I BASIC PROVISIONS

The Meaning of Terms Used in the Law

Article 2

“Competent Chamber“ shall refer to the Chamber of the competent court, composed of three judges, deliberating in session on appeals against rulings passed by the Investigative Judge, passing a ruling at the request of the International Criminal Court for surrender of an accused person.

I BASIC PROVISIONS

Competence for Co-operation with the International Criminal Court and for the Execution of Decisions Thereof

Article 4

Requests for co-operation with the International Criminal Court and for the execution of decisions thereof shall be transmitted to the Ministry of Justice (hereinafter: the Ministry), unless otherwise provided for under this Law.

Once it has established that the request mentioned in paragraph 1 of this Article contains required data set forth in the Statute, the Ministry shall transmit it to the competent state authority to proceed as provided for by this Law.

Should the Ministry establish that the request mentioned in paragraph 1 of said Article does not contain required data set forth in the Statute, it shall return it to the International Criminal Court for completion and/or corrigenda.

When co-operating with the International Criminal Court, the state authorities of the Republic of Serbia are obliged to proceed with particular urgency.

Subject matter and territorial jurisdiction of courts, public prosecutor's offices and other state authorities with respect to the procedure of co-operation with the International Criminal Court shall be defined in accordance with the rules of the Criminal Procedure Code, unless otherwise provided by this Law or any separate law.

I BASIC PROVISIONS

Application of Legislation of the Republic of Serbia

Article 7

Competent state authorities involved in co-operation with the International Criminal Court shall undertake actions in a manner provided for by laws and other legal precepts of the Republic of Serbia.
Provisions of this Law and other regulations implemented in the procedure of co-operation with the International Criminal Court shall be interpreted in accordance with the legal system of the Republic of Serbia, in a manner corresponding to the objectives and the meaning of the Statute.

III LEGAL ASSISTANCE TO THE INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT

General Rules of Co-operation and Providing Legal Assistance

Article 14

Pursuant to Article 93 of the Statute, all state authorities shall co-operate through the Ministry to a full extent and in good faith with the International Criminal Court for the purposes of providing legal assistance to said Court, in order to prosecute persons charged with the criminal offences referred to in Article 1 of this Law.

III LEGAL ASSISTANCE TO THE INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT

General Rules of Co-operation and Providing Legal Assistance

Article 14

In providing the International Criminal Court with legal assistance, the competent state authority shall also undertake actions which have not been specifically sought by the International Criminal Court to be implemented if the actions to be taken are directly linked with the objective of providing legal assistance or where it is necessary for the purposes of identifying the perpetrator of the criminal offence and the collecting of evidence required for the proceedings before the International Criminal Court, and should the collecting of evidence be prevented or significantly impeded.

III LEGAL ASSISTANCE TO THE INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT

Attendance of Representatives of the International Criminal Court

Article 15

The state authority undertaking the action to provide legal assistance at the request of the International Criminal Court shall permit representatives thereof to witness the implementation of the legal assistance action.

The representatives of the International Criminal Court witnessing the implementation of the legal assistance action may ask questions and make proposals, and they may be granted video or sound recording of the action upon written request containing rationale should it not hinder the implementation or be inconsistent with justified interests of the persons witnessing the action and/or with the objectives of the criminal proceeding.

At their request the International Criminal Court representatives shall be provided with a copy of the minutes, and/or a copy of the video and sound recording of the legal assistance action.

The International Criminal Court representatives may be exceptionally allowed to also witness an action which excludes the public pursuant to the provisions of the Criminal Procedure Code should it not be contrary to the reasons for which the public is excluded.

In the case referred to in paragraph 4 of this Article, the state authority implementing the action shall specifically bring to the attention of the witnesses their duty to keep all facts they have learnt during the action secret, also warning them about the consequences of disclosing the secret.

III LEGAL ASSISTANCE TO THE INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT

Actions of International Criminal Court Representatives in the Territory of the Republic of Serbia

Article 16

By way of exception, at the request of the International Criminal Court, the International Criminal Court Representatives may be allowed to implement certain actions in the territory of the Republic of Serbia.

The actions undertaken from paragraph 1 of this Article must be witnessed by a person designated by the Minister competent for the judiciary.

The International Criminal Court Representatives shall not have the right to carry any weapons in the territory of the Republic of Serbia, and whilst undertaking the actions referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article they must not violate or limit any constitutional rights of the citizens of the Republic of Serbia or the rights relating to witnesses, court experts, suspects or accused persons from the Criminal Procedure Code.

