THE PRINCIPLE OF SPECIALTY IN EXTRADITION PROCESS: BALANCING THE RIGHTS OF THE EXTRADITED INDIVIDUAL AND THE STATE’S RIGHT TO PUNISH

Abstract

The extradition process is considered one of the most important procedural mechanisms established by international criminal law to combat the phenomenon of impunity and strengthen the state's right to impose punishment, thus upholding criminal justice as a whole. The accused person subject to extradition retains the right to a fair trial, which necessitates ensuring that the extradition procedures are accompanied by all the guarantees that protect the accused from any abuse or arbitrary actions by the requesting state.Among these guarantees are the principles of international complementarity, international cooperation in crime prevention, the principle of non-impunity for criminals, and the principle of specificity. The principle of specificity is one of the most important procedural and objective guarantees that protect the accused from manipulation that the requesting state may resort to in order to circumvent the objective prohibition imposed on certain crimes subject to extradition, such as political and military crimes. However, certain exceptions prevent the application of this rule in its entirety, in order to enhance the state's right to impose punishment.