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Extradition Treaty between the Republic of India and the Republic of Azerbaijan

Extradition Treaty between the Republic of India and the Republic of Azerbaijan

Published vide Notification No. G.S.R. 556(E), dated 6th June, 2017

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Ministry of External Affairs

G.S.R. 556(E). - Whereas, the Extradition Treaty between the Republic of India and the Republic of Azerbaijan was signed at New Delhi on the 13th day of April, 2013 and the Instruments of Ratification of the said Extradition Treaty were exchanged at Baku on 20th day of June, 2014;

And Whereas, the said Extradition Treaty entered into force with effect from the 20th day of June, 2014 in accordance with the provisions of paragraph (1) of Article 23 of the Treaty;

And Whereas, the said Extradition Treaty is specified in the Schedule to this Order;

Now, Therefore, in exercise of the powers conferred by sub-section (2) of section 12 of the Extradition Act, 1962 (34 of 1962), the Central Government hereby directs that the provisions of the said Act, other than the provisions of Chapter II, shall apply to Azerbaijan with effect from the date of entry into force of the said Extradition Treaty.

Schedule

"Extradition Treaty between the Republic of India and the Republic of Azerbaijan

The Republic of India and the Republic of Azerbaijan, hereinafter referred to as "the Contracting Parties";

Desiring to strengthen the relations between two countries;

Desiring to further strengthen cooperation in fighting crime more efficiently; and

Desirous to cooperate in matters related to the extradition of criminals between two countries;

Have agreed as follows:

Article 1

  1. Obligation to Extradite.
  2. Each Contracting Party undertakes to extradite to the other Contracting Party, in the circumstances and subject to the conditions specified in this Treaty, any person who, being accused or convicted of an extradition offence as described in Article 2 of this Treaty, committed within the territory of the Requesting Party, is found within the territory of the Requested Party, whether such offence was committed before or after the entry into force of this Treaty.
  3. Extradition shall also be available in respect of an extradition offence as described in Article 2 of this Treaty committed outside the territory of the Requesting Party but in respect of which it has jurisdiction, if the Requested Party could, in corresponding circumstances, have jurisdiction over such an offence.
  4. Extradition shall also be available for an extradition offence as described in Article 2 of this Treaty, if it is committed in a third state by a citizen of the Requesting Party and it bases its jurisdiction on the citizenship of the offender.
  5. If the request for extradition includes several separate offences each of which is punishable under the laws of both Parties, but some of which do not fulfil the other conditions set out in this Treaty, the Requested Party may grant extradition for the latter offences provided that the person is to be extradited for at least one extraditable offence.

Article 2

  1. Extradition Offences.
  2. An extradition offence for the purpose of this Treaty is constituted by conduct which under the laws of each Contracting Party is punishable by a term of imprisonment for a period of at least one year. For the extradition of a convict, the period remained to be served must be at least six months.
  3. An offence may be an extradition offence notwithstanding that it relates to taxation or revenue or is one of a purely fiscal character.
  4. Extradition shall be available in accordance with this Treaty for an extradition offence, notwithstanding that the conduct of the person sought occurred wholly or in part in the Requested Party, if this conduct and its effects, or its intended effects, taken as a whole, would be regarded as constituting the commission of an extradition offence under the laws of both the Contracting Parties.

Article 3

  1. Refusal of Extradition.
  2. Extradition shall not be granted:

(a) if the offence for which it is requested is an offence of a political nature;

(b) the Requested Party has substantial grounds for believing that a request for extradition has been made for the purpose of prosecuting or punishing a person on account of his race, religion, nationality or political opinion, or that persons position may be prejudiced for any of these reasons;

(c) if the offence for which extradition is requested is an offence under military law, which is not also an offence under ordinary criminal law;

(d) the person sought to be extradited has been granted asylum in the territory of the Requested Party;

(e) the person, whose extradition is requested, is a citizen of the Requested Party;

(f) the Requested Party has passed a final judgment against the person sought to be extradited in respect of the offence for which extradition is requested;

(g) the request for extradition is made by the Requesting Party pursuant to a judgment passed in absentia, unless the Requesting Party gives the guarantee to retry the person wanted on extradition;

(h) according to the law of either the Requesting Party, the person sought to be extradited has become immune from the criminal prosecution or carrying out of a sentence by reason of lapse of time or other legal ground;

(i) in the territory of the Requested Party the person sought to be extradited has been pardoned or amnestied in respect of the offence for which extradition is requested.

