[Senate Treaty Document 105-7]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]



105th Congress                                              Treaty Doc.

                                  SENATE
 1st Session                                                      105-7
_______________________________________________________________________


 
     AGREEMENT WITH HONG KONG ON THE TRANSFER OF SENTENCED PERSONS

                               __________

                                MESSAGE

                                  from

                   THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES

                              transmitting

 THE AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 
AND THE GOVERNMENT OF HONG KONG FOR THE TRANSFER OF SENTENCED PERSONS, 
                 SIGNED AT HONG KONG ON APRIL 15, 1997




May 6, 1997.--Agreement 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, May 5, 1997.
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 Agreement 
Between the Government of the United States and the Government 
of Hong Kong for the Transfer of Sentenced Persons signed at 
Hong Kong on April 15, 1997. I transmit also, for the 
information of the Senate, the report of the Department of 
State with respect to this Agreement.
    At present, transfers of sentenced persons between the 
United States and Hong Kong (in either direction) are conducted 
pursuant to the 1983 multilateral Council of Europe Convention 
on the Transfer of Sentenced Persons, which is in force for 
both the United States and the United Kingdom, and which the 
latter has extended to Hong Kong. Effective July 1, 1997, 
however, when Hong Kong reverts to the sovereignty of the 
People's Republic of China, the Council of Europe Convention 
will no longer provide a basis for such transfers.
    The agreement signed on April 15, 1997, will provide a 
basis for such transfers to continue after Hong Kong's 
reversion. The agreement is modeled after both the Council of 
Europe Convention and other bilateral prisoner transfer 
treaties to which the United States is a party. It would 
establish essentially the same procedures as are now followed 
with respect to transfers of prisoners between the United 
States and Hong Kong, and would continue the requirement that 
all transfers be consented to by the sentencing state, the 
sentenced person, and the receiving state. When the sentenced 
person has been sentenced under the laws of a State of the 
United States, the consent of the authorities of that State 
will also be required.
    I recommend that the Senate of the Untied States promptly 
give its advice and consent to the ratification of this 
Agreement.

                                                William J. Clinton.


