, or had the case dismissed due to the statute of limitations.
Thailand currently has Mutual Legal Assistance Treaties (MLATs) with 23 countries, including all ASEAN member states, as well as Australia, Belgium, Canada, China, France, India, Norway, Peru, Poland, Sri Lanka, South Korea, the United Kingdom, Ukraine, and the United States.
Even in the absence of an extradition treaty between two countries, the Thai government may, at its discretion, extradite a suspect or convicted individual to the requesting country by principle of reciprocity between the countries.
Furthermore, an Interpol notice may play a role in the extradition process. If an individual is involved in an offense specified under Interpol’s Rules on the Processing of Data, such as child abuse, homicide, or terrorism, the national Interpol division can submit a request for the issuance of an Interpol notice.
Interpol Notices
Interpol notice is a cooperation of Interpol by publishing information to support national police in detecting a criminal or being an instrument for requesting information, details, evidence, and documents of the crime from other countries.
According to Interpol’s riles on the processing of data Chapter II, the Interpol notice could be categorized into 8 notices for different issuing purposes, as follows:
∙ Red Notice: To seek the location and arrest of persons wanted for prosecution or to serve a sentence.
∙ Yellow Notice: To help locate missing persons, often minors, or to help identify persons who are unable to identify themselves.
∙ Blue Notice: To collect additional information about a person’s identity, location, or activities in relation to a criminal investigation.
∙ Black Notice: To seek information on unidentified bodies.
∙ Green Notice: To provide warning about a person’s criminal activities, where the person is considered to be a possible threat to public safety.
∙ Orange Notice: To warn of an event, a person, an object or a process representing a serious and imminent threat to public safety.
∙ Purple Notice: To seek or provide information on modus operandi, objects, devices and concealment methods used by criminals.
∙ Interpol–United Nations Security Council Special Notice: Issued for entities and individuals who are the targets of UN Security Council Sanctions Committees.
An Interpol notice is not a warrant and has no enforcement power. It serves as a cautionary alert, a means to verify information and details, detect crimes and criminals, or request cooperation. However, the domestic Interpol organization may use an Interpol notice, such as a Red Notice, as a basis for issuing an arrest warrant, which could initiate the extradition process.
Based on our experience handling international criminal law proceedings, extraditions, deportations and opposing Interpol notices, it is key to examine in detail all the documentation to find ways, and mistakes to effectively oppose these proceedings and guarantee that our clients will not face unfair court proceedings outside of Thailand.
If you need legal representation by a lawyer specialized in extraditions and Interpol notices, please contact our litigation team in Bangkok at [email protected]
