# The Extradition (Torture) Order 1997

S.I. 1997/1769 · made 22 July 1997

This Order applies the Extradition Act 1989 so as to make extraditable the offence of torture described in section 134 of the Criminal Justice Act 1988 (c. 33), attempts to commit such an offence and participation in such offences, in the case of certain States Parties to the Convention Against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations on 10th December 1984.

Made under: 1870 c. 52; Extradition Act 1989 (repealed)

## Introductory text

EXTRADITION
Made 22nd July 1997
Laid before Parliament 1st August 1997
Coming into force 1st September 1997
At the Court at Buckingham Palace, the 22nd day of July 1997
Present,
The Queen’s Most Excellent Majesty in Council
Whereas the Convention Against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (referred to in this Order as “the Convention” and set out in Schedule 1 to this Order) adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations on 10th December 1984 entered into force for the United Kingdom on 7th January 1989:
And whereas the States mentioned in Schedule 2 to this Order are foreign States in respect of which the Convention is for the time being in force and in relation to which Orders in Council under section 2 of the Extradition Act 1870 are in force:
And whereas the States mentioned in Part I of Schedule 3 to this Order are foreign States in respect of which the Convention is for the time being in force but with which no general extradition arrangements have been made:
And whereas section 22(3) of the Extradition Act 1989 provides that where general extradition arrangements have not been made with a State which is a Party to the Convention, and no Order in Council under section 2 of the Extradition Act 1870 is in force in relation to that State, an Order in Council applying the 1989 Act may be made under section 4 of that Act as if the Convention constituted general extradition arrangements between the United Kingdom and the foreign State, or any foreign State, party to the Convention:
Now, therefore, Her Majesty, in exercise of the powers conferred upon Her by sections 4(1), 22(3) and 37(3) of the Extradition Act 1989, is pleased, by and with the advice of Her Privy Council, to order, and it is hereby ordered, as follows:—

## 1 

This Order may be cited as the Extradition (Torture) Order 1997, and shall come into force on 1st September 1997.

## 2 

(1) Schedule 2 to this Order specifies in the first column foreign States which are Parties to the Convention and with which extradition treaties (and relevant Orders in Council under section 2 of the Extradition Act 1870) and for the time being in force, in the second column the dates of those treaties, and in the third column those Orders in Council; and
(2) Schedule 1 to the Extradition Act 1989 shall apply in the case of a State specified in the first column in accordance with the extradition treaty whose date is specified in the corresponding entry in the second column, as supplemented by paragraphs 1 and 4 of Article 8 of the Convention; and the Order in Council which gives effect to that extradition treaty shall be construed accordingly.

## 3 

The Extradition Act 1989, so far as it relates to extradition procedures under Part III of that Act, shall apply in the case of a State specified in Part I of Schedule 3 to this Order (being States in respect of which the Convention is in force but in relation to which no extradition treaties are in force) subject to the limitations, restrictions, exceptions and qualifications contained in Part II of that Schedule.

## 4 

The Extradition (Torture) Order 1991 is hereby revoked.

## 5 

This Order extends only to the United Kingdom, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man, and to those territories specified in Schedule 4 to this Order.

## Signature

N. H. Nicholls
Clerk of the Privy Council

## Schedule 1 CONVENTION AGAINST TORTURE AND OTHER CRUEL, INHUMAN OR DEGRADING TREATMENT OR PUNISHMENT

The States Parties to this Convention,
Considering that, in accordance with the principles proclaimed in the Charter of the United Nations, recognition of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world,
Recognizing that those rights derive from the inherent dignity of the human person,
Considering the obligation of States under the Charter, in particular article 55, to promote universal respect for, and observance of, human rights and fundamental freedoms,
Having regard to Article 5 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and Article 7 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, both of which provide that no one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment,
Having regard also to the Declaration on the Protection of All Persons from Being Subjected to Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, adopted by the General Assembly on 9 December 1975,
Desiring to make more effective the struggle against torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment throughout the world,
Have agreed as follows:

## 1 

For the purposes of this Convention, the term “torture” means any act by which severe pain or suffering, whether physical or mental, is intentionally inflicted on a person for such purposes as obtaining from him or a third person information or a confession, punishing him for an act he or a third person has committed or is suspected of having committed, or intimidating or coercing him or a third person, or for any reason based on discrimination of any kind, when such pain or suffering is inflicted by or at the instigation of or with the consent or acquiescence of a public official or any other person acting in an official capacity. It does not include pain or suffering arising only from, inherent in or incidental to lawful sanctions.

