TNAG-0975-FCO40-1194-Resettlement-of-Vietnamese-refugees-from-Hong-Kong-in-other--1980 — Page 104

Algeria 1, Egypt 2/, Jordan 3', Libya Arab Emirates 8, Yemen Arab Republic

4.

9

EC/SCP/14 page 9

Sudan 5, Syria 6, Tunisia 7/, United

$

31. As regards ordinary legislation, reference may be made to the provisions concerning the surrender of fugitive offenders figuring in the legislation of various Commonwealth countries. The Scheme for the Rendition of Fugitive Offenders adopted by the Meeting of Commonwealth Law Ministers in 1966 contained a model provision excluding the surrender of fugitive offenders to other Commonwealth countries in circumstances relevant to refugee status, viz.:

32.

"9 (1)

...

"(2) The return of a fugitive offender will be precluded by law if it appears to the competent judicial or executive authority-

(a) that the request for his surrender although purporting to bo made for a returnable offence was in fact made for the purpose of prosecuting or punishing the person on account of his race, religion, nationality or political opinions,

or

(b) that he may be prejudiced at his trial or punished, detained or restricted in his personal liberty by reason of his race, religion, nationality or political opinions. 10/"

Provisions following this model have been adopted in the legislation of a number of Commonwealth countries both as regards the surronder of fugitives within the Commonwealth and extradition to countries outside the Commonwealth 11/.

Constitution of 1976 (Article 70)

2 Constitution of 1971 (Article 53)

-

3/ Constitution of 1952 (Article 21) 4 Constitution of 1969 (Article 11) 5 Constitution of 1973 (Article 44) 6/ Constitution of 1973 (Article 34) 7/Constitution of 1959 (Article 17)

8/ Provisional Constitution of 1971 (Article 38)

9 Constitution of 1970 (Article 31)

10/ CMMD 3008

11/ viz. Australia: Extradition (Foreign States) Act 1966 (No. 76 of 1966); Extradition (Commonwealth Countries) Act 1966 (No.75 of 1966); Barbados: Extradition Act, 1979 (No.21 of 1979); Kenya: Extradition (Commonwealth Countries) Act 1968 (No.65 of 1968); Lesotho: Fugitive Offenders Act (No. 38 of 1967); Seychelles: Extradition (Commonwealth Countries) Act 1979 (No.3 of 1979); Singapore: Extradition Act 1968 (No. 14 of 1968); United Kingdom: Fugitive Offenders Act, 1967 (Ch. 68); Zambia: Extradition Act 1968 (No. 47 of 1968).