The Convention on the Transfer of Sentenced Persons is an international

treaty A treaty is a formal, legally binding written agreement between actors in international law. It is usually made by and between sovereign states, but can include international organizations, individuals, business entities, and other legal pe ...

regulating the

extradition Extradition is an action wherein one jurisdiction delivers a person accused or convicted of committing a crime in another jurisdiction, over to the other's law enforcement. It is a cooperative law enforcement procedure between the two jurisdi ...

and social rehabilitation of imprisoned persons. The Convention was concluded in Strasbourg on 21 March 1983 and entered into force on 1 July 1985. It has been ratified by 66 countries, including every country of the Council of Europe except

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. It has also been ratified by 19 states outside the Council of Europe, including Australia,

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

, Japan,

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Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

, the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

and India. The latest accession to the Convention was India in January 2018. The Convention is intended to facilitate social rehabilitation of prisoners by providing foreigners convicted of a criminal offence the possibility of serving their sentences in their home countries. Humanitarian considerations also played a role in the drafting of the Convention, since factors such as language barriers resulting in difficulties with communication and distance from family and friends can constitute an impediment to social rehabilitation.

Terms

According to Convention, the extradition (transfer) may be requested by either the state in which the sentence was imposed (the "sentencing State") or the state of which the sentenced person is a national (the "administering State"). The transfer is subject to the consent of the two States involved, and the consent of the sentenced person. Article 1 sets out definitions for the purposes of the Convention. It defines a sentence as "any punishment or measure involving deprivation of liberty ordered by a court for a limited or unlimited period of time on account of a criminal offence". The general principles of the Convention are outlined in Article 2, which states that Parties undertake to afford each other the widest measure of cooperation in compliance with this Convention. Article 2 also states the aim of the Convention: that a person sentenced in the territory of a Party may be transferred to the territory of another to serve the sentence imposed on him. Article 3 sets out the conditions for the transfer, such as the condition that a sentenced person may only be transferred if that person is a national of the administering state, and if the judgment is final. It also states that any State may, at any time, by a declaration addressed to the Secretary-General of the Council of Europe, define, as far as it is concerned, the term “national” for the purposes of this Convention. Importantly, the transfer must be consented to by the sentenced person, and the sentencing State must ensure that this consent is given voluntarily and with full knowledge of its legal consequences, in accordance with Article 7. Article 12 provides each party to the Convention the possibility to grant pardon or commutation of the sentence in accordance with its constitution or domestic laws.

Competing legislation

For

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been de ...

nationals sentenced in another EU country, the similarly worde
Council Framework Decision 2008/909/JHA
applies instead of this Convention.

References

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Terms

Competing legislation

References

See also