[Senate Treaty Document 104-3]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]



   104th Congress 1st            SENATE              Treaty Doc.
         Session
                                                        104-3
_______________________________________________________________________



                                     



 
                     EXTRADITION TREATY WITH JORDAN

                               __________

                                MESSAGE

                                  from

                   THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES

                              transmitting

 THE EXTRADITION TREATY BETWEEN THE GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF 
 AMERICA AND THE GOVERNMENT OF THE HASHEMITE KINGDOM OF JORDAN, SIGNED 
                    AT WASHINGTON ON MARCH 28, 1995




April 24, 1995.--Treaty was read the first time and, together with the 
accompanying papers, referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations and 
            ordered to be printed for the use of the Senate
  
                         LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL

                              ----------                              

                                   The White House, April 24, 1995.
To the Senate of the United States:
    With a view to receiving the advice and consent of the 
Senate to ratification, I transmit herewith the Extradition 
Treaty between the Government of the United States of America 
and the Government of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, signed 
at Washington on March 28, 1995. Also transmitted for the 
information of the Senate is the report of the Department of 
State with respect to this Treaty.
    The Treaty establishes the conditions and procedures for 
extradition between the United States and Jordan. It also 
provides a legal basis for temporarily surrendering prisoners 
to stand trial for crimes against the laws of the Requesting 
State.
    The Treaty further represents an important step in 
combatting terrorism by excluding from the scope of the 
political offense exception serious offenses typically 
committed by terrorists, e.g., crimes against a Head of State 
or first family member of either Party, aircraft hijacking, 
aircraft sabotage, crimes against internationally protected 
persons, including diplomats, hostage-taking, narcotics 
trafficking, and other offenses for which the United States and 
Jordan have an obligation to extradite or submit to prosecution 
by reason of a multilateral international agreement or treaty.
    The provisions in this Treaty follow generally the form and 
content of extradition treaties recently concluded by the 
United States.
    This Treaty will make a significant contribution to 
international cooperation in law enforcement. I recommend that 
the Senate give early and favorable consideration to the Treaty 
and give its advice and consent to ratification.

                                                William J. Clinton.
  
