Disguised Extradition

Meurrens LawInadmissibility

Extradition and deportation are two different things.  Extradition is the official process whereby one country transfers a suspected or convicted criminal to another country, generally for prosecution.  Deportation, on the other hand, is the removal of an individual from a country generally done for the purpose of achieving an immigration objective.  In Roncarelli v. Duplessis, [1959] S.C.R. 121, the Supreme Court of Canada (the “SCC”) recognized that it was an abuse of process for a government department to exercise a statutory power for a reason that is unrelated to the purpose for which that power was granted.  In the immigration context, it is accordingly an abuse of process for immigration authorities to initiate removal proceedings against an individual to extradite someone. In United States v. Rogan, 2014 BCSC 116 (“Rogan”), Justice Fish summarized the principles of what is known as “disguised extradition” as follows: (Citations and paragraph numbers removed) Deportation and extradition have fundamentally different underlying objectives. Deportation is a discretionary decision made by Canadian immigration authorities aimed at protecting the public good. Extradition, which is initiated by foreign authorities, is aimed at delivering a person sought for prosecution to that foreign authority. A person subject to extradition proceedings has a panoply of constitutionally-enshrined … Read More