Dealing with the dragon : what safeguards are required to make an extradition treaty between Canada and the People's Republic of China conform to Canadian extradition law?
Publisher
University of British Columbia
Date Issued
2015
Document Type
Thesis
Degree
Master of Laws - LLM
Program
Law
Description
Canada does not have an extradition treaty with China. Concerns over the Government of China’s use of the death penalty and use of torture as well as the lack of procedural fairness in the Chinese criminal justice system present obstacles to the creation of an extradition treaty. Despite the problems with the Chinese legal system, Canada sees fit to trade extensively with China and continues to develop other treaty relationships with the Chinese Government. The Chinese Government wants extradition with Canada, in part to further its massive anti-corruption schemes including Operation Fox Hunt and Operation Skynet. This paper examines Canadian extradition law in the context of possible extradition from Canada to China. While not advocating for or against a Canada-China extradition treaty, the paper considers the current state of the Chinese criminal legal system relevant to extradition law and examines the primary problems and legal reforms undertaken by the Chinese Government to its Criminal Procedure Law and judiciary. From the perceived problems that would hinder or prevent extradition from Canada to China, safeguards are proposed to allow the Minister of Justice and reviewing courts the ability to respond to an extradition request from China on terms that do not offend Canadian principles of justice or the protections established by the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. These safeguards, which derive from diplomatic assurances, current extradition treaties and immigration law, are examined and set out in a proposed Canada-China extradition treaty that provides a framework from which to evaluate extradition between the countries.
Date Available
2015-12-17
Rights
Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.5 Canada
DOI
10.14288/1.0221363
Affiliation
Law, Peter A. Allard School of
ID
1.0221363