The actions referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article must not be conducted in a coercive manner nor arrest may be resorted to relating to said actions or any other measure of procedural coercion .

III LEGAL ASSISTANCE TO THE INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT

Transfer of Criminal Jurisdiction to the Republic of Serbia

Article 19

When the International Criminal Court, pursuant to the Statute and the Rules of Procedure and Evidence, transfers to the Republic of Serbia the criminal prosecution of the crime from Article 1 of this Law, the competent Public Prosecutor shall instigate criminal proceedings before the competent court.

The Document on Charges in the case from paragraph 1 of this Article shall be based on evidence contained in the Prosecutor's former indictment, i.e. on evidence presented during the proceedings before the International Criminal Court, but it may be also based on other evidence in possession of the competent Public Prosecutor.

Criminal proceedings in the Republic of Serbia shall be conducted in accordance with the rules of the local law.

The evidence collected or presented by the International Criminal Court may be used in criminal proceedings in the Republic of Serbia only if it has been collected and/or presented in accordance with the Statute and the Rules of Procedure and Evidence, and if it could normally be utilised in the proceedings before the International Criminal Court.

The evidence mentioned in paragraph 4 of this Article shall be assessed by the competent court in accordance with the principle of free assessment of evidence and according to its own free conviction.

The International Criminal Court Representatives shall have the right to witness all stages of the criminal proceeding conducted in the Republic of Serbia, and the competent court shall send them timely summonses to witness certain actions and attend the main trial.

The right of the International Criminal Court Representatives to attend may not be limited even where the court, in accordance with the rules of the Criminal Procedure Code, passes a ruling on excluding the public from the main trial. In such event, the International Criminal Court Representatives shall be specifically made aware of their duty to keep all facts they learnt during such trial as a secret.

The right of the International Criminal Court Representatives to witness evidence-related actions undertaken prior to the main trial or outside the main trial may be limited where the court is not able, due to objective difficulties, to notify in a timely manner the International Criminal Court Representatives on any action seeing possible deferral.

The Government may conclude a separate agreement with the International Criminal Court, regulating all issues in more detail pertaining to the transfer of the criminal jurisdiction from the International Criminal Court to the Republic of Serbia.

IV ARREST, CUSTODY AND SURRENDER OF THE ACCUSED PERSON

Request by the International Criminal Court for Arrest and Surrender of the Accused Person or for Provisional Arrest of the Defendant

Article 20

The request of the International Criminal Court for arrest and surrender of the accused person or for provisional arrest of the defendant residing in the territory of the Republic of Serbia or is considered by the International Criminal Court to be on the territory of the Republic of Serbia shall be transmitted to the Ministry.

The Ministry is obliged, within 8 days of the day of the receipt of the request referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article, to establish whether or not the request contains information and supporting documents in accordance with Article 91, i.e. Article 92 of the Statute.

Should it establish that the request mentioned in paragraph 1 of this Article does not contain specified information and supporting documents, particularly the data required to establish the identity of the accused person, the Ministry shall return the request to the International Criminal Court accompanied with instructions to complete the request, i.e. to correct it.

IV ARREST, CUSTODY AND SURRENDER OF THE ACCUSED PERSON

Parties in the Surrender Procedure and the Competent Court

Article 22

Parties in the surrender procedure include the accused persons being sought for surrender, and the competent Public Prosecutor.

An International Criminal Court Representative is entitled to witness all actions during the surrender procedure, but s/he is not in the capacity of a Party in the procedure.

The Higher Court in Belgrade shall exercise jurisdiction as to the decision making in the surrender procedure.

IV ARREST, CUSTODY AND SURRENDER OF THE ACCUSED PERSON

Arrest of the Accused Person

Article 23

The Ministry shall, without delay, submit to the Police the request of the International Criminal Court for arrest of the accused person.

It is the duty of the Police to proceed upon the request of the International Criminal Court, arrest the accused person, and bring him/her in to the competent Investigative Judge without delay .

The accused person arrested relative to paragraph 1 of this Article shall have all the rights which any arrested person may have in accordance with the Criminal Procedure Code.

If the accused person is hiding or in flight, the Police shall undertake all required measures to find and arrest the person concerned, bringing him/her in to the competent Investigative Judge.

