EXTRADITION (REPUBLIC OF TUNISIA) ORDER

SUBSIDIARY LEGISLATION 276.06

EXTRADITION (REPUBLIC OF TUNISIA) ORDER

*

LEGAL NOTICE 374 of 2007, as amended by Legal Notice 46 of 2010.

(1) The title of this Order is the Extradition (Republic of

Tunisia) Order.

(2) This Order shall enter into force on such day as the Minister

shall order in the Gazette after the Treaty enters into force in

accordance with the terms of the said Treaty.

In this Order, unless the context otherwise requires -

"the Minister" means the Minister responsible for justice;

"the relevant Act" means the Extradition Act;

"the relevant date" shall mean the date the Order enters into

force;

"the requested country" means the country receiving the request

for extradition;

"the requesting country" means the country making the request

for extradition;

"the Treaty" means the Treaty between between the Government

of Malta and the Government of the Republic of Tunisia signed on

the 14th December 2006, in Malta, the terms of which are set out in

the relative Treaty published in the Government Gazette dated the

13th November 2007.

For purposes of article 6 of the Extradition Act, the

Minister has designated the Republic of Tunisia.

The provisions of the relevant Act, save where otherwise

expressly indicated, shall apply to requests received or made by

Malta on or after the relevant date for the return of a fugitive

criminal to or from the Republic of Tunisia in pursuance of a

request made under this Order, and the provisions of the relevant

Act shall have effect in relation to the return under this Order of

persons to, or in relation to persons returned under this Order from,

the Republic of Tunisia subject to such conditions, exceptions,

adaptations or modifications as are specified in this Order.

For the purposes of this Order, article 8(1)(a) of the

relevant Act shall apply as if for the words "under that law" therein

there were substituted the words "under Maltese law and under that

law".

*Not yet in force.

If the request for extradition concerns several distinct

offences, each offence being punishable by the requesting and the

requested countries' laws by imprisonment, in the case that some

offences do not meet the condition relative to the sentence's

duration laid down in article 8(1)(a) of the relevant Act, extradition

may also be granted for the latter offences.

For purposes of this Order, article 10 of the relevant Act

shall be amended as follows

(a) subarticle (1) of article 10 shall be substituted by the

following

"(1) A person shall not be returned under this Act to

any country, or committed to or kept in custody

for the purposes of such return, if it appears to

the Minister or to the court of committal -

(a) that the offence of which that person is

accused or was convicted is an offence of a

political character or an act related to such

an offence; or

(b) that the request for his return (though

purporting to be made on account of an

extraditable offence) is in fact made for

the purpose of prosecuting or punishing

him on account of his race, place of origin,

nationality, political opinions, colour,

religion or creed; or

(c) that he might, if returned, be prejudiced at

his trial or punished, detained or restricted

in his personal liberty by reason of his

race, place of origin, nationality, political

opinions, colour, religion or creed; or

(d) when there are serious reasons to believe

that if returned, he might not enjoy the

guarantees inherent in a fair trial; or

(e) that the offence of which that person is

accused or was convicted was committed

on Maltese territory";

(b) immediately after sub-article (3) of the relevant Act

there shall be added the following

(3A) When the description of the offence charged is

altered in the course of proceedings, a person

shall not be returned under this Act to any

country, or committed to or kept in custody for

the purpose of such return, unless provision is

made by the law of that country, or by an

arrangement made with that country, that the

extradited person will only be dealt with

insofar as the offence, under its new

description, is shown to be an extraditable

offence and is based on the same facts

contained in the extradition request.".

For purposes of this Order, subarticle (2) of article 11 of

the relevant Act shall be amended as follows

(a) in paragraph (g) for the words "of Malta." there shall

be substituted the words "of Malta;" and

(b) immediately thereafter there shall be inserted the

following

"(h) if the person is accused of some offence within

Maltese jurisdiction based on the same facts as

that on which the request for extradition is

based.".

For the purposes of this Order, immediately after article 11

of the relevant Act there shall be added the following new article

"Further

A person returned to the Republic of

extradition.

Tu n i si a , m ay n o t b e t h e s u b j e ct o f o n wa r d

extradition or surrender for any offence

committed prior to extradition unless the

Minister consents.".

9. For the purposes of this Order, immediately after article 12

of the relevant Act there shall be added the following new article

" Temporary

(1) If the court commits the person to

surrender.

custody to await his return and the person is still

being prosecuted for some offence committed

within Maltese jurisdiction or is undergoing

sentence in Malta, the court may temporarily

surrender the person requested to the Republic of

Tunisia for the purpose of prosecution

(2) The temporary surrender shall take place

in accordance with the conditions agreed in

writing with the authority making the request for

extradition.".

10. For purposes of this Order, immediately after subarticle (4)

of article 15 of the relevant Act there shall be added the following

new sub-article

"(4A) If the court finds the information communicated by the

requesting country to be insufficient to allow it to

decide on committal, it shall request the necessary

supplementary information subject to any time limit

which it may lay down for the purpose.".

11. (Deleted by Legal Notice 46 of 2010).

12. For purposes of this Order, for subarticle (2) of article 22

of the relevant Act there shall be substituted the following

"(2) A document shall be deemed to be duly authenticated

for the purpose of this article if it is certified by a

competent authority of the Republic of Tunisia as

being the original document or an authentic copy of

the original, and bears the seal of the Ministry of

Justice and/or the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the

Republic of Tunisia.".

For purposes of this Order, in subarticle (2) of article 23 of

the relevant Act for the words "death or escape" there shall be

substituted the words "death, disappearance or escape".

For article 14 of the principal Order there shall be

substituted the following

"14. For the purposes of this Order, immediately after sub-

article (3) of article 25 of the relevant Act there shall

be added the following

"(3A) (a) When the description of the offence

charged has been altered in the course of

extradition proceedings, a person returned

to Malta shall only be dealt with insofar as

the offence, under its new description, is

shown to be an extraditable offence and is

based on the same facts contained in the

extradition request.

(b) A person returned to Malta may not be

extradited to a third State for any offense

committed prior to extradition to Malta

unless the requested country consents.

(c) The foregoing provisions of this sub-

article shall not prevent the further

extradition of a person to a third State or

international tribunal, if

(i) that person leaves the territory of

Malta after extradition and

voluntarily returns to it; or

(ii) that person does not leave the

territory of Malta within forty-

five days of the day on which that

person is in a position to leave.".".

(1) The Commissioner of Police may authorize transit

through Malta of a person who is being surrendered to the Republic

of Tunisia to a third State or by the Republic of Tunisia to a third

State: provided that the following information is furnished

(a) a description of the person being surrendered;

(b) a brief statement of the facts of the case

Provided that transit shall be refused if the person being

surrendered is a national or permanent resident of Malta.

(2) The information in subarticle (1) may be transmitted to the

Commissioner of Police by any means capable of producing a

written record.

(3) When the transport of the surrendered person is to take

place by air, it will only be necessary to provide the Commissioner

of Police with the information required in subarticle (1) in the event

that an unscheduled landing occurs.

(4) A person being conveyed through Malta in the course of his

extradition or removal as a convicted prisoner from one country to

another shall be kept in custody during the period of transit.

Where the Minister has given an undertaking in connection

to the temporary surrender of a person to Malta, and the

undertaking includes terms that the person be kept in custody until

the conclusion of any proceedings against him in Malta for an

offence, a court may grant bail to the person in the proceedings

only if it considers that there are exceptional circumstances which

justify it.