Chapter 19INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION IN CRIMINAL PROCEEDINGS

Division 4Transfer and Taking Over of Criminal Proceedings

§ 474. Transfer of criminal proceedings
(1) Transfer of criminal proceedings initiated with regard to a person suspected or accused of a criminal offence to a foreign state may be requested if:
1) the person is a citizen of or permanently lives in the foreign state;
2) the person is serving a sentence of imprisonment in the foreign state;
3) criminal proceedings concerning the same or any other criminal offence have been initiated with regard to the person in the executing state;
4) the evidence or the most relevant pieces of evidence are located in the foreign state;
5) it is considered that the presence of the accused at the time of the hearing of the criminal matter cannot be ensured and his or her presence for the purposes of the hearing of the criminal matter is ensured in the executing state.
(2) A request for transfer shall be sent to the Office of the Prosecutor General together with the criminal file or an authenticated copy thereof, and other relevant materials.
(3) The Office of the Prosecutor General shall verify whether the transfer of criminal proceedings is justified and send the materials to the Ministry of Justice who shall forward them to the foreign state.
(4) After submission of a request for the transfer of criminal proceedings, charges shall not be brought against the person for the criminal offence regarding which transfer of the proceedings was requested, and a court judgment previously made with regard to the person for the same criminal offence shall not be executed.
(5) The right to bring charges and execute a court judgment is regained if:
1) the request for transfer is not granted;
2) the request for transfer is not accepted;
3) the executing state decides not to commence or to terminate the proceedings;
4) the request is withdrawn before the executing state has given notice of its decision to grant the request.