The Role of Refusals to Extradite in the Context of INTERPOL Abuse

              It is settled law that a refusal to extradite is not in itself a basis for the deletion of a Red Notice or diffusion from INTERPOL’s files.  In 1984, the INTERPOL General Assembly resolved: “[I]f certain countries refuse extradition, this is reported to the other NCBs in an addendum to the original notice.” [1]  The Commission for the Control of INTERPOL’s Files has been applying this rule while adjudicating individual cases, repeatedly reminding us that a refusal to extradite does not per se lead to the deletion of a government request from the Organization’s databases: “[the] mere fact that one of INTERPOL’s Member countries has denied the extradition of an individual subject to a Red Notice does not, in itself, directly affect the compliance of the corresponding data registered in INTERPOL’s files.”[2]  However, the role of a refusal to extradite is not always limited to a mere addendum to a government request that otherwise continues to linger in the Organization’s databases.