ISRAEL national procedures for extradition. Department of International Affairs. Tel: +972-(0) Fax: +972-(0) / +972-(0)

Transcription

1 ISRAEL national procedures for extradition Updated 20 March 2014 The Central Authority (name of the institution, address, telephone, fax and where available) responsible for extradition: Department of International Affairs Ministry of Justice 7 Mahal St., Ma'alot Dafna P.O.B Jerusalem ISRAEL Tel: +972-(0) Fax: +972-(0) / +972-(0) If different from the Central Authority the authority to which the request should be sent (name of the institution, address, telephone, fax and where available): Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the State of Israel Legal Division 9 Shderot Yitzhak Rabin P.O.B 3013 Jerusalem, ISRAEL Tel: +972-(0) Fax: +972-(0) Channels of communication for the request for extradition (directly, through diplomatic channels or other): For formal request regarding extradition proceedings, the communication shall be through diplomatic channels the Legal Division of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the State of Israel. For informal information regarding extradition proceedings, the requests shall be delivered directly to the Department of International Affairs at the Ministry of Justice by mail or telephone AviadEl@justice.gov.il Tel: +972-(0) Means of By Mail, Phone, Fax or . Encryption or electronic signature are not

2 communication (eg. by post, fax, 1 ): required Language requirements: The State of Israel requests that official documents be translated into Hebrew or English. Documentation required: Unlike most countries, the State of Israel requires that an evidentiary submission be made by the requesting state to support its request for extradition in the case of persons not yet convicted in the requesting state. This requirement is rooted in Israel's common law traditions. The particular evidentiary requirements involved are, however, a function of Israel s internal laws and regulations concerning extradition and evidence. These evidentiary requirements are also set forth in Israel's Reservation to Article 2 as well as its declaration concerning Article 22 to the European Convention on Extradition. Having said all of the above, it is nonetheless important to emphasize that Israel does not require that all the evidence at the disposal of the requesting state be submitted, so long as the evidentiary submission reflects the evidence at the disposal of the requesting state in a true and consistent manner. For further information in this matter, please see the attached "Israel s Prima Facie Evidence Requirements regarding matters of Extradition A Practical Guide". Provisional arrest: Time limit for presentation of formal extradition request if the person is under provisional arrest The time limit for presentation of formal extradition request if the person is under provisional arrest is 40 days. A person detained must be brought before a Judge of a Magistrates Court or of the District Court within 48 hours, for the purpose of obtaining a warrant of arrest. The warrant of arrest shall have effect for not more than 20 days; however, the Magistrates Court may permit and extend the detention under arrest for an additional period. Therefore, before the end of the first 20 days, Israel might require an update of the preparation of the request. 1 Please indicate if encryption or electronic signature is required.

3 Is there a need for an explicit request for extension of the provisional arrest beyond the 18 days mentioned in Article 16, paragraph 4 of the European Convention on Extradition (ETS No.24)? No. Extradition procedures: Please describe shortly the different types of procedure (e.g. normal, simplified, other) indicating the main differences: Section 3 of the Extradition Law establishes that a Request for Extradition shall be submitted to the Minister of Justice, who may direct that a petition be submitted to the Jerusalem District Court to determine whether the requested person is extraditable. According to Section 5 of the Extradition Regulations, the petition shall include all documents provided by the requesting country along with the Request for Extradition itself. Full disclosure obligations apply with regard to these documents. During the oral hearings the sides may raise their arguments for and against the declaration of the requested person as extraditable. The court's decision is given and signed before both parties. Following the submission of a petition, the requested person may announce his willingness return to the requesting country. In this case, the judicial procedure shall be suspended and the requested person shall be kept in detention until his surrender to the requested country but not more than for 15 days, or 30 days under exceptional circumstances. The rule of speciality and other clauses contained in the Extradition Law will not be applied. However, the clauses of the Extradition Law will apply when the requested person consents to the court declaring him extraditable within the framework of the petition. Section 13 of the Extradition Law establishes that an appeal will be submitted to the Supreme Court sitting as a Court of Criminal Appeals within 30 days after the declaration of the requested person as extraditable or the denial of the petition. The declaration turns final 30 days after it is given (if no appeal was filed) or following the denial of the requested person's appeal. At this stage, the Minister of Justice may order the execution of the extradition. The Minister's order may be subject to the High Court of Justice's scrutiny.

