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IV. Legal Standards on Extradition from Chile

Extradition to Peru from Chile is governed by the 1932 Treaty on Extradition between the two countries.76  The treaty provides that Peru and Chile agree to extradite persons to one another to face criminal charges provided the following standard requirements are met: first, the crimes charged must also be crimes that carry sentences of a year or more in the country from which extradition is requested.77  Second, the crimes charged must not be considered political crimes under the law of the country from which extradition is requested.78  Third, the crimes charged must not be crimes for which the statute of limitations would have run in the country from which extradition is requested.79 And fourth, the requested individual must not have been convicted or acquitted, or be under trial or prosecution, for the same facts in the country from which extradition is requested as in the requesting country.80

Chilean courts also have the practice, in extradition cases, of applying additional requirements drawn from Chilean law on criminal procedure.81  In particular, courts have in the past looked at the evidence supporting the charges for which extradition was requested, to determine whether the evidence would have justified bringing charges in Chile had the crime been committed there.82  In other words, if the courts consider that there would not have been probable cause to indict in Chile under similar circumstances, then they do not extradite.  However, it is important to note that the standard of review the courts have applied is not that the evidence must be sufficient to convict: the evidence need only be sufficient to justify an indictment.

In accordance with the Chilean Code of Criminal Procedure, extradition requests are decided by a member of the Supreme Court.  In the event that extradition is granted, the individual who is the subject of the extradition request may appeal the decision to a panel of the same court.83  Once the court’s decision is final, the individual is placed at the disposal of the Ministry of Foreign Relations, so that he may be handed over to the country that requested his extradition.84



[76] See Treaty on Extradition between Chile and Peru, November 5, 1932, available online at http://www.oas.org/juridico/MLA/sp/traites/sp_traites-ext-chl-per.pdf (retrieved December 14, 2005).

[77]Ibid., Art. II.

[78] Ibid., Art. III.  The treaty notes that extradition will be granted even if the defendant claims that he had a political motivation, so long as the crime charged is a common crime such as homicide.

[79] Ibid., Art. V.  The statute of limitations period in Chile can be for five, ten, or fifteen years, depending on the crime.   See Código Penal de Chile, Art. 94   However, each time the defendant commits a new crime, the statute of limitations starts running again on the earlier crimes.  Ibid., Art. 96.  Also, if the defendant is outside the country, the period of the statute of limitations is doubled.  Ibid., Art. 100.

[80] See Treaty on Extradition between Chile and Peru, November 5, 1932, Art. VIII, available online at http://www.oas.org/juridico/MLA/sp/traites/sp_traites-ext-chl-per.pdf (retrieved December 14, 2005).

[81] Chile currently has two different codes of criminal procedure, with slightly different standards on extradition.  Which code is applied in a given case usually depends on the date on which the crime was committed.  There is currently some controversy over how to determine which code applies to extradition requests. 

[82] See Código Procesal Penal de Chile, Art. 449(c); Código de Procedimiento Penal de Chile, Art. 647(3); Supreme Court of Chile, Decision on Extradition of Juan de Dios Zerene Alveal (September 30, 1997).

[83] See Código de Procedimiento Penal de Chile, Art. 654.

[84] Ibid., Art. 655.


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