Transit

Republic of Georgia

Georgia - Law on International Cooperation in Criminal Matters 2010 EN

Chapter 2 Provision of legal assistance in criminal cases

Article 7 (1)

Temporary transfer of a person held in custody in Georgia to the territory of a foreign country for the purpose of participation in an investigative action

1. Where there are relevant legal grounds, if during the conduct of an investigative action in the territory of a foreign state in relation to a criminal case conducted by the competent authorities of Georgia, there arises a need for the presence of a person who is held in custody in Georgia, the investigator, prosecutor or judge (court) shall be authorised to require, through the Ministry of Justice of Georgia, a temporary transfer of this person to the territory of the foreign state for participation in the relevant investigative action.

2. In the case provided for by paragraph 1 of this article, prior written consent from the person held in custody in Georgia shall be necessary for a temporary transfer of such person to the territory of a foreign state.

3. The request specified in paragraph 1 of this article may be sent to a competent authority of a foreign state in the form of a request for legal assistance. The written consent of the person held in custody in Georgia, or a copy of such consent, shall be attached to the request.

4. The procedure and conditions for a temporary transfer of a person held in custody in Georgia to a foreign state shall be determined under a written agreement entered into between the Ministry of Justice of Georgia and the competent authorities of the foreign state.

5.In accordance with this article, a person temporarily transferred to the territory of a foreign state, including in the case of transit through a third State, shall remain in custody, if the Ministry of Justice of Georgia does not require their release from custody.

6. The period of detention of a person temporarily transferred to the territory of a foreign state shall be counted towards the total period of the sentence imposed by the court.

Chapter 3 Extradition

Article 35

Transit of an extraditable person

1. A decision on the transit of an extraditable person through the territory of Georgia shall be made by the Ministry of Justice of Georgia.

2. A request for transit through Georgia shall contain the same details as a request for extradition.

3. In the case of air transit involving a landing in the territory of Georgia, the requesting party shall submit a formal request to the Ministry of Justice of Georgia.

4. In the case of air transit which does not involve a landing in the territory of Georgia, the requesting party shall notify the Ministry of Justice of Georgia of the transit of an extraditable person.

Chapter 5 Transfer to a foreign state (or to Georgia) of persons sentenced to imprisonment for the purpose of serving a sentence

Article 46 Transit of Convicted persons

1. Matters relating to the transit through Georgia of a convicted person to be transferred to a third state by a foreign state shall be decided by the Minister of Justice of Georgia.

2. The competent foreign authority effecting the transit of a convicted person shall apply to the Ministry of Justice of Georgia with a request for the transit of the convicted person through Georgia.

3. The Ministry of Justice of Georgia shall apply with a request for the transit of a convicted person to the competent authority of the state through which the convicted person to be transferred to Georgia is to be transited.

Rome Statute

Article 89 Surrender of persons to the Court

3.

(a) A State Party shall authorize, in accordance with its national procedural law, transportation through its territory of a person being surrendered to the Court by another State, except where transit through that State would impede or delay the surrender.

(b) A request by the Court for transit shall be transmitted in accordance with article 87. The request for transit shall contain:

(i) A description of the person being transported;

(ii) A brief statement of the facts of the case and their legal characterization; and

(iii) The warrant for arrest and surrender;

(c) A person being transported shall be detained in custody during the period of transit;

(d) No authorization is required if the person is transported by air and no landing is scheduled on the territory of the transit State;

(e) If an unscheduled landing occurs on the territory of the transit State, that State may require a request for transit from the Court as provided for in subparagraph (b). The transit State shall detain the person being transported until the request for transit is received and the transit is effected, provided that detention for purposes of this subparagraph may not be extended beyond 96 hours from the unscheduled landing unless the request is received within that time.