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SECTION XVI.
SEAMEN SENT HOME TO ENGLAND FROM ABROAD UNDER THE
MERCHANT SHIPPING ACTS, 1894 AND 1906.
1. Seamen charged with offences may be sent home for trial in this country, by one of H.M. Consuls, under section 689 of the Merchant Shipping Act, 1894, or by a Naval Court acting in virtue of section 483 (1) (g) of the same Act. The seaman is committed under section 689 by the Consul or the Naval Court to the charge of the Master of the ship which is to bring him to the United Kingdom, and particulars of the offence with which he is charged must be endorsed by the Consul or the President of the Naval Court upon the ship's agreement. On the ship's arrival in this country, it is the duty of the Master to give the offender into the custody of a police officer so that he may be taken before a magistrate as provided in section 689, sub-section (3). 2. Before such a man is taken into custody by the Police, care should be taken to ascertain that this course is justified. If a formal order in writing has not been furnished to the Master of the ship showing that the seaman is to be handed over to the Police under section 689, the agreement of the ship should be inspected for the purpose of ascertaining that the particulars of the endorsement show that he has been sent home under that section, and in any case of doubt inquiry should be made of the Board of Trade.
3. In such cases the depositions should be given to the Master with the prisoner, and the Police, when accepting custody of the prisoner, should ask for them. Copies of the depositions are also forwarded to the Board of Trade direct.
4. Seamen may also be sent home under section 67 of the Act of 1906 to serve sentences of imprisonment passed upon them by Naval Courts abroad. In such a case a memorandum of the purpose of the prisoner's embarkation, signed by the President of the Naval Court or the Consular Officer, will be endorsed upon the agreement of the ship, and the Court's order for imprisonment will be handed by the Master of the ship to the police officer into whose custody the prisoner is given. Such a prisoner should be taken by the Police to the prison to which other convicted prisoners are ordinarily taken by them.
5. The above cases should be distinguished from those in which distressed seamen are sent home under conveyance orders in pursuance of section 18 of the Act of 1906. When a man is so sent, the Consul merely endorses upon the agreement of the ship the name of the man and the date of his embarkation. It may be that the man has committed abroad some disciplinary offence under the Merchant Shipping Act which has resulted in his discharge from his ship and his return to this country, but he cannot on this account be arrested on arrival. Should it be desired to prosecute him in respect of such an offence, proceedings must be by summons.
SECTION XVII.
EXTRADITION, ETC.
Extradition of Criminals from Foreign Countries.
1. Ordinarily, the surrender of an accused person from a foreign country can only be obtained if there is an extradition treaty with that country which includes the offence charged. Inquiry can be made of the Home Office in any particular case whether extradition is possible. In no case will the Home Office take steps to obtain extradition unless it is furnished in the first instance with an indemnity in the form given below for any expenses that may be incurred. No steps can be taken in the ordinary course unless a warrant has actually been issued by a Magistrate in this country for the arrest of the accused. Extradition can only be claimed in respect of the offence for which the warrant has been issued, and if it is granted, the accused on being surrendered to this country can only be tried on that charge. He cannot be tried upon any other charge unless he is first sent back, or is given an opportunity of returning, to the country from which he has been extradited. In an urgent case, however, where there are a series of charges against the accused, it may be desirable to issue a warrant and secure the arrest of the accused on one charge in the first instance, with a view of adding further charges at a later stage of the proceedings before extradition is actually granted.
2. In every case it is necessary to examine the terms of the treaty under which extradition is to be claimed. In some countries the foreign Government bears all expenses incurred within its own territories; in others, they fall on the prosecutor. In many countries the foreign Government is precluded from extraditing its own subjects; in others, it has an option under the treaty but is under no obligation. Again. though generally speaking a claim for extradition requires to be sup- ported by such evidence as would be sufficient to justify a committal for trial in this country, reference should be made to the treaty as to this, and also as to the form in which the evidence should be presented to the foreign Government. If copies of warrants, informations or depositions are sent, they must be certified by a Magistrate-if possible by the Magistrate by whom they were issued or taken-and all evidence has to be authenticated at the Home Office.
3. The application for action to be taken for the extradition of a fugitive criminal must be addressed by the prosecutor, or the chief officer of Police concerned in the case, to the Secretary of State for the Home Department, who will communicate, through the proper diplomatic channels, with the authorities of the place where the accused is believed to be.
4. The Police in this country may communicate direct with the Police of foreign countries for the purpose of giving or obtaining infor- mation, but under no circumstances should direct application be made by them for the arrest of a fugitive.
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