Transfer
of Convicted Persons Act, 2007
Act 743
ARRANGEMENT
OF SECTIONS
Section
1.
Application
Transfer of a convicted person
to Ghana
2.
Request made to the Republic by
a competent authority of a
sentencing country
3.
Request by a convicted person
4.
Conditions for the transfer of a
convicted person
5.
Grant
of application for transfer to
Ghana
6.
Issue
of a warrant by the Minister for
Interior
7.
Convict to be received by the
Director-General of Prisons
8.
Information on enforcement
9.
Application to adapt and adopt a
foreign order
Transfer of a convicted person
out of Ghana
10.
Attorney-General to request the
transfer of a convict
11.
Issue
of a warrant for transfer out of
Ghana
12.
Consent not to be withdrawn
General
provisions
13.
Appeals
14.
Pardon, amnesty, commutation or
review
15.
Transit
16.
Costs
of Transfer
17.
Non
application of Part V Subpart 1
of Act 459
18.
Regulations
19.
Interpretation
Act 743
REPUBLIC OF
GHANA
THE SEVEN
HUNDRED AND FORTY- THIRD
ACT
OF THE
PARLIAMENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF
GHANA
ENTITLED
TRANSFER OF
CONVICTED PERSONS ACT, 2007
AN
ACT to facilitate the transfer of
convicted persons from the
Republic to another country and
from another country to the
Republic for the purpose of
serving a prison term and to
provide for connected purposes ..
DATE OF ASSENT: 20th August,
2007.
ENACTED by the President and
Parliament:
Application
1. This Act
shall apply where the Republic is
a party to an international
arrangement providing for the
transfer of convicted persons to
or from the Republic.
Transfer
of a convicted person to Ghana
Request made to
the Republic by a competent
authority of a sentencing country
2. (1) A
competent authority of a
sentencing country may apply to
the Attorney General, through the
Minister for Foreign Affairs to
request the transfer of a
convicted person who is or is
believed to be a Ghanaian from the
sentencing country to Ghana.
(2) The
application shall be in writing,
signed by the competent authority
of the specified country and shall
(a)
state the full name of the
convicted person,
(b)
state the age of the convicted
person,
(c)
state the act or omission
constituting the offence and the
law under
which the
convict was prosecuted,
(d)
state the nationality or believed
nationality of the convict, (e)
state the remaining term of
imprisonment of the convict,
(f)
provide the medical and social
report on the convicted person
together with information about
the medical treatment of the
convict in the sentencing country
and recommendations for the
convicts further medical treatment
in Ghana, and
(g) have
a certified true copy of the order
of the court of competent
jurisdiction which committed the
convict to prison attached to the
application
(3) The
Attorney-General shall, within
sixty days of receipt of an
application, communicate a
decision on the request to the
competent authority of the
specified country after
consultation with the Minister for
Interior, the Director-General of
the Prisons Service and other
relevant state bodies.
(4) The
Attorney-General may require the
competent authority of the
sentencing country to provide
further information on the
convicted person before giving a
response to a request for
transfer.
Request by a
convicted person
3. (1) A
person convicted of an offence in
a country other than Ghana may
apply to the Attorney General
through the Minister for Foreign
Affairs for an arrangement to be
made with the competent authority
of the sentencing country for that
person to be transferred to Ghana
to serve the remaining term of
imprisonment of the convict.
(2) The
application shall be in writing,
signed by the convict or the
lawful attorney of the convict and
shall be submitted with the
particulars specified in sub-·
section (2) of section 2.
(3) The
Attorney-General shall communicate
a response in writing to the
convict or the lawful attorney of
the convict after consultation
with the Minister for Interior,
the Director-General of Prisons
and other relevant state bodies.
(4) The
response of the Attorney-General
shall be submitted within sixty
days to the convict through the
competent authority of the
sentencing country where the
convict applied for transfer.
