What if the person for whom extradition is sought is a national of the requested State?
Many Member States, when ratifying international and EU conventions on extradition, have declared that they will not extradite their own nationals, or will only authorise it under certain specified conditions. Such prohibitions on the extradition of nationals have remained in place notwithstanding progress made in simplifying extradition procedures within the European Union. Some Member States’ constitutions have prohibited the extradition of nationals. In its proposal for a European arrest warrant, the Commission proposed that exceptions for nationals be abolished. The primary criteria should not be nationality, but the place of residence. Thus, the Commission proposes to facilitate the execution of any sentence in the country of arrest if that is where the person is most likely to be reintegrated into society.
