Enforcement of sentences imposed

Republic of Nauru

Criminal Procedure Act 1972

PART IV - PROVISIONS RELATING TO CRIMINAL PROCEEDINGS

124 Preservation or disposal of property

(1) It shall be lawful for any Court in any criminal proceedings to make orders for :

(a) the preservation, or interim custody or detention, of any property produced in evidence or as to which any question may arise in the proceedings ;
(b) the sale, destruction or other disposal of any such property as may be of a perishable nature or liable to deteriorate, or as may be dangerous ;
(c) the restoration or awarding of possession of any such property to the person appearing to the Court to be entitled to possession thereof, without prejudice however to any civil proceedings which may be taken with respect thereto ;
(d) the payment by any person of the expense incurred in or about the preservation, custody, detention, sale, destruction or other disposal of any such property or the proceeds thereof ;
(e) the application of any such property or the proceeds thereof, in or towards satisfaction or payment of any such costs or compensation as may be ordered by the Court to be paid by any person.
Any order made under the provisions of paragraph (d) of the last preceding subsection may be enforced as if the order were the imposition of a fine.

Where an order is made under the provisions of this section in a case in which an appear lies, such order shall not, except where the property is liable to deterioration or decay or is dangerous, be carried out until the period allowed for presenting an appeal has passed or, where an appeal is presented within that period, until the appeal has been determined.

125 Property stolen to be restored to owner

(1) If any person guilty of any such offence as is mentioned in Chapters XXXVI to XLIV, inclusive, of the Criminal Code 1899, by stealing, taking, obtaining, extorting, converting or disposing of, or by knowingly receiving, any property, is prosecuted to conviction by a public prosecutor or by or on behalf of the owner of that property, or is found guilty on any such prosecution but is discharged under the provisions of any written law without conviction, the property shall be restored to the owner or his representative.

(2) In every case referred to in the preceding subsection, the Court before which any such offender is convicted, or discharged without conviction, shall have power to award from time to time writs of restitution for the property or to order the restitution thereof in a summary manner :
Provided that :

(a) where goods as defined in the Sale of Goods Act 1893 of England in its application to Nauru have been obtained by fraud or other wrongful means not amounting to stealing, the property in those goods shall not revest in the person who was the owner of the goods, or his personal representative, by reason only of the conviction of the offender ; and
(b) nothing in this section shall apply to the case of any valuable security which has been in good faith paid or discharged by some person liable for the payment thereof or, being a negotiable instrument, has been in good faith taken or received by transfer or delivery by some person for a just and valuable consideration without any notice or without reasonable cause to suspect that the same had been stolen.

(3) The operation of any order under this section shall, unless the Court before which the conviction or discharge takes place directs to the contrary in any case in which the title to the property is not in dispute, be suspended :
(a) in any case until the time allowed for presenting an appeal has passed, and
(b) in a case where an appeal is presented, until the determination of the appeal ;
and, in cases where the operation of any such order is suspended until the determination of the appeal, the order shall not take effect as to the property in question if the conviction is quashed on appeal, unless the Supreme Court so directs. The Chief Justice may make provision by rules for securing the safe custody of any property pending the suspension of the operation of any such order.

(4) Any person aggrieved by an order made under this section by the District Court may appeal to the Supreme Court and upon the hearing of any such appeal the Court may by order annul or vary any order made on a trial for the restitution of any property to any person, even though the conviction or order of discharge is not quashed ; and the order, if annulled, shall not take effect and, if varied, shall take effect as so varied.

PART IV - PROVISIONS RELATING TO CRIMINAL PROCEEDINGS

127 Restoration of possession of real property

(1) Where a person is convicted of an offence attended by criminal force, threat or intimidation and it appears to the Court that by such force, threat or intimidation any person has been dispossessed of any real property, the Court may, if it thinks fit, order possession of that property to be restored to the person so dispossessed.

(2) Any order under this section may be enforced by warrant addressed to a police officer.

(3) No such order shall prejudice any right or interest to or in the real property which any person may be able to establish in a civil suit or in proceedings before the Nauru Lands Committee.

Rome Statute

Article 103 Role of States in enforcement of sentences of imprisonment

1.

(a) A sentence of imprisonment shall be served in a State designated by the Court from a list of States which have indicated to the Court their willingness to accept sentenced persons.

(b) At the time of declaring its willingness to accept sentenced persons, a State may attach conditions to its acceptance as agreed by the Court and in accordance with this Part.

(c) A State designated in a particular case shall promptly inform the Court whether it accepts the Court's designation.

2.

(a) The State of enforcement shall notify the Court of any circumstances, including the exercise of any conditions agreed under paragraph 1, which could materially affect the terms or extent of the imprisonment. The Court shall be given at least 45 days' notice of any such known or foreseeable circumstances. During this period, the State of enforcement shall take no action that might prejudice its obligations under article 110.

(b) Where the Court cannot agree to the circumstances referred to in subparagraph (a), it shall notify the State of enforcement and proceed in accordance with article 104, paragraph 1.

3. In exercising its discretion to make a designation under paragraph 1, the Court shall take into account the following:

(a) The principle that States Parties should share the responsibility for enforcing sentences of imprisonment, in accordance with principles of equitable distribution, as provided in the Rules of Procedure and Evidence;

(b) The application of widely accepted international treaty standards governing the treatment of prisoners;

(c) The views of the sentenced person;

(d) The nationality of the sentenced person;

(e) Such other factors regarding the circumstances of the crime or the person sentenced, or the effective enforcement of the sentence, as may be appropriate in designating the State of enforcement.

4. If no State is designated under paragraph 1, the sentence of imprisonment shall be served in a prison facility made available by the host State, in accordance with the conditions set out in the headquarters agreement referred to in article 3, paragraph 2. In such a case, the costs arising out of the enforcement of a sentence of imprisonment shall be borne by the Court.

Article 104 Change in designation of State of enforcement

1. The Court may, at any time, decide to transfer a sentenced person to a prison of another State.

2. A sentenced person may, at any time, apply to the Court to be transferred from the State of enforcement.

Article 105 Enforcement of the sentence

1. Subject to conditions which a State may have specified in accordance with article 103, paragraph 1 (b), the sentence of imprisonment shall be binding on the States Parties, which shall in no case modify it.

2. The Court alone shall have the right to decide any application for appeal and revision. The State of enforcement shall not impede the making of any such application by a sentenced person.

Article 106 Supervision of enforcement of sentences and conditions of imprisonment

1. The enforcement of a sentence of imprisonment shall be subject to the supervision of the Court and shall be consistent with widely accepted international treaty standards governing treatment of prisoners.

2. The conditions of imprisonment shall be governed by the law of the State of enforcement and shall be consistent with widely accepted international treaty standards governing treatment of prisoners; in no case shall such conditions be more or less favourable than those available to prisoners convicted of similar offences in the State of enforcement.

3. Communications between a sentenced person and the Court shall be unimpeded and confidential.

Article 109 Enforcement of fines and forfeiture measures

1. States Parties shall give effect to fines or forfeitures ordered by the Court under Part 7, without prejudice to the rights of bona fide third parties, and in accordance with the procedure of their national law.

2. If a State Party is unable to give effect to an order for forfeiture, it shall take measures to recover the value of the proceeds, property or assets ordered by the Court to be forfeited, without prejudice to the rights of bona fide third parties.

3. Property, or the proceeds of the sale of real property or, where appropriate, the sale of other property, which is obtained by a State Party as a result of its enforcement of a judgement of the Court shall be transferred to the Court.