Transit proceedings

Republic of Austria

Austria - Federal Law on Cooperation with the ICC (EN) 2002

Part 1
General Provisions

7. Surrender of Austrian nationals
(Constitutional provision) Nothing precludes the surrender of Austrian nationals to the International Criminal Court (paragraphs 24 to 28 below) or their transit or transport (paragraph 31 below) or surrender to another State for the enforcement of a sentence passed by the International Criminal Court.

Part 1
General Provisions

12. Free passage
1. Persons summoned by the International Criminal Court from a foreign country to appear before the Court or persons whose presence is required at the seat of the Court shall for such purposes have a right of free passage through Austria, where they may not be prosecuted or punished or detained on account of any act engaged in prior to their entry.
2. Prosecution, punishment or detention on account of an act engaged in prior to entry is admissible if the person summoned overstays the time required for transit through Austria and could actually have left the territory.
3. No safe passage shall be granted where the International Criminal Court requests the arrest of the person summoned (paragraphs 24 to 26 below).

Part 2
Specific provisions

Section 4
Custody pending surrender, surrender and transit

31. Transit and transport

1. At the request of the International Criminal Court, persons may be transported through Austria and held in custody to secure such transit.
2. There is no need to apply for authorisation where the person is conveyed by air and no landing is scheduled on Austria territory.
3. In the event of an unscheduled landing, the person in transit shall be arrested, and the International Criminal Court shall be requested to transmit a request for transit together with the documents referred to in article 89(3)(b) of the Statute.
4. The person in transit shall be released if the request for transit has not been received within 96 hours. Such release shall not preclude a renewed arrest on the basis of a request pursuant to paragraph 24(1) or 26(1) above.
5. The decision on transit shall be taken by the Federal Minister of Justice with the consent of the Federal Minister of the Interior. Such transit shall be approved unless it would impede or delay surrender. A domestic conviction for a criminal offence not within the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court shall not prevent transit. The authorisation of transit is not open to appeal.
6. Paragraphs 1, 2, 3 and 5 shall apply at the request of the International Criminal Court or of a State that has agreed to enforce a sentence passed by the Court for the transit of persons through the territory of the Republic of Austria on the understanding that the International Criminal Court shall be requested to transmit a request for transit together with a copy of the enforceable judgement in the event of an unscheduled landing.

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.