Key Benefits:
ACT 250 OF 1995
(December 29)
Official Journal No. 42,171., of December 29, 1995
By means of which the "Treaty between the Government of the Republic of Colombia and the Government of the Republic of Venezuela on the Transfer of Sentenced Persons" was approved in Caracas on 12 January 1994.
THE CONGRESS OF COLOMBIA,
DECRETA:
Having regard to the text of the "Treaty between the Government of the Republic of Colombia and the Government of the Republic of Venezuela on the Transfer of Sentenced Persons", signed in Caracas on 12 January 1994.
ARTICLE 1A. Approve the "Treaty between the Government of the Republic of Colombia and the Government of the Republic of Venezuela on the Transfer of Sentenced Persons", signed in Caracas on 12 January of 1994.
Treaty between the Government of the Republic of Colombia and the Government of the Republic of Venezuela on the transfer of sentenced persons.
The Government of the Republic of Colombia and the Government of the Republic of Venezuela:
encouraged by the desire to promote cooperation in criminal matters.
Whereas such cooperation will improve the efficiency of the administration of justice and facilitate the social rehabilitation of the penados of both States.
Persuaded that the rehabilitation of the penados will be done with the fulfillment of the penalty in their country of origin.
Eager to establish mechanisms to strengthen the administration of justice through international cooperation.
Acknowledging that assistance between the parties for the execution of criminal sentences is an important aspect of the bilateral cooperation policy.
Encouraged by the common goal of ensuring the protection of the human rights of those who are condemned, always ensuring respect for their dignity.
Guided by the principles of friendship and cooperation that prevail in their relations, they have agreed to conclude the present Treaty on the transfer of sentenced persons, in one of the two States Parties when they are nationals Venezuelan or Colombian.
1. The penalties imposed in the Republic of Venezuela on Colombian nationals may be enforced in the Republic of Colombia in penitentiary establishments or under the supervision of Colombian authorities, in accordance with the provisions of the This Treaty.
2. The penalties imposed in the Republic of Colombia on Venezuelan nationals may be enforced in the Republic of Venezuela in penitentiary establishments or under the supervision of Venezuelan authorities in accordance with the provisions of the This Treaty.
3. The States party to this Treaty require the widest possible cooperation in the field of the transfer of sentenced persons.
4. Applicable rules: The transfer of persons shall be governed solely and exclusively by the rules contained in this Treaty.
ARTICLE 2o. DEFINITIONS. For the purposes of this Treaty, the expression:
1.-"Trasladante State" means the State where the sentence of conviction has been given and of which the sentenced person shall be transferred.
2. "Receiving State" means the State to which the sentenced person is transferred to continue with the execution of the sentence in the Trasladante State.
3. "Sentenced Person" is the person who has been convicted by a Court or Court of the Trasladante State through a conviction and who is in prison, and may also be under the regime of conditional conviction, freedom preparatory work, or any other form of freedom subject to surveillance.
1. The sentenced person will continue to comply in the State of the Receiver, the penalty or security measure imposed in the State of the Transformer and in accordance with the laws and procedures of the State Receiver without the need of exequatur.
2. The State of Transshipment or the State of the Receiver as a result of the transfer, may grant the amnesty, the pardon, the commutation of the penalty or measure of security or take any decision or legal measure that involves a reduction of the penalty or measure Security. Requests from the recipient State shall be well founded and examined in a benevolent manner by the Trasladante State.
Only the Moving State will be able to know the review action or action.
3. The sentenced person transferred for the execution of a sentence under this Treaty shall not be detained, prosecuted or convicted in the State of Receives for the same offence that caused the sentence to be executed.
4. Under no circumstances, the sentence imposed in the Transladante State may be increased in the recipient State.
ARTICLE 4. CONDITIONS OF APPLICABILITY. This Treaty shall apply under the following conditions:
1. That the acts or omissions that have resulted in the conviction constitute a crime in accordance with the rules of the State Receiver.
2. That the person sentenced is a national of the recipient state.
3. That the sentenced person is not convicted of a political or military crime.
4. That there is a conviction and no other pending proceedings in the Trasladante State.
5. That the other provisions of the judgment, outside the deprivation of liberty, but including those relating to civil liability, have been met.
6. That the decision to move people for the enforcement of criminal sentences, be adopted on a case by case basis.
7. That the transferring States and the Receiver commit themselves to communicate to the person sentenced to the legal conditions of their transfer, and that in turn this manifest the express commitment to collaborate with the justice of the State Receiver.
8. The person sentenced to request his/her transfer or if such request comes from the State of the Transladante or the State of the Receiver, the person sentenced to express his/her consent expressly and in writing.
ARTICLE 5o. CENTRAL AUTHORITIES. The Parties designate as central authorities responsible for exercising the functions provided for in this Treaty to the Ministry of Justice by the Republic of Venezuela and the Ministry of Justice and Law, of the Republic of Colombia.
ARTICLE 6o. OBLIGATIONS TO PROVIDE INFORMATION.
1. Any condemned person to whom this Treaty may apply shall be informed by the States of the Transports and the Receiver of the tenor of this Convention, as well as of the legal consequences arising from the transfer.
2. If the sentenced person has expressed the wish to be transferred to the State in accordance with this Treaty, that State shall inform the State of the recipient as soon as possible.
3. The information shall include:
(a) The name, date and place of birth of the sentenced person;
b) Where appropriate, the home address of the person to be transferred;
c) An exposure of the facts that originated the conviction;
d) The nature, duration and date of commencement of the conviction;
4. If the sentenced person has expressed the wish of the recipient State to be transferred pursuant to this Treaty, the transferring State shall inform that State, at its request, of the information referred to in paragraph 3 above.
