Refusal of ICC request

Austria

Austria - Extradition and Mutual Assistance (EN/DE) 1979 (2020)

TITLE I
General Provisions

General Reservation
§ 2. A foreign request may only be complied if this does not violate public order or other essential interests of the Republic of Austria.

Reciprocity
§ 3. (1) A foreign request may only be complied if it is ensured that the requesting State would also comply with a similar request by Austria.

(2) A request under this federal law may not be filed by an Austrian authority if it were not possible to comply with a similar request by another State, unless a request appears to be needed urgently for specific reasons. In this case, the requested State shall be notified of the absence of reciprocity.

(3) In the event of doubts concerning compliance with reciprocity, the opinion of the Federal Minister of Justice shall be obtained.

(4) Another State may be assured of reciprocity in connection with a request made under this federal law, provided that there are no intergovernmental agreement and that it would be admissible under this federal law to comply with a similar request of this State.

TITLE II
Extradition from Austria

Chapter ONE
Admissibility of Extradition

Austrian Jurisdiction
§ 16. (3) In the cases defined in paragraph (2), extradition shall also not be admissible if the person to be extradited has already been convicted or acquitted with final and enforceable effect in Austria, or has been exempted from prosecution for reasons other than those specified in § 9 (3). In cases pursuant to paragraph (2) item 2 extradition shall also be inadmissible if there is reason for concern that, on account of the conviction in the other State, the person to be extradited would be in a significantly worse position overall than would be the case under Austrian law.

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

Part 1
General Provisions

9. Obligation to consult, and rejection of requests from the International Criminal Court
3. If a matter cannot be resolved through consultations, the International Criminal Court shall be requested to amend its request. If such an amendment by the International Criminal Court cannot be considered, the request shall be rejected.
4. Any such refusal, in the cases referred to in paragraph 1, sub-paragraphs 2 to 4 above, shall be decided on by the Federal Minister of Justice with the consent of the Federal Minister of Foreign Affairs. The case in paragraph 1, sub-paragraph 2, further requires the consent of the competent federal minister. The International Criminal Court shall be informed of any refusal of a request and the grounds thereof.

Rome Statute

Article 90 Competing requests

1. A State Party which receives a request from the Court for the surrender of a person under article 89 shall, if it also receives a request from any other State for the extradition of the same person for the same conduct which forms the basis of the crime for which the Court seeks the person's surrender, notify the Court and the requesting State of that fact.

2. Where the requesting State is a State Party, the requested State shall give priority to the request from the Court if:

(a) The Court has, pursuant to article 18 or 19, made a determination that the case in respect of which surrender is sought is admissible and that determination takes into account the investigation or prosecution conducted by the requesting State in respect of its request for extradition; or

(b) The Court makes the determination described in subparagraph (a) pursuant to the requested State's notification under paragraph 1.

3. Where a determination under paragraph 2 (a) has not been made, the requested State may, at its discretion, pending the determination of the Court under paragraph 2 (b), proceed to deal with the request for extradition from the requesting State but shall not extradite the person until the Court has determined that the case is inadmissible. The Court's determination shall be made on an expedited basis.

4. If the requesting State is a State not Party to this Statute the requested State, if it is not under an international obligation to extradite the person to the requesting State, shall give priority to the request for surrender from the Court, if the Court has determined that the case is admissible.

5. Where a case under paragraph 4 has not been determined to be admissible by the Court, the requested State may, at its discretion, proceed to deal with the request for extradition from the requesting State.

6. In cases where paragraph 4 applies except that the requested State is under an existing international obligation to extradite the person to the requesting State not Party to this Statute, the requested State shall determine whether to surrender the person to the Court or extradite the person to the requesting State. In making its decision, the requested State shall consider all the relevant factors, including but not limited to:

(a) The respective dates of the requests;

(b) The interests of the requesting State including, where relevant, whether the crime was committed in its territory and the nationality of the victims and of the person sought; and

(c) The possibility of subsequent surrender between the Court and the requesting State.

7. Where a State Party which receives a request from the Court for the surrender of a person also receives a request from any State for the extradition of the same person for conduct other than that which constitutes the crime for which the Court seeks the person's surrender:

(a) The requested State shall, if it is not under an existing international obligation to extradite the person to the requesting State, give priority to the request from the Court;

(b) The requested State shall, if it is under an existing international obligation to extradite the person to the requesting State, determine whether to surrender the person to the Court or to extradite the person to the requesting State. In making its decision, the requested State shall consider all the relevant factors, including but not limited to those set out in paragraph 6, but shall give special consideration to the relative nature and gravity of the conduct in question.

Where pursuant to a notification under this article, the Court has determined a case to be inadmissible, and subsequently extradition to the requesting State is refused, the requested State shall notify the Court of this decision.

Article 93 Other forms of cooperation

4. In accordance with article 72, a State Party may deny a request for assistance, in whole or in part, only if the request concerns the production of any documents or disclosure of evidence which relates to its national security.