Part V Special Cases
International Convention cases
C125 Hostage-taking.
1
A person shall not be returned under this Act to a designated Commonwealth country which is party to the Convention referred to in subsection (3) below, or committed or kept in custody for the purposes of such return, if it appears to the appropriate authority—
a
that he might, if returned, be prejudiced at his trial by reason of the impossibility of effecting communications between him and the appropriate authorities of the state entitled to exercise rights of protection in relation to him; and
b
that the act or omission constituting the offence of which he has been accused or convicted also constituted an offence under section 1 of the M1Taking of Hostages Act 1982 or an attempt to commit such an offence.
2
Where the Secretary of State certifies that a country is a party to the Convention, the certificate shall, in any proceedings under this Act, be conclusive evidence of that fact.
3
The Convention mentioned in subsections (1) and (2) above is the International Convention against the Taking of Hostages opened for signature at New York on 18th December 1979.