Conditions
for the transfer of a convicted
person
4. The
transfer of a convict to Ghana
shall be subject to the following
conditions:
(a) that
the convict is a citizen of Ghana;
(b) that
the order by which the sentence of
imprisonment was imposed on the
convict is a final order;
(c)
where the judgement is intended to
be adopted as a judgement of a
Ghanaian court of competent
jurisdiction, that t11C conviction
was for a criminal offence which
accords with the standard
prescribed under article 19 (11)
of the Constitution;
(d) that
the convict has more than six
months of the sentence left to
serve or that the term of
imprisonment imposed was for an
unspecified period; (e)
that the legal effect and
consequences flowing from a
requested transfer is explained to
the convict in a language the
convict understands and the
convict appeared to have
understood;
(f) that
the competent authority of the
sentencing country and the
Attorney General have both
consented to the transfer; and
(g) that
the convict consents to the
transfer or where. in view of the
age, physical or mental status of
the convict, the convict is unable
to give consent, the consent is
given by a person designated
either by the Attorney-General or
the appropriate authority of a
sentencing country as being
competent to give consent on
behalf of the convict.
Grant of
application for transfer to Ghana
5. The
Attorney-General may advise the
Minister for InteJ10r to Issue a
warrant accepting the transfer of
a convict to Ghana after assessing
the merits of an application made
under sections 2 or 3.
Issue of a
warrant by the Minister for
Interior
6. (1)
The Minister for Interior shall
issue a warrant on the advice of
the Attorney General.
(2) The copy of
the order attached to an
application made under sections 2
or 3 shall be proof of the facts
stated in the order and the order
shall be referred to in the
warrant to have effect as if
imposed by a court of competent
jurisdiction in Ghana.
Convict to
be received by the
Director-General of Prisons
7. (1) A
convict transferred from another
country to Ghana on warrant, shall
be handed over to the
Director-General who shall keep
the convict in a facility that
appears to the Director-General to
be appropriate to give effect to
the sentence of imprisonment.
(2) The
enforcement of the sentence of
imprisonment imposed on a
transferred convict shall be in
accordance with the Criminal
Procedure Code, 1960 (Act 30).
(3) Subject to
section 9, the Director-General
shall be bound by the legal nature
and duration of the prison
sentence of a transferred convict.
Information
on enforcement
8. (1)
The Director-General shall notify
a sentencing country through the
Ministry of Interior and the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
(a) of
the completion of a prison
sentence imposed on a convict, or
(b) of
the escape of a convict from
custody before the sentence is
completed.
(2) Despite
subsection (1), a sentencing
country may request a special
report from the Director-General
concerning the enforcement of a
prison sentence imposed on a
transferred convict.
Application
to adapt and adopt a foreign order
9. (1)
The Attorney-General may, where
the legal nature and duration of
an order imposing a prison
sentence is inconsistent with a
similar offence under a law in
Ghana, apply to a court of
competent jurisdiction in Ghana
for the order, to be adapted and
adopted to accord with the law
corresponding to the law that
formed the basis for the order
imposed by the sentencing country.
(2)
Despite subsection (1), an order
adapted and adopted shall not by
its nature and duration be made to
aggravate the sentence imposed by
the sentencing country.
(3) The
Director-General shall be bound by
the order as adapted and adopted.
Transfer
of a convicted person out of Ghana
Attorney-General
to request the transfer of a
convict
10. (1)
The Attorney-General may make an
application through the Minister
for Foreign Affairs to a competent
authority in a foreign country to
request the transfer out of Ghana
to the country of a convict who is
a citizen of that country.
(2) Despite
subsection (1), a convict who
claims to be a citizen of a
country other than Ghana may,
through the Director-General, make
an application to the
Attorney-General to be transferred
to the country of citizenship of
the convict and the
Attorney-General may make a
request on behalf of the convict
where it is considered
appropriate.
(3) An
application to make a request
under this section shall be
submitted with the necessary
documentation that may be required
by the competent authority of the
country to which the request is
made.
(4) Where, the
Attorney-General makes an
application for transfer at the
request of a convict, the
Attorney-General shall within
sixty days of the application
inform the convict in writing of
the action or decision taken by
the Ministry and the competent
authority in the foreign country.
Issue of a
warrant for transfer out of Ghana
11. (1)
The Attorney-General may request
the Minister for Interior to issue
a warrant authorising the transfer
of a convict out of Ghana to the
country of the convict.
(2) The
Minister for Interior shall issue
the warrant in the prescribed form
on the advice of the
Attorney-General.
(3) A
warrant shall not be issued for
the transfer of a convict out of
Ghana,
unless
(a) the
convict is informed in writing of
the effect and consequences of the
transfer,
(b)
where the convict is blind, deaf,
dumb or is not literate, the
contents of the document on the
transfer is read and interpreted
to the convict in a language the
convict understands, and
(c) the
convict consents to the transfer.
