Extradition to Hungary blocked: Australia could not surrender a person sought only for investigation

Share this case

🇬🇧 Summary

The case concerned Hungary’s request for the extradition of Charles Zentai from Australia for an alleged war crime committed in Budapest in 1944. The Australian Minister had ordered his surrender after a magistrate found him eligible for extradition. The Federal Court held that the surrender decision was invalid. First, the material before the Minister showed that Hungary sought Zentai only for preliminary investigation: no indictment had been filed and no criminal proceedings were pending. Australian extradition law permits surrender of persons who are accused or convicted, not merely suspected. Secondly, the requested offence of war crime did not exist under Hungarian law at the time of the alleged conduct, having been introduced only in 1945 with retrospective effect. The Australia–Hungary treaty required the offence itself, not merely equivalent conduct, to have existed at the relevant time. The Court therefore held that the Minister had no power to order surrender.

Cite this case

Need to reference this case in a brief, article or submission?