By
Dr. Peter D. Maynard[1]
The framework for improved international cooperation has been in place for some time now. In the package of legislation aimed at removing the Bahamas from the money laundering black list of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD)and other supranational organisations, the Bahamas Government has passed the Criminal Justice (International Co-Operation) Act, 2000 (No. 42 of 2000).
This Act seeks to make provisions to enable The Bahamas to co-operate with other countries in criminal proceedings and investigations and to enable The Bahamas to join with other countries in implementing the Vienna Convention against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances.
1. Preliminary
Part I deals with preliminary matters.
2. Criminal Proceedings and Investigations
Part II deals with criminal proceedings and investigations.
Where the Attorney-General receives from a foreign country a summons
requiring a person to appear as a defendant or witness in criminal proceedings in that country or a document issued by a court exercising criminal jurisdiction in that country and recording a decision of that court, together with a request for the summons or document to be served on a person in The Bahamas, the Attorney-General may cause the summons or document to be served on such person (Section 3).
A summons requiring a person charged with an offence to appear before a court in The Bahamas or a summons requiring a witness to attend before a court in The Bahamas in criminal proceedings may be served outside The Bahamas in accordance with arrangements made by the Attorney-General (Section 4).
Where it appears to the Attorney-General that an offence has been committed or that there are reasonable grounds for suspecting that an offence has been committed and that investigations or proceedings in respect of the offence have been commenced, he may apply to a Judge or Stipendiary and Circuit Magistrate to issue a letter of request requesting assistance in obtaining evidence, outside The Bahamas, for use in the proceedings or investigation. The letter of request must be sent to the Attorney-General for transmission to the appropriate authority in the foreign country (Section 5).
Where the Attorney-General receives from a foreign country a request for assistance in obtaining evidence in The Bahamas in connection with criminal proceedings that have been instituted or a criminal investigation that is being carried on in that country, he may nominate a court in The Bahamas to receive such evidence (Section 6).
The Attorney-General may issue a warrant providing for a prisoner serving a sentence in a prison in The Bahamas to be transferred to a country outside The Bahamas for the purpose of giving evidence in criminal proceedings there or assisting in the investigation of an offence. The prisoner must consent to the transfer (Section 7).
Where a witness summons has been issued in criminal proceedings in The Bahamas in respect of a prisoner who is detained in custody in another country, or it appears to the Attorney-General that it is desirable for a prisoner to assist in a criminal investigation in The Bahamas, the Attorney-General may issue a warrant to bring the prisoner to The Bahamas if he is satisfied that the appropriate authority in the country where the prisoner is detained will make arrangements for him to come to The Bahamas to give such evidence. A warrant will not be issued unless the prisoner has consented to being brought to The Bahamas (Section 8).
Where a foreign court makes a forfeiture order in respect of any offence which corresponds to or is similar to an offence under the Dangerous Drugs Act, chapter 213 or a drug trafficking offence as defined in the Proceeds of Crime Act, 2000, the Attorney-General may provide for the enforcement in The Bahamas of such order (Section 9).
3. The Vienna Convention
Part III deals with the Vienna Convention.
The Vienna Convention means the United Nations Convention against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic substances which was signed in Vienna on December 20, 1988 (Section 12). The Bahamas was the first country to accede to this Convention.
Anything which would constitute an offence under the Dangerous Drugs Act or an offence under the Proceeds of Crime Act, 2000 if done on land in The Bahamas, would constitute that offence if done on a ship registered in The Bahamas (Section 13).
Police officers, customs officers, the captain of a ship belonging to the Royal Bahamas Defence Force and other persons specified by the Attorney-General are designated “enforcement officers” for the purposes of this Act. An enforcement officer is given power to stop, board and detain any ship in Bahamian territorial waters or the waters of a Convention state (if requested to do so) for the purpose of detecting and the taking of appropriate action in respect of a drug trafficking offence or the importation or exportation of a “controlled drug” (as defined in Section 2) (Sections 15 and 16).
4. General
This Act seeks to make provisions to enable The Bahamas to co-operate with other countries in criminal proceedings and investigations and to enable The Bahamas to join with other countries in implementing the Vienna Convention against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic substances.
[1] Counsel and Attorney at Law, specializing in commercial law, company law, trusts, banking, and civil and criminal litigation. President of the Bahamas Bar Association and President of the Organization of Commonwealth Caribbean Bar Associations. Admitted to practice law in 1979 in England, Wales and The Bahamas; and in 1986 in St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Antigua and Barbuda and Trinidad and Tobago, in 1996, pro hac vice in the Turks and Caicos Islands. Education: McGill University (B.A., Hons.); Johns Hopkins University (M.A., Ph.D.); Cambridge University (LL.M.); Sorbonne University (1996); Cornell University (1968). Member os the Hon. Society of Gray’s Inn. Former posts: Legal Adviser, Bahamas Ministry of Foreign Affairs; Economics Affairs Officer, United Nations; and Acting Stipendiary and Circuit Magistrate. Contributing Editor, Journal of Financial Crime, Journal of Money Laundering Control, Amicus Curiae, International Journal of Banking Regulation, Company Lawyer and Caribbean Law and Business. PETER D. MAYNARD & CO., Chambers, Jehovah Jireh House, Bay & Deveaux Streets, P.O. Box N-1000, Nassau, Bahamas, telephone: (242) 325-5335 , fax: (242) 325-5411, email: peter.maynard@maynardlaw.com
