Executive summary
This report contains the Joint Standing Committee on Treaties’ (JSCOT) review of the Treaty on Extradition between Australia and the Czech Republic (Canberra, 17 February 2022) (Extradition Treaty or the Treaty).
Australia currently has extradition treaties with 39 other countries and multilateral agreements such as the United Nations Convention against Corruption. The legislation which governs Australia’s extradition regime is the Extradition Act1988 (Cth) (Extradition Act) and the Attorney-General’s Department (AGD) is Australia’s central authority for international extradition matters. The requirements set out in the Extradition Act that must be met before Australia can make or accept an extradition request are supplemented by multilateral and bilateral treaties.
Australia and the Czech Republic established diplomatic ties in 1993 and according to DFAT are ‘like-minded countries’ that ‘cooperate on a range of international issues bilaterally, with the European Union and in multilateral fora.’ The National Interest Analysis (NIA) for the Extradition Treaty notes that ‘the Treaty is a demonstration of the importance of Australia's law enforcement cooperation relationship with the Czech Republic, and a practical strengthening of those ties.’ The NIA notes that a key reason for the proposed current Extradition Treaty action includes the general cost of serious and organised crime – between $24.8b and $60.1b in 2020-21. Specific areas of engagement between Australia and the Czech Republic include efforts to combat the manufacture and transhipment of synthetic drugs and serious cybercrime.
The Extradition Treaty is intended ‘to create a comprehensive framework between Australia and the Czech Republic that will facilitate the surrender of a person from one country to the other country for the purposes of criminal prosecution or the imposition or service of a criminal sentence.’ The NIA states that the Treaty will ‘provide clarity and certainty about the procedures and processes to be used when making and receiving extradition requests.’ The Treaty will facilitate in the streamlining of processes for both Australia and the Czech Republic.
The Committee heard from the government during the public inquiry which expressed support for ratification.
The Committee supports the Convention and recommends that binding treaty action be taken.
This Report also contains the Committee’s examination of four minor treaty actions:
- amendment to Appendix III of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) as contained in notification 2022/073 Caribena versicolor (Antilles pinktoe tarantula)
- amendment to Appendix III of CITES as contained in notification 2023/11 Daboia palaestinae (Palestine viper)
- amendment to Appendix III of CITES as contained in notification 2023/018 Papilio phorbanta (small Réunion swallowtail)
- amendment to the International Sugar Agreement 1992.