[Exclusive] The Suspects Transfer Agreement with Seychelles
(B2) After agreement Force Protection SOFA, the text of the agreement on the transfer of pirates between the government of Seychelles and the European Union seems to be ready. I was able to examine it. It looks like the one signed with Kenya.
It should be remembered that this agreement covers all the countries providing a contingent to EUNAVFOR, whether or not they belong to the European Union (1) (we speak of a "contributing State"). Here are the main elements of the agreement.
Persons transferred
Normally only the " persons suspected of intending to commit, committing or having committed acts of piracy on the high seas or armed robbery in territorial waters et archipelagic islands of the Seychelles, and which are selected by EUNAVFOR ».
The principle is that " the Seychelles accept, at the request of EUNAVFOR, the transfer of persons detained by the latter and property seized by it in connection with armed robbery (...) and piracy, and hand over the persons and property concerned to their competent authorities for the purposes of investigation and prosecution. »
“EUNAVFOR only transfers people to the relevant Seychelles law enforcement authorities. »
« The parties shall treat transferred persons, both before and after transfer, humanely and in accordance with international human rights obligations, including the prohibition of torture and cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment or punishment, l prohibition of arbitrary detention and the requirement of a fair trial. »
Rights granted to the suspect (guilty)
These are the principles usually recognized by international and European human rights conventions.
1. ' detention in adequate premises, sufficient food, access to medical care and (the right to) observe one's religion.
2. “translation without delay before a judge or other authority empowered by law to exercise judicial functions, who shall decide without delay on the lawfulness of his detention and order his release if such detention is unlawful.
3. “Right to be tried within a reasonable time or released.
4. “right to (have) his case heard fairly and publicly by a competent, independent and impartial tribunal, established by law, which will decide on the merits of any criminal charge brought against him.
5. “presumed innocent until proved guilty according to law
6. “right, in full equality, at least to:
(a) to be informed, as soon as possible, in a language which he understands and in detail, of the nature and grounds of the accusation brought against him;
(b) have the time and facilities necessary to prepare his defense and communicate with the counsel of his choice; be tried without undue delay;
(c) be present at the trial and defend themselves or have the assistance of a defense counsel of their choice;
(d) if he does not have a defender, be informed of his right to have one, and, whenever the interests of justice so require, be assigned a defender ex officio, free of charge, if she does not have the means to pay him;
(e) examine or cause to be examined all the evidence against him, including the affidavits of the witnesses who made the arrest, and obtain the appearance and examination of the witnesses for the defense under the same conditions as the witnesses for the prosecution ;
(f) to have the free assistance of an interpreter if he cannot understand or speak the language used in court;
g) not be forced to testify against themselves or confess guilt.
7. “(right) to have the conviction and sentence reviewed or appealed to a higher court in accordance with the laws of Seychelles. (...)
“No transferred person may be charged with an offense punishable by the death penalty, nor convicted or subject to the death penalty. »
EUNAVFOR is closely associated with the procedure.
“1. Any transfer shall be subject to an appropriate document signed by a representative of EUNAVFOR and by a representative of the competent law enforcement authorities of Seychelles.
2. EUNAVFOR shall provide Seychelles with the detention file of any transferred person. This file contains, as far as possible, indications concerning the state of health of the transferred person during his detention and specifies the time of his transfer to the Seychelles authorities, the reason for his detention, the time and the place of the beginning of his detention and all the decisions taken concerning his detention.
3. Seychelles shall be responsible for keeping an accurate record of all persons transferred and in particular, but not exclusively, for keeping a file concerning the property seized, the state of health of these persons, the location of their places of detention, the charges against them and all important decisions made in connection with the proceedings against them and their trial.
4. These files are made available to EU and EUNAVFOR representatives upon written request to the Seychelles Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
5. Seychelles shall notify EUNAVFOR of the place of detention of any person transferred under this Agreement, any deterioration in their state of health and any allegation of inappropriate treatment. Representatives of the EU and EUNAVFOR shall have access to persons transferred under this Agreement for as long as they are kept in detention, and they shall have the right to question them.
6. At their request, national and international humanitarian agencies are authorized to visit persons transferred under this agreement.
7. In order for EUNAVFOR to be able to assist Seychelles in a timely manner by calling EUNAVFOR witnesses and providing relevant evidence, Seychelles shall notify EUNAVFOR of its intention to initiate proceedings against any transferred person, as well as the timetable for the disclosure of evidence and the hearing of witnesses.
(...) 8. Seychelles shall not transfer a transferred person to another State without the prior written consent of EUNAVFOR.»
Support from EUNAVFOR
« Within the limits of its means and capabilities, EUNAVFOR shall make every effort to provide all necessary assistance to Seychelles so that the persons transferred are investigated and prosecuted. In particular, and in accordance with the applicable legislation of the Contributing State, EUNAVFOR hands over the records of detention, processes all evidence in accordance with the requirements of the competent authorities of Seychelles; endeavor to produce the testimonies or affidavits of the EUNAVFOR personnel concerned; return all relevant seized property to his possession.”
Coming into force
The deal is "applied on a provisional basis from the date of its signature"And"remains in force until the end of the operation, as notified by EUNAVFOR". (...)
After the operation
« Once the operation is finished, all the rights granted to EUNAVFOR under (the) agreement can be exercised by any person or entity designated by the State holding the Presidency of the Council of the European Union. This designated person or entity may be, inter alia, a diplomatic or consular agent of that State accredited to Seychelles. After the end of the operation, all notifications to be sent to EUNAVFOR under this Agreement shall be transmitted to the State holding the Presidency of the Council of the European Union."
Language
The agreement will be written in all 22 official languages of the EU (including Danish which does not take part in defense operations but not in Gaelic!). "All texts being equally authentic." according to the principle in force at European Union level (but hello in the event of a problem of interpretation).
(Nicolas Gros-Verheyde)
NATO weakness, European strength
Without wanting to hurt the proponents of the ultimate armed force, we can also point out that NATO has still not signed a pirate transfer agreement, nor CTF 151. I'm not quite sure that they have the legal capacity. Only individual states have done so (especially the United States).
The strength of the EU is precisely to save the Member States (and those participating in the operation) from having to negotiate and assume the management of an international agreement. That's a hell of an energy saver. And a guarantee of speed of installation.
- Note: Which is, in my opinion, a certain legal innovation. Since an international agreement signed by an international organization thus applies to countries and armed forces that are not members. Like what "soft power" still has a share of power.
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