PART III
GENERAL PROVISIONS RELATING TO REQUESTS FOR ASSISTANCE

32. State or Diplomatic immunity -

(1) Any state or diplomatic immunity attaching to a person or premises by reason of a connection with a State Party to the ICC Statute does not prevent proceedings under this Act, in relation to that person.

(2) If the Minister is of the opinion that a request for provisional arrest, arrest and surrender or other assistance would require Samoa to act inconsistently with its obligations under international law with respect to the State or diplomatic immunity of a person or property of another state which is not a party to the Statute, the Minister shall consult with the ICC and request a determination as to whether article 98(1) of the Statute applies.

(3) If the Minister is of the opinion that a request for provisional arrest or arrest and surrender would require Samoa to act inconsistently with its obligations under an international agreement with a state which is not a party to the Statute pursuant to which the consent of the sending state is required to surrender a person of that State to the ICC, the Minister shall consult with the ICC and request a determination as to whether article 98(2) of the Statute applies.

PART IV
ARREST AND SURRENDER OF PERSON TO ICC


41. Official capacity not a bar to arrest and surrender -

Subject to section 32, the existence of any immunity or special procedural rule attaching, under domestic or international law, to a person shall not be a ground for –

(a) refusing or postponing a request by the ICC for the arrest and surrender of that person; or
(b) holding that that person is ineligible for arrest and surrender to the ICC.

PART IX
MISCELLANEOUS


110. Consequential Amendment -

The Head of State Act 1965 is amended by deleting section 5 and substituting the following:
“5. Immunity from legal process-(1) Subject to subsection (2), the Head of State shall be accorded immunity from suit and legal process of any kind whether civil or criminal, including freedom from the arrest of the Head of State’s person, during the Head of State’s term of Office.

(2) Nothing in subsection (1) shall affect the charging, prosecution and arrest of the Head of State where the Head of State is suspected of or is charged with a crime established under the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court.’.

Article 98
Cooperation with respect to waiver of immunity and consent to surrender
1. The Court may not proceed with a request for surrender or assistance which would require the requested State to act inconsistently with its obligations under international law with respect to the State or diplomatic immunity of a person or property of a third State, unless the Court can first obtain the cooperation of that third State for the waiver of the immunity.
2. The Court may not proceed with a request for surrender which would require the requested State to act inconsistently with its obligations under international agreements pursuant to which the consent of a sending State is required to surrender a person of that State to the Court, unless the Court can first obtain the cooperation of the sending State for the giving of consent for the surrender.