The Police shall, without delay, inform the competent Public Prosecutor about the hiding or the flight of the accused person, who may, in turn, propose to the Investigative Judge the issuance of arrest warrant.

IV ARREST, CUSTODY AND SURRENDER OF THE ACCUSED PERSON

Decision Taking on the Request of the International Criminal Court

Article 26

The request for surrender of the accused person to the International Criminal Court shall be decided upon by the competent Chamber.

The accused person shall be introduced by the Chamber to the request of the International Criminal Court and the charges before said Court, and interrogated, by analogous application of the Criminal Procedure Code, about the criminal offence that s/he is charged with, including all other circumstances significant to taking a decision as to the request.

During the interrogation the Chamber is obliged to proceed in the manner specified in Article 24, paragraph 5 of this Law.

The Chamber shall pass a ruling on surrender of the accused person to the International Criminal Court once it has established as follows :

1) the request relates to the accused person who is undergoing the surrender procedure, and the identity of the accused person is confirmed,
2) the requirements referred to in Article 91 of the Statute concerning the content of the request are met,
3) the accused is undergoing criminal proceedings for the criminal offence falling under the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court,
4) there are no obstacles to the surrender of the accused person to the International Criminal Court.

Where the criminal proceeding has already been instituted in the Republic of Serbia against the accused person relative to whom the surrender is requested by the International Criminal Court, and such request was transmitted to the Republic of Serbia after the beginning of said proceedings, the ruling on surrender may be passed only if the requirements provided for in Article 17 of the Statute are met.

If the Chamber establishes that the presumptions under paragraph 4 of this Article are not met, it shall rule to refuse the request for surrender of the accused person to the International Criminal Court.

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.

IV ARREST, CUSTODY AND SURRENDER OF THE ACCUSED PERSON

Appeal Against the Ruling on the Request of the International Criminal Court

Article 27

The ruling referred to in Article 26, paragraph 4 of this Law may be appealed by the accused person and his/her Defence Counsel, whereas the competent Public Prosecutor may appeal against the ruling mentioned in Article 26, paragraph 6 of this Law.

The appeal referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article may be lodged within three days from the day of receipt of the ruling. It shall postpone the enforcement of the ruling.

The appeal referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article shall be decided upon by the Chamber of the directly superior Court, composed of five Judges.

The Chamber may reject the appeal lodged by the accused person and his/her Defence Counsel as inadmissible or untimely, turn it down as unreasonable or sustain it when reversing the ruling mentioned in Article 26, paragraph 4 of this Law by their own ruling, passing a ruling according to which the request for surrender of persons to the International Criminal Court is refused.

The Chamber may turn down the appeal filed by the Public Prosecutor as unreasonable or it may sustain it when reversing the ruling mentioned in Article 26, paragraph 6 of this Law by their own ruling, passing a ruling to surrender the accused person to the International Criminal Court.

IV ARREST, CUSTODY AND SURRENDER OF THE ACCUSED PERSON


Enforcement and Rulings on Surrender

Article 28

The ruling to surrender the accused person to the International Criminal Court may be enforced when it becomes final and when no obstacles to the enforcement of the ruling exist.

The Minister competent for the judiciary may provisionally postpone the enforcement of the ruling granting surrender of the accused person when it is necessary due to an illness of the accused person or for other justified reasons.


Submission of a Ruling on Surrender

Article 29

A final and enforceable ruling granting surrender of the accused person to the International Criminal Court shall be submitted to the Ministry which shall, in turn, transmit it to the International Criminal Court.

The Ministry shall submit the ruling referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article to the Police to enforce it.


Surrender of the Accused Person to the International Criminal Court

Article 30

Surrender of the accused person to the International Criminal Court shall be conducted by the Police.

V ENFORCEMENT OF DECISIONS TAKEN BY THE INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT

General Rules on Enforcement of Decisions Taken by the International Criminal Court

Article 31

The Republic of Serbia shall in good faith enforce judgements and other decisions taken by the International Criminal Court.

During the procedure of enforcement of decisions referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article the competent state authorities shall apply the Statute and other regulations that are the sources of rights applied in the proceeding before the International Criminal Court or concerning it, including appropriate rules of the national law.

The Republic of Serbia shall, without delay, notify the International Criminal Court on the existence of any factual or legal impediments as to the enforcement of the decisions referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article, for the purposes of consultations on further actions.