Pospíšil and Holder ratify EU-US agreements on extradition and mutual assistance
On 28 April Prague hosted the troika meeting of the EU and US Interior and Justice Ministers. Czech Justice Minister Pospíšil and US Attorney General Holder ratified the Agreements on Extradition and Mutual Legal Assistance. The EU-US agreements are expected to enter into force in the coming months when all EU Member States have deposited their instruments of ratification.
Representatives of the Ministry of Justice informed their US counterparts of the current state of the ratification procedure concerning both EU-US agreements. “At national level, the ratification procedure has now been completed in all Member States except Belgium and Greece. I consider it indispensable that both agreements should be adopted as soon as possible by the EU as a whole. I firmly believe that this will take no longer than a few months”, said Czech Justice Minister Pospíšil.
The US Attorney General signed the instruments of ratification also with Swedish Justice Minister Beatrice Ask. “We thank the Czech Presidency for its efforts in this area. Likewise, we fully support a rapid conclusion of the ratification procedures in the EU Member States and the entry into force of both agreements”, stated Eric Holder.
The Agreement on Extradition between the Czech Republic and the USA will above all simplify the extradition procedure between the countries and extend the range of crimes where extradition is possible. The parties to the agreement will also retain the right to reject the extradition of their citizens. The agreement further provides for the extradition of criminals sentenced to death. If, for example, it is possible to impose the capital punishment for a crime for which extradition is demanded in conformity with the law of the requesting state, but not the law of the requested state, the requested state can allow extradition on condition that the perpetrator will not be sentenced to death. If the requesting state accepts the conditions of extradition, it is obliged to abide by them. If it refuses to accept, the request may be rejected.
The Supplementary Convention on Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters amends the introduction and use of communication tools such as fax and e-mail, the issue of personal data protection, judicial cooperation in obtaining bank information and hearings via videoconference.
“We consider both agreements very significant both for the EU and for all the Member States and we are happy that the Czech Republic, during its Presidency, has had this opportunity to contribute to improving cooperation with the United States in the fight against organised crime”, concluded Minister Pospíšil.
Contact:
- Martina Kvašová, spokesperson of the Ministry of Justice of the Czech Republic for the Presidency,
- tel.: +420 221 997 263, mobile: +420 737 247 338; e-mail:mkvasova@msp.justice.cz
Last update: 16.8.2011 15:39
