[Senate Treaty Document 107-4]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]



107th Congress                                              Treaty Doc.
                                 SENATE                     
2d Session                                                  107-4
_______________________________________________________________________

                                     



 
                   EXTRADITION TREATY WITH LITHUANIA

                               __________

                                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 LITHUANIA, SIGNED AT 
                      VILNIUS ON OCTOBER 23, 2001




  May 7, 2002.--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, May 6, 2002.
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 Lithuania, signed at 
Vilnius on October 23, 2001.
    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 modern extradition treaties recently concluded by 
the United States and will replace the Extradition Treaty of 
April 9, 1924, between the two countries and the Supplementary 
Extradition Treaty of May 17, 1934. In conjunction with the new 
U.S.--Lithuania Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty that took effect 
in 1999, the Treaty will, upon entry into force, enhance 
cooperation between the law enforcement communities of the two 
countries. It will thereby make a significant contribution to 
international law enforcement efforts against serious offenses, 
including terrorism, organized crime, and drug-trafficking 
offenses.
    I recommend that the Senate give early and favorable 
consideration to the Treaty and give its advice and consent to 
ratification.

                                                    George W. Bush.
                          LETTER OF SUBMITTAL

                              ----------                              

                                                    April 22, 2002.
    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 Republic of Lithuania, 
signed at Vilnius on October 23, 2001. The Treaty will replace 
the Extradition Treaty of April 9, 1924, and the Supplementary 
Treaty of May 17, 1934, currently in force between the two 
countries. 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 other 
extradition treaties recently concluded by the United States. 
The Treaty represents a major step forward in U.S. efforts to 
strengthen cooperation with countries in the region in 
combating terrorism, organized crime, drug trafficking and 
other offenses. Modernization of law enforcement relations with 
the Baltic states is an important part of a concerted effort by 
the Department of State and the Department of Justice to 
improve the legal tools available for the extradition of 
serious offenders. The Treaty is designed to be self-executing, 
and will not require implementing legislation.
    Article 1 obligates each Party to extradite to the other, 
pursuant to the provisions of the Treaty, persons whom the 
authorities in the Requesting State have charged with or 
convicted of an extraditable offense.
    Article 2 concerns extraditable offenses. Article 2(1) 
defines an extraditable offense as one punishable under the 
laws in both 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, as in the 1924 U.S.--Lithuania 
Extradition Treaty and the 1934 Supplementary Treaty, obviates 
the need to renegotiate or supplement the Treaty as additional 
offenses become punishable under the laws in both States.
    Article 2(2) defines an extraditable offense further as 
including an attempt or a conspiracy to commit or participation 
in the commission of, an offense described in paragraph 1.
    Additional flexibility is provided by Article 2(3), which 
provides that an offense shall be an extraditable offense 
whether or not (a) the laws in both States place the offense 
within the same category of offenses or describe the offense by 
the same terminology; or (b) 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.
    Under Article 2(4) extradition shall be granted regardless 
of where the act or acts constituting the extraditable offense 
were committed.
    Finally, Article 2(5) provides that if extradition is 
granted for an extraditable offense, it shall also be granted 
for any other offense specified in the request even if that 
offense does not meet the minimum penalty requirement, provided 
that all other extradition requirements are met.
    Article 3 provides that extradition shall not be refused 
based on the nationality of the person sought.
    Articles 4 and 5 set forth bases for denial of extradition. 
As is customary in extradition treaties, Article 4, paragraph 1 
bars extradition if the offense for which extradition is 
requested is a political offense.
    Article 4(2) expressly excludes from the reach of the 
political offense exception six categories of offenses: (a) a 
murder or other violent crime against a Head of State of the 
Requesting or Requested State, or a member of the Head of 
State's family; (b) an offense for which both States have the 
obligation 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; (c) 
murder, manslaughter, malicious wounding, or inflicting 
grievous bodily harm; (d) an offense involving kidnapping, 
abduction, or any form of unlawful detention, including the 
taking of a hostage; (e) placing or using an explosive, 
incendiary or destructive device capable of endangering life, 
of causing substantial bodily harm, or of causing substantial 
property damage; and (f) a conspiracy or attempt to commit any 
of the foregoing offenses, or aiding or abetting a person who 
commits or attempts to commit such offenses.
    Article 4(3) requires that extradition not be granted if 
