Transfer to High Court for sentence
190.—(1) Where
(a) a person over the age of 18 years is convicted by a magistrate for an offence; and
(b) the magistrate is of the opinion (whether by reason of the nature of the offence, the circumstances surrounding its commission or the previous history of the accused person) that the circumstances of the case are such that greater punishment should be imposed in respect of the offence than the magistrate has power to impose—
the magistrate may, by order, transfer the person to the High Court for sentencing.
(2) If the person is transferred under sub-section (1) to the High Court, a copy of the order for transfer and of the charge in respect of which the person was convicted shall be sent to the Chief Registrar of the High Court.
(3) The High Court shall enquire into the circumstances of the case and may deal with the person in any manner in which the person could be dealt with if the person had been convicted by the High Court.
(4) A person transferred to the High Court under this section has the same right of appeal to the Court of Appeal as if the person had been convicted and sentenced by the High Court.
(5) The High Court, after hearing submissions by the prosecutor, may remit the person transferred for sentence in custody or on bail to the Magistrates Court which originally transferred the person to the High Court and the person shall then be dealt with by the Magistrates Court, and the person has the same right of appeal as if no transfer to the High Court had occurred.
Division 3—Transfer of Accused Persons to the High Court
Power to transfer to the High Court
191. A magistrate may transfer any charges or proceedings to the High Court.
No preliminary enquiry and committal proceedings
192. An accused person shall not be subject to a preliminary enquiry or to committal proceedings prior to transfer to the High Court for trial.
Guilty plea to offence triable in the High Court
193.— (1) A magistrate has jurisdiction to accept a guilty plea for any offence (including an indictable offence) before a case is transferred to the High Court.
(2) When accepting a guilty plea under sub-section (1) the magistrate shall not proceed to conviction, but this shall be reserved for the High Court after the transfer of the case.
(3) Notwithstanding sub-section (1), a person who has been charged with an offence only triable by the High Court, or who has elected trial by the High Court in respect of an indictable offence summarily, may reserve his plea until arraignment by the High Court.
Transfer to the High Court following plea
194. If an accused person has —
(a) entered a plea of guilty to an indictable offence and the plea has been recorded by the Magistrates Court; or
(b) pleaded not guilty to an indictable offence in respect of which the accused has elected trial in the High Court; or
(c) has been charged with an offence triable only in the High Court—the magistrate shall order the transfer of the charges or proceedings to the High Court for sentencing or for trial.
Particulars of order for transfer
195. If a magistrate makes an order for transfer of a matter to the High Court —
(a) a copy of the order for transfer shall be sent by the officer-in-charge of a Magistrates Court to the Chief Registrar of the High Court, and the Director of Public Prosecutions;
(b) the accused person shall be remanded, either on bail or in custody, to appear in the High Court on a fixed date not exceeding 28 days from the date of the order for transfer;
(c) in the case of an order for transfer made following a plea of guilty under section 194, a copy of the order of transfer and of the charge in respect of which a conviction has been entered by the magistrate shall be sent to the Chief Registrar of the High Court.
First appearance of accused person at High Court
196.— (1) An accused person whose charge or proceedings has been transferred to the High Court under section 194 shall be brought before the High Court not later than 28 days from the date the order of transfer was made.
(2) Upon first appearance before the High Court of an accused person who has pleaded guilty in the Magistrates Court, the High Court shall proceed to sentence (with or without conviction under the Sentencing and Penalties Decree 2009).
(3) Upon first appearance before the High Court of an accused person who has pleaded not guilty under or has reserved his or her plea, the High Court shall proceed to arraignment.
1. States Parties shall, in accordance with the provisions of this Part and under procedures of national law, comply with requests by the Court to provide the following assistance in relation to investigations or prosecutions:
(f) The temporary transfer of persons as provided in paragraph 7;
(a) The Court may request the temporary transfer of a person in custody for purposes of identification or for obtaining testimony or other assistance. The person may be transferred if the following conditions are fulfilled:
(i) The person freely gives his or her informed consent to the transfer; and
(ii) The requested State agrees to the transfer, subject to such conditions as that State and the Court may agree.
(b) The person being transferred shall remain in custody. When the purposes of the transfer have been fulfilled, the Court shall return the person without delay to the requested State.
(a) A sentence of imprisonment shall be served in a State designated by the Court from a list of States which have indicated to the Court their willingness to accept sentenced persons.
(b) At the time of declaring its willingness to accept sentenced persons, a State may attach conditions to its acceptance as agreed by the Court and in accordance with this Part.
(c) A State designated in a particular case shall promptly inform the Court whether it accepts the Court's designation.
2.
(a) The State of enforcement shall notify the Court of any circumstances, including the exercise of any conditions agreed under paragraph 1, which could materially affect the terms or extent of the imprisonment. The Court shall be given at least 45 days' notice of any such known or foreseeable circumstances. During this period, the State of enforcement shall take no action that might prejudice its obligations under article 110.
(b) Where the Court cannot agree to the circumstances referred to in subparagraph (a), it shall notify the State of enforcement and proceed in accordance with article 104, paragraph 1.
3. In exercising its discretion to make a designation under paragraph 1, the Court shall take into account the following:
(a) The principle that States Parties should share the responsibility for enforcing sentences of imprisonment, in accordance with principles of equitable distribution, as provided in the Rules of Procedure and Evidence;
(b) The application of widely accepted international treaty standards governing the treatment of prisoners;
(c) The views of the sentenced person;
(d) The nationality of the sentenced person;
(e) Such other factors regarding the circumstances of the crime or the person sentenced, or the effective enforcement of the sentence, as may be appropriate in designating the State of enforcement.
4. If no State is designated under paragraph 1, the sentence of imprisonment shall be served in a prison facility made available by the host State, in accordance with the conditions set out in the headquarters agreement referred to in article 3, paragraph 2. In such a case, the costs arising out of the enforcement of a sentence of imprisonment shall be borne by the Court.
1. The Court may, at any time, decide to transfer a sentenced person to a prison of another State.
2. A sentenced person may, at any time, apply to the Court to be transferred from the State of enforcement.
1. Following completion of the sentence, a person who is not a national of the State of enforcement may, in accordance with the law of the State of enforcement, be transferred to a State which is obliged to receive him or her, or to another State which agrees to receive him or her, taking into account any wishes of the person to be transferred to that State, unless the State of enforcement authorizes the person to remain in its territory.
2. If no State bears the costs arising out of transferring the person to another State pursuant to paragraph 1, such costs shall be borne by the Court.
3. Subject to the provisions of article 108, the State of enforcement may also, in accordance with its national law, extradite or otherwise surrender the person to a State which has requested the extradition or surrender of the person for purposes of trial or enforcement of a sentence.