Written by Cheryl Ng, Advocate & Solicitor
The principle
Extradition is the surrender of a person by one country to another, in which one is liable to be prosecuted or punished.
There is no general obligation in international law to hand a person over. That flows from national sovereignty. A treaty or other mutual arrangement is normally required — and in Singapore, that arrangement must have been given effect through the Extradition Act 1968. If it has not, there is no lawful route to surrender.
What the court decides
The Singapore court does not decide guilt, and does not weigh the defences a person may have. It decides whether one can lawfully be sent: whether the foreign warrant is properly authenticated, whether the offence is genuinely an extradition offence, whether there is a case fit to be tried, and whether any statutory restriction applies.
Even after a court has committed, the Minister has a separate decision to make, and separate restrictions to apply.
What extradition is not
It is not deportation. Removal is an immigration measure with different safeguards, and where it is used to deliver someone into another country’s hands instead of using the extradition process, that is open to challenge.
It is not mutual legal assistance, which moves evidence rather than people, and is frequently run in parallel.
It is not an INTERPOL Red Notice, which confers no power of arrest in Singapore. See INTERPOL Red Notices.
A word about the word “fugitive”
The Act calls the person sought a “fugitive”, and you will see the word in the court documents. It is a legal label for anyone named in an extradition request. It does not mean one ran away, and it carries no implication of guilt.
If someone close to you has been arrested in Singapore on another country’s request, the steps taken in the first days can make a real difference. Contact us to arrange a discussion about your situation.
The information on this page is general in nature and may not reflect the latest developments. Extradition arrangements change, and the law develops over time. Nothing on this page constitutes legal advice, and reading it does not create a solicitor–client relationship. For advice on your own situation, please contact us.