## 2 

This article is without prejudice to any international instrument or national legislation which does or may contain provisions of wider application.

## 3 

An order from a superior officer or a public authority may not be invoked as a justification of torture.

## 4 

When a State, pursuant to this article, has taken a person into custody, it shall immediately notify the States referred to in Article 5, paragraph 1, of the fact that such person is in custody and of the circumstances which warrant his detention. The State which makes the preliminary inquiry contemplated in paragraph 2 of this article shall promptly report its findings to the said States and shall indicate whether it intends to exercise jurisdiction.

## Article 11 

Each State Party shall keep under systematic review interrogation rules, instructions, methods and practices as well as arrangements for the custody and treatment of persons subjected to any form of arrest, detention or imprisonment in any territory under its jurisdiction, with a view to preventing any cases of torture.

## Article 12 

Each State Party shall ensure that its competent authorities proceed to a prompt and impartial investigation, wherever there is reasonable ground to believe that an act of torture has been committed in any territory under its jurisdiction.

## Article 13 

Each State Party shall ensure that any individual who alleges he has been subjected to torture in any territory under its jurisdiction has the right to complain to, and to have his case promptly and impartially examined by, its competent authorities. Steps shall be taken to ensure that the complainant and witnesses are protected against all ill-treatment or intimidation as a consequence of his complaint or any evidence given.

## Article 15 

Each State Party shall ensure that any statement which is established to have been made as a result of torture shall not be invoked as evidence in any proceedings, except against a person accused of torture as evidence that the statement was made.

## 5 

The members of the Committee shall be elected for a term of four years. They shall be eligible for re-election if renominated. However, the term of five of the members elected at the first election shall expire at the end of two years; immediately after the first election the names of these five members shall be chosen by lot by the chairman of the meeting referred to in paragraph 3 of this article.

## 6 

If a member of the Committee dies or resigns or for any other cause can no longer perform his Committee duties, the State Party which nominated him shall appoint another expert from among its nationals to serve for the remainder of his term, subject to the approval of the majority of the States Parties. The approval shall be considered given unless half or more of the States Parties respond negatively within six weeks after having been informed by the Secretary-General of the United Nations of the proposed appointment.

## 7 

States Parties shall be responsible for the expenses of the members of the Committee while they are in performance of Committee duties.

## 8 

The provisions of this article shall come into force when five States Parties to this Convention have made declarations under paragraph 1 of this article. Such declarations shall be deposited by the States Parties with the Secretary-General of the United Nations, who shall transmit copies thereof to the other States parties. A declaration may be withdrawn at any time by notification to the Secretary-General. Such a withdrawal shall not prejudice the consideration of any matter which is the subject of a communication already transmitted under this article; no further communication by or on behalf of an individual shall be received under this article after the notification of withdrawal of the declaration has been received by the Secretary-General, unless the State Party concerned has made a new declaration.

## Article 23 

The members of the Committee and of the ad hoc conciliation commissions which may be appointed under article 21, paragraph 1(e), shall be entitled to the facilities, privileges and immunities of experts on mission for the United Nations as laid down in the relevant sections of the Convention on the Privileges and Immunities of the United Nations.

## Article 24 

The Committee shall submit an annual report on its activities under this Convention to the States Parties and to the General Assembly of the United Nations.

## Article 26 

This Convention is open to accession by all States. Accession shall be effected by the deposit of an instrument of accession with the Secretary-General of the United Nations.