the executive authority of the Requested State determines that 
the request was politically motivated. Finally, paragraph 4 
provides that the executive authority of the Requested State 
may also refuse extradition for offenses under military law 
that are not offenses under ordinary criminal law (for example, 
desertion).
    Under Article 5, extradition shall not be granted when the 
person sought has been convicted or acquitted in the Requested 
State for the offense for which extradition is requested. 
Conviction or acquittal also means, under Lithuanian law, an 
agreed resolution approved by a court with final and binding 
effect.
    Article 5(2) provides that extradition shall not be 
precluded by the fact that the competent authorities of the 
Requested State have decided (a) not to prosecute such person 
for the same acts for which extradition is sought; (b) to 
discontinuecriminal proceedings against the person for those 
acts; or (c) to investigate the person sought for the same acts.
    Article 6 provides that the decision whether to extradite 
shall be made without regard to the law of either State 
concerning lapse of time.
    Article 7 concerns capital punishment. Under Article 7, 
when the offense for which extradition is sought is punishable 
by death under the laws in the Requesting State but not under 
the laws in the Requested State, the Requested State may grant 
extradition on the condition that the death penalty shall not 
be imposed on the person sought, or on the condition that if 
the death penalty was already imposed prior to the request, it 
shall not be carried out. If the Requesting State accepts 
extradition subject to conditions pursuant to this paragraph, 
it shall comply with the conditions. If the Requesting State 
does not accept the conditions, the request may be denied. The 
United States has agreed to similar formulations in other 
modern extradition treaties.
    Article 8 establishes the procedures and describes the 
documents that are required to support a request for 
extradition. All requests for extradition must be submitted 
through the diplomatic channel. Among other requirements, 
Article 8(3) provides that a request for the extradition of a 
person sought for prosecution must be supported by such 
information as would provide a reasonable basis to believe that 
the person sought committed the offense for which extradition 
is sought. A request for extradition of a person who has been 
convicted in absentia must be supported by the documents 
required in a request for a person who is sought for 
prosecution.
    Article 9 establishes that a request for extradition shall 
be received and admitted as evidence in extradition proceedings 
if: (a) a request from the United States is certified by the 
signature and official seal of its executive authority; (b) a 
request from the Republic of Lithuania is certified by the 
principal diplomatic or consular officer of the United States 
resident in the Republic of Lithuania, as provided by the 
extradition laws of the United States; or (c) a request is 
certified or authenticated in any other manner acceptable by 
the laws in the Requested State.
    Article 10 requires that all documents submitted by the 
Requesting State be translated into the language of the 
Requested State.
    Article 11 sets forth procedures and describes the 
documents that are required for the provisional arrest and 
detention of the person sought, in case of urgency, pending 
presentation of the request for extradition. In particular, 
Article 11(4) provides that if the Requested State's executive 
authority has not received the request for extradition and 
supporting documents required by Article 8 within sixty days 
from the date of provisional arrest, the person may be 
discharged from custody. For this purpose, receipt of the 
request for extradition by the Embassy of the Requested State 
in the Requesting State constitutes receipt by the executive 
authority of the Requested State. Article 11(5) explicitly 
provides that the discharge of a person from custody pursuant 
to Article 11(4) does not prejudice the person's subsequent 
rearrest and extradition if the extradition request and 
supporting documents are delivered at a later date.
    Article 12 specifies the procedures governing a decision on 
the extradition request and the surrender of the person sought. 
It requires the Requested State to promptly notify the 
Requesting State of its decision regarding a request. If the 
request is denied in whole or in part, the Requested State is 
required to provide an explanation of the reasons for the 
denial and, upon request, copies of pertinent decisions. If 
extradition is granted, the authorities of the Requesting and 
Requested States shall agree on the time and place for the 
surrender of the person sought. If the person sought is not 
removed from the territory of the Requested State within the 
time period prescribed by the law of that State, the person may 
be discharged from custody and the Requested State, in its 
discretion, may subsequently refuse extradition for the same 
offense.
    Article 13 addresses temporary and deferred surrender. 
Under Article 13(1) if a person whose extradition is sought is 
being proceeded against 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. 
The person so surrendered is to be kept in custody in the 
Requesting State and returned to the Requested State after the 
conclusion of the proceedings against that person, on 
conditions to be determined by mutual agreement of the two 
States. Alternatively, the Requested State may postpone the 
extradition proceedings against such a person until its 
prosecution has been concluded or the sentence has been served.
    Article 14 provides a non-exclusive list of factors to be 
