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nationality is assessed at the time the offense was committed, any loss of nationality subsequent to said offense has no bearing upon the removal proceedings and shall not supersede said assessment of nationality."1 Gov't Opp'n, Ex. A at 2. The Defendant, meanwhile, relies on the opinion of a French legal expert who argues that nationality is assessed at the time of the extradition request. See Reply, Ex. A ¶ 11. The Defendant's expert concedes that there is no case law addressing this precise issue. Id. ¶ 21.
Exacerbating the uncertainty is the fact that the relevant legal materials also lend themselves to multiple interpretations. For instance, Article 3(1) the Extradition Treaty between the United States and France of April 23, 1996 provides that "[t]here is no obligation upon the Requested State to grant the extradition of a person who is a national of the Requested State, but the executive authority of the United States shall have the power to surrender a national of the United States if, in its discretion, it deems it proper to do so. The nationality of the person sought shall be the nationality of that person at the time the offense was committed." See Reply, Ex. A ¶ 9 (emphasis added)). Article 694-4 of the French Code of Criminal Procedure similarly provides that "Extradition shall not be granted . . . [w]hen the person claimed has French nationality, the latter being assessed at the time of the offense for which extradition is requested."2 Id. ¶ 10; see also Gov't Opp'n, Ex. A at 2. Thus, there is considerable uncertainty as to the relevance of the Defendant's offer of renunciation of her French citizenship to her ability to frustrate, if not entirely bar, extradition. The Court's assessment of the risks largely
1 The Court cites the translated version of the letter, though the original letter is in French.
2 Here, there are minor discrepancies between the two sides' respective translations. The translated letter from the Ministry of Justice cites Article 694-4 as reading, "When the individual claimed to have French citizenship, said citizenship having been assessed at the time of the offense on the basis of which removal is being requested." Gov't Opp'n, Ex. A at 2.
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DOJ-OGR-00001282