An Act to facilitate compliance by Australia with obligations under the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, and for related purposes
Part 4 Other requests by ICC
Division 3—Restrictions on provision of assistance
56 Competing requests
(1) If a request for cooperation is made and a foreign country makes a request for assistance to which Australia is under an international obligation to respond, the Attorney-General must, after consultation with the ICC and that country, try to comply with both requests.
(2) For the purposes of subsection (1), the Attorney-General may do either or both of the following:
postpone the execution of either of the requests;
attach conditions to the provision of assistance under either or both of the requests .
(3) If it is not possible to resolve the issue by consultation, the method of dealing with the requests must be resolved in accordance with sections 57 to 61.
57 Request from ICC and a foreign country relating to same conduct
If a request for cooperation is made and a foreign country requests assistance from Australia in respect of a matter relating to the conduct that forms the basis of the crime to which the request for cooperation relates, the Attorney-General:
must notify the ICC and the foreign country of that fact; and
must determine, in accordance with section 58 or 59, whether the request for cooperation or the request from the foreign country is to be complied with.
58 Procedure where competing request relating to same conduct from a foreign country that is a party to the Statute
(1) This section applies if:
section 57 applies; and
the foreign country is a party to the Statute.
(2) Priority must be given to the request for cooperation if:
the ICC has, under article 18 or 19 of the Statute, made a determination that the case is admissible and that determination takes into account the investigation or prosecution conducted by the foreign country; or
the ICC makes such a determination after receiving notification of the request from the foreign country.
(3) If the ICC has not made a determination referred to in subsection (2), then, pending the making of such a determination:
any preliminary steps required to be taken to give effect to the request from the foreign country may continue to be taken; but
the request may not be complied with unless and until the ICC makes its determination on admissibility and determines that the case is inadmissible.
(4) Paragraph (3)(b) does not apply if the ICC does not make its determination on an expedited basis.
59 Procedure where competing request relating to same conduct from a foreign country that is not a party to the Statute
(1) This section applies if:
section 57 applies; and
the foreign country is not a party to the Statute.
(2) Priority must be given to the request for cooperation if:
Australia is not under an international obligation to comply with the request from the foreign country; and the ICC has determined under article 18 or 19 of the Statute that the case is admissible.
(3) The request from the foreign country may continue to be dealt with if:
Australia is not under an international obligation to comply with the request; and
the ICC has not yet determined under article 18 or 19 of the Statute that the case is admissible.
(4) If Australia is under an international obligation to comply with the request from the foreign country, the Attorney-General must determine whether the request for cooperation or the request from the foreign country is to be complied with.
(5) In making a determination under subsection (4), the Attorney-General must consider all relevant matters, including, but not limited to:
the respective dates of the requests; and
the interests of the foreign country, including, if relevant, whether the crime to which the request from that country relates was committed in its territory and the nationality of the victims and of the person who is alleged to have engaged in the conduct forming the basis of that crime.
60 Request from ICC and foreign country relating to different conduct
(1) If a request for cooperation is made and a foreign country requests assistance from Australia in respect of a matter relating to conduct other than the conduct that forms the basis of the crime to which the request for cooperation relates, the Attorney-General must determine whether the request for cooperation or the request from the foreign country is to be complied with.
If Australia is not under an international obligation to comply with the request from the foreign country, priority must be given to the request for cooperation.
If Australia is under an international obligation to comply with the request from the foreign country, the Attorney-General must determine whether the request for cooperation or the request from the foreign country is to be complied with.
In making a determination under subsection (3), the Attorney-General must consider all relevant matters, including, but not limited to, the matters specified in subsection 59(5), but must give special consideration to the relative seriousness of the offences to which the requests relate.
61 Notification to ICC of decision refusing request by foreign country
If, following notification under article 90 of the Statute, the ICC has determined that a case is inadmissible and the Attorney-General subsequently refuses the request for assistance from the foreign country, the Attorney-General must notify the ICC of the refusal.
The obligation in this section is in addition to the requirement of section 14 for the Attorney-General to respond formally to the request for cooperation.
62 Requests involving competing international obligations
If a request for cooperation relates to a person who, or information or property that, is subject to the control of a foreign country or an international organisation under an international agreement, the Attorney-General must inform the ICC so as to enable it to direct its request to the foreign country or international organisation.
EDIT.