23 de junho de 2023

Countries that do not have an extradition agreement with Brazil

The extradition process in Brazil is a matter of great national repercussion. Every year media cases appear on the subject of extradition, generating debates and questions about the process.

In this text, we seek to clarify the most common doubts about the procedure and which countries Brazil does not have an extradition agreement. In addition, we will explain the difficulty in establishing extradition agreements with some countries.

Author: Lucas Velozo de Mello Marchiori

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What is extradition?

Extradition is a process of international cooperation. This act occurs when the government of a country requests that another State hand over a citizen.

The request for the delivery of the person can happen for several reasons. Among them, are the investigation, prosecution, or conviction for the commission of one or more crimes in another country.

In Brazil, there are specific rules on the extradition procedure. In addition, there are situations in which extradition cannot be applied.

Who can be extradited?

The Brazilian Federal Constitution guarantees that no Brazilian citizen can be extradited by Brazil. A native Brazilian is understood to be:

Those born in Brazil, even if of foreign parents, as long as they are not in the service of their country;
Those born abroad, of a Brazilian father or a Brazilian mother, provided that either of them is in the service of Brazil;
Those born abroad to a Brazilian father or Brazilian mother provided that they are registered with a competent Brazilian department or come to reside in the Federative Republic of Brazil and opt, at any time, after reaching the age of majority, for Brazilian nationality;

Therefore, foreign citizens residing in Brazil or who have naturalized as Brazilians may be extradited.

The extradition procedure will depend on whether Brazil has signed agreements with the country requesting extradition. It is of great importance for the process to know which countries have an agreement with Brazil. In this article, we will check the countries that do not have agreements with Brazil and the main reasons.

Why are there countries without an extradition agreement with Brazil?

Brazil has an extradition agreement with many countries. Among them, the United States, China, most of Europe, and Mercosur countries stand out. However, there are large countries that still do not have an agreement with Brazil.

This lack of agreement exists for several reasons. The absence of diplomatic relations between countries is one of them.

There are countries in which Brazil does not have strong diplomatic ties. In many cases, there is not even a Brazilian diplomatic representation in these countries. This is the case for example in Monaco, Lithuania, Afghanistan, and Iceland.

In addition, the cultural issue can also be a major impediment to agreements not to take place. The culture of a country is formed by several factors, with religion having a great impact on this formation. It is much easier for Brazil to sign agreements with Christian countries in the area of extradition.

How difficult is it for Brazil to sign agreements with non-Christian countries?

Observing all the treaties signed by Brazil, we observe something common in most of the agreements. Most of the time, countries have a similarity in their penal codes.

These similarities say a lot about what conduct is considered criminal. Furthermore, it is a common requirement in the agreements that the possible crimes for extradition have the same denomination between the two countries.

If you want to know all of Brazil’s extradition agreements, access our article here.

In many non-Christian countries, there are behaviors seen as criminal that are not classified as a crime in Brazil. In this way, it would not be possible for Brazil to agree to extradite a citizen for an action that is not considered a crime.

For example, adultery has not been a crime in Brazil since 2005. However, in most non-Christian countries, this conduct is classified as a crime.

Furthermore, the penalties for some of these crimes are very strict. Some penalties involve physical punishment and even death. This rigor ends up affecting Brazil’s commitment to human rights.

Countries that Brazil does not have an extradition agreement

We will list here all the countries in which Brazil does not have an extradition agreement. Extradition to these countries can take place if there is reciprocity. That is if the country also extradites Brazilian citizens if requested.

Communication between countries through diplomatic channels is of great importance in these cases. Here is the complete list of countries: