Opinion ID: 603512
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 6

Heading: does the supplementary treaty contravene the doctrine of

Text: 82 SEPARATION OF POWERS? 83 We reject McMullen's claim that the Supplementary Treaty impermissibly invades the province of the judiciary by altering the jurisdiction of the courts. Congress has conferred jurisdiction upon the federal courts to conduct extradition proceedings. See 18 U.S.C. § 3184. Section 3184 expressly provides, however, that an extradition court must be governed by the provisions of the pertinent treaty. The evidence at an extradition hearing cannot suffice unless the court determines that it is sufficient to sustain the charge under the provisions of the proper treaty. Id. Accordingly, the extradition court has the authority to interpret and apply the terms of the governing treaty. See Gallina v. Fraser, 278 F.2d 77, 79 (2d Cir.), cert. denied, 364 U.S. 851, 81 S.Ct. 97, 5 L.Ed.2d 74 (1960). Whether the political offense exception applies is a matter for the courts, of course. Whether there should be a political offense exception is a matter to be determined by the Legislative and Executive Branches in the exercise of their extradition treaty-making and extradition treaty-ratifying powers. Wilson v. Girard, 354 U.S. 524, 530, 77 S.Ct. 1409, 1412, 1 L.Ed. 1544 (1957) (per curiam). Courts do not have the authority to engraft substantive provisions upon treaties of any sort. The district court properly held: 84 Whether or not to include a political offense exception in an extradition treaty is a policy judgment, which rests exclusively in the discretion of the Executive Branch and the Senate. 85 In re Extradition of McMullen, 769 F.Supp. at 1294. Moreover, the Supplementary Treaty preserves the proper function of the judiciary--to determine that there is probable cause to believe that the accused has committed the offense and that no defense to extradition applies under the terms of the Treaty. See In re United States, 713 F.2d 105, 108 (5th Cir.1983). 86 Also properly rejected by the district court was the contention that the President and the Senate avoided the bicameral process by eliminating the political offense exception in the Supplementary Treaty. While it is true that Congress considered but failed to enact new legislation that would have narrowed the political offense exception or stripped courts of the jurisdiction to consider the exception in all extradition cases, the President and Senate remain vested with the authority to eliminate the political offense exception on a treaty-by-treaty basis. In this regard, it is important to note that the Senate, in ratifying the Supplementary Treaty, emphasized that it would not similarly approve any treaty that narrows the political offense exception in regard to any nondemocratic or totalitarian government and that the Supplementary Treaty would not necessarily be a precedent for other extradition treaties. Indeed, Senator Lugar promised to conduct a searching review of any new treaties and to consider each on its own merits. 132 Cong.Rec. 16,588 (1986). 87 The Supplementary Treaty properly was concluded by the President and ratified by the Senate. The role of the judiciary with regard to extradition treaties remains unchanged, governed as it is by the relevant statute, 18 U.S.C. § 3184, and the terms of the Treaty.