Asylum Stops Where Extradition Begins

 Asylum Stops Where Extradition Begins

By: Anjali Tiwari

Asylum is a Latin word that comes from the Greek word 'Asylia,' which means "safe haven." In exchange for lodging and protection on its own land, a territorial state refuses to surrender a person to a requesting state. As a result, asylum consists of two parts: first, a shelter that is more than temporary protection, and second, a level of active protection provided by authorities in charge of the asylum zone.

The right to seek protection against sovereign authorities' prosecutions is recognized in Article 14 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Anyone can apply for asylum in another country. This right also applies to refugees who have committed political offences. This comes with the caveat that if your crime is in violation of UN rules, you will not be eligible for asylum. A territorial state will grant refuge when there is a danger that the requesting States will treat the surrendered person harshly in violation of civil society principles.

Asylum is a political activity linked to sovereignty traits. A sovereign state has the ability to provide asylum to anyone, but for political reasons, this is always kept secret. It is, however, periodically enlarged for the sake of sustaining democratic principles, peace, and human rights, as well as achieving a larger societal goal.

Take the Asylum of the Dalai Lama, for example.

India provided the Dalai Lama and his follower’s political sanctuary in 1959 after they were persecuted by China's ruthless tactics.

Extradition is formed by combining the Latin words ex and traditum. It might mean everything from 'criminal delivery' to ‘refugee surrender'. Extradition is the surrender of an accused or convicted person who is discovered in his or her native country in the state where he or she is charged with or convicted of a criminal offence.

Extradition is a two-step process that involves two states: a territorial state and the state where the accused is located.

The state where the offence was committed is the seeking state.

Because a person is only surrendered by the territorial state in response to a call from another state, a state that demands surrender is known as a requesting state. A request is usually made through the diplomatic route. The application for extradition of a person distinguishes it from other forcible removal proceedings such as expulsion and deportation. Extradition is the polar opposite of asylum, in which a person seeking asylum in another country is captured by government authorities in that country and given over to the requesting country. Extradition can be used as an obligation and responsibility of the territorial state for the surrender of the individual seeking asylum if a treaty exists between the territory state and the requesting state, or if both governments are signatories to a common treaty or convention. After eluding arrest, extradition is the process of returning a criminal to the country where he committed the crime. In general, each country's extradition procedure is governed by its own set of laws. In India, the extradition process is governed by the Extradition Act of 1962. Only the Ministry of External Affairs, and no one else, can make extradition requests on India's behalf.

Extradition of Vijay Mallya

The proprietor of Co. Kingfisher, Vijay Mallya, took a loan of over Rs. 9000 crores and fled to the United Kingdom on March 2, 2016. The Indian government decided to request his extradition from the United Kingdom, and India formally demanded Mallya's extradition under the extradition treaty in February 2017. Vijay Mallya was seized by Scotland Yard and brought before a British court in the first phase. This matter is now in court. A state's right to grant asylum to a person overlaps with its right to deny extradition of such individual at the request of another state to some extent. When it is decided to extradite a person seeking protection, living covertly, or having granted Asylum in the territorial state on the request of Interpol or the asking state, the cover of Asylum is shattered and the person is handed over to the Government agencies of the requesting state. 

According to Starke, asylum ceases where extradition begins. Extradition and Asylum are political acts carried out by states that differ from one another in terms of treaties, internal and external policies, and this interdependence makes it appropriate to examine the two topics together.