COUNCIL OF EUROPE CONSEIL DE L'EUROPE COUNCIL OF EUROPE CONSEIL DE L'EUROPE European Treaties Traitës Europëens ETS No. 70 STE N° 70 EUROPEAN CONVENTION ON THE INTERNATIONAL VALIDITY OF CRIMINAL JUDGM

Article 37if the requested State sees fit to take action on the request for enforcement.

Article 39

1. Before a court takes a decision upon a request for enforcement the sentenced person shall be given the opportunity to state his views. Upon application he shall be heard by the court either by letters rogatory or in person. A hearing in person must be granted following his express request to that effect.
2. The court may, however, decide on the acceptance of the request for enforcement in the absence of a sentenced person requesting a personal hearing if he is in custody in the requesting State. In these circumstances any decision as to the substitution of the sanction under Article 44 shall be adjourned until, following his transfer to the requested State, the sentenced person has been given the opportunity to appear before the court. Article 40
3. The court, or in the cases referred to in Article 37, the authority empowered under the same article, which is dealing with the case shall satisfy itself: a that the sanction whose enforcement is requested was imposed in a European criminal judgement; b that the requirements of Article 4 are met; c that the condition laid down in Article 6.a is not fulfilled or should not preclude enforcement; d that enforcement is not precluded by Article 7; e that, in case of a judgement rendered in absentia or an ordonnance pënale the requirements of Section 3 of this part are met.
4. Each Contracting State may entrust to the court

Article 37

the examination of other conditions of enforcement provided for in this Convention. Article 41 The judicial decisions taken in pursuance of the present section with respect to the requested enforcement and those taken on appeal from decisions by the administrative authority referred to in Article 37 shall be appealable. Article 42 The requested State shall be bound by the findings as to the facts in so far as they are stated in the decision or in so far as it is impliedly based on them. b - Clauses relating specifically to enforcement of sanctions involving deprivation of liberty Article 43 When the sentenced person is detained in the requesting State he shall, unless the law of that State otherwise provides, be transferred to the requested State as soon as the requesting State has been notified of the acceptance of the request for enforcement. Article 44

1. If the request for enforcement is accepted, the court shall substitute for the sanction involving deprivation of liberty imposed in the requesting State a sanction prescribed by its own law for the same offence. This sanction may, subject to the limitations laid down in paragraph 2, be of a nature or duration other than that imposed in the requesting State. If this latter sanction is less than the minimum which may be pronounced under the law of the requested State, the court shall not be bound by that minimum and shall impose a sanction corresponding to the sanction imposed in the requesting State.
2. In determining the sanction, the court shall not aggravate the penal situation of the person sentenced as it results from the decision delivered in the requesting State.
3. Any part of the sanction imposed in the requesting State and any term of provisional custody, served by the person sentenced subsequent to the sentence, shall be deducted in full. The same shall apply in respect of any period during which the person sentenced was remanded in custody in the requesting State before being sentenced in so far as the law of that State so requires.
4. Any Contracting State may, at any time, deposit with the Secretary General of the Council of Europe a declaration which confers on it in pursuance of the present Convention the right to enforce a sanction involving deprivation of liberty of the same nature as that imposed in the requesting State even if the duration of that sanction exceeds the maximum provided for by its national law for a sanction of the same nature. Nevertheless, this rule shall only be applied in cases where the national law of this State allows, in respect of the same offence, for the imposition of a sanction of at least the same duration as that imposed in the requesting State but which is of a more severe nature. The sanction imposed under this paragraph may, if its duration and purpose so require, be enforced in a penal establishment intended for the enforcement of sanctions of another nature. c - Clauses relating specifically to enforcement of fines and confiscations Article 45
5. If the request for enforcement of a fine or confiscation of a sum of money is accepted, the court

