The ICJ published today its new Guidance on Extraditions and Expulsion in Central Asia, an essential tool for judges, prosecutors, law enforcement officers, lawyers and NGOs in the region to implement these procedures in full respect of international law.
The Guidance is the fruit of the long-term work of the ICJ to bring proceedings for the transfer of suspects in Central Asian countries, in particular extraditions and expulsions, in line with States’ obligations under international law, including international human rights and refugee law. It addresses the application by judges and prosecutors of international law and standards in extradition and expulsion proceedings.
This Guidance has been informed by a comparative legal study conducted by the ICJ on the practices of national security-based transfers in countries of the Commonwealth of the Independent States, the European Union and the United States of America. In this study, the ICJ identified shortcomings and provided recommendations to all the countries examined.
Following this mapping, the ICJ, together with the UN Office on Drugs and Crimes (UNODC), the Regional Office for Central Asia of the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), the General Prosecutor’s Office of the Republic of Uzbekistan and the Constitutional Chamber of the Supreme Court of Kyrgyzstan convened two Central Asia international expert workshops for judges and prosecutors from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, with the participation of international experts from several European countries.
This Guidance provides practical recommendations for judges and prosecutors in the region to uphold international law in extraditions and other procedures for transfer of suspects.
Their purpose is not only to promote the legal compliance of such measures and the rights of those subject to them, but also their effectiveness, in particular in the fight against impunity.
Universal-Extradition&ExpulsionsCA-Publications-Guidance-2020-ENG (Guidance in English)
Universal-Extradition&ExpulsionCA-Publications-Guidance-2020-RUS (Guidance in Russian)