Extradition is the transfer of a person who has committed a crime to another country for trial or execution of a sentence. Extradition is carried out in accordance with international treaties and national criminal and criminal procedure legislation. It is worth noting that extradition is possible only in the case of a crime and does not relate to any other offenses.

As for the issue of extradition specifically in the Republic of Armenia? The regulation of this issue is reflected in the Constitution of the Republic of Armenia, the Criminal Code of the Republic of Armenia, the Code of Criminal Procedure of the Republic of Armenia and international treaties.

1. Regulation given by the Constitution of RA

The Constitution of the Republic of Armenia states (Article 55):

1. No one may be expelled or extradited to another country if there is a real threat that the person in question may be subjected to the death penalty, torture, inhuman or degrading insult or punishment in that country;
2. 2. A citizen of the Republic of Armenia may not be extradited to a foreign state, except in cases provided for by international treaties ratified by the Republic of Armenia.

Thus, the Constitution of the Republic of Armenia protects the fundamental rights not only of its citizens, but also of all people whose rights may be violated.

2. Regulations given by the internal legislation of the country

The Criminal Procedure Code of the Republic of Armenia expands the list of grounds for refusal of extradition (Part 1 of Article 488 of the Criminal Procedure Code of the Republic of Armenia).

1. At the time of receipt by the competent authority of the Republic of Armenia of the extradition request in accordance with the legislation of the foreign state that submitted the request, criminal prosecution cannot be initiated or the decision cannot be executed due to the expiration of the statute of limitations or other legal basis;
2. A court decision or decision on the termination of proceedings and the termination of criminal prosecution has already been issued against a person for the same act.

The requesting country may be refused extradition (part 2 of Article 488 of the Criminal Procedure Code of the Republic of Armenia) if:

1. A person has received political asylum in accordance with the norms provided for by the Republic of Armenia
2. A person is persecuted for political, racial or religious reasons
3. A person has been brought to justice for committing a war crime in pepeacetimA
4. A person has committed a crime on the territory of the Republic of Armenia

Extradition may also be refused if the requesting foreign State does not ensure reciprocity in the field of legal assistance in criminal matters.

Article 12 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Armenia establishes the grounds for the application of criminal law in relation to persons who have committed a crime under the Criminal Code of the Republic of Armenia, but who were outside Armenia:

1. The issue of criminal liability of Armenian citizens, as well as persons with dual citizenship, persons permanently residing in the Republic of Armenia, stateless persons, persons living in the Republic of Armenia with refugee status, asylum seekers or those who have received it, is resolved by the Criminal Code of the Republic of Armenia if the act committed by them is considered a crime in accordance with the legislation of the place of commission, and if they They were not prosecuted for this act. If the specified persons committed a crime in a territory that does not belong to any state, then the represented persons are subject to criminal liability under the Criminal Code of the Republic of Armenia, if the punishment for the committed act is in the form of imprisonment. Persons residing in the Republic of Armenia with refugee status, seeking asylum or who have received it, when committing acts provided for by the criminal legislation of Armenia, outside the Republic of Armenia are not subject to criminal liability if there are conditions provided for by international treaties of the Republic of Armenia.
2. In cases established by international treaties of the Republic of Armenia, the issue of criminal liability of persons specified in the higher paragraph is resolved by the Criminal Code of the Republic of Armenia, regardless of whether this act is considered a crime in the territory of the State where it was committed or not.
3. The issue of criminal liability of foreign citizens who have committed an act provided for by criminal law outside the territory of the Republic of Armenia and are located in the territory of the Republic of Armenia, as well as stateless persons who do not permanently reside in the Republic of Armenia, is resolved by the Criminal Code of the Republic of Armenia if the act committed by them is a crime provided for by international treaties of the Republic of Armenia, and if they have not been involved to be criminally responsible for this act, regardless of whether it was recognized as a crime in the territory of the State where the crime was committed.
4. The issue of criminal liability of a person who has committed an act provided for by criminal law outside the territory of the Republic of Armenia is resolved by the Criminal Code of the Republic of Armenia if the committed act is directed against the interests of the Republic of Armenia, the rights and freedoms of a citizen of the Republic of Armenia, including a person with dual citizenship, as well as a person permanently residing in the Republic of Armenia, a stateless person, a person living in the Republic of Armenia with the status of a refugee, an asylum seeker or a person who has received asylum, or a legal entity.

3. Regulations given in international law

The main international documents regulating the presented issue are the “Convention on Legal Assistance and Legal Relations in Civil, Family and Criminal Matters“, signed on January 22, 1993 in Minsk by representatives of the CIS countries, as well as the ”European Convention on the Transfer of Convicted Persons», adopted in Strasbourg on March 21, 1983 (ratified in Armenia on September 1, 2001 year).

The Minsk Convention establishes:

• According to article 56, the Contracting sides are obliged, in accordance with the conditions provided for in the Convention, upon request, to extradite persons located on their territory to each other for criminal prosecution (if a punishment in the form of imprisonment for a period of at least one year or a more severe punishment is provided) or for the execution of a sentence (if the person has been sentenced to imprisonment for a period of at least six months or to a more severe punishment)
• According to article 63, extradition may be delayed if the person whose extradition is required is prosecuted or convicted of another crime in the territory of the requested party
• But at the same time, if this delay may lead to the expiration of the statute of limitations for criminal prosecution or cause damage to the investigation of a crime, the person whose extradition is required on request may be extradited for a time. The person must be returned without fail after completing the necessary actions and no later than 3 months after the date of transfer (article 64)
• If several States require the extradition of the same person, the requested party can independently decide which of these requirements should be satisfied

The European Convention on the Transfer of Convicted Persons is valid only in the presence of certain circumstances (article 3). These are:

• The convicted person must be a citizen of the requesting State
• The court decision must be final and must not be subject to appeal
• The term of punishment that the convicted person will have to serve cannot be less than six months at the time of receipt of the transfer request or must be indefinite
• If the parties deem it necessary, the convicted person or, due to his advanced age, physical or mental condition, his representative must consent to the transfer
• The crime that caused the conviction must also be a criminal offense in the requesting country
• The States parties must agree on the terms of the transfer

All these conditions must be met in order for the transfer to take place.

During transfer of a person to the State in which the sentence will be executed, the latter gets the opportunity to terminate the execution of the sentence in the State that passed the sentence (Article 8).

If you encounter a violation of your rights, contact the law office of Vardan Khechyan for qualified assistance.

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