                          LETTER OF SUBMITTAL

                              ----------                              

                                       Department of State,
                                        Washington, April 21, 1997.
The President,
The White House.
    The President: I have the honor to submit to you the 
Agreement between the Government of the United States of 
America and the Government of Hong Kong for the Transfer of 
Sentenced Persons (``the Agreement''), which was signed at Hong 
Kong on April 15, 1997. I recommend that the Agreement be 
transmitted to the Senate for its advice and consent to 
ratification.
    The purpose of the Agreement is to facilitate, after Hong 
Kong reverts to the sovereignty of the People's Republic of 
China on July 1, 1997, the transfer of persons sentenced in the 
United States and in Hong Kong to their home territory to serve 
their sentences. The Agreement achieves this purpose by 
establishing procedures that can be initiated by sentenced 
persons who prefer to serve their sentences in their home 
territory. The means employed to achieve this purpose are 
similar in all important respects to those embodied in existing 
bilateral prisoner transfer treaties in force between the 
United States and eight other countries, and in the 
multilateral Council of Europe Convention on the Transfer of 
Sentenced Persons.
    The United States and Hong Kong have been exchanging 
prisoners under the terms of the Council of Europe Convention, 
to which the United States and the United Kingdom are parties 
and which has been extended by the latter to Hong Kong and 
other specific territories under U.K. sovereignty. The People's 
Republic of China is not a party to the Council of Europe 
Convention and has not agreed that the Convention should 
continue to apply to Hong Kong after reversion to Chinese 
sovereignty on July 1, 1997. Nonetheless, the Chinese 
government, acting through the Sino-U.K. Joint Liaison Group, 
authorized the Hong Kong government to negotiate a bilateral 
agreement on transfer of sentenced persons with the United 
States to apply after reversion. The attached agreement 
represents the results of these authorized negotiations.
    Article 1 contains definitions of the terms used in the 
Agreement.
    The general principles of the Agreement are stated in 
Article 2, in which the parties undertake to apply the 
Agreement in their respective territories and to transfer 
sentenced persons to the other party to serve the sentence 
imposed by the transferring party. For these purposes, Hong 
Kong constitutes Hong Kong Island, Kowloon, and the New 
Territories.
    Article 3 provides that each party designate a ``central 
authority'' to implement the Agreement; both parties designate 
their respective Attorneys General.
    Article 4 sets out the conditions for transfer, which are: 
that the act or omission for which the sentence has been 
imposed constitutes a crime under the laws of the receiving 
Party; that the sentenced person is a permanent resident of 
Hong Kong (where Hong Kong is the receiving Party); that the 
sentenced person is a citizen or national of the United States 
(where the United States is the receiving party); that at least 
one year of the sentence remains to be served at the time the 
request for transfer is received (in exceptional cases, the 
parties may agree to a transfer even if less time has been 
served); that the judgment is final and no further proceedings 
relating to the offenses are pending within the jurisdiction of 
the transferring party; and that both Parties and the person to 
be transferred agree to the transfer. When the United States is 
the transferring party, and the sentenced person has been 
sentenced by a state court of the United States, the consent of 
state authorities is also required in addition to the consent 
of federal authorities.
    Article 5 requires that the person to be transferred has 
consented voluntarily and with knowledge of the consequences 
thereof, and that an official designated by the receiving party 
has verified that the consent was voluntary.
    Article 6 provides that enforcement of the sentence by the 
transferring Party will be suspended once the sentenced person 
is taken charge of by the receiving Party and that the sentence 
shall not be enforced if the receiving Party considers 
enforcement of the sentence to have been completed.
    Article 7 obliges a Party to inform any sentenced person to 
whom the Agreement may apply of the substance of the Agreement. 
Provision is also made for keeping the sentenced person 
informed of the processing of a transfer request.
    Article 7 also provides modalities for processing requests 
and replies and specifies supporting documents that may be 
required in connection with transfer requests. It permits a 
request for transfer of a sentenced person from one Party to 
the other to be made by the transferring (sentencing) Party, 
the receiving Party, or the sentenced person.
    Article 8 addresses the continued enforcement of the 
sentence after transfer, providing that such enforcement shall 
be governed by the laws of the receiving Party and may be 
adapted in certain circumstances.
    Article 9 provides, however, that the transferring Party 
shall retain exclusive jurisdiction for purposes of reviewing 
the conviction.
    Article 10 requires either Party to cooperate in 
facilitating the transit of a sentenced person being 
transferred to another Party from a third jurisdiction.
    Article 11 addresses the language to be used in making 
requests and the allocation of expenses. Written communications 
between the Parties must be in an official language of the 
Party to which they are addressed. It is understood that, for 
these purposes, English will be considered the official 
language of the United States.
    Article 12 provides for the settlement of disputes through 
diplomatic channels if the Central Authorities are unable to 
reach agreement.
    Article 13 permits application of the Agreement to persons 
sentenced before or after the Agreement's entry into force.
    Article 14 provides that the agreement will enter into 
force thirty days after the Parties have notified each other in 
writing that their respective requirements for entry into force 
of the Agreement have been completed. Either party may 
terminate the Agreement upon three months written notice to the 
other Party.
    It is my belief that this Agreement affords substantial 
benefits to the United States. The Agreement is fully 
consistent with the provisions of Public Law 95-144, 18 U.S.C. 
Sec. Sec. 4110-4115, enacted by the Congress to implement 
treaties relating to the transfer of offenders to or from 
foreign countries. Consistent with the Hong Kong Policy Act of 
1992, we would consider Hong Kong to be a country for purposes 
of Public Law 95-144. Thus no new legislation will be required.
    The Department of Justice joins in recommending that this 
Agreement be transmitted to the Senate at the earliest possible 
opportunity for its advice and consent to ratification, subject 
to the understanding previously described.
            Respectfully submitted,
                                                Madeleine Albright.




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