Extraordinary rendition is defined as the extrajudicial act of secretly transferring suspects from one country to another without following a legal process (International Bar Association, 2009). This policy is now known to result in the interrogation and torture of suspects, suspects who are taken to undisclosed destinations. According to International Bar Association (2009), the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) developed the extraordinary rendition during the 1990s and it was authorized by the United States administration under President Bill Clinton. The individual who was responsible for authoring this policy stated that it was developed in order to capture suspects who were known to be involved or planning acts of terrorism. Also, upon capture there were to be transported to nations that had warrants pertaining to their arrest. The programme was not meant for interrogations and the gathering of information.
The Ker-Frisbee doctrine is related to extradition and in the case of the United States, it allows them to prosecute criminal defendants in the US courts irrespective of the process used to attain the defendants, which normally does not follow the extradition agreements and process (Landis, 2011). The US can basically kidnap, force and take criminal defendants without following the correct procedural agreements with a country as long as the criminal defendant gets a fair trial. This doctrine originates from two cases Ker v. Illinois (1886) and Frisbie v. Collins (1952). In these two cases both the defendants claimed some of their rights were violated and that the US did not follow proper extradition processes. In Ker, they refused his claims and supported their decision with a claim that extradition laws are only enforceable by the contracting countries. In the case of Frisbie, the court found no constitutional provision that stopped them from brining in a defendant against their will in order to stand trial (Landis, 2011). These two cases are what brought on the Ker-Frisbie doctrine that allows any process to occur in order to have a constitutionally fair trial.
Delegate your assignment to our experts and they will do the rest.
The Ker-Frisbie doctrine clearly violates a suspects right to due process under the United States constitution. According to (Landis, 2011), a warrant was obtained that requested the extradition of Ker. Despite this, the agent who was supposed to serve the warrant to authorities in Peru instead arrested Ker in a forcibly manner. The United States clearly violated Ker’s right to due process which is stated in the fourteenth amendment. There was no proper process followed, in fact there is a complete disregard for the process. The fourteenth amendment states that no state should deny an individual of liberty without proper process of the law. According to Landis (2011), Frisbie was kidnapped by officers of the state, blackjacked, restrained with handcuffs and taken to stand trial. The fourth amendment was violated because Frisbie was denied liberty when he was abducted and taken to stand trial without following due process. Both these cases clearly show aspects of the fourth amendment that are clearly violated. This doctrine and what it entails can clearly allow for almost all aspects of the fourth amendment to be violated.
When Eric Snowden arrived in Moscow his passport was cancelled, this made it impossible for him to travel to Latin America where he hoped to get asylum. He was then forced to stay in the airport awaiting documentation allowing him into Moscow. At such a point it would have been difficult for the US to carry out an extraordinary rendition as Snowden was in a public place and had garnered a lot of publicity. Additionally, the US may have some very stringent agreements on its extradition treaty with Russia. This will make it impossible for the US to act as Russia may take this as a sign that America has broken the treaty and it could cause tension for the two countries.
References
Landis, K. T. (2011). The Seizure of Noriega: A Challenge to the Ker-Frisbie Doctrine. https://digitalcommons.wcl.american.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1568&context=auilr
International Bar Association. (2009, Jan). Extraordinary Renditions. https://www.ibanet.org/Human_Rights_Institute/About_the_HRI/HRI_Activities/Guantanamo_Extraordinary_renditions.aspx
