Print
See related documents
Resolution 2022 (2014) Final version
Measures to prevent abusive use of the Convention on the Transfer of Sentenced Persons (ETS No. 112)
1. The Convention on the Transfer
of Sentenced Persons (ETS No. 112) provides for the transfer of
foreign prisoners to their home countries. Its purpose is primarily
humanitarian, to improve prospects of rehabilitation and reintegration
of prison inmates into society.
2. Since its entry into force in 1985, the convention has enabled,
facilitated or accelerated the repatriation of hundreds of prisoners,
and the Parliamentary Assembly considers it to be a valuable instrument
for international co-operation in penal matters.
3. The Assembly notes with concern that the convention was invoked
in order to justify the immediate release, upon transfer to Azerbaijan,
of Mr Ramil Safarov, an Azerbaijani soldier convicted of murdering
an Armenian fellow participant on a “Partnership for Peace” training
course in Hungary, sponsored by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization
(NATO). Upon his arrival in Azerbaijan, he was welcomed as a national
hero and granted an immediate pardon – long before the expiry of
the minimum sentence set by the Hungarian court – and a retroactive
promotion as well as other rewards.
4. While recognising that States Parties, by virtue of Article
12 of the convention, have a sovereign right to grant pardons and
amnesties to persons sentenced to a term of imprisonment, the Assembly
recalls that the principle of good faith in international relations,
recognised, inter alia, by
the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties, and the principles
of the rule of law require that treaties be interpreted in line
with their objects and purposes.
5. The Assembly therefore:
5.1. condemns
the use of Article 12 of the convention by Azerbaijan in the case
of Mr Safarov as a violation of the principles of good faith in
international relations and of the rule of law;
5.2. confirms its position, expressed in Recommendation 1527 (2001) on the
operation of the Council of Europe Convention on the Transfer of
Sentenced Persons – critical analysis and recommendations, that
the convention is not designed to be used for the immediate release
of prisoners upon return to their home country;
5.3. underscores the importance of applying the convention
in good faith and, in interpreting its provisions, adhering to the
principles of the rule of law, in particular in transfer cases that
might have political or diplomatic implications;
5.4. recommends to States Parties to the convention to make,
where appropriate, ad hoc arrangements between a sentencing and
an administering State in the form of an addendum to a transfer agreement
under the convention, which would spell out mutual expectations
and provide for adequate assurances by the administering State.