Article 37

shall convert the amount thereof into the currency of the requested State at the rate of exchange ruling at the time when the decision is taken. It shall thus fix the amount of the fine, or the sum to be confiscated, which shall nevertheless not exceed the maximum sum fixed by its own law for the same offence, or failing such a maximum, shall not exceed the maximum amount customarily imposed in the requested State in respect of a like offence. 2. However, the court

Article 37

may maintain up to the amount imposed in the requesting State the sentence of a fine or of a confiscation when such a sanction is not provided for by the law of the requested State for the same offence, but this law allows for the imposition of more severe sanctions. The same shall apply if the sanction imposed in the requesting State exceeds the maximum laid down in the law of the requested State for the same offence, but this law allows for the imposition of more severe sanctions. 3. Any facility as to time of payment or payment by instalments, granted in the requesting State, shall be respected in the requested State. Article 46 1. When the request for enforcement concerns the confiscation of a specific object, the court

Article 37

may order the confiscation of that object only in so far as such confiscation is authorised by the law of the requested State for the same offence. 2. However, the court

Article 37

may maintain the confiscation ordered in the requesting State when this sanction is not provided for in the law of the requested State for the same offence but this law allows for the imposition of more severe sanctions. Article 47

1. The proceeds of fines and confiscations shall be paid into the public funds of the requested State without prejudice to any rights of third parties.
2. Property confiscated which is of special interest may be remitted to the requesting State if it so requires. Article 48 If a fine cannot be exacted, a court of the requested State may impose an alternative sanction involving deprivation of liberty in so far as the laws of both States so provide in such cases unless the requesting State expressly limited its request to exacting of the fine alone. If the court decides to impose an alternative sanction involving deprivation of liberty, the following rules shall apply: a If conversion of a fine into a sanction involving deprivation of liberty is already prescribed either in the sentence pronounced in the requesting State or directly in the law of that State, the court of the requested State shall determine the nature and length of such sanction in accordance with the rules laid down by its own law. If the sanction involving deprivation of liberty already prescribed in the requesting State is less than the minimum which may be imposed under the law of the requested State, the court shall not be bound by that minimum and impose a sanction corresponding to the sanction prescribed in the requesting State. In determining the sanction the court shall not aggravate the penal situation of the person sentenced as it results from the decision delivered in the requesting State. b In all other cases the court of the requested State shall convert the fine in accordance with its own law, observing the limits prescribed by the law of the requesting State. d - Clauses relating specifically to enforcement of disqualification Article 49
3. Where a request for enforcement of a disqualification is made such disqualification imposed in the requesting State may be given effect in the requested State only if the law of the latter State allows for disqualification for the offence in question.
4. The court dealing with the case shall appraise the expediency of enforcing the disqualification in the territory of its own State. Article 50
5. If the court orders enforcement of the disqualification it shall determine the duration thereof within the limits prescribed by its own law, but may not exceed the limits laid down in the sentence imposed in the requesting State.
6. The court may order the disqualification to be enforced in respect of some only of the rights whose loss or suspension has been pronounced. Article 51 Article 11 shall not apply to disqualifications. Article 52 The requested State shall have the right to restore to the person sentenced the rights of which he has been deprived in accordance with a decision taken in application of this section. Part III International effects of European criminal judgements Section 1 - Ne bis in idem Article 53
7. A person in respect of whom a European criminal judgement has been rendered may for the same act neither be prosecuted nor sentenced nor subjected to enforcement of a sanction in another Contracting State: a if he was acquitted; b if the sanction imposed: i has been completely enforced or is being enforced, or ii has been wholly, or with respect to the part not enforced, the subject of a pardon or an amnesty, or iii can no longer be enforced because of lapse of time; c if the court convicted the offender without imposing a sanction.
8. Nevertheless, a Contracting State shall not, unless it has itself requested the proceedings, be obliged to recognise the effect of ne bis in idem if the act which gave rise to the judgement was directed against either a person or an institution or any thing having public status in that State, of if the subject of the judgement had himself a public status in that State.
