CHAPTER
87
SUPPRESSION OF THE TAKING OF HOSTAGES |
ARRANGEMENT OF
SECTIONS |
SECTION |
|
|
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Crime of hostage-taking within the Extradition
Act. |
Crime of hostage-taking deemed to be included in
extradition treaties. |
|
Restrictions on surrender of offenders. |
Attorney-General's consent to prosecutions. |
|
Proceedings for an offence under this Act not otherwise
affected. |
Hostage-taking not to be regarded as of
political character. |
|
SCHEDULE. |
CHAPTER 87 |
SUPPRESSION OF THE
TAKING OF HOSTAGES |
An Act to
give effect to the Convention against the Taking of Hostages adopted by the
United Nations in 1979, and for matters incidental to the implementation of
that Convention by The Bahamas. | 6 of 1985 |
[Commencement 1st
November, 1985] |
1. This Act may be cited as the Suppression of the
Taking of Hostages Act. | Short title. |
2. (1) In this Act- | Interpretation. |
"The 1979
Convention" means the Convention Against the Taking of Hostages adopted by
the United Nations in 1979 and to which The Bahamas is a party; |
"Convention
country" means a country for the time being that is a party to the 1979
Convention. |
(2) Any reference
in this Act to the Extradition Act is a reference to the
Extradition Act, 1994. |
3. (1) Subject to subsection (2) a person commits the
offence of hostage-taking who, whether in or outside The Bahamas, unlawfully
seizes or detains any person (in this section referred to as the hostage)
without his consent, or with his consent obtained by fraud or duress, with
intent to compel the government of any country or any international
inter-governmental organisation or any other person to do or abstain from doing
any act as a condition, whether express or implied, for the release of the
hostage. | Crime of hostage-taking. |
(2) No person
shall be convicted of the offence of hostage-taking if- |
(a) the act of
hostage-taking takes place in The Bahamas; and |
(b) the alleged
offender is in The Bahamas; and |
(c) the alleged
offender and the hostage are citizens of The Bahamas. |
(3) A person who
commits the offence of hostage-taking is liable on conviction on indictment to
imprisonment for fifteen years. |
4. There shall be deemed to be included in the list of
extradition crimes in the Extradition Act, the offence of hostage-taking as
constituted by this Act. | Crime of hostage-taking within the Extradition Act. |
5. (1) For the purposes of the Extradition Act the offences of
hostage-taking, including attempting to commit that offence, aiding, abetting,
inciting, counselling or attempting to procure any person to commit such
offence when it is not in fact committed and being an accessory after the fact
to that offence shall, if not already described in the treaty, be deemed to be
an offence described in any extradition treaty concluded before the
commencement of this Act and for the time being in force between The Bahamas
and any foreign country that is a party to the 1979 Convention. | Crime of hostage-taking deemed to be included in
extradition treaties. |
(2) Where no such
arrangement as is mentioned in section 4 of the Extradition Act has been made
with a state which is a party to the 1979 Convention, an Order applying that
Act to that state may be made by the Minister responsible for Foreign Affairs
with like effect and subject to like terms and conditions as if authorised by
the said section 2 and, for the purposes of any such Order, the 1979 Convention
shall be treated as an arrangement such as mentioned in that section: |
Provided that
where the Extradition Act applies by virtue of an Order under this subsection,
no such application shall relate to any extradition crimes within the meaning
of the Extradition Act except an offence mentioned in subsection (1). |
(3)
Notwithstanding subsection (1) or (2), no person shall be liable to be
surrendered under the Extradition Act in respect of an act or omission that
amounts to a crime to which either of those subsections applies if that act or
omission occurred before the date on which the offence was deemed by subsection
(1) to be an offence described in the relevant extradition treaty or before the
date of the relevant Order made under subsection (2), as the case may be. |
(4) For the
purposes of this section the expression "foreign country" includes
any territory for whose international relations the government of a foreign
country is responsible and to which the extradition treaty and the 1979
Convention extends. |
6. (1) Where the surrender of a person is sought under
the
Extradition Act in respect of any act or omission that amounts to any offence
mentioned in section 5 and for which the person whose surrender is sought could
be tried and punished in the country seeking surrender, being a country that is
a party to the 1979 Convention, that act or omission shall be deemed to have
been committed within the jurisdiction of that country notwithstanding that it
was committed outside the territory of that country. | Surrender of offenders. |
(2) Without
prejudice to subsection (1), where any act or omission to which that subsection
applies occurred in The Bahamas, the Extradition Act and the relevant
extradition treaty, as the case may be, shall apply with any necessary
modifications as if the act or omission had occurred outside The Bahamas. |
(3) In this
section, the term "country" means any territory for whose
international relations the government of a country is responsible and to which
the extradition treaty (if any) and the 1979 Convention extends. |
7. (1) Notwithstanding sections 4 to 6 of the
Extradition Act, a person whose surrender is sought in respect of any act or
omission that amounts to an offence mentioned in section 5 shall not be
surrendered from The Bahamas to another country if it appears to the aforesaid
Minister or to the court before which that person is brought or to any court or
