Bermuda Consolidated Legislation

 

UNITED KINGDOM STATUTORY INSTRUMENT

SI 1970 No. 147

THE EXTRADITION (GENOCIDE) ORDER, 1970

[made by Her Majesty-in-Council under section 2 of the Extradition Act 1870 and published in Bermuda as SR&O 13/1970]

1 This Order may be cited as the Extradition (Genocide) Order, 1970, and shall come into operation on 30th April, 1970.

2 The Interpretation Act, 1889 shall apply, with the necessary adaptations, for the purpose of interpreting this Order and otherwise in relation thereto as it applies for the purpose of interpreting, and in rela tion to, Acts of Parliament.

3 The Extradition Acts, 1870 to 1935, as amended by the Genocide Act, 1969 shall apply in the case of the states mentioned in Schedule 2 to this Order under and in accordance with the extradition treaties therein described as supplemented by the Genocide Convention.

4 The operation of this Order is limited to the United King dom, the Channel Islands, the Isle of Man and the British possessions mentioned in Schedule 3 to this Order, being British possessions to which the application of the Genocide Convention is extended.

SCHEDULE 1

ENGLISH TEXT OF THE GENOCIDE CONVENTION

The Contracting Parties,

Having considered the declaration made by the General Assembly of the United Nations in its resolution 96 (I) dated 11th December, 1946, that genocide is a crime under international law, contrary to the spirit and aims of the United Nations and condemned by the civilized world;

Recognizing that at all periods of history genocide has inflicted great losses on humanity; and

Being convinced that, in order to liberate mankind from such an odious scourge, international co-operation is required.

Hereby agree as here inafter provided:

Article I

The Contracting Parties confirm that genocide, whether committed in time of peace or in time of war, is a crime under international law which they undertake to prevent and to punish.

Article II

In the present Convention, genocide means any of the following acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethni cal, racial or religious group, as such—

(a) Killing members of the group;

(b) Causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group;

(c) Deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life cal culated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part;

(d) Imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group;

(e) Forcibly transferring children of the group to another group.

Article III

The following acts shall be punishable—

(a) Genocide;

(b) Conspiracy to commit genocide;

(c) Direct and public incitement to commit genocide;

(d) Attempt to commit genocide;

(e) Complicity in genocide.

Article IV

Persons committing genocide or any of the other acts enumerated in ar ticle III shall be punished, whether they are constitutionally responsible rulers, public officials or private individuals.

Article V

The Contracting Parties undertake to enact, in accordance with their re spective Constitutions, the necessary legislation to give effect to the pro visions of the present Convention and, in particular, to provide effective penalties for persons guilty of genocide or of any of the other acts enu merated in article III.

Article VI

Persons charged with genocide or any of the other acts enumerated in article III shall be tried by a competent tribunal of the State in the terri tory of which the act was committed, or by such international penal tri bunal as may have jurisdiction with respect to those Contracting Parties which shall have accepted its jurisdiction.

Article VII

Genocide and the other acts enumerated in article III shall not be con sidered as political crimes for the purpose of extradition.

The Contracting Parties pledge themselves in such cases to grant extra dition in accordance with their laws and treaties in force.

Article VIII

Any Contracting Party may call upon the competent organs of the United Nations to take such action under the Charter of the United Nations as they consider appropriate for the prevention and suppression of acts of genocide or any of the other acts enumerated in article III.

Article IX

Disputes between the Contracting Parties relating to the interpretation, application or fufilment of the present Convention, including those re lating to the responsibility of a State for genocide or for any of the other acts enumerated in article III, shall be submitted to the International Court of Justice at the request of any of the parties to the dispute.

Article X

The present Convention, of which the Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish texts are equally authentic, shall bear the date of 9th De cember, 1948.

Article XI

The present Convention shall be open until 31st December, 1949 for sig nature on behalf of any Member of the United Nations and of any non member State to which an invitation to sign has been addressed by the General Assembly.

The present Convention shall be ratified, and the instruments of ratifica tion shall be deposited with the Secretary-General of the United Nations. After 1st January, 1950 the present Convention may be acceded to on behalf of any Member of the United Nations and of any non-member State which has received an invitation as aforesaid.