  1. In the application of this Treaty, the following shall not be regarded as political offences:

(a) Assault against the head of the State or head of the Government of either Party or any member of their families;

(b) Terrorist offences;

(c) Any offence specified in an international conventions to which both Contracting Parties are a Party, which obligates the parties to prosecute or extradite the fugitives of such offence;

(d) Murder;

(e) Manslaughter or culpable homicide;

(f) Assault occasioning actual bodily harm, or causing injury, maliciously wounding or inflicting grievous bodily harm whether by means of a weapon, a dangerous substance or otherwise;

(g) The casing of an explosion likely to endanger life or cause serious damage to property;

(h) The making or possession of an explosive substance by a person who intends either himself or through another person to endanger life or cause serious damage to property;

(i) The possession of a firearm or ammunition by a person who intends either himself or through another person to endanger life;

(j) The use of a firearm by a person with intent to resist or prevent the arrest or detention of himself or another person;

(k) Damaging property whether used for public utilities or otherwise with intent to endanger life or with reckless disregard as to whether the life of another would thereby be endangered;

(l) Kidnapping, abduction, false imprisonment or unlawful detention, including the taking of a hostage;

(m) Incitement to murder;

(n) any other offence related to terrorism which at the time of the requested is, under the law of the Requested Party, not to be regarded as an offence of a political character;

(q) an attempt or conspiracy to commit any of the foregoing offences or participation as an accomplice of a person who commits or attempts to commit such an offence.

Article 4

  1. Obligation to prosecute.
  2. Where the Requested Party refuses a request for extradition on the basis of jurisdiction, it shall submit the case to its competent authorities for prosecution of the fugitive for the offences sought for.
  3. If the competent authorities decide not to prosecute in such a case, the request for extradition shall be reconsidered in accordance with this Treaty.

Article 5

  1. Consequences of non-extradition of own citizens.
  2. If extradition is refused on the basis of citizenship, the Requested Party shall initiate criminal prosecution against such person for the same offence according to its laws. For this purpose, the Requesting Party shall transfer to the Requested Party the relevant documents and evidence.

Article 6

  1. Postponement of Extradition and Temporary Extradition.
  2. If the person to be extradited is being prosecuted or serving sentence for another crime in the territory of the Requested Party, the extradition may be postponed till the end of the proceedings of the case, end of sentence or release, which shall be advised to the Requesting Party.
  3. If the postponement of extradition can cause the expiration of the limitation or impede the investigation, the person can be extradited temporarily under a special request of the Requesting Party.
  4. The temporarily extradited person must be returned to the Requested Party immediately after the end of the proceedings of the case.

Article 7

  1. Extradition Procedures.
  2. The request for extradition shall be made through diplomatic channels.
  3. The request shall be accompanied by:

2.1 The name and surname (patronymic) of the person whose extradition is requested, information on his citizenship, place of residence or whereabouts and other pertaining data, as well as, if possible, the description of the person's appearance, his photographs and fingerprints.