judge on an application for a writ of habeas corpus, that- | Restrictions on surrender of offenders. |
(a) the
surrender of the offender, although purporting to have been sought in respect
of such a crime, was sought for the purpose of prosecuting or punishing him on
account of his race, ethnic origin, religion, nationality, or political
opinions; or |
(b) if the
offender is surrendered- |
(i) he
may be prejudiced at his trial, or punished, detained, or restricted in his
personal liberty, by reason of his race, ethnic origin, religion, nationality
or political opinions; or |
(ii) his
position may be prejudiced because communication with him by the appropriate
authorities of the country that is entitled in international law to exercise
rights of protection in respect of the accused person cannot be effected. |
(2) Notwithstanding
sections 4 to 6 of the Extradition Act, no person shall be surrendered from The
Bahamas to another country in respect of any act or omission that amounts to an
offence mentioned in section 5 if proceedings have been brought in The Bahamas
against that person in respect of the act or omission. |
(3)
Notwithstanding sections 4 to 6 of the Extradition Act, but subject to
subsection (4), no court in The Bahamas shall order the surrender, or the
committal for the purposes of surrender of a person to another country in
respect of any act or omission that amounts to an offence mentioned in section
5 if the Attorney-General certifies that the case is being or is about to be
considered to determine whether or not proceedings should be brought in The Bahamas
against that person in respect of the act or omission. |
(4) If, in any
case to which subsection (3) applies, it is subsequently determined that
proceedings should not be brought in The Bahamas against the person in respect
of the act or omission, the Attorney-General shall advise the court
accordingly, and the court shall proceed with the matter as if the
Attorney-General's certificate had never been given. |
8. (1) Subject to subsection (2), no proceedings for the
trial and punishment of any person charged with an offence mentioned in section
5 shall be instituted in any court except with the consent of the
Attorney-General. | Attorney-General's consent to prosecutions. |
(2) A person
charged with an offence referred to in subsection (1) may be arrested, or a
warrant for his arrest may be issued and executed, and he may be remanded in
custody or on bail, notwithstanding the consent of the Attorney-General to the
institution of a prosecution for the offence has not been obtained, but no
further proceedings shall be taken until that consent has been obtained. |
9. For any purpose in connection with this Act, a
certificate given by the Minister responsible for Foreign Affairs certifying- | Evidence. |
(a) that any
country is or is not, or was or was not at any material time, a party to the
1979 Convention; or |
(b) that the
government of any country is or is not, or was or was not at any material time,
responsible for the international relations of any territory, |
shall be
sufficient evidence of that fact. |
10. Nothing in any other law which relates to the
jurisdiction of a court of The Bahamas in respect of any offence committed on
board any ship or aircraft beyond The Bahamas or which requires the consent of
the Attorney-General to proceedings in certain cases for such an offence shall
apply with respect to any proceedings brought under this Act in respect of an
offence mentioned in section 5. | Proceedings for an offence under this Act not
otherwise affected. |
11. (1) This section applies to any offence mentioned
in section 5(1) of which a person is accused or has been convicted outside The
Bahamas. | Hostage-taking not to be regarded as of political
character. |
(2) For the
purposes mentioned in subsection (3), no offence to which this section applies
shall be regarded as an offence of a political character and no proceedings in
respect of such an offence shall be regarded as a criminal matter of a
political character or as a criminal proceedings of a political character. |
(3) Those purposes
are- |
(a) the
purposes of the Extradition
Act in relation to any requisition for the surrender of a fugitive criminal
made on behalf of a Convention country after the coming into operation of this
Act; and |
(b) the
purposes of the taking of evidence pursuant to the Extradition Act in relation
to any criminal proceedings instituted in a Convention country after the coming
into operation of this Act. |
12. (1) Save as specifically provided for by the other
sections of this Act, nothing in this Act shall derogate from the provisions of
any other law. | No derogation. |
(2)
Notwithstanding anything to the contrary, this Act shall be construed and have
effect subject to Article 12 of the 1979 Convention as set out in the Schedule. |
SCHEDULE |
ARTICLE 12 |
In so far as the
Geneva Conventions of 1949 for the protection of war victims or the protocols
Additional to those Conventions are applicable to a particular act of
hostage-taking, and in so far as States Parties to this Convention are bound
under those Conventions to prosecute or hand over the hostage-taker, the
present Convention shall not apply to an act of hostage-taking committed in the
course of armed conflicts as defined in the Geneva Conventions of 1949 and the
Protocols thereto, including armed conflicts mentioned in Article 1, paragraph
4, of protocol Additional I of 1977, in which peoples are fighting against
colonial domination and alien occupation and against racist regimes in the
exercise of their right of self-determination, as enshrined in the Charter of
the United Nations and the Declaration on Principles of International Law concerning
Friendly Relations and Co-operation among States in accordance with the Charter
of the United Nations. |