Extradition Act of New Zealand

The Act enables the New Zealand Government to render assistance to a foreign government to extradite a person to that country for trial, irrespective of any extradition treaty between New Zealand and the country.   The Act sets out stringent requirements on the information and evidence that a foreign government must furnish in respect of a target person to safeguard his/her interests.

Part 5 of the Act provides specifically for extraditions to non-treaty countries.

An extraditable offence is:

  1. One punishable under the law of an extradition country with a minimum penalty of 12 months imprisonment;
  2. One punishable under similar New Zealand law with similar sentence term - double criminality;
  3. One within the list of extraditable offences provided by a relevant extradition treaty.

When will a New Zealand court dismiss an extradition request?

  1. When it is an offence of a political character (e.g. political persecution);
  2. When sufficient evidence is shown that the person concerned, when extradited, will be ill-treated, subject to human rights violation or will not have a fair trial in the extradition country;
  3. When the person, if extradited, will probably face the death penalty, unless the extradition country undertakes that he will not be subject to such penalty;
  4. When an extradition request is religiously, racially, gender or politically motivated, and that there is no possibility of a fair trial.

Extradition Proceedings

  1. An extradition hearing is a complex process, where a judge will examine all the evidence in relation to the alleged offence, and the prosecution and the defence may call witness to give evidence, which the accused (the target person) generally is not required to do so;
  2. Dependent on whether a prima facie case has been established by the prosecution, a judge may grant or dismiss the extradition request and both the prosecution and the defence may appeal the decision to higher courts;
  3. Given that judicial independence is strictly observed in New Zealand, a judge has absolute authority in  carrying out his/her judicial duties and obligations, free from any interference.