[Senate Treaty Document 105-13]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
105th Congress Treaty Doc.
SENATE
1st Session 105-13
_______________________________________________________________________
EXTRADITION TREATY WITH FRANCE
__________
MESSAGE
from
THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES
transmitting
EXTRADITION TREATY BETWEEN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AND FRANCE,
SIGNED AT PARIS ON APRIL 23, 1996
July 9, 1997.--Treaty was read the first time and, together with the
accompanying papers, referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations and
ordered to be printed for the use of the Senate
LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL
----------
The White House, July 9, 1997.
To the Senate of the United States:
With a view to receiving the advice and consent of the
Senate to ratification, I transmit herewith the Extradition
Treaty between the United States of America and France, signed
at Paris on April 23, 1996.
In addition, I transmit, for the information of the Senate,
the report of the Department of State with respect to the
Treaty. As the report explains, the Treaty will not require
implementing legislation.
This Treaty will, upon entry into force, enhance
cooperation between the law enforcement communities of both
countries. It will thereby make a significant contribution to
international law enforcement efforts.
The provisions in this Treaty, which includes an Agreed
Minute, follow generally the form and content of extradition
treaties recently concluded by the United States.
I recommend that the Senate give early and favorable
consideration to the Treaty and give its advice and consent to
ratification.
William J. Clinton.
LETTER OF SUBMITTAL
----------
Department of State,
Washington, June 13, 1997.
The President: I have the honor to submit to you the
Extradition Treaty between the United States of America and
France (``the Treaty''), signed at Paris on April 23, 1996. I
recommend that the treaty, which includes an Agreed Minute, be
transmitted to the Senate for its advice and consent to
ratification.
In many respects, the Treaty follows closely the form and
content of extradition treaties recently concluded by the
United States. Some of the Treaty's provisions, however, differ
from those found in most of our other modern extradition
treaties for reasons discussed in the Technical Analysis
produced by the United States negotiating delegation. The
treaty represents part of a concerted effort by the Department
of State and the Department of Justice to develop modern
extradition relationships to enhance the United States ability
to prosecute serious offenders including, especially, narcotics
traffickers and terrorists.
The Treaty marks a significant step in bilateral
cooperation between the United States and France. Upon entry
into force, it will replace the Treaty of Extradition between
the United States of America and the Republic of France signed
at Paris on January 6, 1909, and entered into force on July 27,
1911, and the Supplementary Extradition Convention signed at
Paris on February 12, 1970, with exchanges of letters of June 2
and 11, 1970, and entered into force on April 3, 1971. That
treaty has become outmoded, and the new Treaty will provide
significant improvements. The Treaty can be implemented without
legislation.
Article 1 obligates each Contracting State to extradite to
the other, pursuant to the provisions of the Treaty, any person
whom the competent authorities in the Requesting State have
charged with or convicted of an extraditable offense.
Article 2(1) defines extraditable offenses as acts punished
under the laws of both States by deprivation of liberty for a
maximum of at least one year, or by a more severe penalty. Use
of such a ``dual criminality'' clause rather than a list of
offenses covered by the Treaty obviates the need to renegotiate
or supplement the Treaty as additional offenses become
punishable under the laws of both Contracting States.
Article 2(2) defines an extraditable offense to include
also an attempt or a conspiracy to commit, orparticipation in
the commission of, an extraditable offense.
Additional flexibility is provided by Article 2(3), which
provides that an offense shall be considered an extraditable
offense: (1) whether or not the laws in the Contracting States
place the offense within the same category of offenses or
describe the offense by the same terminology; or (2) whether or
not the offense is one for which United States federal law
requires the showing of such matters as interstate
transportation or use of the mails or of other facilities
affecting interstate or foreign commerce, such matters being
merely for the purpose of establishing jurisdiction in a United
States federal court.
With regard to an offense committed outside the territory
of the Requesting State, Article 2(4) provides that extradition
shall be granted when the laws of the Requested State authorize
the prosecution or provide for the punishment of that offense
in similar circumstances. The United States recognizes the
extraterritorial application of many of its criminal statutes
and frequently makes requests for fugitives whose criminal
activity occurred in foreign countries with the intent, actual
or implied, of affecting the United States.
If an extradition request concerns distinct acts, each
punishable by deprivation of liberty in both States but not all
of which meet the requirements of Article 2(1) and 2(2),
Article 2(5) nevertheless requires extradition for all of the
acts.
Article 2(6) provides that extradition shall be granted
pursuant to the terms of Article 2(1) and 2(2) in matters
concerning tax, customs duty, and foreign exchange offenses.
Article 3(1) declares that neither State has an obligation
to extradite its own nationals, but the executive authority of
the United States shall have the discretion to do so. The
nationality of the person sought shall be the nationality of
the person at the time the offense was committed.
