Extradition to the United States refused: Costa Rican constitutional reform allowing nationals’ extradition not applied retroactively

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🇬🇧 Summary

The case concerned a United States request for the extradition of a Costa Rican national wanted for prosecution in the Southern District of New York for cocaine trafficking and conspiracy offences. The Tribunal Penal found that the formal requirements of the Costa Rica–United States extradition treaty were satisfied, including double criminality, legal basis, validity of the prosecution, and the absence of political or military offences. It also noted that any surrender would require formal assurances on speciality and on the non-imposition of prohibited penalties, including death penalty, life imprisonment or a prison sentence exceeding fifty years. However, the Court refused extradition on the ground that the alleged conduct pre-dated the 2025 constitutional reform of Article 32 of the Costa Rican Constitution, which allowed the extradition of nationals in cases of international drug trafficking and terrorism. Relying on the principle of non-retroactivity and on a previous appellate decision, the Court held that the reform could not apply to facts occurring before its entry into force. Since the requested person was a Costa Rican national and the alleged conduct occurred before the reform, extradition was denied, although the Court held that Costa Rica should prosecute the facts domestically under Costa Rican law.

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