                          LETTER OF SUBMITTAL

                              ----------                              

                                       Department of State,
                                        Washington, March 31, 1995.
The President,
The White House.
    The President: I have the honor to submit to you the 
Extradition Treaty between the Government of the United States 
of America and the Government of the Hashemite Kingdom of 
Jordan (the ``Treaty''), signed at Washington on March 28, 
1995. I recommend that the Treaty be transmitted to the Senate 
for its advice and consent to ratification.
    The Treaty follows generally the form and content of 
extradition treaties recently concluded by the United States. 
It represents a concerted effort by the Department of State and 
the Department of Justice to modernize the legal tools 
available for the extradition of serious offenders such as 
narcotics traffickers and terrorists. This will be the first 
extradition treaty between the United States and Jordan.
    Article 1 obligates each Party to extradite to the other, 
pursuant to the provisions of the Treaty, any person charged 
with or found guilty of an offense described in Article 2.
    In Article 2, the Parties agree that an offense punishable 
by both parties by deprivation of liberty or other form of 
detention for more than one year, or by a more severe penalty 
shall be extraditable. The Article also provides that attempts 
and conspiracies to commit these offenses, and participation in 
the commission of the offenses, are extraditable. Inclusion of 
a dual criminality clause without a list of offenses covered by 
the Treaty obviates the need to renegotiate or supplement the 
Treaty as offenses become punishable under the laws of both 
parties. Among other things, the Article further provides that 
in determining whether an offense is covered under the Treaty, 
the offense shall be considered an extraditable offense whether 
or not the laws in the Contracting Parties place the offenses 
within the same category of offenses or describe the offense by 
the same terminology. With regard to offenses committed outside 
the territory of the Requesting State, an offense described in 
this Article shall be an extraditable offense regardless of 
where the act or acts constituting the offense were committed.
    Article 3 provides that extradition shall not be refused 
based on the nationality of the person sought.
    Article 4 incorporates a political offense exception to the 
obligation to extradite. Article 4(1) states generally that 
extradition shall not be granted for political offenses. 
Article 4(2) expressly excludes from the reach of the political 
offense exception several categories of offenses:
          (i) a murder or other violent crime against the 
        person of a Head of State of one of the Contracting 
        States, or of a member of the Head of State's family;
          (ii) an offense for which both Parties are obliged 
        pursuant to a multilateral international agreement to 
        extradite the person sought or submit the case for 
        prosecution (e.g., aircraft hijacking pursuant to The 
        Hague Convention for the Suppression of Unlawful 
        Seizure of Aircraft, done at The Hague December 16, 
        1970, and entered into force October 14, 1971 (22 
        U.S.T. 1641; TIAS 7192); aircraft sabotage pursuant to 
        the Montreal Convention for the Suppression of Unlawful 
        Acts Against the Safety of Civil Aviation, done at 
        Montreal September 23, 1971, and entered into force 
        January 26, 1973, (24 U.S.T. 564; TIAS No. 7570) and 
        the Protocol for the Suppression of Unlawful Acts of 
        Violence at Airports serving International Civil 
        Aviation, done at Montreal February 24, 1988; crimes 
        against internationally protected persons, including 
        diplomats, under the Convention on the Prevention and 
        Punishment of Crimes Against Internationally Protected 
        Persons, including Diplomatic Agents, done at New York 
        December 14, 1973, and entered into force February 20, 
        1977 (28 U.S.T. 1975; TIAS No. 8532); hostage taking, 
        pursuant to the International Convention against the 
        Taking of Hostages, done at New York on December 17, 
        1979, and entered into force June 3, 1983, and for the 
        United States January 6, 1985 (TIAS No. 11081); and 
        narcotics trafficking under the United Nations 
        Convention Against Illicit Traffic in Narcotics Drugs 
        and Psychotropic Substances, done at Vienna December 
        20, 1988, which entered into force November 11, 1990;
          (iii) a conspiracy or attempt to commit the offenses 
        described above, or participation in the commission of 
        those offenses.
    Article 4(3) provides that extradition shall not be granted 
if the ``competent authority'' of the Requested State (for the 
United States, the Secretary of State) determines that the 
request was politically motivated. Article 4(4) provides that 
the executive authority of the Requested State can refuse 
extradition for offenses under military law which are not 
offenses under ordinary criminal law.
    Article 5 bars extradition when the person sought has been 
convicted or acquitted in the Requested State for the same 
offense, but does not bar extradition if the competent 
authorities in the Requested State have declined to prosecute 
or have decided to discontinue criminal proceedings.
    Article 6 provides that the decision whether to grant a 
request for extradition shall be made without regard to 
provisions of the law of either Contracting State concerning 
lapse of time.
    Under Article 7, when an offense for which surrender is 
sought is punishable by death under the laws of the Requesting 
State and is not so punishable under the laws of the Requested 
