Expansion of global rule by law enforcement: Colombia’s extradition experience, 1999–2017

Abstract

We argue that transnational criminal law has enacted a global rule by law enforcement agencies, at odds with the rule of law. Mutual legal assistance agreements (MLAA) allow exporting law enforcement practices without proper judicial oversight. Consequently defendants required in extradition are exposed to abuses, as illustrated here with extradition cases from Colombia to the United States of America (U.S.A.) in the past decades. Based on the critical review of documental and statistic information coming from official and independent sources in the U.S. and Colombia, this article pinpoints specific shortcomings that affect due process and fair trials in the case of extradited defendants. Concluding remarks underscore the need to check the global expansion of the law enforcement sector, purportedly justified in order to fight transnational criminal impunity. Its steady expansion is a main factor undermining the legitimacy of national law enforcement and justice systems, and a threat to the genuine protection of civil liberties.