2.2 A statement of the facts of the offence for which extradition is requested and charging document as well as accusation act;

2.3 The text, of the corresponding law;

2.3.1 Defining that offence; and

2.3.2 Prescribing the punishment for that offence.

  1. The request for extradition of an accused for trial, besides the information specified above, must be accompanied by the warrant of arrest issued by a competent court or authority of the Requesting Party.
  2. If the request relates to a person already convicted and sentenced, it shall also be accompanied by a certified copy of the judgement and a statement that the person is no longer entitled to question the conviction or sentence and showing how much of sentence has not been carried out;
  3. If the Requested Party considers that the evidence produced or information supplied for the purposes of this Treaty is not sufficient in order to enable a decision to be taken as to the request, additional evidence or information shall be submitted within a reasonable time.
  4. A request for extradition and its supporting documents shall be signed by the authorised person and officially sealed by the competent authority of the Requesting Party.

Article 8

  1. Provisional Arrest.
  2. In case of urgency, a person sought to be extradited may be provisionally arrested on the application of the competent authority of the Requesting Party before the receiving of the request for extradition together with the documents specified in Article 7 of this Treaty. Such application can be sent by fax or through the National Central Bureau of International Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL), or through other channels agreed by the competent authorities of the Parties.
  3. The said application shall contain the data specified in paragraph 2 of Article 7 of this Treaty; a statement of existence of a warrant of arrest issued by the competent authority of the Requesting Party or a sentence that has come into force, and an indication that a formal request for extradition of the person sought to be extradited shall be submitted.
  4. The Requested Party shall inform without delay the Requesting Party of the result of its handling of the request.
  5. A person provisionally arrested, shall be released if, within a period of 60 days after arrest, the competent authority of the Requested Party has not received the request for his extradition.
  6. The expiration of a time period stipulated in paragraph 4 of this Article shall not prevent the consideration of extradition of the person if the request for his extradition has been subsequently received.

Article 9

  1. Rule of Speciality.
  2. The extradited person may not without consent of the Requested Party, be prosecuted or punished in the Requesting Party for the offence other than that for which extradition has been granted and any lesser offence disclosed by the facts proved for the purposes of securing his extradition, nor may such a person, without consent of the Requesting Party, be extradited to a third State.
  3. The consent of the Requested Party is not required if:

2.1 the extradited person has not left, though had the opportunity, the territory of the Requesting Party within 30 days after termination of the criminal proceedings, serving of the sentence or release on any legal ground. Such period shall not be deemed to include the period of time during which the extradited person is unable to leave the territory of the Requesting Party for reasons beyond his control;

2.2 if the extradited person, once having left the territory of the Requesting Party, voluntarily returns there.

  1. The provisions of paragraph 1 of this Article shall not apply to offences committed after the return of person to the Requesting Party or matters arising in relation to such offences.

Article 10

  1. Recognition of documents and evidence.
  2. Documents issued or certified and statements recorded by competent Courts or other authorities in the prescribed form in the territory of one Contracting Party as per its laws shall not require any form of authentication in the territory of the other Contracting Party.
  3. Documents considered as public in the territory of one of the Contracting Parties shall have the evidential force of public documents also in the territory of the other Contracting Party.

Article 11

  1. Concurrent requests.

If more than one State make requests for extradition of the same person for the same or different offences, the Requested Party shall decide to which of those States the person is to be extradited taking into consideration all the circumstances, especially the relative gravity of the offence or offences, the place of commission of the offence, the respective dates of requests, the nationality of the person sought to be extradited and the possibility of subsequent extradition to another State.

Article 12

  1. Capital Punishment.

If under the law of the Requesting Party, the person sought is liable to the death penalty for the offence for which his extradition is requested, but the law of the Requested Party does not provide for the death penalty for the same offence, extradition may be refused, unless the Requesting Party gives such assurances as the Requested Party considers sufficient that the death penalty will not be carried out.

Article 13

  1. Surrender.
  2. The modalities of transfer of the person to be extradited shall be agreed upon by the competent authorities both the Contracting Parties as mutually convenient.
  3. The Requesting Party shall take the person sought from the territory of the Requested Party within one month the consent of Requested Party to extradite or such longer period as may be permitted under the law of the Requested Party. If the person is not removed within that period, the Requested Party may refuse to extradite him for the same offence.
  4. If circumstances beyond its control prevent a Party from surrendering or removing the person to be extradited, it shall notify the other Party. The two Parties shall mutually decide upon a new date of surrender, and the provisions of paragraph 2 of the present Article shall apply.

