[Senate Treaty Document 105-33]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
105th Congress Treaty Doc.
2d Session SENATE 105-33
_______________________________________________________________________
EXTRADITION TREATY WITH ZIMBABWE
__________
MESSAGE
from
THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES
transmitting
EXTRADITION TREATY BETWEEN THE GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF
AMERICA AND THE GOVERNMENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF ZIMBABWE, SIGNED AT
HARARE ON JULY 25, 1997
January 28, 1998.--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, January 28, 1998.
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 Republic of Zimbabwe, signed at
Harare on July 25, 1997.
In addition, I transmit, for the information of the Senate,
the report of the Department of State with respect to the
Treaty. As the report explains, the Treaty will not require
implementing legislation.
The provisions in this Treaty follow generally the form and
content of extradition treaties recently concluded by the
United States.
This Treaty will, upon entry into force, enhance
cooperation between the law enforcement communities of both
countries, and thereby make a significant contribution to
international law enforcement efforts. It is the first
extradition treaty between the two countries.
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, October 25, 1997.
The President,
The White House.
The President: I have the honor to submit to you the
Extradition Treaty between the Government of the Republic of
Zimbabwe (the ``Treaty''), signed at Harare on July 25, 1997. I
recommend that the Treaty be transmitted to the Senate for its
advice and consent to ratification.
The Treaty follows closely the form and content of
extradition treaties recently concluded by the United States.
The Treaty represents part of a concerted effort by the
Department of State and the Department of Justice to develop
modern extradition relationships to enhance the ability of the
United States to prosecute serious offenders including,
especially, narcotics traffickers and terrorists.
The Treaty marks a significant step in bilateral
cooperation between the United States and Zimbabwe, as it is
the first extradition treaty between the two countries. The
Treaty can be implemented without new legislation.
Article 1 obligates the Contracting States to extradite to
the other, pursuant to the provisions of the Treaty, any person
charged with or convicted of an extraditable offense in the
Requesting State.
Article 2(1) defines an extraditable offense as one
punishable under the laws of both Contracting States by
deprivation of liberty for a period of more than one year or by
a more severe penalty. Use of such a ``dual criminality''
clause rather than a list of offenses covered by the Treaty
obviates the need to renegotiate or supplement the Treaty as
additional offenses become punishable under the laws of both
Contracting States.
Article 2(2) states that an offense consisting of an
attempt or a conspiracy to commit, aiding or abetting,
counselling, causing or procuring the commission of or being an
accessory before or after the fact to, an extraditable offense
as described in Article 2(1) will also be an extraditable
offense.
Additional flexibility is provided by Article 2(3), which
provides that an offense shall be considered an extraditable
offense: (1) whether or not the laws in the Contracting States
place the offense within the same category of offenses or
describe the offense by the same terminology; (2) whether or
not the offense is one for which United States federal law
requires the showing of such matters as interstate
transportation or use of the mails or of other facilities
affecting interstate or foreign commerce, such matters being
merely for the purpose of establishing jurisdiction in a United
States federal court; or (3) if it relates to taxes, customs
duties, currency control, and import and export of commodities,
whether or not the laws of the Contracting States provide for
the same kinds of taxes, or customs duties, or the same kinds
of controls on currency or on the import or export of the same
kinds of commodities.
With regard to offenses committed outside the territory of
the Requesting State, Article 2(4) provides the States with
discretion to grant or deny extradition if the offense for
which extradition is sought would not be punishable under the
laws of the Requested State in similar circumstances.
Article 3 provides that extradition shall not be refused on
the ground that the person sought is a national of the
Requested State. Neither Party, in other words, may invoke
nationality as a basis for denying an extradition.
As is customary in extradition treaties, Article 4
incorporates a political offense exceptionto the obligation to
extradite. Article 4(1) states generally that extradition shall not be
granted if the offense for which extradition is requested is a
political offense. Article 4(2) specifies three categories of offenses
that shall not be considered to be political offenses.
(a) a murder or other willful 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;
(b) an offense for which both Contracting States are
obligated pursuant to a multilateral international
agreement to extradite the person sought or to submit
the case to their competent authorities for decision as
to prosecution; and
(c) a conspiracy or attempt to commit any of the
offenses described above, or aiding and abetting a
person who commits or attempts to commit such offenses.
The Treaty's political offense exception is substantially
identical to that contained in several other modern extradition
treaties, including the treaty with Jordan, which recently
received Senate advice and consent. Offenses covered by Article
4(2)(b) include:
--aircraft hijacking covered by 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 No. 7192);
and,
--aircraft sabotage covered by 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).
