Palau: Title 18, Criminal Procedure, Chapter 10 Criminal Extradition

Subchapter I
General Provisions

§ 1001. Definitions.

Where appearing in this chapter:

(a)''Executive authority'' includes the governor, and any person performing the functions of governor in any state, territory or possession of the United States of America.

(b)''President'' includes any person performing the functions of the President of the Republic of Palau by authority of the law of the Republic.

(c)''State'' refers to any state of the United States of America, its territories and possessions, organized or unorganized, including the District of Columbia, Virgin Islands, Commonwealths of Puerto Rico and the Northern Mariana Islands, American Samoa and Guam.

Source

(P.L. No. 7-4, § 1.) 12 TTC § 451, terms put into alphabetical order and section modified.

Notes

In Matter of Application of Won § Song, 1 ROP Intrm. 311, 312, 313, 315 (Tr. 1986).

§ 1002. Fugitives form justice; duty of the President.

Subject to the provisions of this chapter the President shall have arrested and delivered up to the executive authority of any state any person charged in that state with treason, felony, or other crime, who has fled form justice and is found in the Republic.

Source

12 TTC § 452, modified.

Commission Comments

The extradition law of 12 TTC § 451 et. seq. that comprises this chapter found to be valid and need not relate to any statutory scheme for extradition created by the United States Congress. The extradition authority vested in the High Commissioner by 12 TTC § 451 et. seq. held to have been transferred to the President of the Republic of Palau as a necessary part of the package of responsibilities specifically transferred by Transfer Orders and Secretarial Order No. 3039. Cf. Seklii v. Republic of Palau, Criminal Appeal No. 1-83 (App. Div. Feb. 1984).

Notes

In Matter of Application of Won &Song, 1 ROP Intrm. 311 (Tr. 1986).

§ 1003. Form of demand.

(a)No demand for the extradition of a person charged with or convicted of crime in a state shall be recognized by the President unless in writing alleging, except in cases arising under section 1007 of this chapter, that the accursed was present in the demanding state at the time of the commission of the alleged crime and that thereafter he fled form such state. Such demand shall be accompanied by:

(1)a copy of an indictment found;

(2)a copy of an information supported by an affidavit filed in the state having jurisdiction of the crime;

(3)a copy of an affidavit made before a magistrate in such state together with a copy of any warrant which was issued thereon; or

(4)a copy of a judgment of conviction or of a sentence imposed in execution thereof together with a statement by the executive authority of the demanding state that the person claimed has escaped form confinement or has broken the terms of his bail, probation or parole.

(b)The indictment, information or affidavit made before the magistrate must substantially charge the person demanded with having committed a crime under the law of that state and the copy must be authenticated by the executive authority making the demand, which shall be prima facie evidence of its truth.

Source

12 TTC § 453, modified.

§ 1004. Official investigation of demand for extradition.

When a demand shall be made upon the President by the executive authority of a state for the surrender of a person charged with or convicted of a crime, the President may call upon the Attorney General or any prosecuting officer in the Republic to investigate or assist in investigating the demand and to report to him the situation and circumstances of the person so demanded, and whether he ought to be surrendered.

Source

12 TTC § 454, modified.

§ 1005. Extradition of person imprisoned or awaiting trial in a state.

When it is desired to have returned to the Republic a person charged in the Republic with a crime and such person is imprisoned or is held under criminal proceedings then pending against him in a state, the President may agree with the executive authority of such state for the extradition of such person before the conclusion of such proceedings or his term of sentence in such state, upon condition that such person be returned to such state at the expense of the Republic as soon as the prosecution in the Republic is terminated.

Source

12 TTC § 455, modified.

§ 1006. Extradition of persons who have left demanding state involuntarily.

The President may also surrender on demand of the executive authority of any state any person in the Republic who is charged, in the manner provided in section 1052, with having violated the laws of the state whose executive authority is making the demand, even though such person left the demanding state involuntarily.

Source

12 TTC § 456, modified.

§ 1007. Extradition of persons not present in demanding state at time of commission of crime.

The President may also surrender, on demand of the executive authority of any state, any person in the Republic charged in such state, in the manner provided in section 1003 of this chapter, with committing an act in the Republic, or in a third state, intentionally resulting in a crime in the state whose executive authority is making the demand. The provisions of this chapter not otherwise inconsistent shall apply to such cases, even though the accused was not in that state at the time of the commission of the crime, and has not fled therefrom.