4 Detention before and after the receipt of the extradition request, (deadlines, conditional release, etc.): Section 5 of the Extradition Law establishes that where a petition has been submitted, the Court may, at any stage of the proceedings, issue a warrant for the arrest of the requested person. The warrant shall have effect until a decision is given on the petition, unless the Court revokes it earlier. The requested person might be released on bail. Section 15 of the Extradition Law establishes that the Court may issue a warrant for the arrest of a requested person who has been declared extraditable, and this warrant will have effect until the requested person is surrendered unless the declaration is annulled by the Court of Appeal or becomes void under Section 19 of the Extradition Law, which frames the time limits of the surrender. The requested person still might be released on bail. Statutes of limitation for the purpose of prosecution and for the execution of sentences (general principles): Section 9 of the Criminal Procedure Law (Consolidated version), , provides as follows with regard to the general prescription of offences: Prescription of Offense- "(a) Unless otherwise provided in another law, a person shall not be brought to trial for an offense if a period as stated hereunder has elapsed since the day of his commission: (1) in the case of a felony with life sentence twenty years; (2) in the case of a felony - ten years; (3) in the case of a misdemeanor - five years; " Section 10 of the Criminal Procedure Law (Consolidated version), , provides as follows with regard to the general prescription of penalties: Prescription of Penalties - "Where a penalty has been imposed, its implementation shall not begin, and where the implementation of a penalty has been interrupted, it shall not be continued, if a period as stated hereunder has elapsed since the date on which the judgment became final or the date of the interruption, whichever is the later: (1) in the case of a felony twenty years; (2) in the case of a misdemeanor ten years; With respect to extradition proceedings, subsections 9(c) and (d) of the Criminal Procedure Law (Consolidated version), , specifically provide as follows: "(c) If an investigation was conducted, in accordance with law or an indictment was issued or a court proceeding took place, with regard to the felony or misdemeanor, during the time set in subsection (a), the count of the statute of limitations will begin from the last day of investigation or from the day of issuance of the indictment or from the last proceeding of the court, whichever was the latest.

5 (d) The provisions of subsection (c) shall apply to an extradition offence for which a request for extradition was submitted to the State of Israel and any of the actions listed in that subsection, conducted in the requesting state will serve to prolong the prescription of limitations for that offence, pursuant to this section, as if it were conducted in Israel". Provisions concerning extradition of nationals: Israel, under its national laws, allows the extradition of its citizens. Where Israel requests extradition from States that do not extradite their nationals, it requests that the State prosecute the individual before its national courts. Israel believes that the system under its law extraditing its nationals but providing the right to the wanted person, in appropriate circumstances, to serve his imprisonment sentence in his native State, represents the proper balance between the interests of justice, including effective prosecution, and humanitarian considerations. This system is reflected in Section 1(A) of the Israeli Extradition Law, which establishes that a person who was an Israeli citizen and resident at the time of the commission of the offences for which his extradition is sought, shall not be extradited unless the requesting state has undertaken, in advance, to return the requested person to Israel for the purpose of serving his sentence in the event he was convicted and a prison sentence is imposed on him by the Requesting State. It should be noted that under certain circumstances, the State of Israel would none the less request the return of a wanted person so that he/she serve his sentence in Israel subsequent to his conviction and sentencing in the requesting state, even if that person was not an Israeli resident and citizen at the time of his/her commission of the offences. Surrender (eg. deadlines): Sections 18, 19 and 20 of the Extradition Law provide that the Minister of Justice may order the extradition of a requested person whose declaration as extraditable has become final, and the requested person may thereupon be surrendered to the requesting State. If the person is not extradited or outside the boundaries of Israel within 60 days from the day on which the declaration became final, the declaration shall expire, unless its effect is extended by the Court, under special circumstances, within the course of its validity, under Section 20 of the Law. Other particularly relevant information (such as, specific requirements concerning double criminality): The requirement of double criminality arises from conventions on extradition to which Israel is signatory including, inter alia, the European Convention on Extradition as well as from Israel's national laws. Section 2 of the European Convention on Extradition provides that extradition shall be granted with respect to offences punishable under the laws of both the requesting and requested Countries. The requirement of double criminality refers to the date of the commission of the offence. Section 2 of the Israeli Extradition Law further provides a condition of a sentence of a minimum of one year, stating that an extraditable offence is "an offense which, had it been committed in Israel, would be punishable by imprisonment for one year or by a more severe penalty". Links to national "Israel's Prima Facia Evidence Requirements a Practical Guide"

6 legislation, national guides on procedure, %20Requirements.pdf