Article 4(3) provides that, notwithstanding Article 4,
paragraph 2(b) and Article 4, paragraph 2(c) as it relates to
paragraph 2(b), extradition shall not be granted if the
executive authority of the Requested State determines that the
request was politically motivated.
Article 4(4) permits the Requested State to deny
extradition for military offenses that are not offenses under
ordinary criminal law (for example, desertion).
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 against the
person sought.
Article 6 establishes the procedures and describes the
documents that are required to support an extradition request.
The Article requires that all requests be submitted through the
diplomatic channel. Article 6(3)(c) provides that a request for
the extradition of a person sought for prosecution be supported
by evidence justifying the committal for trial of the person if
the offense had been committed in the Requested State or such
information as would justify the committal for extradition of
the person in accordance with the laws of the Requested State.
Article 7 establishes the procedures under which documents
submitted pursuant to the provisions of this Treaty shall be
received and admitted into evidence.
Article 8 provides that all documents submitted by the
Requesting State shall be in English.
Article 9 sets forth procedures for the provisional arrest
and detention of a person sought pending presentation of the
formal request for extradition. Article 9(4) provides that if
the Requested State's executive authority has not received the
request for extradition and supporting documentation required
in Article 6 within sixty (60) days after the provisional
arrest, the person may bedischarged from custody. Article 9(5)
provides explicitly that discharge from custody pursuant to Article
9(4) does not prejudice subsequent rearrest and extradition upon later
delivery of the extradition request and supporting documents.
Article 10 specifies the procedures governing surrender and
return of persons sought. It requires the Requested State to
provide prompt notice to the Requesting State through the
diplomatic channel regarding its extradition decision. If the
request is denied in whole or in part, Article 10(2) requires
the Requested State to provide information regarding the
reasons therefor. If extradition is granted, the authorities of
the Contracting States shall agree on time and place of
surrender of the person sought.
Article 11 concerns temporary and deferred surrender. If a
person whose extradition is sought is being prosecuted or is
serving a sentence in the Requested State, that State may
temporarily surrender the person to the Requesting State for
the purpose of prosecution. Alternatively, the Requested State
may postpone the extradition proceedings until its prosecution
has been concluded or the sentence imposed has been served.
Article 12 sets forth a non-exclusive 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 13 provides for the seizure and surrender to the
Requesting State of all articles, documents, and evidence
connected with the offense for which extradition is granted, to
the extent permitted under the law of the Requested State. Such
property may be surrendered even when extradition cannot be
effected due to the death, disappearance, or escape of the
person sought. Surrender of property may be deferred if it is
needed as evidence in the Requested State and may be
conditioned upon satisfactory assurances that it will be
returned. Article 13(3) imposes an obligation to respect the
rights of third parties in affected property.
Article 14 sets forth the rule of speciality. It provides,
subject to specific exemptions, that a person extradited under
the Treaty may not be detained, tried, or punished in the
Requesting State for an offense other than that for which
extradition has been granted, unless a waiver of the rule is
granted by the executive authority of the Requested State.
Similarly, the Requesting State may not extradite such person
to a third State for an offense committed prior to the original
surrender unless the Requested State consents. These
restrictions shall not prevent the detention,trial or
punishment of an extradited person, or that person's extradition to a
third State if the extradited person leaves the Requesting State after
extradition and voluntarily returns to it or fails to leave the
Requesting State within fifteen days of being free to do so.
Article 15 permits surrender to the Requesting State
without further proceedings if the person sought consents to
surrender.
Article 16 governs the transit through the territory of one
Contracting State of a person being surrendered to the other
State by a third State.
Article 17 contains provisions on representation and
expenses that are similar to those found in other modern
extradition treaties. Specifically, the Requested State is
required to represent the interests of the Requesting State in
any proceedings arising out of a request for extradition. The
Requesting State is required to bear the expenses related to
the translation of documents and the transportation of the
person surrendered. Article 17(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 18 states that the United States Department of
Justice and the Ministry of Home Affairs of the Republic of
Zimbabwe may consult with each other directly or through the
facilities of Interpol in connection with the processing of
individual cases and in furtherance of maintaining and
improving Treaty implementation procedures.
Article 19, like the parallel provision in almost all
recent United States extradition treaties, states that the
Treaty shall apply to offenses committed before as well as
after the date the Treaty enters into force.
Ratification and entry into force are addressed in Article
20. That Article provides that the States shall exchange
instruments of ratification to bring the treaty into force.
Under Article 21, either Contracting State may terminate
the Treaty at any time upon written notice to the other
Contracting State, with termination to become effective six
months after the date 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.
Madeleine Albright.