Source

12 TTC 457, modified.

§ 1008. Persons under criminal prosecution in the Republic at time of requisition.

If a criminal prosecution has been instituted under the laws of the Republic against a person subject to extradition and is still pending, the President, in his discretion, either may surrender him on the demand of the executive authority of another state or may hold him until he has been tried and discharged or convicted and punished in the Republic.

Source

12 TTC §470, modified.

§ 1009. Inquiry into guilt or innocence of accused.

Except as that may be involved in identifying the person held as the person charged with the crime, the President shall make no inquiry into the guilt or innocence of the accused as to the crime of which he is charged, nor may any such inquiry be made in any proceeding after presentation to the President of the demand for extradition accompanied by a charge of crime in legal form as provided in this chapter.

Source

12 TTC § 471, modified.

Subchapter II
Arrest

§ 1021. President's warrant of arrest; issuance; recitals.

If the President decides that a demand for extradition of a person charged with, or convicted of, a crime in a state should be complied with, he shall sign a warrant of arrest, which shall be sealed with the Republic seal, and be directed to the Attorney General, the Director of the Bureau of Public Safety, or other person whom he may think fit to the entrusted with the execution thereof. The warrant must substantially recite the facts necessary to the validity of its issuance.

Source

12 TTC § 458, modified.

§ 1022. Same; manner and place of execution.

Such warrant shall authorize the officer or other person to whom it is directed to arrest the accused at any time and at any place where he may be found within the Republic, and to command the aid of all peace officers or other persons in the execution of the warrant, and to deliver the accused, subject to the provisions of this chapter, to the duly authorized agent of the demanding state.

Source

12 TTC § 459, modified.

§ 1023. Same; assistance to arresting officer.

Every officer or other person empowered to make the arrest, as provided in section 1022 of this chapter, shall have the same authority in arresting the accursed to command assistance therein as the Attorney General, the Director of the Bureau of Public Safety and other officers have by law in the execution of any criminal process directed to them, with like penalties against those who refuse their assistance.

Source

12 TTC § 460, modified.

§ 1024. Same; rights of accursed persons; application for writ of habeas corpus.

No person arrested upon such warrant shall be delivered over to the agent whom the executive authority demanding him shall have appointed to receive him unless he shall first be taken forthwith before a judge or justice of the Republic, who shall inform him of the demand made for his surrender and of the crime with which he is charged and that he has the right to demand and procure legal counsel; and if the prisoner or his counsel shall state that he or they desire to test the legality of his arrest, the court shall fix a reasonable time to be allowed him within which to apply for a writ of habeas corpus. When such writ is applied for, notice thereof and of the time and place of hearing thereon shall be given to the Attorney General of the Republic and to the agent of the demanding state.

Source

12 TTC § 461, modified.

Cross-reference

Writ of habeas corpus recognized and may not be suspended, ROP Const., Art. IV, §7; privilege of the writ of habeas corpus not to be suspended unless case of rebellion, invasion or imminent danger thereof and the public safety shall require it, see Title 1, §411; for statutory provisions on habeas corpus, see chapter 11 of Title 18.

Notes

In Matter of Application of Won & Song, 1 ROP Intrm. 311, 312 (Tr. 1986).

§ 1025. Same; penalty for noncompliance.

Any officer who shall deliver a person in his custody under the President's warrant to the agent for extradition of the demanding state in disobedience of section 1024 of this chapter shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and on conviction thereof shall be fined not more than $1,000,00, or be imprisoned not more than six months, or both.

Source

12 TTC § 462, modified.

§ 1026. Same; confinement in jail authorized when necessary.

The officer or person executing the President's warrant of arrest, or the agent of the demanding state to whom the prisoner is to be delivered may, when necessary, confine the prisoner in any jail of the government of the Republic and the warden of such jail shall receive and safely keep the prisoner until the officer or person having charge of him is ready to proceed on his route, such officer or person being chargeable with the expense of keeping the prisoner.

Source

12 TTC § 463, modified.

§ 1027. Arrest prior to requisition; by warrant.

