PART 6

Miscellaneous

Sittings in State of International Criminal Court.

58 .— (1) The International Criminal Court, while sitting in the State, may perform its functions under the Statute, and the provisions of the Statute in that behalf, including those relating to the Prosecutor and Part 8 thereof (appeal against or revision of decisions of a Trial Chamber of the Court), shall have effect accordingly.

(2) Orders made by the Court during a trial before it while so sitting (including orders for imprisonment or detention) shall have effect for all purposes as if they were orders made by the Central Criminal Court, and any relevant enactments and statutory instruments (including rules of court) shall have effect accordingly, with the necessary modifications.

(3) Any judgment, order or determination of the Court while so sitting is not subject to review by a court in the State.

Investigations in State by Prosecutor.

59 .— (1) Subject to section 4 , the Prosecutor—

(a) may conduct investigations in the State—

(i) in accordance with Part 9 (International Cooperation and Judicial Assistance) of the Statute, or

(ii) in the circumstances mentioned in Article 57.3(d), if authorised by the Pre-Trial Chamber to do so,

and

(b) may directly execute in the State a request by the International Criminal Court for assistance, subject to compliance with paragraphs 4 and 5 of Article 99.

(2) Article 55 (rights of persons during an investigation) shall have effect in relation to such investigations.

Immunities and privileges relating to International Criminal Court.

60 .— (1) The International Criminal Court, its judges, the Prosecutor, Deputy Prosecutor, Registrar, other members of its staff and those other persons mentioned in Article 48 and the Agreement on the Privileges and Immunities of the International Criminal Court shall, in the absence of any waiver, have the privileges, immunities and facilities necessary for the purposes specified in relation to them in that Article or in the Agreement.

(2) For the purposes of subsection (1) Article 48 and the Agreement shall have effect in relation to the State.

(3) Judicial notice shall be taken of the Agreement.

(4) For convenience of reference the text of the Agreement in the English language is set out in Schedule 2.

State or diplomatic immunity, etc.

61 .— (1) In accordance with Article 27, any diplomatic immunity or state immunity attaching to a person by reason of a connection with a state party to the Statute is not a bar to proceedings under this Act in relation to the person.

(2) In this section—

“ diplomatic immunity ” means any privilege or immunity attaching to a person by or under section 5 of the Diplomatic Relations and Immunities Act 1967 ;

“ state immunity ” means any privilege or immunity attaching to a head of state or the prime minister, foreign minister or other representative, official or agent of a state—

(a) by virtue of any enactment (except section 5 or 6 of the said Act of 1967), or

(b) under any rule of law;

“ state party to the Statute ” includes a state which has accepted the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court in accordance with Article 12 (preconditions to the exercise of jurisdiction).

Requests to International Criminal Court for assistance.

62 .— (1) This section applies where an investigation is taking place, or a prosecution has been instituted, in the State in respect of an ICC offence or other serious offence.

(2) Where this section applies, the Minister may request the International Criminal Court, in accordance with Article 93.10, to provide assistance in connection with the investigation or prosecution.

(3) In this section “serious offence” means an offence for which a person of full capacity and not previously convicted may be punished by a term of imprisonment for a term of 5 years or by a more severe penalty.

Evidence in proceedings.

63 .— (1) In any proceedings—

(a) a document purporting—

(i) to be a request by the International Criminal Court for the arrest and surrender, or provisional arrest, of a person, or for any other form of assistance, or

(ii) to be a document (other than a document mentioned in paragraph (b)) supplied by the Court in relation to the request,

and to be signed by an officer of the Court is admissible, without further proof, as evidence of the request or document and of the matters mentioned in it,

(b) a document purporting—

(i) to be a copy of a warrant of arrest and surrender issued by the International Criminal Court or of a judgment or an order of the Court, and

(ii) to have been certified to be a true copy by an officer of the Court,

is admissible in evidence, without further proof, as a true copy of the warrant,

(c) a document purporting—

(i) to be a translation of a document mentioned in paragraph (a) or (b), and

(ii) to be certified as correct by a person appearing to be competent to do so,

is admissible, without further proof, as evidence of the translation,

(d) a document purporting to be a copy of the Rules of Procedure and Evidence or of the Elements of Crimes is admissible, without further proof, as evidence of those Rules or Elements,

(e) a document purporting to be a document received from the Court by fax is presumed, until the contrary is shown, to be the original document sent by the Court,

(f) a document purporting to be a certificate by the Minister that a state is or is not a state party to the Statute is admissible, without further proof, as evidence of that matter, and

(g) a document purporting to be a certificate by the Minister under section 38 (8)(b)(ii) is admissible, without further proof, as evidence of the matters mentioned in it.

(2) In any proceedings against a person for an offence under this Act a certificate purporting to be signed by an officer of the Department of Foreign Affairs and stating that—

(a) a passport was issued by the Department to the person on a specified date, and

(b) to the best of the officer's knowledge and belief, the person has not ceased to be an Irish national,

is admissible, without further proof, as evidence that the person was an Irish national on the date he or she is alleged to have committed the offence.

(3) In any proceedings it shall be presumed, until the contrary is shown, that requests by the Court for the arrest and surrender, or the provisional arrest, of a person or for any assistance under Article 93—

(a) have been duly made and transmitted in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Statute, and

(b) are being made in connection with the investigation or prosecution of offences within the jurisdiction of the Court.

Regulations.

64 .— (1) The Minister may from time to time make such regulations as appear to him or her to be necessary or expedient for giving full effect to this Act or any provision of it.

(2) Without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing, the regulations may provide for—

(a) matters ancillary to the execution of requests by the Court for assistance,

(b) (i) retaining, preserving or protecting documents or other articles seized or otherwise obtained in the course of complying with a request by the Court for assistance,

(ii) sending them to the Court, and

(iii) where appropriate, returning them to the person from whom they were seized or disposing of them otherwise,

(c) matters necessary or expedient for giving full effect to any investigations or sittings of the International Criminal Court in the State, and

(d) the text for the time being of the Rules of Procedure and Evidence and the Elements of Crimes.

(3) Regulations under this section shall be laid before each House of the Oireachtas as soon as may be after they are made and, if a resolution annulling the regulations is passed by either such House within the next 21 days on which that House has sat after they are laid before it, the regulations shall be annulled accordingly, but without prejudice to the validity of anything previously done under them.

Amendment of International War Crimes Tribunals Act 1998.

65 .— Section 7 (request for extradition of same person) of the International War Crimes Tribunals Act 1998 is amended by the substitution of the following paragraph for paragraph (b):

“(b) proceedings relating to a European arrest warrant within the meaning of the European Arrest Warrant Act 2003 , unless the High Court has made an order under section 15 or subsection (1) or (2) of section 16 of that Act for the person’s surrender,”.

Consequential amendments.

66 .— Schedule 3 shall have effect in relation to the amendments of enactments provided for therein.