(4) The
Minister for Interior shall, on
the date of issue of a warrant,
cause a copy to be served on the
Attorney-General and
Director-General.
(5) A warrant
issued under subsection (1) shall
be sufficient authority for
(a) the
Director-General to deliver or
cause the delivery of the convict
to a person authorised to receive
the convict, to keep the convict
and deliver the convict to a
person authorised by the competent
authority of the country of the
convict, to take custody of the
convict, and
(b) the
removal of the convict by the
person to whom the convict is
delivered to a place outside
Ghana.
Consent not
to be withdrawn
12. On
or after the issue of a warrant
under section 5 or 11 (2), the
consent given under sections
4(g) and 11 (3)(c) in
respect of which the warrant is
issued shall not be withdrawn and
accordingly a purported withdrawal
of consent after the issue of a
warrant shall not affect the
validity of the warrant or
directions given in relation to
it.
General
provisions
Appeals
13. (1)
A convict transferred to Ghana may
appeal against the order imposing
the prison sentence in the country
from which the convict is
transferred.
(2) Despite
subsection (1), a convict who is
transferred under section 5 and
has had the order imposing the
prison sentence adapted and
adopted under section 9, may
appeal against the order in a
court of competent jurisdiction in
Ghana.
(3) A convict
transferred from Ghana to another
country may appeal against the
order that imposed the prison
sentence, in Ghana unless the
Order is adapted and adopted by
that country in which case the
convict may appeal to a competent
court of that country.
Pardon,
amnesty, commutation or review
14. (1) Subject
to an agreement to the contrary, a
transferred convict may be granted
pardon, amnesty, commutation or
review by the country that imposed
the sentence of imprisonment.
(2) A
transferred convict who has had
the order imposing the sentence of
imprisonment adapted and adopted
by a court of competent
jurisdiction may be granted
pardon, amnesty, commutation or
review under the national
legislation of the transferred
convict.
Transit
15. (1) A
country which intends to transit a
convict on transfer through Ghana
may be permitted to do so in
twenty one days notice is given to
the Minister for Interior, through
the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
(2) The
Minister for Interior shall, after
notification take the necessary
action in the interest of national
security to facilitate the smooth
transit of the convict.
Costs of
Transfer
16. (1) The
cost associated with the transfer
of a convict to or from Ghana
shall be borne by
(a)
Ghana and the sentencing country,
or
(b)
Ghana and the administering
country
in proportions
agreed on at the time of
negotiating each transfer.
(2)
Despite subsection (1), Ghana may
enter into a long-term agreement
with a country as to how costs
associated with the transfer of a
convict between Ghana and that
country are to be apportioned.
Non
application of Part V Subpart 1 of
Act 459
17. Sub-Part 1
of Part V of the Courts Act, 1993
(Act 459) does not apply to this
Act.
Regulations
18. The
Attorney-General may by
Legislative Instrument make
Regulations generally for the
proper implementation of this Act
but in particular, make
Regulations as to the form and
content of a Warrant issued under
sections 6(2) and 11 (2).
Interpretation
19. Unless the
context otherwise determines, in
this Act
"administering
country" means the country which
enforces the prison sentence
imposed by competent courts in a
sentencing country,
"Attorney-General" means the
Attorney-General and Minister for
Justice;
"competent
authority" means a person who has
full powers of a country to either
allow or refuse the transfer of a
convicted person;
"convict"
means a person who has committed
an offence, been convicted and
sentenced to a term of
imprisonment;
"cost
associated with the transfer of a
convict" includes the cost of
transport, security in transit,
boarding and lodging;
"court of
competent jurisdiction" means a
national court of similar
jurisdiction as the sentencing
court;
"Director-General" means the
Director-General of the Ghana
Prisons Service; "facility" means
a prison or other place where a
convicted person may be
kept in
custody;
"Ministry"
means the Ministry of Justice;
"order"
includes a decision or judgement
of a court; and
"sentencing
country''' means the country in
which a convict was tried, and
sentenced to a term of
imprisonment.
Date of
Gazette notification: 24th
August, 2007.
GPC/ASSEMBLY
PRESS, ACCRA. GPC/A395/350/8/2007
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