Part Five. International Cooperation in the Sphere of Criminal Court Proceedings

Section XVIII. Procedure for the Interaction of Courts, Prosecutors, Investigators and the Inquest Bodies with the Corresponding Competent Bodies and Officials of Foreign States and with International Organizations

Chapter 55. Handing Over the Person Sentenced to the Deprivation of Freedom, for Serving the Sentence in the State of Which He Is a Citizen

Federal Law No. 58-FZ of June 29, 2004 amended Article 469 of this Code


Article 469. Grounds for Handing Over the Person Sentenced to Deprivation of Liberty

Seen as the grounds for handing over the person sentenced by a court of the Russian Federation to deprivation of freedom, for serving the sentence in the state of which he is a citizen, as well as for handing over a citizen of the Russian Federation sentenced by a court of a foreign state to the deprivation of liberty, for serving the sentence in the Russian Federation, shall be the court decision based on the results of considering the proposal of the federal executive body authorised in the sphere of the execution of penalties or the application of the convict or a representative thereof, as well as of the competent authority of a foreign state in compliance with an international treaty of the Russian Federation or an agreement in writing between the competent authority of the Russian Federation and the competent authority of the foreign state on the basis of the principle of reciprocity.


Article 470. Procedure for Considering by Court the Issues Connected with Handing Over a Person
Sentenced to Deprivation of Liberty

Federal Law No. 58-FZ of June 29, 2004 amended part 1 of Article 470 of this Code

1. The proposal of the federal executive body authorised in the sphere of the execution of penalties, as well as an application of the convict, a representative thereof, or the competent authority of a foreign state on handing over a person sentenced to deprivation of liberty for serving his/her sentence in the state of which this person is a citizen, shall be considered by the court in the procedure and within the time period which are established by Articles 396, 397 and 399 of this Code subject to the requirements of this Article and Articles 471 to 472 of this Code.

2. Where it is impossible for the court to consider the issue of handing over the convict due to the incompleteness or absence of required data, the judge shall be entitled to postpone its consideration and to request for missing data or to direct the convict's application without consideration thereof to the competent authority of the Russian Federation for collecting required information in compliance with regulations of an international treaty of the Russian Federation, as well as for the preliminary coordination of the issue on the convict's handing over with the competent authority of a foreign state.


Article 471. Reasons for the Refusal to Hand Over the Person Sentenced to Deprivation of Liberty for Serving Punishment in the State of Which He/She Is a Citizen

Handing over of the person, sentenced to deprivation of liberty by a court of the Russian Federation for serving the term in the state of which he/she is a citizen, may be refused in cases, when:
• 1) none of the deeds for which the person is convicted, is recognized as a crime in accordance with the legislation of the state of which he is a citizen;
2) the punishment cannot be executed in the foreign state as a result of:
 a) the expiry of the term of legal limitation or for other grounds,
stipulated by the legislation of this state;
b) non-recognition by a court or other competent authority of a foreign state of the sentence passed by a court of the Russian Federation without establishing the procedure for, and terms of, the convict's serving punishment on the territory of the foreign state;
c) incompatibility of the terms of, and procedure for, serving punishment by the convict determined by a court or other competent authority of the foreign state;
• 3) guarantees of execution of the sentence in the part of the civil claim have not been received from the convict or from the foreign state;
4) no consensus is reached on handing over the convict on the terms, stipulated by an international treaty of the Russian Federation;
5) the convict has a permanent place of residence in the Russian Federation.


Article 472. Procedure for the Court's Resolution of Questions Involved in Execution of the Sentence Passed by Court of a Foreign State

1. If a court, when considering a presentation (application) for passing over a citizen of the Russian Federation sentenced to deprivation of liberty by a court of a foreign state, comes to the conclusion that the deed for which the citizen of the Russian Federation is convicted is not a crime under the laws of the Russian Federation, or the sentence of the foreign state's court may not be executed by virtue of the expiry of the limitation period, as well as for any other reason provided for by laws of the Russian Federation or an international treaty of the Russian Federation, it shall issue a ruling on the refusal to recognize the sentence of the foreign state's court.

2. In all other instances the court shall issue a decision on the recognition and execution of the foreign state's sentence, and shall indicate the following:
• 1) the title of the foreign state's court, the date and place of passing the sentence;
2) data on the last place of residence of the convict in the Russian Federation, on his/her place of employment and occupation prior to sentencing;
3) the description of the crime, of whose commission the convict is found guilty, and the criminal law of the foreign state under which he/she is convicted;
4) the article of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation under which the crime committed by the convict is punishable;
5) the type and term of the inflicted punishment (principal and additional ones), the served term and the term of punishment which the convict has to serve in the Russian Federation, the start and end thereof, the type of correctional facility, the procedure for indemnification under a civil claim.

3. If under the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation the maximum term of deprivation of liberty for a given crime is less than that inflicted under the sentence of the foreign state's court, the court shall determine the maximum term of liberty deprivation for committing this crime provided for by the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. If under the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation deprivation of liberty is not provided for as a punishment for the crime committed by the person, the court shall determine another punishment matching the maximum punishment inflicted under the sentence of the foreign state's court within the limits established by the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation for this crime.

4. Where the sentence of a foreign state's court concerns two or several deeds, not all of which are crimes in the Russian Federation, the court shall determine what part of the punishment inflicted under the sentence of the foreign state's court shall apply to the deed which is criminal.

5. The court's decision shall be executed in the procedure established by Article 393 of this Code.

6. In the event of reversal or alteration of a sentence passed by a foreign state's court or of applying in respect of the person serving punishment in the Russian Federation acts of amnesty or clemency issued in the foreign state, the issues concerning the reviewed sentence of the foreign state's court, as well as the application of the acts of amnesty or clemency shall be settled in compliance with the requirements of this Article .

Article 103
Role of States in enforcement of sentences of imprisonment
1. (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.

Article 104
Change in designation of State of enforcement
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.


Article 105
Enforcement of the sentence
1. Subject to conditions which a State may have specified in accordance with article 103, paragraph 1 (b), the sentence of imprisonment shall be binding on the States Parties, which shall in no case modify it.
2. The Court alone shall have the right to decide any application for appeal and revision. The State of enforcement shall not impede the making of any such application by a sentenced person.

Article 106
Supervision of enforcement of sentences and conditions of imprisonment
1. The enforcement of a sentence of imprisonment shall be subject to the supervision of the Court and shall be consistent with widely accepted international treaty standards governing treatment of prisoners.
2. The conditions of imprisonment shall be governed by the law of the State of enforcement and shall be consistent with widely accepted international treaty standards governing treatment of prisoners; in no case shall such conditions be more or less favourable than those available to prisoners convicted of similar offences in the State of enforcement.
3. Communications between a sentenced person and the Court shall be unimpeded and confidential.