Thailand USA Criminal Law Treaty: International Law for the Transfer of Prisoners
(Unofficial Translation)
U.S. Treaties on LEXIS
KINGDOM OF THAILAND
TREATY WITH THE KINGDOM OF THAILAND ON COOPERATION IN THE
EXECUTION OF PENAL SENTENCES
TREATY DOC. No. 98-8
1982 U.S.T. LEXIS 226
October 29, 1982, Date-Signed
_________
STATUS:
98th Congress
1st Session
SENATE
LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL
THE WHITE HOUSE, September 21,1983.
To the Senate of the United States:
With a view to receiving the advice and consent of the Senate to ratifIcation, I transmit herewith the Treaty Between the United States of America and the Kingdom of Thailand on Cooperation in the Execution of Penal Sentences, which was signed at Bangkok on October 29, 1982.
I transmit also, for the information of the Senate, the report of the Department of State with respect to the Treaty.
The Treaty would permit citizens of either nation who had been convicted in the courts of the other country to serve their sentences in their home country; in each case the consent of the offender as well as the approval of the authorities of the two Governments would be required.
This Treaty is signifIcant because it represents an attempt to resolve a situation which has inflicted substantial hardships on a number of citizens of each country and has caused concern to both Governments. The Treaty is similar to those currently in force with Bolivia, Canada, Mexico, Panama, Peru and Turkey. I recommend that the Senate give favorable consideration to this Treaty at an early date.
RONALD REAGAN.
LETTER OF SUBMITTAL
DEPARTMENT OF STATE,
Washington, September 15, 1983.
The PRESIDENT,
The White House.
THE PRESIDENT: I have the honor to submit a Treaty Between the United States of America and the Kingdom of Thailand on Cooperation in the Execution of Penal Sentences which was signed at Bangkok on October 29, 1982. I recommend that the Treaty be transmitted to the Senate for its advice and consent to ratification.
The Treaty is similar to those currently in force with Bolivia, Canada, Mexico, Panama, Peru and Turkey. It would permit citizens of either nation who had been convicted in the courts of the other country to serve their sentences in their home country; in each case the consent of the offender as well as the approval of the authorities of the two Govemments would be required.
The Treaty is intended to relieve the special hardships on prisoners incarcerated far from home, to improve the prospects for rehabilitation of offenders, and also to relieve the strains that can arise in diplomatic and law enforcement relations between the two countries because of the imprisonment of a number of each country’s nationals in the institutions of the other. It constitutes part of an ongoing effort to improve relations between the two countries.
The basic terms of the Treaty are as follows: The Treaty generally applies to a prisoner who has been convicted and sentenced for an offense punishable as a crime in both the sentencing country and the country to which the offender is to be transferred provided that the prisoner is a national of the latter country, the sentence is final, no appeal is pending, and the provisions of the sentence, other than the period of detention, have been complied with. However, certain categories of prisoners are excluded from transfer under the Treaty. These include offenders: (1) who have committed an offense against the internal or external security of the State; against the head of State of the Transferring State or a member of his family; or
against legislation protecting national art treasures, (2) who have less than one year of their sentence remaining to be served at the time of application for transfer, (3) who face further legal proceedings in the Transfering State, or (4) who have not served any minimum period stipulated by the law of the Transferring State.
The fourth exclusion, which appears in Article II, paragraph 6, was included at the insistence of the Thais. It particularizes the more general provision in our other treaties that transfer is contingent upon the consent of both the state which sentenced the prisoner (the Transferring State) and the state which is to receive and comme him (the Receiving State). During the negotiations, the Thai negotiators informed us that they planned to include in their implementing legislation a provision that would require a foreign prisoner incarcerated in Thailand to have served one-third of his sentence, or four years, whichever is less, prior to transfer.
When a prisoner has been transferred the following procedures govern his treatment: The original sentence carries over to his new commernent, preserving deductions for good behavior in prison and during pre-trial confinement. The Transferring State retains the power to grant pardon or anmesty. With these exceptions, the execution of the sentence is to be carried out according to the rules and practices prevailing in the state to which he is transferred (Article V). In particular, the rules ofthe Receiving State as to parole will determine the date on which the prisoner is released from confinement. Any collateral attack on the sentence must proceed through the courts of the country which imposed the sentence. (Article IV).
The Treaty may be implemented under Public Law 94-144; no new legislation will be proposed.
Respectfully submitted,
GEORGE P. SHULTZ.
TREATY ON COOPERATION IN THE EXECUTION OF PENAL SENTENCES BETWEEN THE GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AND THE GOVERNMENT OF THE KINGDOM OF THAILAND
The Government of the United States of America and the Government ofthe Kingdom of Thailand,
Taking into consideration the laws and regulations in force regarding law enforcement of the Parties and the desirability of enhancing their cooperative efforts in law enforcement and the administration of justice; and
Desiring to cooperate in the execution of penal sentences by enabling offenders to serve sentences of imprisonment, confinement or other forms of deprivation of liberty in the country of which they are nationals, thereby facilitating their successful reintegration into society; Have agreed as follows:
ARTICLE I–DEFINITIONS
For the purposes of this Treaty:
1. “Transferring State” means the Party from which the offender is to be transferred;
2. “Receiving State” means the Party to which the offender is to be transferred;
3. “Offender’ means a convicted person who, in the territory of either Party, has been convicted of a crime
and sentenced either to a term of imprisonment, confinement or other form of deprivation of liberty, or to
conditional release, probation or other form of supervision without corrfmement. The term shall include a person subject to confmement, custody or supervision under the law of the Transferring State respecting juvenile offenders.
