EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
Statutory Rules 1990 No 269
Subject - Extradition Act 1988
Extradition (Torture) Regulations
Section 55 of the Extradition Act 1988 (the Act) provides for the Governor-General to make regulations for the purposes of the Act. Paragraph 11(1)(b) provides that the regulations may make provision to the effect that the Act applies partially or conditionally in relation to a specified extradition country.
The purpose of the Extradition (Torture) Regulations (the proposed Regulations) is to ensure that Australia can fulfill the obligations assumed upon becoming a party to the International Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (the Convention) which includes obligations, in certain circumstances, to extradite persons accused of offences listed in the Convention.
The proposed Regulations contain a Schedule listing countries 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 country party to the Convention. Rather it lists those countries with which Australia has no general extradition relationship and to which Australia will extradite only 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.
The proposed Regulations will commence upon gazettal.
Details of the proposed Regulations are as follows:
Regulations 1 is a citation provision.
Regulation 2 is an interpretation provision.
Regulation 3 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.