Provisional arrest

Republic of Trinidad and Tobago

The International Criminal Court Act 2006

PART III
GENERAL PROVISIONS RELATING TO REQUESTS FOR ASSISTANCE

24. (1) This Part applies to a request by the ICC for assistance that is made under—
(a) Part 9 of the Statute, namely—
(i) the provisional arrest, arrest and surrender to the ICC of a person in relation to whom the ICC has issued an arrest warrant or given a judgment of conviction;

PART IV
ARREST AND SURRENDER OF PERSON TO ICC

Provisional Arrest in Urgent Cases
36. (1) A High Court Judge may issue a provisional warrant for the arrest of a person if the Judge is satisfied on the basis of the information presented to him—
(a) a warrant for the arrest of a person has been issued by the ICC or, in the case of a convicted person, a judgment of conviction has been given in relation to an international crime;

(b) the person named in the warrant or judgment is or is suspected of being in Trinidad and Tobago or may come to Trinidad and Tobago; and
(c) it is necessary or desirable for an arrest warrant to be issued urgently.
(2) A warrant may be issued under this section even though no request for surrender has yet been made or received from the ICC.
37. (1) If a High Court Judge issues a provisional arrest warrant under section 36, the applicant for the warrant shall report the issue of the warrant to the Attorney General without delay.
(2) The applicant shall include in the report to the Attorney General, a copy of the warrant issued by the ICC, or the judgment of conviction, as applicable, and the other documentary evidence that the applicant produced to the Judge.
(3) On receipt of the report under subsection (1), the Attorney General may, if he thinks fit, order that the proceedings be discontinued.
(4) If the Attorney General orders that the proceedings be discontinued, he may cancel any warrant of arrest and order the discharge of any person arrested under the warrant.
(5) The Attorney General shall notify the High Court of any action taken under subsection (3) or (4).
38. (1) If a person has been arrested on a provisional arrest warrant issued under section 36, the following provisions apply:
(a) the hearing of the proceedings must not proceed until the High Court receives from the Attorney General a notice in writing stating that a request for the surrender of the person has been transmitted to the Attorney General in the manner specified in section 25;

(b) pending the receipt of the notice from the Attorney General, the proceedings may from time to time be adjourned;
(c) the High Court shall set a date by which the notice is to be transmitted to it, which must be a reasonable time having regard to—
(i) any provision in the Rules that prescribes the maximum period for transmission by the ICC of the request and supporting documents to the requested State;
(ii) if there is no such provision, the time it is likely to take for the ICC to prepare and transmit the request and supporting documents to Trinidad and Tobago; and
(iii) the time it is likely to take for the Minister to consider the request after receipt and for the notice to be transmitted to the High Court; and
(d) if the High Court does not receive the notice within the time fixed by the High Court under paragraph (c), and does not extend that time under subsection (2), the High Court shall discharge the person.
(2) The High Court may, from time to time, in its discretion, extend any time fixed by it under subsection (1)(c).

Rome Statute

Article 92 Provisional arrest

1. In urgent cases, the Court may request the provisional arrest of the person sought, pending presentation of the request for surrender and the documents supporting the request as specified in article 91.

2. The request for provisional arrest shall be made by any medium capable of delivering a written record and shall contain:

(a) Information describing the person sought, sufficient to identify the person, and information as to that person's probable location;

(b) A concise statement of the crimes for which the person's arrest is sought and of the facts which are alleged to constitute those crimes, including, where possible, the date and location of the crime;

(c) A statement of the existence of a warrant of arrest or a judgement of conviction against the person sought; and

(d) A statement that a request for surrender of the person sought will follow.

3. A person who is provisionally arrested may be released from custody if the requested State has not received the request for surrender and the documents supporting the request as specified in article 91 within the time limits specified in the Rules of Procedure and Evidence. However, the person may consent to surrender before the expiration of this period if permitted by the law of the requested State. In such a case, the requested State shall proceed to surrender the person to the Court as soon as possible.

4. The fact that the person sought has been released from custody pursuant to paragraph 3 shall not prejudice the subsequent arrest and surrender of that person if the request for surrender and the documents supporting the request are delivered at a later date.