CO885-(11-13) — Page 533

8982.

PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE

Reference :-

TITLE CO.

885

12 PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON

ALLY WITHOUT PERMISSION OF THE BE REPRODUCED PHOTOGRAPHIC- COPYRIGHT PHOTOGRAPH-NOT TO

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MY LORD,

No. 255.

(CYPRUS.)

LAW OFFICERS to COLONIAL OFFICE.

We are honoured with your Lordship's commands, signified in Mr. Herbert's

Temple, 20th May 1881. letter of the 29th ultimo stating that, by your Lordship's direction, he had the honour to transmit to us for consideration a draft of an Order of the Queen in Council for regulating extradition in Cyprus.

That the draft had been submitted to the Foreign Office, and that Mr. Herbert enclosed, for our information, a copy of a memorandum by Sir Julian Pauncefote on some of its provisions.

That we were aware of the tenure under which the island of Cyprus was held by Her Majesty, but that Mr. Herbert was to transmit to us for convenience of reference copies of the Conventions and additional articles which regulated the subject of the Order of the Queen in Council, providing for the administration of the government of the island; and of the Ordinance of the Local Legislature establishing the High Court of Justice, which Ordinance had been continued in force from time to time, and was still in force.

That we should perceive that the draft Order was framed with reference to the policy and provisions of the Extradition Acts of 1870 and 1873, and the Extradition treaties between Great Britain and other Powers, more especially the treaty of 4th June 1878 with Spain, and with reference to the recommendations of the Royal Commission on Extradition of 1877 and 1878. That copies of those two latter documents were enclosed for convenience of reference.

That the draft followed the recommendation of the Royal Commission on Extradi- tion of 1877 and 1878, in not making extradition dependent on the existence of a treaty.

That that principle had been adopted in the case of the Straits Settlements Order in Council for Extradition of 26th June 1879, copy of which was also enclosed for convenience of reference.

That we should observe that Sir Julian Pauncefote questioned whether the Order in Council should provide for the surrender of Ottoman subjects to foreign Governments, seeing that the Ottoman Government did not surrender its nationals.

That on that point Mr. Herbert was to refer us to the additional article of 14th August 1878 to the Convention of 4th June 1878, whereby the Porte declared that in assigning the island of Cyprus to be "occupied and administered" by Her Majesty's Government, it was intended to convey power to legislate for the island, and to make Conventions with foreign Governments, "free from the Porte's control"; and that Mr. Herbert was to request us to state whether, in our opinion, it was competent for the Queen, by an Order in Council, to provide for the surrender to foreign Governments of Ottoman subjects, fugitives from justice.

That, unless we should be of opinion that such provision would be “ultra vires," or that it would be open to grave objection on the ground of international law or comity, your Lordship conceived that it should be adopted in preference to that sug- gested by Sir J. Pauncefote, viz., that Ottoman criminals, fugitives from foreign countries, should be surrended to the Porte, to be dealt with according to law and existing treaties.

That, assuming that under Ottoman law Ottoman subjects could be tried in Turkey for offences committed out of the Ottoman dominions, it appeared to your Lordship improbable that the Porte would apply for the surrender of such criminals, and that it would obviously be much more difficult to bring them to justice if tried in Turkey than if they were tried in the country where the offence had been committed, and that when once surrendered to the Porte they would not, it appeared, be surrendered to the foreign State concerned.

That with regard to the surrender to the Porte of persons other than Ottomans for offences committed in Turkey, and to the observations in the letter made in the Foreign Office memorandum, your Lordship was disposed to think that it was not necessary or

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