9. Furthermore, any Contracting State where the act was committed or considered as such according to the law of that State shall not be obliged to recognise the effect of ne bis in idem unless that State has itself requested the proceedings. Article 54 If new proceedings are instituted against a person who in another Contracting State has been sentenced for the same act, then any period of deprivation of liberty arising from the sentence enforced shall be deducted from the sanction which may be imposed. Article 55 This section shall not prevent the application of wider domestic provisions relating to the effect of ne bis in idem attached to foreign criminal judgements. Section 2 - Taking into consideration Article 56 Each Contracting State shall legislate as it deems appropriate to enable its courts when rendering a judgement to take into consideration any previous European criminal judgement rendered for another offence after a hearing of the accused with a view to attaching to this judgement all or some of the effects which its law attaches to judgements rendered in its territory. It shall determine the conditions in which this judgement is taken into consideration. Article 57 Each Contracting State shall legislate as it deems appropriate to allow the taking into consideration of any European criminal judgement rendered after a hearing of the accused so as to enable application of all or part of a disqualification attached by its law to judgements rendered in its territory. It shall determine the conditions in which this judgement is taken into consideration. Part IV Final provisions Article 58
10. This Convention shall be open to signature by the member States represented on the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe. It shall be subject to ratification or acceptance. Instruments of ratification or acceptance shall be deposited with the Secretary General of the Council of Europe.
11. The Convention shall enter into force three months after the date of the deposit of the third instrument of ratification or acceptance.
12. In respect of a signatory State ratifying or accepting subsequently, the Convention shall come into force three months after the date of the deposit of its instrument of ratification or acceptance. Article 59
13. After the entry into force of this Convention, the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe may invite any non-member State to accede thereto, provided that the resolution containing such invitation receives the unanimous agreement of the members of the Council who have ratified the Convention.
14. Such accession shall be effected by depositing with the Secretary General of the Council of Europe an instrument of accession which shall take effect three months after the date of its deposit. Article 60
15. Any Contracting State may, at the time of signature or when depositing its instrument of ratification, acceptance or accession, specify the territory or territories to which this Convention shall apply.
16. Any Contracting State may, when depositing its instrument of ratification, acceptance or accession or at any later date, by declaration addressed to the Secretary General of the Council of Europe, extend this Convention to any other territory or territories specified in the declaration and for whose international relations it is responsible or on whose behalf it is authorised to give undertakings.
17. Any declaration made in pursuance of the preceding paragraph may, in respect of any territory mentioned in such declaration, be withdrawn according to the procedure laid down in Article 66 of this Convention. Article 61
18. Any Contracting State may, at the time of signature or when depositing its instrument of ratification, acceptance or accession, declare that it avails itself of one or more of the reservations provided for in Appendix I to this Convention.
19. Any Contracting State may wholly or partly withdraw a reservation it has made in accordance with the foregoing paragraph by means of a declaration addressed to the Secretary General of the Council of Europe which shall become effective as from the date of its receipt.
20. A Contracting State which has made a reservation in respect of any provision of this Convention may not claim the application of that provision by any other State; it may, however, if its reservation is partial or conditional, claim the application of that provision in so far as it has itself accepted it. Article 62
21. Any Contracting State may at any time, by declaration addressed to the Secretary General of the Council of Europe, set out the legal provisions to be included in Appendices II or III to this Convention.
22. Any change of the national provisions listed in Appendices II or III shall be notified to the Secretary General of the Council of Europe if such a change renders the information in these appendices incorrect.
23. Any changes made in Appendices II or III in application of the preceding paragraphs shall take effect in each Contracting State one month after the date of their notification by the Secretary General of the Council of Europe. Article 63
