Part 2 Arrest and delivery of persons
Proceedings on request

3 Request for provisional arrest

(1) This section applies where the Secretary of State receives from the ICC a request for the provisional arrest of a person alleged to have committed an ICC crime or to have been convicted by the ICC.
(2) If it appears to the Secretary of State that application for a warrant should be made in England and Wales—
(a) he shall transmit the request to a constable and direct the constable to apply for a warrant for the arrest of that person, and
(b) on an application by a constable stating on oath that he has reason to believe—
(i) that a request has been made on grounds of urgency by the ICC for the arrest of a person, and
(ii) that the person is in, or on his way to, the United Kingdom,
an appropriate judicial officer shall issue a warrant for the arrest of that person.
(3) If it appears to the Secretary of State that application for a warrant should be made in Scotland—
(a) he shall transmit the request to the Scottish Ministers who shall instruct the procurator fiscal to apply for a warrant for the arrest of that person, and
(b) on the application by the procurator fiscal, which shall state—
(i) that a request has been made on grounds of urgency by the ICC for the arrest of a person, and
(ii) that the person is in, or on his way to, Scotland,
an appropriate judicial officer shall issue a warrant for the arrest of that person.
(4) Where an appropriate judicial officer issues a warrant under this section, he shall notify the Secretary of State and, where the proceedings are in Scotland, the Scottish Ministers that he has done so.
(5) In this Part a warrant issued under this section is referred to as a “provisional warrant”.

4 Dealing with person arrested under provisional warrant

(1) A person arrested under a provisional warrant shall be brought before a competent court as soon as is practicable.
(2) If there is produced to the court a section 2 warrant in respect of that person, the court shall proceed as if he had been arrested under that warrant.
(3) If no such warrant is produced, the court shall remand him pending the production of such a warrant.
(4) Provision shall be made by Order in Council under paragraph 3 of Schedule 1 (power to make provision to give effect to Rules of Evidence and Procedure) specifying—
(a) the period for which a person may be so remanded at any time, and
(b) the total period for which a person may be so remanded,
having regard to the time limits specified in Rules of Evidence and Procedure for the purposes of article 92.3.
(5) If at any time when the person is so remanded there is produced to the court a section 2 warrant in respect of him—
(a) the court shall terminate the period of remand, and
(b) he shall be treated as if arrested under that warrant—
(i) if he was remanded in custody, at the time the warrant was produced to the court;
(ii) if he was remanded on bail, when he surrenders to his bail.
(6) If no such warrant is produced to the court before the end of the period of the remand (including any extension of that period), the court shall discharge him.
(7) The fact that a person has been discharged under this section does not prevent his subsequent arrest under a section 2 warrant.

Part 2 Arrest and delivery of persons
Warrants, custody, bail and related matters

14 Effect of warrant of arrest

(1) For the purposes of any enactment or rule of law relating to warrants of arrest—
(a) a section 2 warrant endorsed or issued in any part of the United Kingdom, or
(b) a provisional warrant issued in any part of the United Kingdom,
shall be treated as if it were a warrant for the arrest of a person for an offence committed in that part of the United Kingdom.
(2) Any such warrant may be executed in any part of the United Kingdom, and may be so executed by any person to whom it is directed or by any constable.
(3) A person arrested under any such warrant shall be deemed to continue in legal custody until, in accordance with this Part, he is brought before a competent court.

Part 2 Arrest and delivery of persons

Supplementary provisions

24 Delivery up of persons subject to criminal proceedings, &c
Schedule 2 makes provision for cases where the Secretary of State receives a request from the ICC for the arrest and surrender, or provisional arrest, of a person—
(a) against whom criminal proceedings are pending or in progress before a national court, or who has been dealt with in such proceedings,
(b) against whom extradition proceedings are pending or in progress in the United Kingdom, or in respect of whom a warrant or order has been made in such proceedings, or
(c) against whom proceedings are pending or in progress in the United Kingdom for a delivery order under—
(i) the United Nations (International Tribunal) (Former Yugoslavia) Order 1996 (S.I. 1996/716) , or
(ii) the United Nations (International Tribunal) (Rwanda) Order 1996 (S.I. 1996/1296),
or against whom a delivery order has been made in such proceedings.

Article 58
Issuance by the Pre-Trial Chamber of a warrant of arrest or a summons to appear
5. On the basis of the warrant of arrest, the Court may request the provisional arrest or the
arrest and surrender of the person under Part 9.

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 92
Provisional arrest
1. In urgent cases, the Court may request the provisional arrest of the person sought, pending presentation of the request for surrender and the documents supporting the request as specified in article 91.
2. The request for provisional arrest shall be made by any medium capable of delivering a written record and shall contain:
(a) Information describing the person sought, sufficient to identify the person, and information as to that person's probable location;
(b) A concise statement of the crimes for which the person's arrest is sought and of the facts which are alleged to constitute those crimes, including, where possible, the date and location of the crime;
(c) A statement of the existence of a warrant of arrest or a judgement of conviction against the person sought; and
(d) A statement that a request for surrender of the person sought will follow.
3. A person who is provisionally arrested may be released from custody if the requested State has not received the request for surrender and the documents supporting the request as specified in article 91 within the time limits specified in the Rules of Procedure and Evidence. However, the person may consent to surrender before the expiration of this period if permitted by the law of the requested State. In such a case, the requested State shall proceed to surrender the person to the Court as soon as possible.
4. The fact that the person sought has been released from custody pursuant to paragraph 3 shall not prejudice the subsequent arrest and surrender of that person if the request for surrender and the documents supporting the request are delivered at a later date.

This provision is wider than the ICC Statute.

Requests for provisional arrest can be handled urgently as the UK does not need to have a copy of the original warrant in order to act. A fax transmission will suffice. Accompanying evidence transmitted by fax may be admitted as evidence by the court.