Section 4: Request for transfer

4. Request for transfer (1) (a) Where the Minister is informed by the responsible authority of a designated country that— (i) an offender has applied for a transfer to Mauritius and that country has agreed to such transfer; [Issue 1] T19 – 4 Revised Laws of Mauritius (ii) that country requests such transfer and the offender consents thereto, the Minister shall, after consultation with the Attorney-General, determine whether or not he agrees to the transfer. (b) The Minister shall not, save in exceptional circumstances, agree to a transfer where less than 6 months of the sentence remain to be served. (c) The Minister shall— (i) inform the responsible authority of the designated country of his decision; and (ii) where he agrees to the transfer, issue a warrant in the prescribed form for that purpose. (2) The Minister may, on receipt of an application under subsection (1), require the designated country to provide him with such evidence as he thinks fit to show that— (a) the offender has applied for or consented to such transfer; or (b) where it appears to the Minister that the offender is, by reason of his physical or mental condition or his youth, incapable of acting for himself, a person appearing to the Minister to be the appropriate person to apply or consent on behalf of the offender has made the application or given his consent on behalf of the offender. (2A) (a) Where an offender applies in writing to the Minister for a transfer to Mauritius, the Minster shall, after consultation with the AttorneyGeneral, determine whether or not a request for transfer of the offender shall be made to the designated country. (b) The Minister shall not, save in exceptional circumstances, request a transfer where a term of less than 6 months of the sentence remain to be served. (c) Where the designated country to which Mauritius has made the request agrees to the transfer, the Minister shall issue a warrant in the prescribed form for the purpose of the transfer. (3) A warrant issued under subsection (1) or (2A) (c) shall, subject to this Act, authorise— (a) the bringing of the offender from the designated country to Mauritius; (b) the taking of the offender by an authorised person to such place of detention as may be designated in the warrant; and (c) the detention of the offender in accordance with such provisions as may be contained in the warrant, being provisions appearing to the Minister to be appropriate for giving effect to the arrangements in accordance with which the offender is transferred. T19 – 5 [Issue 1] Transfer of Prisoners Act (4) Notwithstanding subsection (1), where a citizen of Mauritius, having been charged with an offence in a designated country, has been— (a) ordered by a Court of that country to be detained because he has been found to be insane and unfit to stand trial or to be a mentally disordered or mentally defective offender; or (b) found guilty of the offence but was insane at the time of the commission of the offence, that person may be transferred to Mauritius at the request of the responsible authority of that country and with the consent of the Minister or at the request of the Minister and with the consent of the responsible authority of that country. (5) An application under subsection (1) or (2A) or a request under subsection (4) shall be accompanied by the following particulars— (a) the name, place and date of birth or, if the date of birth is not known, the approximate age of the offender; (b) the offender’s ad n may be transferred to Mauritius at the request of the responsible authority of that country and with the consent of the Minister or at the request of the Minister and with the consent of the responsible authority of that country. (5) An application under subsection (1) or (2A) or a request under subsection (4) shall be accompanied by the following particulars— (a) the name, place and date of birth or, if the date of birth is not known, the approximate age of the offender; (b) the offender’s address, if any, in Mauritius; (c) a certified copy of the judgment or other order of the Court, together with a copy of the law on which it is based or a statement of that law; (d) a statement of the facts and circumstances upon which the conviction and sentence or other order were based; (e) the nature of the sentence, if any, its date of commencement and duration; (f) where appropriate, any medical or other report pertaining to the offender, including a report of his treatment in the designated country together with any recommendation for further treatment in Mauritius; (g) a document or statement indicating that the offender is a citizen of, is ordinarily resident in, or has close ties with, the designated country; (h) a copy of the relevant law of the designated country which provides that the acts or omissions on account of which the sentence has been imposed in the designated country constitute a criminal offence according to the law of the designated country, or would constitute a criminal offence if committed on its territory; (i) a statement indicating whether the sentence is to be enforced in the designated country immediately or through a Court or administrative order, or whether it is to be converted into a decision of the designated country or varied; (j) any other information which the Minister may require to enable him to consider the desirability of a transfer. (6) The Minister shall cause the offender to be informed in writing of any action taken on a request for transfer. [S. 4 amended by s. 4 of Act 39 of 2003 w.e.f. 28 November 2003; Reprint 1 of 2004.] [Issue 1] T19 – 6 Revised Laws of Mauritius