[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.