considered by the executive authority of the Requested State in 
determining to which State, if any, to surrender a person whose 
extradition is sought by more than one State.
    Article 15 provides that the Requested State may, to the 
extent permitted under its law, seize and surrender to the 
Requesting State all items, including articles, documents and 
evidence connected with the offense for which extradition is 
granted. Such items may be surrendered even if the extradition 
cannot be effected due to the death, disappearance, or escape 
of the person sought. Surrender of such items may be 
conditioned on satisfactory assurances from the Requesting 
State that theproperty will be returned to the Requested State 
as soon as practicable, and may be deferred if the items are needed as 
evidence in the Requested State. Article 15(3) provides that the rights 
of third parties in such items must be duly respected in accordance 
with the laws of the Requested State.
    Article 16 sets forth the rule of speciality under 
international law. Paragraph 1 provides, subject to specific 
exceptions set forth in paragraph 3, that a person extradited 
under the Treaty may not be detained, tried or punished in the 
Requesting State except for any offense (a) for which 
extradition was granted, or a differently denominated offense 
based on the same facts as the offense for which extradition 
was granted, provided such differently denominated offense is 
extraditable, or is a lesser included offense; (b) committed 
after the extradition of the person; or (c) for which the 
executive authority of the Requested State consents to the 
person's detention, trial, or punishment.
    Article 16(2) provides that a person extradited under the 
Treaty may not be extradited to a third State or extradited or 
surrendered to an international tribunal for any offense 
committed prior to extradition unless the Requested State 
consents. The restrictions of paragraphs 1 and 2 do not apply 
if the person has left the territory of the Requesting State 
after extradition and voluntarily returns to it; or does not 
leave the territory of the Requesting State within 10 days of 
the day on which the person is free to leave.
    Article 17 permits surrender without further proceedings if 
the person sought consents in writing to be surrendered.
    Article 18 governs the transit through the territory of one 
State of a person surrendered to the other State by a third 
country.
    Article 19 contains provisions on representation and 
expenses that are similar to those found in other modern U.S. 
extradition treaties. Specifically, the Requested State is 
required to advise, assist, appear in court on behalf of, and 
represent the interests of the Requesting State in any 
proceedings arising out of a request for extradition. The 
Requested State also bears all expenses incurred in that State 
in connection with the extradition proceedings, except that the 
Requesting State pays expenses related to translation of 
extradition documents and the transportation of the person 
surrendered. Article 19(3) specifies that neither State shall 
make any pecuniary claim against the other arising out of the 
arrest, detention, examination, or surrender of persons under 
the Treaty.
    Article 20 provides that the United States Department of 
Justice and the Lithuanian Office of the Public Prosecutor and 
Ministry of Justice may consult with each other in connection 
with the processing of individual cases and in furtherance of 
efficient implementation of the Treaty.
    Article 21 makes the Treaty applicable to offenses 
committed before as well as after the date it enters into 
force.
    Article 22 contains final clauses dealing with the Treaty's 
entry into force and termination. It provides that the Treaty 
is subject to ratification and that the treaty shall enter into 
force upon the exchange of instruments of ratification, which 
is to take place as soon as possible. Either State may 
terminate the Treaty with six months written notice to the 
other State. Article 22(3) provides that, upon entry into force 
of the Treaty, the Treaty of Extradition Between the United 
States of America and the Republic of Lithuania, signed at 
Kaunas, April 9, 1924, and the Supplementary Extradition Treaty 
signed at Washington, May 17, 1934, shall cease to have any 
effect. The same provision provides, nevertheless, that the 
prior Treaties do apply to any extradition proceedings in which 
the extradition documents have already been submitted to the 
courts of the Requested State at the time the Treaty enters 
into force, except that Article 17 of the Treaty (Consent to 
Waiver of Extradition Proceedings) shall be applicable to such 
proceedings and Article 16 of the Treaty (Rule of Speciality) 
shall apply to persons found extraditable under the prior 
Treaties.
    Article 22(4) provides that, after entry into force of the 
Treaty, with respect to any extraction proceedings in which the 
request for extradition was received by the Requested State but 
not submitted to its courts before entry into force, the 
Requesting State may amend or supplement the request as 
necessary in order for it to be submitted to the courts of the 
Requested State under the Treaty.
    A Technical Analysis explaining in detail the provisions of 
the Treaty is being prepared by the United States negotiating 
delegation, consisting of representatives from the Departments 
of Justice and State, and will be transmitted 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 the earliest 
possible date.
            Respectfully submitted,
                                                   Colin L. Powell.


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