EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
Statutory Rules 1990 No 117
Subject - Extradition Act 1988
Extradition (Hostages) Regulations
Section 55 of the Act provides for the Governor-General to make regulations, not inconsistent with the Act, prescribing all matters required or permitted by the Act to be prescribed, or necessary or convenient to be prescribed for carrying out or giving effect to the Act. Subparagraph 11(1)(b) provides that the Regulations may make provision to the effect that the Act applies in relation to a specified extradition country subject to other limitations, conditions, exceptions or qualifications.
The purpose of the proposed Regulations is to ensure that Australia can fulfill the obligations assumed upon becoming a party to the International Convention Against the Taking of Hostages (the Convention) which includes obligations to, in certain circumstances, extradite persons accused of offences listed in the Convention.
The Regulations contain a Schedule listing the States which are parties to the Convention being those countries to which the Act will apply so as to permit extradition for Convention offences. The Schedule does not, however, list every State party to the Convention. Rather it lists those countries with whom Australia has no general extradition relationship and to whom Australia will only extradite for the Convention offences.
Where Australia has a general extradition relationship with a country it is already possible to extradite for the Convention offences. There are four categories of country with whom Australia has such general extradition relationships;
1) Where Australia’s extradition relations with a country are based on a treaty “inherited” from the United Kingdom of Great Britain, a multilateral treaty, such as the Convention, operates as a protocol having the effect of including the Convention offences in the list of offences in the inherited treaty for which extradition can be granted.
2) Where Australia’s extradition relationship is governed by a treaty negotiated since 1970 that treaty will already permit extradition for the Convention offences.
3) Where the relationship is based on reciprocity pursuant to the Commonwealth Scheme for the Rendition of Fugitive Offenders Australia can grant extradition for any offence defined as extraditable under our law. All the Convention offences fit within this category.
4) Where the relationship is based on reciprocity pursuant to an individually agreed relationship Australia can grant extradition for any offence defined as extraditable under our law. All the Convention offences fit within this category.
Details of the proposed Regulations are as follows:
Regulations 1 is a citation provision.
Regulation 2 provides for the Regulations to commence on the date on which the Crimes (Hostages) Act 1989 will be proclaimed to commence on. This Act gives effect to the Convention in Australia and it will commence on the same date on which the Convention enters into force in Australia pursuant to Article 18 of the Convention.
Regulation 3 is an interpretation provision.
Regulation 4 will declare each of the countries listed in the Schedule to the proposed Regulations to be an extradition country.
Regulation 4 will apply the Act to the countries listed in the Schedule to the proposed Regulations subject to the Convention.