When the FBI Seeks Extradition…®
EXTRADITION TREATY LAW AND PROCEDURE
Issuance of Surrender Warrant by Secretary of State
The Secretary of State is not mandated to surrender an individual upon a showing of extraditability, but is permitted by statute to order the individual be delivered to the authorized agent of such foreign government. This discretion is an important provision in extradition proceedings. As one court of appeals has stated, "[t]he need for flexibility in the exercise of Executive discretion is heightened in international extradition proceedings which necessarily implicate the foreign policy interests of the United States."