24. Each Contracting State shall, at the time of depositing its instrument of ratification, acceptance or accession, supply the Secretary General of the Council of Europe with relevant information on the sanctions applicable in that State and their enforcement, for the purposes of the application of this Convention.
25. Any subsequent change which renders the information supplied in accordance with the previous paragraph incorrect, shall also be notified to the Secretary General of the Council of Europe. Article 64
26. This Convention affects neither the rights and the undertakings derived from extradition treaties and international multilateral conventions concerning special matters, nor provisions concerning matters which are dealt with in the present Convention and which are contained in other existing conventions between Contracting States.
27. The Contracting States may not conclude bilateral or multilateral agreements with one another on the matters dealt with in this Convention, except in order to supplement its provisions or facilitate application of the principles embodied in it.
28. Should two or more Contracting States, however, have already established their relations in this matter on the basis of uniform legislation, or instituted a special system of their own, or should they in future do so, they shall be entitled to regulate those relations accordingly, notwithstanding the terms of this Convention.
29. Contracting States ceasing to apply the terms of this Convention to their mutual relations in this matter shall notify the Secretary General of the Council of Europe to that effect. Article 65 The European Committee on Crime Problems of the Council of Europe shall be kept informed regarding the application of this Convention and shall do whatever is needful to facilitate a friendly settlement of any difficulty which may arise out of its execution. Article 66
30. This Convention shall remain in force indefinitely.
31. Any Contracting State may, in so far as it is concerned, denounce this Convention by means of a notification addressed to the Secretary General of the Council of Europe.
32. Such denunciation shall take effect six months after the date of receipt by the Secretary General of such notification. Article 67 The Secretary General of the Council of Europe shall notify the member States represented on the Committee of Ministers of the Council, and any State that has acceded to this Convention, of: a any signature; b any deposit of an instrument of ratification, acceptance or accession; c any date of entry into force of this Convention in accordance with Article 58 thereof; d any declaration received in pursuance of Article 19, paragraph 2: e any declaration received in pursuance of Article 44, paragraph 4: f any declaration received in pursuance of Article 60: g any reservation made in pursuance of the provisions of Article 61, paragraph 1, and the withdrawal of such reservation; h any declaration received in pursuance of Article 62, paragraph 1, and any subsequent notification received in pursuance of that article, paragraph 2; i any information received in pursuance of Article 63, paragraph 1, and any subsequent notification received in pursuance of that article, paragraph 2; j any notification concerning the bilateral or multilateral agreements concluded in pursuance of Article 64, paragraph 2, or concerning uniform legislation introduced in pursuance of Article 64, paragraph 3; k any notification received in pursuance of Article 66, and the date on which denunciation takes effect. Article 68 This Convention and the declarations and notifications authorised thereunder shall apply only to the enforcement of decisions rendered after the entry into force of the Convention between the Contracting States concerned. In witness whereof the undersigned, being duly authorised thereto, have signed this Convention. Done at The Hague, this 28th day of May 1970, in English and French, both texts being equally authoritative in a single copy which shall remain deposited in the archives of the Council of Europe. The Secretary General of the Council of Europe shall transmit certified copies to each of the signatory and acceding States. APPENDIX I Each Contracting State may declare that it reserves the right: a to refuse enforcement, if it considers that the sentence relates to a fiscal or religious offence; b to refuse enforcement of a sanction for an act which according to the law of the requested State could have been dealt with only by an administrative authority; c to refuse enforcement of a European criminal judgement which the authorities of the requesting State rendered on a date when, under its own law, the criminal proceedings in respect of the offence punished by the judgement would have been precluded by the lapse of time; d to refuse the enforcement of sanctions rendered in absentia and ordonnances pënales or of one of these categories of decisions only; e to refuse the application of the provisions of Article 8 where this State has an original competence and to recognise in these cases only the equivalence of acts interrupting or suspending time limitation which have been accomplished in the requesting State; f to accept the application of Part III in respect of one of its two sections only. APPENDIX II List of offences other than offences dealt with under criminal law APPENDIX III List of Ordonnances pënales.