Article 3(2) requires a State that refuses an extradition
request solely on the basis of the nationality of the person
sought to submit the case to its authorities for prosecution,
if so requested by the Requesting State.
As is customary in extradition treaties, Article 4
incorporates a political offense exception to the obligation to
extradite. Article 4(1) states that France shall not grant
extradition for an offense considered by France to be a
political offense, an offense connected with a political
offense, or an offense inspired by political motives. Article
4(1) also states that the United States shall not grant
extradition for an offense considered by the United States to
be a political offense.
Article 4(2) specifies six categories of offenses that
shall not be considered to be political offenses:
(a) a murder or other willful crime against the
person of a Head of State of one of the Contracting
States, or of a member of the Head of State's family,
or any attempt or conspiracy to commit, or
participation in, any of the foregoing offenses;
(b) an offense for which both Contracting Parties are
obliged pursuant to a multilateral agreement to
extradite the requested person or to submit the case to
their competent authorities for decision as to
prosecution;
(c) a serious offense involving an attack against the
life, physical integrity or liberty of internationally
protected persons, including diplomatic agents;
(d) an offense involving kidnapping, the taking of a
hostage or any other form of unlawful detention;
(e) an offense involving the use of a bomb, grenade,
rocket, automatic firearm or letter or parcel bomb if
this use endangers persons; or
(f) an attempt or conspiracy to commit, or
participation in, any of the offenses listed in
paragraphs 2(b), 2(c), 2(d) or 2(e) above.
Article 4(3) creates a regime similar to that of the
European Convention on Terrorism, in that the Requested State
may deny extradition for any of the offenses mentioned in
paragraphs 2(b)-2(f) above, in accordance with the provisions
of Article 4(1). However, in evaluating the character of an
offense, the Requested State is required to consider its
particularly serious nature, if applicable, including that it
created a collective danger to life, physical integrity or
liberty of persons, that it affected persons not connected to
the motives behind it, or that cruel or treacherous means were
used in the commission of the offense.
Article 4(4) provides that extradition shall not be granted
if the executive authority in the case of the United States or
the competent authorities in the case of France have
substantial grounds for believing that the request was for the
purpose of prosecuting or punishing a person on account of that
person's race, religion, nationality or political opinions.
Article 5 permits the parties to deny extradition for an
offense that is exclusively a military offense (for example,
desertion).
Article 6 permits denial of an extradition request when
surrender of the person might entail exceptionally serious
consequences related to age or health.
Article 7(1) permits denial of an extradition request for
an offense punishable by death in the Requesting State but not
in the Requested State, unless the Requesting State provides
the assurance that the death penalty will not be imposed or, if
imposed, will not be carried out. Article 7(2) declares that
the death penalty, if imposed by the courts of the Requesting
State, shall not be carried out in instances when a Requesting
State has provided an assurance in accordance with Article
7(1).
Article 8 bars extradition when the person sought has been
convicted or acquitted in the Requested State for the same
offense, but does not bar extradition if the competent
authorities in the Requested State have declined to prosecute
or have decided to discontinue criminal proceedings against the
person sought.
Article 9 states that extradition shall be denied if
prosecution or execution of the penalty would be barred by the
lapse of time under the laws of the Requested State, but
requires that acts in the Requesting State that would interrupt
or suspend the prescriptive period are to be taken into account
by the Requested State to the extent possible under its laws.
Article 10 establishes the procedures and describes the
documents that are required to support an extradition request.
The Article requires that all requests for extradition be
submitted through the diplomatic channel. Article 10(3)(c)
provides that a request for the extradition of a person sought
for prosecution be supported by a duly authenticated copy of
the warrant or order of arrest and, for requests by the United
States, the charging document, or for requests by France, the
original or a duly authenticated copy of the warrant or order
of arrest and such information as would justify the committal
for trial of the person if the offense had been committed in
the United States.
Article 11 establishes the procedures under which documents
submitted pursuant to the provisions of this Treaty shall be
received and admitted into evidence in each State.
Article 12 requires all documents submitted by the
Requesting State to be translated into the language of the
Requested State.
Article 13 sets forth procedures for the provisional arrest
and detention of a person sought pending presentation of the
formal request for extradition. A request for provisional
arrest may be submitted directly between the U.S. Department of
Justice and the Ministry of Justice of the French Republic by
means of the facilities of the International Criminal Police
Organization (INTERPOL) or through the diplomatic channel.
Article 13(4) provides that if the Requested State's executive
authority has not received the request for extradition and
supporting documentationwithin sixty days after the provisional
arrest, the person may be discharged from custody. Article 13(5)
provides explicitly that discharge from custody pursuant to Article
13(4) does not prejudice subsequent rearrest and extradition upon later
delivery of the extradition request and supporting documents.