## Article 32 

The Secretary-General of the United Nations shall inform all States Members of the United Nations and all States which have signed this Convention or acceded to it of the following:
(a) Signatures, ratifications and accessions under Articles 25 and 26;
(b) The date of entry into force of this Convention under Article 27 and the date of entry into force of any amendments under Article 29;
(c) Denunciations under Article 31.

## Article 33 

This Convention, of which the Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish texts are equally authentic, shall be deposited with the Secretary-General of the United Nations.

## Schedule 2 FOREIGN STATES WHICH ARE PARTIES TO THE CONVENTION AND IN RELATION TO WHICH ORDERS IN COUNCIL UNDER SECTION 2 OF THE EXTRADITION ACT 1870 ARE IN FORCE

State
Date of Extradition Treaty
Order in Council
Albania
22 July 1926
1927/605
Argentina
22 May 1889
1894/76
Chile
26 January 1897
1898/597
Colombia
27 October 1888
28 November 1889
Cuba
3 October 1904
1905/558
Ecuador
20 September 1880
26 June 1886
El Salvador
23 June 1881
16 December 1882
Guatemala
4 July 1885
26 November 1886
Mexico
7 September 1886
6 April 1889
Panama
25 August 1906
1907/648
Paraguay
12 September 1908
1911/662
Peru
26 January 1904
1907/383
Romania
21 March 1893
1894/119
Russian Federation
24 November 1886
7 March 1887
United States of America
8 June 1972
1976/2144
Uruguay
26 March 1884
5 March 1885
Yugoslavia
6 December 1900
1901/586

## I FOREIGN STATES WHICH ARE PARTIES TO THE CONVENTION BUT WITH WHICH NO EXTRADITION TREATIES ARE IN FORCE

State
Afghanistan
Algeria
Armenia
Azerbaijan
Belarus
Benin
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Burundi
Cambodia
Cape Verde
Chad
China, People’s Republic of
Congo (Democratic Republic)
Costa Rica
Côte d'Ivoire
Egypt
Estonia
Ethiopia
Georgia
Guinea
Jordan
Korea, Republic of
Kuwait
Latvia
Libya
Macedonia, Former Yugoslav Republic of
Moldova
Nepal
Philippines
Senegal
Somalia
Tajikistan
Togo
Tunisia
Ukraine
Uzbekistan
Venezuela
Yemen

### Part II: APPLICATION OF THE EXTRADITION ACT 1989 IN THE CASE OF A STATE MENTIONED IN PART I

## 1 

The Extradition Act 1989 shall have effect in relation to a State specified in Part 1 of this Schedule only in respect of—
(a) an offence mentioned in section 22(4)(g) of that Act;
(b) an attempt to commit such an offence;
(c) counselling, procuring, commanding, aiding or abetting such an offence; and
(d) being an accessory before or after the fact to such an offence.

## 2 

No proceeding shall be taken on an application for a provisional warrant issued under section 8(1)(b) of the Extradition Act 1989, and no such warrant shall be issued, unless the application is made with the consent of the Secretary of State signified by an Order in the form set out in Part III of this Schedule or in a form to the like effect; but except as aforesaid the signification of consent shall not affect the provisions of the said section 8.

## III 

FORM OF CONSENT OF SECRETARY OF STATE TO APPLICATION FOR A PROVISIONAL WARRANT

## Schedule 4 TERRITORIES TO WHICH THIS ORDER EXTENDS

Anguilla
Bermuda
British Antarctic Territory
British Indian Ocean Territory
British Virgin Islands
Cayman Islands
Falkland Islands and Dependencies
Gibraltar
Montserrat
Pitcairn, Henderson, Ducie and Oeno Islands
St. Helena and Dependencies
Sovereign Base Areas of Akrotiri and Dhekelia
Turks and Caicos Islands

## Explanatory note

(This note is not part of the Order)
This Order applies the Extradition Act 1989 so as to make extraditable the offence of torture described in section 134 of the Criminal Justice Act 1988 (c. 33), attempts to commit such an offence and participation in such offences, in the case of certain States Parties to the Convention Against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations on 10th December 1984.

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Source: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/1997/1769 (the official version)
Page: https://openlegislation.uk/extradition-torture-order-1997
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives.