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Extradition to Canada: principle of speciality requires clear identification of offences covered by extradition request
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Summary
The principle of speciality requires that the facts and legal classifications for which surrender is requested and granted be indicated clearly and precisely; a mere generic reference to compliance with the principle under the applicable treaty is not sufficient. Consequently, a lack of clarity in the description of the facts, or the improper classification of the conduct under domestic conspiracy or criminal association offences solely for the purpose of verifying double criminality, may create the risk that the requesting State will prosecute the extradited person for offences different from those covered by the original extradition request or any subsequent extension, in breach of Article 721 of the Italian Code of Criminal Procedure and the principle of speciality.
05/05/2026 · Italian Supreme Court · 17961/2026
🇮🇹Italy → 🇨🇦Canada
Reversal and remandExtraditionExtradition: identification of the sought person may be inferred from circumstantial evidence
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Summary
The Court of King’s Bench of Alberta ordered the committal of the person sought for extradition to the United Kingdom in connection with historical allegations of physical and sexual abuse of minors. The Court held that the Record of the Case established a prima facie case and that the identity of the person sought as the alleged perpetrator (“Brother Peter”) could be inferred from circumstantial evidence, including employment records, witness descriptions and institutional documents. The defence relied on alibi evidence and discrepancies in employment timelines, but the Court found that such elements merely raised competing inferences and did not render the requesting state’s evidence manifestly unreliable. Issues concerning credibility, identification gaps and potential defences were deemed matters for trial, not for the extradition stage.
18/02/2026 · Court of King’s Bench of Alberta · 2026 ABKB 115
🇨🇦Canada → 🇬🇧United Kingdom
GrantedExtraditionExtradition to a foreign State and relevance of statute of limitations as a ground for refusal
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Summary
For the purposes of extradition to or from Canada, the clause set out in Article III(e) of the bilateral Treaty of 13 January 2005, ratified by Law No. 7 of 2008, provides, as a mandatory ground for refusal of surrender, only the statute of limitations as determined under the law of the requesting State.
01/07/2015 · Italian Supreme Court · 33577
🇮🇹Italy → 🇨🇦Canada
GrantedExtraditionCountry Contributor
Robert J. Currie
Dalhousie University
Robert J. Currie, KC, is Professor of Law and Viscount Bennett Professor of Law at the Schulich School of Law, Dalhousie University.
He is a specialist in international and transnational criminal law, with research interests including transnational criminal law, international criminal law, social media law, international litigation, international law, cyberbullying, evidence, extradition, civil procedure and criminal law.
Professor Currie holds a BA Honours from St FX, an MA from Carleton, an LLB from Dalhousie and an LLM from Edinburgh. He was admitted to the Nova Scotia Bar in 2000. His teaching includes International Law, Evidence, Jessup Moot, International Criminal Law and Comparative Criminal Law.
His research focuses on international and transnational criminal law, an area in which he also teaches a seminar course. His 2010 book, International and Transnational Criminal Law, was shortlisted for the Walter Owen Book Prize for Outstanding Legal Literature in 2011, and the fourth edition will be published in 2026. He has authored and co-authored numerous articles and comments in this field, and his work is regularly cited by Canadian courts, including the Supreme Court of Canada.
His selected publications include Transnational and Cross-Border Criminal Law: Canadian Perspectives, Wrongful Extradition: Reforming the Committal Phase of Canada’s Extradition Law, International & Transnational Criminal Law, co-authored with Joseph Rikhof, Cross-Border Evidence Gathering in Transnational Crime Cases: Is the Microsoft Ireland Case the “Next Frontier”?, Electronic Devices at the Border: The Next Frontier of Canadian Search and Seizure Law?, the Routledge Handbook of Transnational Criminal Law, co-edited with N. Boister, and Law Beyond Borders: Extraterritorial Jurisdiction in an Age of Globalization, co-authored with S. Coughlan and others.
Professor Currie has received several awards and honours. In 2023, he was appointed His Majesty’s Counsel Learned in the Law, received the Charles D. Gonthier Research Fellowship from the Canadian Institute for the Administration of Justice, and was co-recipient of the Governor General’s Innovation Award. In 2021, he was named Dalhousie Distinguished Research Professor, and in 2008 he received the Dalhousie Law Students’ Society and Alumni Association Award for Excellence in Teaching.
His service and activity include coaching the Schulich School of Law’s Jessup Moot team, serving as Director of the Law and Technology Institute from 2010 to 2017, membership on the Board of Directors of the International Society for the Reform of Criminal Law, serving as a Faculty Associate of the Marine and Environmental Law Institute, membership of the Faculty for the Federation of Law Societies’ National Criminal Law Program, and serving as Vice-President and a Commissioner of the Law Reform Commission of Nova Scotia. He is also a member of the Executive Board of the Canadian Council on International Law.
He is a specialist in international and transnational criminal law, with research interests including transnational criminal law, international criminal law, social media law, international litigation, international law, cyberbullying, evidence, extradition, civil procedure and criminal law.
Professor Currie holds a BA Honours from St FX, an MA from Carleton, an LLB from Dalhousie and an LLM from Edinburgh. He was admitted to the Nova Scotia Bar in 2000. His teaching includes International Law, Evidence, Jessup Moot, International Criminal Law and Comparative Criminal Law.
His research focuses on international and transnational criminal law, an area in which he also teaches a seminar course. His 2010 book, International and Transnational Criminal Law, was shortlisted for the Walter Owen Book Prize for Outstanding Legal Literature in 2011, and the fourth edition will be published in 2026. He has authored and co-authored numerous articles and comments in this field, and his work is regularly cited by Canadian courts, including the Supreme Court of Canada.
His selected publications include Transnational and Cross-Border Criminal Law: Canadian Perspectives, Wrongful Extradition: Reforming the Committal Phase of Canada’s Extradition Law, International & Transnational Criminal Law, co-authored with Joseph Rikhof, Cross-Border Evidence Gathering in Transnational Crime Cases: Is the Microsoft Ireland Case the “Next Frontier”?, Electronic Devices at the Border: The Next Frontier of Canadian Search and Seizure Law?, the Routledge Handbook of Transnational Criminal Law, co-edited with N. Boister, and Law Beyond Borders: Extraterritorial Jurisdiction in an Age of Globalization, co-authored with S. Coughlan and others.
Professor Currie has received several awards and honours. In 2023, he was appointed His Majesty’s Counsel Learned in the Law, received the Charles D. Gonthier Research Fellowship from the Canadian Institute for the Administration of Justice, and was co-recipient of the Governor General’s Innovation Award. In 2021, he was named Dalhousie Distinguished Research Professor, and in 2008 he received the Dalhousie Law Students’ Society and Alumni Association Award for Excellence in Teaching.
His service and activity include coaching the Schulich School of Law’s Jessup Moot team, serving as Director of the Law and Technology Institute from 2010 to 2017, membership on the Board of Directors of the International Society for the Reform of Criminal Law, serving as a Faculty Associate of the Marine and Environmental Law Institute, membership of the Faculty for the Federation of Law Societies’ National Criminal Law Program, and serving as Vice-President and a Commissioner of the Law Reform Commission of Nova Scotia. He is also a member of the Executive Board of the Canadian Council on International Law.
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