A judge or justice shall issue a warrant directed to the Attorney General, or the Director of the Bureau of Public Safety commanding him to apprehend the person named therein wherever he may be found in the Republic and to bring him before the Supreme court to answer the charge or complaint and affidavit. A certified copy of the sworn charge or complaint and affidavit upon which the warrant is issued shall be attached to the warrant whenever:

(a)any person within the Republic shall be charged on the oath of any credible person before any judge or justice of the Republic with the commission of a crime in any state, and, except in cases arising under section 1007 of this chapter, with having fled form justice with having been convicted of a crime in that state and with having escaped form confinement, or with having broken the terms of his bail, probation, or parole; or

(b)complaint shall have been made before the Supreme Court setting forth on the affidavit of any credible person in a state that a crime has been committed in such other state and that the accused has been charged in such state with the commission of the crime, and, except in cases arising under section 1007 of this chapter, has fled from justice, or that the accursed has broken the terms of his bail, probation or parole, and that the accused is believed to be in the Republic.

Source

12 TTC § 464, modified.

§ 1028. Same; without a warrant.

The arrest of a person may also be lawfully made by any policeman or private citizen without a warrant upon reasonable information that the accused stands charged in the courts of a state with a crime punishable by death or imprisonment for a term of exceeding one year. When so arrested the accursed must be taken before the Supreme Court with all practicable speed and complaint must be made against him under oath setting forth the ground for the arrest as in the preceding section and thereafter his answer shall be heard as if he had been arrested on a warrant.

Source

12 TTC § 465, modified.

§ 1029. Same; commitment to await requisition.

If from the examination before the Supreme Court it appears that the person held pursuant to either of the two preceding sections is the person charged with having committed the crime alleged and, except in cases arising under section 1007 of this chapter, that he has fled from justice, the Supreme Court shall, by a warrant reciting the accusation, commit him to jail for such a time not exceeding 45 days specified in the warrant as will enable the arrest of the accused to be made under a warrant of the President on a requisition of the executive authority of the state having jurisdiction of the offense, unless the accused shall give bail as provided in section 1041 of this chapter, or until he shall be legally discharged.

Source

12 TTC 466, modified.

§1030.President may recall warrant or issue additional warrant.

The President may recall his warrant of arrest or may issue another warrant whenever he deems it proper.

Source

12 TTC § 472, modified.

Subchapter III
Bail

§ 1041. Bail; when allowed; conditions of bond.

Unless the offense with which the prisoner is charged is shown to be an offense punishable by death or life imprisonment under the laws of the state in which it was committed, the Supreme Court may admit the person arrested to bail by bond or undertaking, with sufficient sureties, and in such sum as the court deems proper, conditioned upon his appearance before it at a time specified in such bond or undertaking, and upon his surrender for arrest upon the warrant of the President.

Source

12 TTC § 467, modified.

§ 1042. Same; discharge, recommitment or renewal.

If the accused is not arrested under warrant of the President by the expiration time specified in the warrant, bond, or undertaking, the Supreme Court may discharge him or may recommit him to a further day, or may again take bail for his appearance and surrender, as provided in section 1041 of this chapter. At the expiration of the second period of commitment, or if he has been bailed and appeared according to the terms of his bond or undertaking, the court may either discharge him, or may require him to enter into a new bond or undertaking, to appear and surrender himself at another day.

Source

12 TTC 468, modified.

§ 1043. Same; forfeiture.

If the prisoner is admitted to bail and fails to appear and surrender himself according to the condition of his bond, the Supreme Court shall declare the bond forfeited and order his immediate arrest without warrant if he be within the Republic. Recovery may be had on such bond in the name of the Republic as in the case of other bonds or undertakings given by the accused in criminal proceedings within the Republic.

Source

12 TTC § 469, modified.

Subchapter IV
Fugitives from the Republic

§ 1051. Fugitives from the Republic; issuance of warrant to receive and convey.

Whenever the President shall demand from the executive authority of any state a person charged with crime or with escaping from confinement or breaking the terms of his bail, probation or parole in the Republic, he shall issue a warrant under the seal of the Republic to some agent commanding him to receive the person so charged if delivered to him and convey him to the proper officer of the government of the Republic.

Source

12 TTC § 473, modified.

§ 1052. Same; applications for requisition; return of person charged with crime.

