Contents of request - national law requirements

New Zealand

International War Crimes Tribunals Act 1995

Part 1
Request by a Tribunal for assistance

5 Form of requests

(1) A request from a Tribunal under section 4 that is in writing and specifies —

(a) the nature of the investigation or prosecution in respect of which the request is made ; and
(b) in a certificate from the Tribunal, that the request is in respect of an investigation or prosecution relating to a Tribunal offence ; and
(c) the legal basis on which the Tribunal relies for conducting the investigation or prosecution ; and
(d) the nature of the assistance sought by the Tribunal ; and
(e) the facts and law relevant to the investigation or prosecution (in addition to the statement required by paragraph (c)); and
(f) the procedure (if any) that the Tribunal wishes the Attorney-General to follow in complying with the request, including the form in which material shall be given to the Tribunal ; and
(g) the period within which the Tribunal wishes the request to be complied with ; and
(h) any confidentiality requirements that the Tribunal con¬siders should be observed ; and
(i) any other matters that the Tribunal considers may assist the Attorney-General in complying with the request ; and
(j ) any other matters that the Attorney-General has previously notified the Tribunal will assist the Attorney-General in complying with the request ,—

shall be received and dealt with in accordance with this Act.

(2) A request for assistance shall not be invalid by reason only of the fact that it does not comply with the requirements of subsection (1).

Rome Statute

Article 96 Contents of request for other forms of assistance under article 93

3. Upon the request of the Court, a State Party shall consult with the Court, either generally or with respect to a specific matter, regarding any requirements under its national law that may apply under paragraph 2 (e). During the consultations, the State Party shall advise the Court of the specific requirements of its national law.

Article 97 Consultations

Where a State Party receives a request under this Part in relation to which it identifies problems which may impede or prevent the execution of the request, that State shall consult with the Court without delay in order to resolve the matter. Such problems may include, inter alia:

(a) Insufficient information to execute the request;

(b) In the case of a request for surrender, the fact that despite best efforts, the person sought cannot be located or that the investigation conducted has determined that the person in the requested State is clearly not the person named in the warrant; or

(c) The fact that execution of the request in its current form would require the requested State to breach a pre-existing treaty obligation undertaken with respect to another State.