Instruments of accession shall be deposited with the Secretary-General of the United Nations,

Article XII

Any Contracting Party may at any time, by notification addressed to the Secretary-General of the United Nations, extend the application of the present Convention to all or any of the territories for the conduct of whose foreign relations that Contracting Party is responsible.

Article XIII

On the day when the first twenty instruments of ratification or accession have been deposited, the Secretary-General shall draw up a proc s-ver bal and transmit a copy thereof to each Member of the United Nations and to each of the non-member States contemplated in article XI.

The present Convention shall come into force on the ninetieth day fol lowing the date of deposit of the twentieth instrument of ratification or accession.

Any ratification or accession effected subsequent to the latter date shall become effective on the ninetieth day following the deposit of the instru ment of ratification or accession.

Article XIV

The present Convention shall remain in effect for a period of ten years as from the date of its coming into force.

It shall thereafter remain in force for successive periods of five years for such Contracting Parties as have not denounced it at least six months before the expiration of the current period.

Denunciation shall be effected by a written notification addressed to the Secretary-General of the United Nations.

Article XV

If, as a result of denunciations, the number of Parties to the present Convention should become less than sixteen, the Convention shall cease to be in force as from the date on which the last of these denunciations shall become effective.

Article XVI

A request for the revision of the present Convention may be made at any time by any Contracting Party by means of a notification in writing ad dressed to the Secretary-General.

The General Assembly shall decide upon the steps, if any, to be taken in respect of such request.

Article XVII

The Secretary-General of the United Nations shall notify all Members of the United Nations and the non-member States contemplated in article XI of the following—

(a) Signatures, ratifications and accessions received in ac cordance with article XI;

(b) Notifications received in accordance with article XII;

(c) The date upon which the present Convention comes into force in accordance with article XIII;

(d) Denunciations received in accordance with article XIV;

(e) The abrogation of the Convention in accordance with ar ticle XV;

(f) Notifications received in accordance with article XVI.

Article XVIII

The original of the present Convention shall be deposited in the archives of the United Nations.

A certified copy of the Convention shall be transmitted to each Member of the United Nations and to each of the non-member States contem plated in article XI.

Article XIX

The present Convention shall be registered by the Secretary-General of the United Nations on the date of its coming into force.

SCHEDULE 2

STATES WITH WHICH THE UNITED KINGDOM HAS EXTRADITION TREATIES AND WHICH ARE CONTRACTING PARTIES TO THE GENO CIDE CONVENTION

State Date of Treaty

Albania 22nd July 1926
Argentina 22nd May 1889
Austria 9th January 1963
Belgium 29th October 1901
Chile 26th January 1897
Colombia 27th October 1888
Cuba 3rd October 1904
Czechoslovakia 11th November 1924
Denmark 31st March 1873
Ecuador 20th September 1880
El Salvador 23rd June 1881
Finland 29th October 1975
France 14th August 1876
Germany, Federal Republic of 14th May 1872
(reapplied and amended
by the Agreement of
23rd February 1960)
Greece 24th September 1910
Guatemala 4th July 1885
Haiti 7th December 1874
Hungary 3rd December 1873
Iceland 31st March 1873
Iraq 2nd May 1932
Israel 4th April 1960
Italy 5th February 1873
Liberia 16th December 1892
Luxembourg 24th November 1880
Mexico 7th September 1886
Monaco 17th December 1891
Netherlands 26th September 1898
Nicaragua 19th April 1905
Norway 26th June 1873
Panama 25th August 1906
Peru 26th January 1904
Poland 11th January 1932
Romania 21st March 1893
Spain 22nd July 1985
Sweden 26th April 1963
Uruguay 26th March 1884
Yugoslavia 6th December 1900

 

SCHEDULE 3

BRITISH POSSESSIONS TO WHICH THE APPLICATION OF THE GENO CIDE CONVENTION IS EXTENDED

Bermuda
British Virgin Is lands
Falkland Islands and De pendencies
Gibraltar

Hong Kong
Pitcairn
St. Helena
Turks and Caicos Islands

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This Note is not part of the Order.)

This Order applies the Extradition Acts, 1870 to 1935 as amended by the Genocide Act, 1969 to the offence of genocide in the case of those states with which the United Kingdom has extradi tion treaties and which are also parties to the Genocide Convention.