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 54. Extradition of a Person for the Criminal Prosecution or for the Execution of the Sentence

Article 462. Execution of an Inquiry on the Extradition of a Person Staying on the Territory of the Russian Federation

1. The Russian Federation, in conformity with an international treaty of the Russian Federation or on the basis of the principle of reciprocity, may extradite to a foreign state a foreign citizen or a stateless person, staying on the territory of the Russian Federation, for conducting the criminal prosecution or for executing the sentence for acts criminally punishable in conformity with the criminal law of the Russian Federation and with the laws of the foreign state which sent an inquiry for the extradition of the person.

2. The extradition of a person on the basis of the principle of reciprocity shall signify that in
accordance with the assurances of the foreign state that has forwarded an inquiry for the extradition, it may be expected that in a similar situation extradition would be effected on an inquiry of the Russian Federation.

3. The extradition of a person may be effected in the following cases:
1) if the criminal law envisages for the perpetration of these acts a punishment in
the form of the deprivation of freedom for a term of over one year, or a more severe punishment, when the person is extradited for criminal prosecution;
2) if the person, with respect to whom an inquiry for the extradition is directed, is sentenced to the deprivation of freedom for a term of not less than six months or to a tougher punishment;
3) if the foreign state which forwarded the inquiry may guarantee that the person, with respect to whom an inquiry for extradition is directed, will be prosecuted only for the crime pointed out in the inquiry, and that after completing the judicial proceedings and serving the sentence he shall be able to leave the territory of the given state without hindrance, and shall not be sent away, handed over or extradited to a third state without the consent of the Russian Federation.

4. The decision on the extradition of a foreign citizen or of a stateless person, staying on the territory of the Russian Federation and accused of committing a crime or convicted by the court of a foreign state, shall be adopted by the Procurator-General of the Russian Federation or by his Deputy.

5. The Procurator-General of the Russian Federation or the deputy thereof shall notify of an adopted decision in writing the person in respect of whom it is adopted, and shall explain thereto his/her right to appeal against this decision with court in compliance with Article 463 of this Code.

6. A decision on extradition shall enter into legal force in ten days as of the time of notifying the person in respect of whom it is adopted. In the event of appealing against the decision, the extradition shall not be effected pending the entry of the court decision into legal force.

7. If petitions for the extradition of one and the same person have arrived from several foreign states, the decision on what of these inquiries shall be satisfied shall be taken by the Procurator-General of the Russian Federation or by his Deputy. The Procurator-General of the Russian Federation or his Deputy shall inform about the adopted decision the person, with respect to whom it is adopted, in writing within 24 hours .


Article 463. Appealing the Decision on the Person's Extradition and the Judicial Check-Up of Its Legality and Substantiation

1. The decision of the Procurator-General of the Russian Federation or of his Deputy on the extradition may be appealed against with the Supreme Court of the Republic, with the territorial or the regional court, with the court of a city of federal importance, the court of an autonomous region or the court of an autonomous area at the location of the person, with respect to whom this decision is adopted or by his counsel for the defence, within ten days from the moment of receiving a notification.

2. If the person, with respect to whom the decision on the extradition is adopted, is held in custody, the administration of the place of his detention after receiving the complaint, addressed to the court, shall immediately forward it to the corresponding court and shall inform about this the public prosecutor.

3. The public prosecutor shall direct to the court within ten days the materials, confirming the legality and the substantiation of the decision on the person's extradition.

4. Checking up the legality and the substantiation of the decision on the extradition of the person shall be performed within one month from the day of receiving the complaint by the court, consisting of three judges, in an open court session with the participation of the public prosecutor, of the person with respect to whom the decision on the extradition is adopted, and of his counsel for the defence, if he is taking part in the criminal case.

5. At the start of the session, the presiding justice shall announce what complaint is subject to consideration and shall explain to the present persons their rights, liabilities and responsibility. Then the applicant and/or his counsel for the defence shall substantiate the complaint, after which the floor shall once again be given to the public prosecutor.

6. In the course of the judicial proceedings the court shall not discuss the questions, concerning the guilt of the person who has filed the complaint, but shall restrict itself to checking up the correspondence between the decision on the extradition of the given person and the legislation and the international treaties of the Russian Federation.

7. As a result of the check-up, the court shall pass one of the following rulings:
• 1) on recognizing the decision on the extradition of the person as illegal or unsubstantiated, and on its cancellation;
2) on leaving the complaint without satisfaction.

8. If the decision on the person's extradition is cancelled, the court shall also cancel the measure of restriction, selected for the person who entered the complaint.

9. The court ruling on satisfying the complaint or on the refusal in this may be appealed against by way of cassation with the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation within seven days from the day of its adoption.


Article 464. Refusal in the Extradition of a Person

1. The extradition of a person shall be inadmissible, if:
• 1) the person, with respect to whom the inquiry for extradition has come from a foreign state, is a citizen of the Russian Federation;
2) the person, with respect to whom an inquiry on the extradition has come from a foreign state, has been granted asylum in the Russian Federation because of the possibility of his persecution in the given state on account of race, religion, citizenship, nationality, affiliation with a certain social group, or because of his political views;
3) with respect to the person, named in the inquiry, for the same act a sentence is passed on the territory of the Russian Federation, which has entered into legal force, or the proceedings on the criminal case are terminated;
4) in conformity with the legislation of the Russian Federation, the criminal case cannot be instituted or the sentence cannot be executed because of an expiry of the term of legal limitation or on another legal ground;
5) there is the decision of the court of the Russian Federation, which has passed into legal force, on the existence of obstacles to the extradition of the given person in conformity with the legislation and the international treaties of the Russian Federation.