When the return to the Republic of a person charged with a crime in the Republic is required, the Attorney General or his assistant shall present to the President his written application for a requisition for the return of the person charged, in which application shall be stated the name of the person so charged, the crime charged against him, the approximate time, place and circumstances of its commission, the state in which he is believed to be, including the location of the accused therein an the time the application is made, and certifying that, in the opinion of the Attorney General or his assistant, the ends of justice require the arrest and return of the accused to the Republic for trial, and that the proceeding is not instituted to enforce a private claim.

Source

12 TTC § 474, modified.

§ 1053. Same; same; escaped convict.

When the return to the Republic is required of a person who has been convicted of a crime in the Republic and who has escaped from confinement or broken the terms of his bail, probation or parole, the Attorney General shall present to the President a written application for a requisition for the return of such person, in which application shall be stated the name of the person, the crime of which he was convicted, the circumstances of his escape from of the person, the crime of which he was convicted, the circumstances of his escape from confinement or of the breach of the terms of his bail, probation or parole, and the state in which he is believed to be, including the location of the person therein at the time application is made.

Source

12 TTC § 475, modified.

§ 1054. Same, same; form of applications; copies, etc.

The application shall be verified by affidavit, shall be executed in duplicate and shall be accompanied by two certified copies of the information and affidavit filed, or of the complaint made to the judge or magistrate charged, or of the judgment of conviction, or of the sentence. The Attorney General or his assistant may also attach such further affidavits and other documents in duplicate as he shall deem proper to be submitted with such application. One copy of the application, with the action of the President indicated by endorsement thereon, and one of the certified copies of the indictment, or complaint, or information and affidavits, or of the judgement of conviction, or of the sentence shall be filed in the Office of the President to remain of record in that office. The other copies of all papers shall be forwarded with the President's requisition.

Source

12 TTC§ 476, modified.

§ 1055. Same; costs and expenses.

The expenses incident to the extradition of any person under sections 1051-1054 of this chapter shall be paid out of the National Treasury.

Source

12 TTC § 477, modified.

Subchapter V
Miscellaneous Provisions

§ 1071. Immunity from service of process in certain civil actions.

A person brought into the Republic by or after waiver of extradition based on a criminal charge shall not be subject to service of personal process in civil actions arising out of the same facts as the criminal proceeding to answer which he is being or has been returned, until he has been convicted in the criminal proceeding, or, if acquitted, until he has had ample opportunity to return to the state from which he was extradited.

Source

12 TTC § 478, modified.

§ 1072. Waiver of extradition proceedings.

(a)Any person arrested in the Republic and charged with having committed any crime in any state, or alleged to have escaped from confinement, or broken the terms of his bail, probation or parole may waive the issuance and service of the warrant provided for in sections 1021 and 1022 of this chapter and all other procedure incidental to extradition proceedings by executing or subscribing in the presence of a justice of the Supreme Court within the Republic a writing which states that he consents to return to the demanding state; provided, however, that before such waiver shall be executed it shall forthwith be forwarded to the Office of the President and filed therein.

(b)The justice shall direct the officer having such person in custody to deliver forthwith such person to the duly accredited agent of the demanding state, and shall deliver or cause to be delivered to such agent a copy of such consent; provided, however, that nothing in this section shall be deemed to limit the rights of the accused person to return voluntarily and without formality to the demanding state, nor shall this waiver procedure be deemed to be an executive procedure or to limit the powers, rights or duties of the officers of the demanding state or of the Republic.

Source

12 TTC § 479, modified.

§ 1073. Procedures of chapter net deemed waiver of Republic's rights.

Nothing in this chapter shall be deemed to constitute a waiver by the Republic of its right, power or privilege to try such demanded person for crime committed within the Republic, or of its right, power or privilege to regain custody of such person by extradition proceedings or otherwise for the purpose of trial, sentence or punishment for any crime committed within the Republic; nor shall any proceedings had under this chapter which result in, or fail to result in, extradition de deemed a waiver by the Republic of any of its rights, privileges, or jurisdiction in any way whatsoever.

Source

(Code 1966, § 30.) 12 TTC § 480, modified.

§ 1074. Immunity from other criminal prosecutions while in the Republic.

After a person has been brought back to the Republic by or after waiver of extradition proceedings, he may be tried in the Republic for other crimes which he may be charged with having committed therein as well as that crime specified in the requisition for his extradition.

Source

12 TTC § 481, modified.