27 September 2010

(Unofficial Translation)

Nigeria treaty

TREATY BETWEEN THE GOVERNMENT OF THE KINGDOM OF THAILAND ON THE TRANSFER OF OFFENDERS AND CO-OPERATION IN THE ENFORCEMENTOF PENAL SENTENCES.
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The Government of the Federal Republic Nigeria and the Government of the Kingdom of Thailand (hereinafter referred to as “parties”). Considering the laws and regulations of the Parties in force regarding the enforcement of penalties.

Desirous of co-operation in the enforcement of penal sentences; Realizing that this co-operation should serve the interests of the administration of justice in the two countries; Desiring to facilitate the successful reintegration of offenders back into society.

Considering that these objectives can best be fulfilled by giving foreigners who are deprived of their liberty as a result of their commission of a criminal offence the opportunity to serve their sentences within their own society; He agreed as follows:

ARTICLE 1 : DEFINITIONS

For the purpose of this Treaty:

(a)"Transferring State” means party from which the offender may be,or has been transferred;
(b)“Receiving State” means the party from which the offender may be,or has been transferred; (c)“Offender” means a person who is required to be detained in a prison, a hospital or any other institution in the transferring State by virtue of made by a competent court on account of a criminal offence.
(d) “Sentence means any punishment or measure involving deprivation of liberty ordered by a court of the transferring State for a limited or unlimited period of time on account of criminal offence.

ARTICLE 2 : GENERAL PRINCIPLES

The applications of this Treaty shall be subjected to the following conditions:
(a) The acts or omissions on account of which the sentence has been imposed constitute the essential elements of a criminal offence according to the law of the receiving State or would constitute such elements of a criminal offence if committed on it's territory;

ie: The offender is a national of the receiving State;

(c) The offender was not sentenced in respect of an offence under the laws of the transferring State; (i) Against the internal or external security of the State; (ii) Against the Monarch, his Consort or his sons or daughter in the case of Thailand; or (iii)Against legislation protecting national art treasure;

(d) The sentence imposed on the offender is one of imprisonment confinement or any other form of deprivation of liberty; (i) For life; (ii) For an indeterminate period on account of mental incapacity; or (iii) For a fixed period, of which at least one year remains to be served at the time of the request for transfer

(e) An offender may not be transferred unless he has served the transferring State any minimum period of imprisionment, confinement or deprivation of liberty, stipulated by the law of the transferring State;

(f) The judgment is final and other legal proceedings relating to the offence or any other offence are pending in the transferring State;

(g) The transferring and receiving States and the offender all agree to the transfer; provided that, where in view of his age or physical or mental condition, either Party considers it necessary, the offender’s consent maybe given by a person entitled to act on his behalf;

(h) The transfer to the offender does not prejudice either party’s sovereignty security, public order or other essential interests.

ARTICLE 3 :

ARTICLE 4 : IDENTIFICATION OF OFFENDERS

1.) Each party shall accord facilities of the other party to make possible the initiation of a procedure for transfer, including provision of documents for the identification of nationality of an offender. Such documents are as follows:

(i) Citizenship certifies which can clearly be allocated to a person;
(ii) Expired passports of any kind (national passports, collective passports or surrogate passports); (iii)Identity cards including temporary and provisional ones;
(iv) Official documents indicating the citizenship to the offender concerned.
(v) Seaman’s registration book and skippers service cards;
(vi) In the case of the Nigerian side, a certificate of state of origin or an ECOWAS travel Documents /Certificates issued by the Nigerian Authorities

Where such documents are not available, the offender shall be interviewed as soon as possible by the diplomatic and consular officers of the receiving State.

ARTICLE 5 : Retention of Jurisdiction

1. Where sentences are enforced pursuant to this Treaty, the transferring State shall retain exclusive jurisdiction regarding the judgments of it's court, the sentences imposed by them and any procedures for revision, modification or cancellation of those judgments and sentences.
2. The transferring State may, in individual case, make the offender’s transfer dependent on the condition that pardons and amnesties in the receiving State shall only be granted with the consent of the transferring State.

ARTICLE 6 : PROCEDURES FOR TRANSFER

1. Both Parties shall endeavor to inform offenders within the scope of this Treaty of the substances of the Treaty,

2. Every transfer under this Treaty, shall be commenced through diplomatic channels by written request from the receiving State to the transferring State.

3. The transferring State shall inform the receiving State of its decision through the same channels and without delay of its decision, on whether to approve or to refuse the request for transfer.

4. If the transferring State approves the request, both Parties shall take all measures necessary for affecting the offender’s transfer.

5. The transferring State shall provide the receiving State with the following information.
(a) A statement of the facts upon which the sentence was based;
(b) The termination date of the sentence, the length of time already served by the offender and any credit to which he is entitled, including on account of good behavior, pre-trial confinement or other reasons;
(c) A certified copy of all judgments and sentences concerning the offender from the date of his detention in the receiving State, and the law on which they are based;
(d) Any other additional information requested by the receiving State, so far as such information may be of significance for the offender’s transfer and for the execution of his sentence.

6. Either party shall as far as possible, provide the other, if it so request[s], with any relevant information, documents or statements, before making a request for transfer or taking a decision on whether or not [to] agree to the transfer.

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