5. Written information shall be given to the sentenced person of any management undertaken by the State of the Recipient or the State in which the preceding paragraphs are applied, as well as any decision taken by one of the two States in respect of a transfer request.
ARTICLE 7o. REQUESTS AND RESPONSES.
1. Requests for transfers and replies shall be made in writing and shall be addressed to the central authorities designated by this Treaty.
2. The receiving State and the transferring State shall have discretion to reject the transfer of the sentenced person, and shall communicate their decision to the requesting party. The notification to the other State of the decision rejecting the shipment does not need to be substantiated.
3. The requested State shall inform the requesting State, as soon as possible, of its decision to accept or refuse the requested shipment.
ARTICLE 8o. BASES FOR THE DECISION.
1. In taking the decision on the transfer of the sentenced person, each Party shall consider, inter alia, the following criteria in the application of this Treaty.
(a) The Treaty shall be applied in a gradual and progressive manner;
b) The decisions of each State, accepting or denying a transfer in application of this Treaty shall be sovereign;
c) In taking their decisions each State shall take into account, among other criteria, the seriousness of the offences, their characteristics and, in particular, whether they have been committed with the help of a criminal organisation, the possibilities for reintegration, age and the health of the sentenced person, his family situation, his willingness to cooperate with the justice system and the satisfaction of the pecuniary responsibilities with respect to the victims.
ARTICLE 9o. SUPPORTING DOCUMENTATION.
1. The receiving State shall, at the request of the Trasladante State, provide the latter:
(a) A document or a statement indicating that the sentenced person is a national of that State;
(b) A copy of the legal provisions of the recipient State of which the acts or omissions which have resulted in the conviction in the State of the transfer constitute a criminal offence under the right of the recipient State or the would constitute if it were committed on its territory.
2. If a shipment is requested, the transferring State shall provide the recipient State with the documents which are then expressed, unless one or the other of the two States has indicated that it no longer agrees with the shipment:
a) A certified copy of the judgment and the legal provisions applied;
(b) The indication of the time of conviction already served, including information concerning any preventive detention, granting of criminal surrogacy or other circumstance relating to the enforcement of the conviction;
c) A statement that consists of the person's consent to the transfer, and
(d) Where applicable, any medical or social report about the sentenced person, any information about his treatment in the State of the transfer and any recommendation for the continuation of such treatment in the receiving State.
3. The transferring state and the recipient state may, one or the other, request that any of the documents or declarations referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2 be provided to them before they request a transfer or take the decision to accept or refuse the shipment.
ARTICLE 10. ECONOMIC BURDENS. The delivery of the person sentenced by the authorities of the State to the authorities of the recipient State shall be carried out at the place where the Parties agree in each case.
The receiving state will take charge of the expenses of the transfer from the moment the sentenced person is in their custody.
1. None of the provisions contained in this Treaty can be interpreted as meaning that the person sentenced to the transfer is assigned a right to transfer.
2. Any doubts or disputes which may arise in the interpretation or execution of this Treaty shall be resolved by diplomatic means.
ARTICLE 12. VALIDITY AND TERMINATION.
1. This Treaty shall enter into force on the sixty (60) days from the date of the last notification in which the Parties communicate by Diplomatic Note the fulfilment of their internal constitutional and legal requirements.
2. Any Member State may denounce this Treaty by written notification to the other State. The complaint will take effect six (6) months after the date of notification.
Applications which have been submitted to the date of the denunciation of this Treaty shall continue to be processed as normal without being affected.
Subscribed in Caracas to the twelve (12) days of January
of a thousand nine hundred and ninety-four (1994), in two copies
in Spanish, both texts being equally valid and authentic.
By the Government of the Republic of Colombia.
By the Government of the Republic of Venezuela.
(Unreadable signatures).
The undersigned Head of the Legal Office
from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs,
NOTES:
That the present reproduction is a faithful photocopy made original of the "Treaty between the Government of the Republic of Colombia and the Government of the Republic of Venezuela on the Transfer of Condemned Persons", signed in Caracas on 12 January 1994, which rests in the archives of the Legal Office of this Ministry.
Dada en Santafe de Bogota, D.C., at twenty-two (22) days
of the month of August of a thousand nine hundred and ninety-four (1994).
the Chief Legal Officer,
HECTOR ADOLFO SINTURA VARELA.
Executive Branch of the Public Power-Presidency of the Republic.
Santafe de Bogota, D.C., March 18, 1994.
Approved. Submit to the honorable consideration
National Congress for Constitutional Effects.
(FDO). CESAR GAVIRIA TRUJILLO.
The Foreign Minister,
NOEMI SANIN DE RUBIO.
ARTICLE 2A. Pursuant to article 1o. of Law 7a. 1994, the "Treaty between the Government of the Republic of Colombia and the Government of the Republic of Venezuela on the Transfer of Convicted Persons", signed in Caracas on 12 January 1994, as provided for in Article 1. of this Law is approved, will force the country from the date on which the international link with respect to it is perfected.
ARTICLE 3A. This Law governs from the date of its publication.
The President of the honorable Senate of the Republic,
JULIO CESAR GUERRA.
The Secretary General of the honorable Senate of the Republic,
PEDRO PUMAREJO VEGA.
The President of the honorable House of Representatives,
RODRIGO RIVERA SALAZAR.
The Secretary General of the honorable House of Representatives,
DIEGO VIVAS TAFUR.
COLOMBIA-NATIONAL GOVERNMENT
Publish and execute.
Execute previous Constitutional Court review as
to article 241-10 of the Political Constitution.
Dada en Santafe de Bogota, D.C., at 29 December 1995.
ERNESTO SAMPER PIZANO
The Foreign Minister,
RODRIGO PARDO GARCIA-PENA.
The Ministry of Justice and Law,
NESTOR HUMBERTO MARTINEZ NEIRA.
