Provisional arrest

Republic of Serbia

Law on cooperation with the International Criminal Court

IV ARREST, CUSTODY AND SURRENDER OF THE ACCUSED PERSON

The Proceeding Before the Investigative Judge

Article 24

The competent Investigative Judge to whom the arrested accused person has been brought (Article 23, paragraph 2) shall inform the accused person about his/her rights, interrogating him/her thereupon, in accordance with the provisions of the Criminal Procedure Code, about the circumstances contained in the request made by the International Criminal Court.

If the Investigative Judge establishes that the accused is the person referred to in the request of the International Criminal Court, the former shall pass a ruling on custody for the person concerned.

Within a period of 24 hours from the moment of receipt of such ruling the accused person and his/her Defence Counsel may appeal against the ruling referred to in paragraph 2 of this Article, which shall be addressed by the competent Chamber.

Custody ordered by the Investigative Judge's ruling may not exceed one month, whereas the competent Chamber may by decision, at the motion of the Public Prosecutor containing a rationale, extend this period for a maximum of another two months.

During the interrogation the Investigative Judge shall specifically establish whether or not the accused person consents to voluntarily appear before the International Criminal Court. Should the accused person confirm it in a special document, at the same time renouncing all legal remedies in the surrender procedure, the Investigative Judge shall pass a ruling on custody only if some of the reasons specified in the Criminal Procedure Code exist. The accused person shall otherwise be released with the setting of a bond, forbidden to leave the place of residence, and/or imposed other measures to ensure the presence of the accused person and an unimpeded conduct of the criminal proceeding, specified in the Criminal Procedure Code.

The Investigative Judge shall promptly inform the Ministry about the consent of the accused person which will, in turn, undertake required measures for the accused person to appear before the International Criminal Court without delay.

IV ARREST, CUSTODY AND SURRENDER OF THE ACCUSED PERSON

Release from Custody of the Accused Person Provisionally Arrested

Article 25

Having ruled on custody upon request of the International Criminal Court for provisional arrest of the accused person, the Investigative Judge shall immediately inform the Ministry about it, in accordance with Article 92 of the Statute.

Should the International Criminal Court fail to submit the request for surrender of the accused person referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article within a period specified in the Rules of Procedure and Evidence or should it fail to present required evidence and documents, the ruling on imposing custody shall cease to be in force. The Ministry shall immediately inform the Investigative Judge about it who shall, without delay, pass a decision on releasing the accused person.

IV ARREST, CUSTODY AND SURRENDER OF THE ACCUSED PERSON

Decision Taking on the Request of the International Criminal Court

Article 26

Once a ruling on the request of the International Criminal Court has been passed, custody may be in force up to the point when the accused person is surrendered to the International Criminal Court, i.e. to the point when the ruling on refusing the request becomes final, within a period specified in the Constitution and law.

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.