Chapter 19
INTERNATIONAL CO-OPERATION IN CRIMINAL PROCEDURE

Division 1
General Provisions

§ 433. General principles

(1) International co-operation in criminal procedure comprises extradition of persons to foreign states, mutual assistance between states in criminal matters, execution of the judgments of foreign courts, taking over and transfer of criminal proceedings commenced, co-operation with the International Criminal Court and Eurojust and extradition to member states of the European Union.
[RT I 2008, 19, 132 - entry into force 23.05.2008]

Chapter 19
INTERNATIONAL CO-OPERATION IN CRIMINAL PROCEDURE

Division 2
Extradition

Subdivision 1
Extradition of Persons to Foreign States

§ 440. Circumstances precluding or restricting extradition of persons to foreign states

(1) In addition to the cases provided for in § 436 of this Code, extradition of a person to a foreign state is prohibited if :

2) the person has been finally convicted or acquitted on the same charges in Estonia ;

Chapter 19
INTERNATIONAL CO-OPERATION IN CRIMINAL PROCEDURE

Division 2
Extradition

Subdivision 1
Extradition of Persons to Foreign States

§ 440. Circumstances precluding or restricting extradition of persons to foreign states

(4) A request for the extradition of a person to a foreign state may be denied if initiation of criminal proceedings on the same charges has been refused with regard to the person or if the proceedings have been terminated.

Chapter 19
INTERNATIONAL CO-OPERATION IN CRIMINAL PROCEDURE

Division 4
Transfer and Taking Over of Criminal Proceedings

§ 474. Transfer of criminal proceedings

(1) Transfer of a criminal proceeding initiated with regard to a person suspected or accused of a criminal offence to a foreign state may be requested if :

1) the person is a citizen of or permanently lives in the foreign state ;
2) the person is serving a sentence of imprisonment in the foreign state ;
3) criminal proceedings concerning the same or any other criminal offence have been initiated with regard to the person in the requested state ;
4) the evidence or the most relevant pieces of evidence are located in the foreign state ;
5) it is considered that the presence of the accused at the time of the hearing of the criminal matter cannot be ensured and his or her presence for the purposes of the hearing of the criminal matter is ensured in the requested state.

(2) A request for transfer shall be sent to the Public Prosecutor's Office together with the criminal file or an authenticated copy thereof, and other relevant materials.

(3) The Public Prosecutor's Office shall verify whether the transfer of a criminal proceeding is justified and send the materials to the Ministry of Justice who shall forward them to the foreign state.

(4) After submission of a request for the transfer of a criminal proceeding, charges shall not be brought against the person for the criminal offence regarding which transfer of the proceedings was requested, and a court judgment previously made with regard to the person for the same criminal offence shall not be executed.

(5) The right to bring charges and execute a court judgment is regained if :

1) the request for transfer is not satisfied ;
2) the request for transfer is not accepted ;
3) the requested state decides not to commence or to terminate the proceedings ;
4) the request is withdrawn before the requested state has given notice of its decision to satisfy the request.

Chapter 19
INTERNATIONAL CO-OPERATION IN CRIMINAL PROCEDURE

Division 4
Transfer and Taking Over of Criminal Proceedings

§ 475. Taking over of criminal proceedings

(1) The Ministry of Justice shall forward a request to take over a criminal proceeding from a foreign state to the Public Prosecutor's Office who shall decide whether to take over the criminal proceeding.

(2) In addition to the cases provided for in § 436 of this Code, acceptance of a request to take over a criminal proceeding may be refused in full or in part if :

1) the suspect or accused is not an Estonian citizen or does not live permanently in Estonia ;
2) the criminal offence concerning which the request to take over the criminal proceeding is submitted is a political offence or a military offence within the meaning of the provisions of the European Convention on Extradition and the Additional Protocols thereto ;
3) the criminal offence was committed outside the territory of the requesting state ;
4) the request is in conflict with the principles of Estonian criminal procedure.

(3) A criminal matter which has been taken over shall be subject to proceeding by the county court of the residence of the accused or, in the absence of a residence, by the court in whose jurisdiction the pre-trial proceeding was completed.
[RT I 2005, 39, 308 - entry into force 01.01.2006]

Article 17
Issues of admissibility
1. Having regard to paragraph 10 of the Preamble and article 1, the Court shall determine that a case is inadmissible where:
(a) The case is being investigated or prosecuted by a State which has jurisdiction over it, unless the State is unwilling or unable genuinely to carry out the investigation or prosecution;
(b) The case has been investigated by a State which has jurisdiction over it and the State has decided not to prosecute the person concerned, unless the decision resulted from the unwillingness or inability of the State genuinely to prosecute;
(c) The person concerned has already been tried for conduct which is the subject of the complaint, and a trial by the Court is not permitted under article 20, paragraph 3;
(d) The case is not of sufficient gravity to justify further action by the Court.
2. In order to determine unwillingness in a particular case, the Court shall consider, having regard to the principles of due process recognized by international law, whether one or more of the following exist, as applicable:
(a) The proceedings were or are being undertaken or the national decision was made for the purpose of shielding the person concerned from criminal responsibility for crimes within the jurisdiction of the Court referred to in article 5;
(b) There has been an unjustified delay in the proceedings which in the circumstances is inconsistent with an intent to bring the person concerned to justice;
(c) The proceedings were not or are not being conducted independently or impartially, and they were or are being conducted in a manner which, in the circumstances, is inconsistent with an intent to bring the person concerned to justice.
3. In order to determine inability in a particular case, the Court shall consider whether, due to a total or substantial collapse or unavailability of its national judicial system, the State is unable to obtain the accused or the necessary evidence and testimony or otherwise unable to carry out its proceedings.