It is good to know the best countries without extradition to US, UK, Canada, and Australia. This information could prove useful if you find yourself on the other side of the law.
Let’s start with the basics. In its simplest definition, extradition could be described as a process in which one jurisdiction asks to obtain a physical custody of a person who is charged with a certain crime or convicted of the crime, from another jurisdiction. This is applicable in country’s internal jurisdiction, but today we talk specifically about extradition between countries. In this case, the legal system of one country makes an extradition request to a legal system of another country. To regulate the practice in these cases, most countries sign extradition treaties. They can be bilateral and multilateral. Bilateral treaties are agreements between two countries, while multilateral include more than two parties. If two countries have an extradition treaty, that means the request for extradition will be likely approved if it meets all the requirements. Even if the countries don’t have a signed treaty, they can still make extradition requests, but the chance for them to be successful are smaller.
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Extradition treaties have conditions under which one country can accept an extradition request. Although these conditions can vary, the most important one is that the crime for which the requesting country asks extradition is a crime in the receiving country as well. There are other cases when a particular country can refuse to extradite a person. For example, there are numerous countries that refuse to extradite people who are charged with political crimes. Also, if there is a chance that the person will be sentenced to a death penalty, most European countries will decline the request. Same goes if there is a possibility that the requested person will have to endure torture or other acts of inhumane behavior. One more common practice is that the countries almost regularly deny requests which target their own citizens. One of the examples for this is a case of murder that happened in New Zealand. Xiao Zhen, Chinese native killed a cab driver in Auckland, New Zealand where he worked, only to leave the country and head to China. China refused to extradite Zhen and he was trialed in his native country, although the murder didn’t happen inside country’s borders. Before we wrap up the talk about extradition in general, it is important to mention law principle “Aut dedere aut judicare” which is closely tied to the subject. The principle means that if the country refuses the extradition request, then that same country has to prosecute the offender. Of course, this isn’t the practice in all countries, but be careful. If you are going to run away from a crime, you may not be off the hook completely. In case you still want to try your luck, check out these 10 Best Countries for American Fugitives.
Being among the biggest economic forces in the world the US, UK and Canada are well covered when it comes to extradition treaties. The United Kingdom has extradition treaties with most countries while Australia, on the other hand, formally has bilateral extradition agreements with 38 countries. Countries that are not on among these 38 are considered non-extradition countries and each request is considered separately, with Australia having no obligation to accept the extradition request even when it meets all the common conditions under the International Law.
For our list of best countries without extradition to US, UK, Canada, and Australia we took into consideration the countries that don’t have extradition treaties toward all 4 of them. We only managed to find the official list of extradition treaties for the United Kingdom. We used WFSA for the United States, Sydney Criminal Lawyers for Australia, while we had to turn to multiple forums for Canada. Since these were unofficial sources we manually checked each country, just in case. Our research showed that in 51 countries in the world you don’t have to be concerned about extradition to US, UK, Canada, or Australia. Unfortunately, the majority of these countries are in the parts of the Middle East and Africa which don’t have the best quality of life. In order to find where a person would feel the best, we ranked them according to Quality of Nationality Index developed by Henley & Partners. This index takes into consideration all the factors that could determinate the quality of life in a certain country, starting from economics and development to how are the natives of these countries seen by other nations. Although it may not reveal the full picture, it is one of few rankings that rank every country in the world. The countries that had the best Quality of Nationality Index entered our list. Let’s take a look at the list of best countries without extradition to US, UK, Canada, and Australia.
11. Burkina Faso
Quality of Nationality Index: 99
We will begin our list with a country located in the Western Africa. The situation in the country isn’t the greatest if you are considering it for your possible destination. In country’s newer history there were lots of political tensions, especially following the military coup d’état in 2015. This also may be a good thing, since you won’t be on anyone’s list of priorities if you are looking for an escape route.
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10. Ivory Coast
Quality of Nationality Index: 97
We move to Burkina Faso’s neighbor. Ivory Coast was a big economic force in Africa in the ’60s and ’70s but after the economic crisis in the ’80s and resulting political turmoil slowed the country’s progress. Ivory Coast is the world’s biggest cocoa beans exporter, but don’t expect world class chocolate.
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9. Senegal
Quality of Nationality Index: 89
We have one more African country on our list of best countries without extradition to US, UK, Canada, and Australia, before we move on to Asia. The political situation is fairly stable unless you wound up in the southern region of the Casamance, known for its separatist aspirations.
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8. Kazakhstan
Quality of Nationality Index: 83
If you don’t mind the violation of human rights and political oppression with the authoritarian leader as the part of the package, then welcome to Kazakhstan. The country ranks high in the human development and stability, while also being the biggest economic force in the Central Asia. So, everything is great as long as you put your head down and don’t ask any questions.
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7. Cape Verde
Quality of Nationality Index: 77
Although this island country isn’t rich in resources, Cape Verde has plenty of positive sides. It is perceived as one of the most developed countries in Africa with strong and stable democracy. Africa doesn’t sound so bad now, does it?
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6. Bahrain
Quality of Nationality Index: 75
Bahrain ranks 6th on our list of best countries without extradition to US, UK, Canada, and Australia. It is island country located in the Persian Gulf. After recognizing their shrinking oil reserves, the country turned to tourism and banking business. It is viewed as one of the fastest rising economies in the Arab world with a high human development index. The country lacks other resources like water and food. The women rights were also a problem in the past, but the situation has been better in the recent years.
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5. Oman
Quality of Nationality Index: 73
Unlike most of the countries in the neighborhood, Oman isn’t solely dependent on the oil industry. The country has respectable tourism and agricultural industry and is recognized by UNDP as having the biggest increase in development in the past 40 years. The country’s capital Muscat is considered as one of the best cities to visit as a tourist.
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4. Saudi Arabia
Quality of Nationality Index: 68
Saudi Arabia has the strictest law out of all the countries featured on our list of best countries without extradition to US, UK, Canada, and Australia. Considering this, the country would only be a good fit for those who have no intention of committing any crimes. Saudi Arabia doesn’t rank high in terms of human rights and is especially known for its bad treatment of women. If you can handle all this, the country has a high standard of living and is considered as a regional power.
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3. Kuwait
Quality of Nationality Index: 63
Kuwait’s population of 4.3 million people is made out of 70% expatriates, so you know this is a country to go. It is also labeled as the most democratic country in this whole region. Kuwait mostly relies on the oil industry while tourism still isn’t an important factor in the economy. Interesting thing is that the national currency Kuwaiti dinar is highest valued in the world.
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2. Qatar
Quality of Nationality Index: 60
We are continuing our list of best countries without extradition to US, UK, Canada, and Australia with Qatar, that is recognized as the country with the world’s highest income per capita, and the most developed country in the Arab world. It may be viewed like a paradise for fugitives, since it has extradition treaties with the only handful of countries, most of them being its neighbors. Like Kuwait, Qatar is also an expatriate paradise, with expatriates accounting for more than 80% of its population. For soccer fans, you will be happy to hear that the country will be a host of FIFA World Cup in 2022.
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1. China
Quality of Nationality Index: 60
We already mentioned China’s extradition policies in the intro of our list of best countries without extradition to US, UK, Canada, and Australia. China has only extradition treaties with around 40 countries, most of them being from regions of Asia and Europe. There was a possibility for China to sign an extradition treaty with Australia in the recent months, but Australian government backed from the deal after harsh opposition from lawmakers. Although China may have a bad reputation, the fact is that the country will likely be (if it’s not already) one of the most powerful countries in the world. This surely can’t make her a bad place for someone who is looking to avoid being prosecuted in his native country.
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