Article 14 sets forth procedures by which the Requested
State may seek additional information in support of an
extradition request to fulfill the requirements of the Treaty
and provides for release from custody of a person under arrest
for purposes of extradition if the additional information is
not sufficient or not received within the time specified.
Article 15 specifies the procedures governing surrender and
return of persons sought. It requires the Requested State to
provide prompt notice to the Requesting State through the
diplomatic channel regarding its extradition decision. If the
request is denied in whole or in part, Article 15(2) requires
the Requesting State to provide information regarding the
reasons therefor. If extradition is granted, the authorities of
the Contracting States shall agree on the date and place for
surrender of the person sought. If the person is not removed
from the territory of the United States within the time
prescribed by its law or within 30 days from the surrender date
set in accordance with Article 15(3) in the case of France,
that person may be discharged from custody and the Requested
State may subsequently refuse extradition for the same offense.
Article 16 concerns temporary and deferred surrender. If a
person whose extradition is sought is being prosecuted or is
serving a sentence in the Requested State, that State may
temporarily surrender the person to the Requesting State solely
for the purpose of prosecution. Alternatively, the Requested
State may postpone the extradition proceedings until its
prosecution has been concluded and the sentence has been
served.
Article 17 sets forth a non-exclusive list of factors to be
considered by the Requested State in determining to which State
to surrender a person sought by more than one State.
Article 18 provides for the seizure and surrender to the
Requesting State of property connected with the offense for
which extradition is granted, to the extent permitted under the
law of the Requested State. Such property may be surrendered
even when extradition cannot be effected due to the death,
disappearance, or escape of the person sought. Surrender of
property may be deferred if it is needed as evidence in the
Requested State and may be conditioned upon satisfactory
assurances that it will be returned to the Requested State as
soon as practicable. Article 18(3) imposes anobligation to
respect the rights of third parties in affected property.
Article 19 sets forth the rule of speciality. It provides,
subject to specific exceptions, that a person extradited under
the Treaty may not be detained, tried, convicted, punished, or
subjected to any restriction of his freedom for an offense
other than that for which extradition has been granted, unless
the Requested State has given it consent or the extradited
person leaves the Requesting State after extradition and
voluntarily returns to it or fails to leave the Requesting
State within thirty days of being free to do so. Article 19(2)
addresses situations where the denomination of an offense for
which a person has been extradited is altered during the
proceedings in the Requested State.
Article 20 provides that the Requesting State may not
extradite a person to a third State for an offense committed
prior to the original surrender unless the Requested State
consents or the person did not leave the territory of the
Requesting State within thirty days when given an opportunity
to do so, or returned after having left it.
Article 21 governs the transit through the territory of one
Contracting State of a person being surrendered to the other
State by a third State.
Article 22 contains provisions on representation and
expenses. The Requested State is required to advise and assist
the Requesting State in accordance with the Agreed Minute on
Representation that forms an integral part of the Treaty and is
discussed in detail in the Technical Analysis.
Under Article 22(2), the Requesting State is required to
bear the expenses related to the translation of documents and
the transportation of the person surrendered. Article 22(3)
clarifies that neither State shall make any pecuniary claim
against the other State arising out of the arrest, detention,
examination, or surrender of persons sought under the Treaty.
Article 23 states that the United States Department of
Justice and the Ministry of Justice of the French Republic may
consult with each other directly or through the facilities of
INTERPOL in connection with the processing of individual cases
and in furtherance of maintaining and improving Treaty
implementation procedures.
Article 24(1), like the parallel provision in almost all
recent United States extradition treaties, states that the
Treaty shall apply to offenses committed before as well as
after the date the Treaty enters into force. Upon entry into
force of the Treaty,Article 24(2) provides that the current
Treaty of Extradition between the United States and France signed
January 6, 1909 and the Supplementary Convention signed February 12,
1970, with exchanges of letters signed June 2 and 11, 1970, shall cease
to have effect, except for any proceedings in which extradition
documents have already been submitted to the courts of the Requested
State at the time the Treaty enters into force.
Article 25 provides that each Contracting State shall
notify the other of the completion of the constitutional
procedures required for ratification of the Treaty, and the
Treaty shall enter into force on the first day of the second
month following the date of receipt of the last notification.
Under Article 26, either Contracting State may terminate
the Treaty at any time upon written notice to the other
Contracting State, with termination effective six months after
the date of receipt of such notice.
As noted above, a Technical Analysis explaining in detail
the provisions of the Treaty is being prepared by the United
States negotiating delegation and will be submitted separately
to the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations.
The Department of Justice joins the Department of State in
favoring approval of this Treaty, including the Agreed Minute,
by the Senate at an early date.
Respectfully submitted,
Madeleine Albright.