State, the Requested State may refuse extradition unless the 
Requesting State provides assurances that the death penalty 
will not be imposed or, if imposed, will not be carried out.
    Article 8-10 address the procedures by which extradition is 
to be accomplished. Article 8 describes the documents that are 
required to support a request for extradition. Article 9 
establishes the procedures under which documents submitted 
pursuant to Article 8 shall be received and admitted into 
evidence in the Requested Party. Article 10 provides that all 
documents submitted by the Requesting State shall be translated 
into the language of the Requested State.
    Article 11 provides for the provisional arrest and 
detention of the person sought for no more than ninety days 
pending receipt by the competent authority of the Requested 
State of a fully documented extradition request in conformity 
with Article 8. The discharge of the person sought from custody 
pursuant to this Article explicitly does not prejudice 
subsequent rearrest and extradition upon later delivery of the 
extradition request and supporting documents.
    Article 12 specifies the procedures to govern the surrender 
and return of fugitives. The Requested State is required to 
notify promptly the Requesting State of its decision on 
extradition and, if the request is denied in whole or in part, 
to provide an explanation. If the request is granted, the 
person sought must be removed from the territory of the 
Requested State within the time prescribed by the law of the 
Requested State.
    Article 13 provides that if a person is being prosecuted or 
is serving a sentence in the Requested State for a different 
offense, that State may (a) temporarily surrender the person to 
the Requesting State solely for the purpose of prosecution, or 
(b) defer surrender until the proceedings are concluded and the 
sentence served.
    Article 14 sets forth a non-exhaustive list of factors to 
be considered by the Requested State in determining to which 
State to surrender a person sought by more than one State.
    Article 15 provides, to the extent permitted under the law 
of the Requested State, for that State to seize and surrender 
to the Requesting State property related to the offense for 
which extradition is requested. This obligation, however, is 
subject to an obligation to duly respect the rights of third 
parties.
    Article 16 sets forth the rule of speciality for this 
treaty. It provides, subject to specific exceptions, that a 
person extradited under the Treaty may not be detained, tried, 
or punished for an offense other than that for which 
extradition has been granted, unless a waiver of the rule is 
granted by the competent authority of the Requested State or 
unless the person extradited fails to leave the Requesting 
State within ten days of being free to do so or, having left 
the Requesting State, voluntarily returns to it. Similarly the 
Requesting State may not surrender or transfer such person to a 
third State for an offense committed prior to his extradition 
under this Treaty, unless the Requested State consents or 
unless the individual remains after ten days or leaves and 
voluntarily returns.
    Article 17 permits surrender without further proceedings if 
the person sought gives his consent.
    Article 18 governs the transit through the territory of one 
party of a person being surrendered to the other State by a 
third State.
    Article 19 contains provisions on representation and 
expenses that are similar to those found in other modern 
extradition treaties. Specifically, the Requested State bears 
the expenses for the legal representation of the Requesting 
State in any proceedings arising out of a request for 
extradition. The Requesting State shall bear the expenses 
related to the translation of documents and the transportation 
of the person surrendered. Article 19(3) clarifies that neither 
State shall make any pecuniary claim against the other State 
arising out of the arrest, detention, examination, or surrender 
of persons sought under the Treaty.
    Article 20 states that the U.S. Department of Justice and 
the Jordanian Ministry of Justice may consult with each other 
directly or through the facilities of the international 
Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL) in connection with the 
processing of individual cases and in furtherance of 
maintaining and improving the procedures for the implementation 
of the Treaty.
    Article 21, like the parallel provision in almost all 
recent United States extradition treaties, states that the 
Treaty is retroactive, in that it shall apply to offenses 
committed before as well as after the date the Treaty enters 
into force.
    Article 22 provides that for the United States, the term 
``competent authority,'' as used in this Treaty, means the 
appropriate authorities of its executive branch.
    Article 23 contains final clauses dealing with the Treaty's 
entry into force and termination. Paragraph 1 states that the 
Treaty shall be subject to ratification, and the instruments of 
ratification shall be exchanged as soon as possible. Paragraph 
2 states that the Treaty shall enter into force upon the 
exchange of instruments of ratification.
    Article 24 provides that either Contracting State may 
terminate this Treaty at any time by giving written notice 
through diplomatic channels to the other Contracting State, and 
the termination shall be effective six months after the date of 
the receipt of such notice.
    A Technical Analysis explaining in detail the provisions of 
the Treaty is being prepared by the United States negotiating 
delegation and will be submitted separately to the Senate 
Committee on Foreign Relations.
    The Department of Justice joins the Department of State in 
favoring approval of this Treaty by the Senate at an early 
date.
    Respectfully submitted,

                                                Warren Christopher.