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

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


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.

Article 59
Arrest proceedings in the custodial State
1. A State Party which has received a request for provisional arrest or for arrest and surrender shall immediately take steps to arrest the person in question in accordance with its laws and the provisions of Part 9.
2. A person arrested shall be brought promptly before the competent judicial authority in the custodial State which shall determine, in accordance with the law of that State, that:
(a) The warrant applies to that person;
(b) The person has been arrested in accordance with the proper process; and
(c) The person's rights have been respected.
3. The person arrested shall have the right to apply to the competent authority in the custodial State for interim release pending surrender.
4. In reaching a decision on any such application, the competent authority in the custodial State shall consider whether, given the gravity of the alleged crimes, there are urgent and exceptional circumstances to justify interim release and whether necessary safeguards exist to ensure that the custodial State can fulfil its duty to surrender the person to the Court. It shall not be open to the competent authority of the custodial State to consider whether the warrant of arrest was properly issued in accordance with article 58, paragraph 1 (a) and (b).
5. The Pre-Trial Chamber shall be notified of any request for interim release and shall make recommendations to the competent authority in the custodial State. The competent authority in the
custodial State shall give full consideration to such recommendations, including any recommendations on measures to prevent the escape of the person, before rendering its decision.
6. If the person is granted interim release, the Pre-Trial Chamber may request periodic reports on the status of the interim release.
7. Once ordered to be surrendered by the custodial State, the person shall be delivered to the Court as soon as possible.

Article 89
Surrender of persons to the Court
1. The Court may transmit a request for the arrest and surrender of a person, together with the material supporting the request outlined in article 91, to any State on the territory of which that person may be found and shall request the cooperation of that State in the arrest and surrender of such a person. States Parties shall, in accordance with the provisions of this Part and the procedure under their national law, comply with requests for arrest and surrender.