Section 14: Transit

14. Transit (1) Where— (a) a designated country has agreed with a third country to transfer an offender into or out of its territory pursuant to an arrangement relating to the transfer of convicted offenders; and T19 – 11 [Issue 1] Transfer of Prisoners Act (b) that country seeks permission for the offender and any escorting officer to land and transit in Mauritius during the course of the transfer, the Minister shall, subject to subsection (2), issue his authority for the transit in the prescribed form. (2) The Minister may refuse to issue an authority for transit where— (a) the person sought to be transferred is a citizen of Mauritius; (b) the offence for which the sentence was imposed is not an offence under the law of Mauritius; or (c) the person being transferred is wanted in Mauritius in respect of any offence against the law of Mauritius. (3) An authority issued under subsection (1) shall authorise the holding of the prisoner in custody in Mauritius for such time as is reasonably necessary to facilitate the transfer between the requesting country and the country of destination. (4) A person who is being transferred pursuant to an authority issued under subsection (1) shall not, while in Mauritius, be detained or otherwise subjected to any restriction on his liberty in respect of an offence committed or sentence imposed prior to his departure from the territory of the sentencing country.