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Signing the Agreement today on behalf of the Hong Kong Government was the Secretary for Security, Mr Peter Lai. The Consul General of the United States to Hong Kong, Mr Richard Boucher, signed on behalf of the US.
The Agreement sets out the conditions for the surrender of fugitive offenders between the two places, and contains the usual safeguards found in similar international agreements. These include:
the double criminality rule: the act in respect of which a fugitive's return is requested must constitute a crime in both jurisdictions;
the prima facie rule: there must be a prima facie case against a person whose return is requested by the US from HK:
the speciality rule: a returned fugitive shall not be tried for offences other than those for which he was surrendered, without the consent of the requested party;
the political offences rule: return may be refused if the offence in question is a political offence; and
protection against resurrender to a third jurisdiction, without the consent of the requested party.
"The Agreement is a major step forward in the cooperation between the United States and Hong Kong in law enforcement," Mr Lai said.
"It signifies our commitment to work even closer together in the fight against international crime in future," he added.
The negotiated agreement has been endorsed by the Sino-British Joint Liaison Group.
The agreement will come into force after the enactment in Hong Kong of a localised legislation on surrender of fugitive offenders which will provide the necessary legislative backing, and ratification by the President of the US with the advice and consent of the Congress.
The Fugitive Offenders Bill was introduced into the Legislative Council on November 6 this year, and is being examined by a Bills Committee.
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