Summary Part 6: International co-operation in relation to criminal justice matters
54.Sections 80 to 92 and Schedules 18 and 19 give effect to the European Council Framework Decision on the mutual recognition of financial penalties in England and Wales and Northern Ireland. Section 80 (or 82 in respect of Northern Ireland) provides for the submission by the Lord Chancellor to another member State of a certificate requesting enforcement of a financial penalty incurred by an offender who is normally resident or who has property or income in that other member State. Section 84 (or 87 in respect of Northern Ireland) provides for the receipt, by the Lord Chancellor, from another member State of like certificates requesting the enforcement of a financial penalty incurred by an offender in that other State who is normally resident or who has property or income in one of the jurisdictions in this country and for the transmission of such a certificate to a magistrates’ court. Section 85 (or 88 in Northern Ireland) and Schedule 18 set out the procedure for a magistrates’ court to validate such incoming requests and the grounds for refusal of such requests.
55.Sections 93 to 96 amend the Repatriation of Prisoners Act 1984 to enable the United Kingdom to ratify the Additional Protocol to the Council of Europe Convention on the Transfer of Sentenced Persons. The Protocol provides for the transfer of prisoners without their consent where the prisoner is to be deported at the end of the sentence or where a prisoner has fled from one jurisdiction to another in order to avoid imprisonment. Subject to the extension of section 44 of the Police and Justice Act 2006 to Scotland (section 96), sufficient legislation is already in place to deal with the transfer of those prisoners subject to deportation, but further legislation is required to deal with prisoners who have fled. Sections 94 and 95 create a procedure for the transfer of responsibility for the enforcement of a sentence of a prisoner who has fled from one jurisdiction to another. Section 93 extends the scope of the Repatriation of Prisoners Act 1984 to enable a British escort to deliver a prisoner to a point of arrival in the receiving country, extending the flexibility of the current arrangements.
56.Section 97 amends the Crime (International Co-operation) Act 2003 so that the Treasury may provide for functions conferred on the Secretary of State in relation to requests mutual legal assistance from overseas authorities may be exercisable instead by HMRC in relation to direct tax matters.