EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
STATUTORY RULES 1987 NO. 3
EXTRADITION (FOREIGN STATES) ACT 1966. EXTRADITION (REPUBLIC OF AUSTRIA) REGULATIONS (AMENDMENT)
Issued by authority of the Attorney-General.
Section 31 of the Extradition (Foreign States) Act 1966 provides for the Governor-General to make regulations, not inconsistent with the Act, prescribing all matters required or permitted by this Act to be prescribed, or necessary or convenient to be prescribed for carrying out or giving effect to the Act. Sub-section 10(1) provides that where, after the commencement of the Act, an extradition treaty (including an extradition treaty that affects or amends an earlier extradition treaty) comes into force between Australia and a foreign State, regulations may provide, if this Act applies in relation to the foreign State at the time of coming into force of that treaty, that the Act applies in relation to that State after that time subject to such limitations, conditions, exceptions or qualifications as are necessary or desirable to give effect to that treaty and are specified in the regulations.
Australia entered into an extradition treaty with Austria in 1973.
A protocol to this treaty was signed on 30 August 1985. This protocol, in line with current Australian treaty negotiation practice -
(a) describes an extradition offence as an offence which is punishable under the laws of both parties to the Treaty by imprisonment or other deprivation of liberty for a period of more than one year or by a more severe penalty; and
(b) replaces the ‘sufficient evidence’ requirement with a statement of acts or omissions alleged against the fugitive.
Details of the amending regulations are as follows:-
Regulation 1 - relates these amendments to the principal regulations.
Regulation 2 - provides for the amending regulations to come into operation on 1 February 1987.
Regulation 3 -
(a) takes into account the fact that the amending regulations will add a second schedule to the principal regulations; and
(b) amends the citation of the principal regulations to take account of the protocol to the 1973 treaty.
Regulation 4 - removes the reference to ‘the Schedule’ and re-numbers it as ‘Schedule 1’ (see regulation 3(a) above); and
Regulations 5 - incorporates ‘Schedule 2’, which is the text of the protocol done at Vienna on 13 August 1985.
Article 6 of the protocol provides for it to enter into force on the first day of the third month following the month in which Australia and Austria have notified each other that their respective requirements for entry into force have been complied with. These notifications were exchanged on 18 November 1986 and thus the amended treaty came into force on 1 February 1987.