2. The extradition of a person may be refused, if:
• 1) the act which has served as a ground for directing an inquiry for the extradition, is
not a crime under the criminal law;
2) the act, in connection with which an inquiry for the extradition is forwarded, is committed on the territory of the Russian Federation, or against the interests of the Russian Federation outside its territory;
3) the criminal prosecution of the person, with respect to whom an inquiry for the extradition is sent is being conducted for the same act in the Russian Federation ;
4) the criminal prosecution of the person, with respect to whom an inquiry for the extradition is entered, is instituted by way of a private charge.

3. If the extradition of the person is not taking place, the Office of the Procurator-General of the Russian Federation shall notify to this effect the competent bodies of the corresponding foreign state, with an indication of the reasons behind the refusal.


Article 465. Postponement of the Person's Extradition and the Extradition of a Person for a Time

1. If a foreign citizen or a stateless person, with respect to whom an inquiry for the extradition has come in, is subject to the criminal prosecution or is serving a term for another crime on the territory of the Russian Federation, his extradition may be postponed till the termination of the criminal prosecution, till his release from the punishment on any lawful ground, or till he has served the sentence.

2. If the postponement of the extradition may entail an expiry of the term of legal limitation for the criminal prosecution, or may inflict a damage on the inquisition of the crime, the person mentioned in the inquiry may be extradited for a time, if there has been assumed a liability to observe the terms, established by the Procurator-General of the Russian Federation or by his Deputy .


Article 466. Selection or Application of a Selected Measure of Restriction to Provide for the Person's Probable Extradition

1. When an inquiry is received from a foreign state for a person's extradition and, with this, a judicial decision on taking in respect of this person a measure of restraint in the form of placing in custody is not presented, the prosecutor, for the purpose of ensuring the possibility of the person's extradition, shall resolve the issue on the necessity to select a measure of restriction for the person in the procedure stipulated by this Code.

2. If to an inquiry on the person's extradition there is enclosed the decision of a judicial body of the foreign state on taking the person into custody, the prosecutor shall have the right to place the person under home arrest or to take him/her into custody without confirming said decision by a court of the Russian Federation.

3. The Procurator-General of the Russian Federation or his Deputy shall immediately notify the competent body of the foreign state, which has directed the inquiry for the person's extradition .


Article 467. Handing Over the Extradited Person

1. The Russian Federation shall notify the foreign state about the place, time and date of handing over the extradited person. If the given person is not accepted within fifteen days from the date fixed for handing him/her over, he/she may be released from custody.

2. If a foreign state cannot accept the person subject to extradition due to circumstances which are not dependent on it and notifies the Russian Federation on it, the date of handing him/her over shall be postponed. The date of handing over may be postponed in the same procedure, if the Russian Federation cannot hand over the person subject to extradition due to circumstances which are not dependent on it.

3. In any case, the person shall be subject to release upon the expiry of thirty days as of the date fixed for handing him/her over.


Article 468. Handing Over the Objects

1. When handing over the extradited person to the corresponding competent body of a foreign state, the objects, which are the instruments of the crime, as well as the objects with the traces of the crime on them or those acquired in a criminal way may also be handed over. These objects shall be handed over under an inquiry, even if the extradition of the inquired person on cannot take place because of his death or on account of any other reasons.

2. The handing over of the objects, pointed out in the first part of this Article, may be temporarily suspended, if the given objects are necessary for the proceedings on another criminal case.

3. To provide for the lawful interests of the third persons, the handing over of the objects, pointed out in the first part of this Article, shall take place only if there exists a liability of the corresponding institution of the foreign state on returning these objects after the proceedings on the criminal case are completed .

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.
2. Where the person sought for surrender brings a challenge before a national court on the basis of the principle of ne bis in idem as provided in article 20, the requested State shall immediately consult with the Court to determine if there has been a relevant ruling on admissibility. If the case is admissible, the requested State shall proceed with the execution of the request. If an admissibility ruling is pending, the requested State may postpone the execution of the request for surrender of the person until the Court makes a determination on admissibility.
3. (a) A State Party shall authorize, in accordance with its national procedural law, transportation through its territory of a person being surrendered to the Court by another State, except where transit through that State would impede or delay the surrender.
(b) A request by the Court for transit shall be transmitted in accordance with article 87. The request for transit shall contain:
(i) A description of the person being transported;
(ii) A brief statement of the facts of the case and their legal characterization; and
(iii) The warrant for arrest and surrender;
(c) A person being transported shall be detained in custody during the period of transit;
(d) No authorization is required if the person is transported by air and no landing is scheduled on the territory of the transit State;
(e) If an unscheduled landing occurs on the territory of the transit State, that State may require a request for transit from the Court as provided for in subparagraph (b). The transit State shall detain the person being transported until the request for transit is received and the transit is effected, provided that detention for purposes of this subparagraph may not be extended beyond 96 hours from the unscheduled landing unless the request is received within that time.
4. If the person sought is being proceeded against or is serving a sentence in the requested State for a crime different from that for which surrender to the Court is sought, the requested State, after making its decision to grant the request, shall consult with the Court.