Article 14

  1. Transfer of articles connected with crime.
  2. The Requested Party shall, within the limits of its legislation, surrender by the request of the Requesting Party the articles used for committing crime by the person being extradited, articles bearing crime traces or crime proceeds.
  3. The above articles shall be surrendered also in cases where the extradition cannot be effected if the person died, fled or due to other reasons.
  4. The Requested Party may temporarily postpone the surrender of the articles referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article if they are required for proceedings instituted in connection with another criminal case till the end of such proceedings.
  5. The rights of third persons to the articles surrendered to the Requesting Party shall remain in force. Upon termination of the proceedings, the Requesting Party shall return these articles to their owners in its territory. If the owners are in the territory of the Requested Party, the articles are to be returned to it for the surrender to them. If the owners are in the territory of a third country, the articles shall be returned to them by the Requesting Party without charge.
  6. The transfer of the articles and of money shall be effected within the limits provided for by the legislation of the Requested Party.

Article 15

  1. Mutual Legal Assistance in Extradition.

Each Contracting Party shall, to the extent permitted by its law, afford the other the widest possible measure of mutual legal assistance in criminal matters in connection with the offence for which extradition has been requested.

Article 16

  1. Transit.
  2. When either of the Parties is to extradite a person from a third state through the territory of the other Party, the former should request the latter for the permission of such transit.
  3. The Requested Party shall, in so far as not contrary to its laws, and without prejudice to any provisions of this Treaty, approve the request for transit made by the Requesting Party.
  4. No permission is required where air transport is used and no landing is scheduled for.
  5. In the event of an unscheduled landing, the Party to be requested to permit transit may, at the request of the escorting officer, hold the person in custody for 96 hours, pending receipt of the transit request to be made in accordance with paragraphs 1 and 2 of the present article.

Article 17

  1. Expenses on Extradition.

All expenses related to the extradition shall be borne by the Contracting Party in whose territory the same occurred. The expenses caused by transit transportation of the extradited person by one of the Contracting Parties from a third State through the territory of the other Contracting Party shall be borne by the Contracting Party affecting the transit.

Article 18

  1. Languages.

While complying with the present Treaty, the Contracting Parties shall use their national language attaching the translation in the national language of the other Contracting Party or in the English language.

Article 19

  1. Central Authorities.

Central Authorities shall transmit and receive all requests and responses thereto for the purposes of this Treaty. The Central Authority for the Republic of India shall be the Ministry of External Affairs; and the Central Authority for the Republic of Azerbaijan shall be the Ministry of Justice.

Article 20

  1. International Conventions/Treaties.

The present Treaty shall not affect the rights and obligations of the Contracting Parties arising from other International Conventions/Treaties to which the Contracting Parties are a Party.

Article 21

  1. Amendment.
  2. This Treaty may be amended by mutual agreement of the Parties.
  3. The amendment shall come in force by the procedure provided for the entry into force of this Treaty.

Article 22

  1. Consultation.

Any matter arising from implementation or interpretation of this Treaty shall be settled by consultations through diplomatic channels.

Article 23

  1. Ratification and Termination.
  2. This Treaty shall be subject to ratification and it shall enter into force on the date of exchange of the instruments of ratification.
  3. Either of the Contracting Parties may terminate this Treaty at any time by giving notice to the other Contracting Party through the diplomatic channel; and if such notice is given the Treaty shall cease to have effect six months after the receipt of the notice.

In witness whereof the undersigned being duly authorised thereto by their respective Authorities, have signed this Treaty.

Done in duplicate at New Delhi on this Fourth day of April 2013 in Hindi, Azerbaijani and English languages, each version being equally authentic. In case of any interpretational difference, the English text shall prevail."

For the Republic of India For the Republic of Azerbaijan