Directing traffic: The death penalty and cross-border law enforcement.

kate2006 · 04-18-2007, 10:45 AM

Copyright laws prevents me from posting the whole article, but it is well worth reading. I am quoting the first and last paragraphs - there is plenty of meat in between.

http://info.anu.edu.au/mac/Newslette...n/_bronitt.asp

>>Directing traffic: The death penalty and cross-border law enforcement.

Much of the public concern in Australia about the fate of Schapelle Corby and the Bali nine relates to the perceived unfairness of the Indonesian criminal justice system, particularly the application of draconian offences that reverse the burden of proof and carry the severest of penalties, including death by firing squad. The prospect of the death penalty in cases of drug trafficking expose the moral and legal limits of law enforcement cooperation and Australia’s involvement in the global ‘war on drugs’.

Put simply, should Australian officials deliver suspect citizens to other jurisdictions where there is a reasonable prospect that they would face the death penalty?...<

>>In an era of globalization of crime, these tussles over suspects, in which Australian police and justice officials will become ensnared, will continue to raise concern over the proper limits of law enforcement in cases involving jurisdictions that impose the ultimate sanction for drug trafficking.<<

Simon Bronitt is Director, National Europe Centre and Professor, ANU College of Law.

Murray · 04-21-2007, 09:09 PM

Quote:

Had one of the Bali nine boarded a plane and been intercepted in Australia, a request for extradition to Indonesia could have occurred. Such requests for assistance are governed by the Mutual Assistance In Criminal Matters Act 1987 (Cth) and the Mutual Assistance Treaty between Australia and Indonesia 1999. Both legal texts stipulate that the Attorney-General must refuse the request for assistance in cases which may lead to the death penalty. The 1987 Act allows assistance in death penalty cases but only in “special circumstances” (which are not defined). These limits are tantamount to a national policy opposing the imposition of the death penalty: congruent with our domestic stance which abolished the imposition of capital punishment for federal offences in 1973.

How to 'export the death penalty' - ignore the legal text.

Quote:

Interestingly, Justice Finn’s ruling revealed that the AFP letter to their Indonesian counterparts nine days before the arrests had “strongly requested” the Indonesian police not to apprehend the named Bali nine suspects, but to permit their interdiction in Australia in order to allow the identification of the recipients. This request was clearly not heeded.

The AFP gambled and lost.