Editing Extradition (section)

== ''Aut dedere aut judicare'' ==
{{Main|Aut dedere aut judicare}}

A concept related to extradition that has significant implications in [[Transnational crime|transnational criminal law]] is that of ''[[aut dedere aut judicare]]''.<ref name="Stigall" /> This maxim represents the principle that states must either surrender a criminal within their jurisdiction to a state that wishes to prosecute the criminal or prosecute the offender in its own courts. Many international agreements contain provisions for ''aut dedere aut judicare''. These include all four [[1949 Geneva Conventions]], the [[U.N. Convention for the Suppression of Terrorist Bombings]], the [[U.N. Convention Against Corruption]], the [[Convention for the Suppression of Unlawful Seizure of Aircraft]], the [[Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment]], the [[Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of an Armed Conflict]], and the [[International Convention for the Suppression and Punishment of the Crime of Apartheid]].<ref name="Stigall" />

Some contemporary scholars hold the opinion that ''aut dedere aut judicare'' is not an obligation under customary international law but rather "a specific conventional clause relating to specific crimes" and, accordingly, an obligation that only exists when a state has voluntarily assumed the obligation. [[M. Cherif Bassiouni|Cherif Bassiouni]], however, has posited that, at least with regard to international crimes, it is not only a rule of customary international law but a ''[[jus cogens]]'' principle. Professor Michael Kelly, citing Israeli and Austrian judicial decisions, has noted that "there is some supporting anecdotal evidence that judges within national systems are beginning to apply the doctrine on their own".<ref name="Stigall" />