The Taipei Cultural and Economic Delegation and the Trade Office
of Swiss Industries,

desiring to provide sentenced persons the opportunity to serve
the sentence imposed on them in their native environment, with a
view to facilitating their successful reintegration into
society;

have agreed as follows:

ARTICLE 1 - PURPOSE
A sentenced person may be transferred from the transferring
territory to the receiving territory in accordance with the
provisions of this Agreement in order to serve the sentence
imposed on him or her by the courts of the transferring
territory.

ARTICLE 2 - DEFINITIONS
For the purposes of this Agreement:
a) "sentence" means any punishment or measure involving
deprivation of liberty ordered by a court for a limited or
unlimited period of time on account of a criminal offence;
b) "sentenced person" means a person who has been convicted of a
criminal offence by a final judgment of a court of the
transferring territory and has been detained or is required
to be detained in the prisons of the transferring territory;
c) "judgment" means a decision or order of a court imposing a
sentence;
d) “ territory ” means the territory in which the laws on
international mutual assistance in criminal matters
administered by the competent justice authorities are
applied;
e) "transferring territory" means the territory by whose courts
the sentence was imposed and from whose territory the
sentenced person may be, or has been, transferred;
f) "receiving territory" means the territory to which the
sentenced person may be, or has been, transferred in order to
serve the sentence;
g) “ authority ”, “ transferring authority ”, “ receiving
authority ” means the justice authorities competent with
regard to the transfer of sentenced persons. The Taipei
Cultural and Economic Delegation and the Trade Office of Swiss
Industries inform each other of the name or names of the
authorities responsible for performing functions envisaged in
this Agreement, as well as of any changes in the name or
contact information of such authority or authorities.

ARTICLE 3 - CONDITIONS FOR TRANSFER
A sentenced person may be transferred under this Agreement only
on the following conditions:
a) the sentenced person is a passport holder of the receiving
territory;
b) the judgment is final and no other legal proceedings relating
to the offence or any other criminal offence are under
investigation or at trial in the transferring territory;
c) the transferring territory, the receiving territory and the
sentenced person or, where in view of his or her age or his
or her physical or mental condition considered necessary by
the law of one of the two territories, his or her legal
representative, all agree to the transfer;
d) the acts or omissions on account of which the sentence has
been imposed constitute the essential elements of a criminal
offence according to the law of the receiving territory, or
would constitute such essential elements of a criminal
offence if committed in the area of application of the laws
of the receiving territory; and
e) at the time the request for transfer is received, the
sentenced person has at least one year of the sentence to
serve; in exceptional cases, the transferring and the
receiving territory can approve a transfer if the person has
less than one year of the sentence to serve.

ARTICLE 4 - NOTIFICATION WITH A VIEW TO A POSSIBLE TRANSFER
1. A sentenced person to whom this Agreement may apply shall be
informed by the transferring or the receiving authority of
the substance of this Agreement.
2. If a sentenced person wishes to be transferred, he or she may
express such wish to either authority that shall promptly
inform the other authority.

ARTICLE 5 - PROCEDURE FOR TRANSFER
1. Either authority may make a request for transfer to the other
authority.
2. Requests for transfer shall be made in writing and shall
include:
a) the full name, gender, nationality and date of birth of the
sentenced person; and
b) the place of birth and current address of the sentenced
person, and the permanent address in the receiving
territory, if available.
3. If the receiving authority, having considered the information
which the transferring authority has provided, is prepared,
in principle, to consider the request for transfer of the
sentenced person, the transferring authority shall provide
the receiving authority with the following information:
a) a statement of the facts upon which the conviction and
sentence were based;
b) a certified copy of all convictions concerning the sentenced
person and the laws on which they are based;
c) the nature, duration and date of commencement of the
sentence, the termination date of the sentence, the length
of time already served by the sentenced person and any
remission to which he or she is entitled on account of
pre-trial confinement, good behaviour or other reasons;
d) a declaration containing the consent of the sentenced person
or, where in view of his or her age or his or her physical
or mental condition considered necessary by the law of one
of the two territories, his or her legal representative; and
e) whenever appropriate, any medical or social reports on the
sentenced person, information about his or her treatment in
the transferring territory, and any recommendation for his
or her further treatment in the receiving territory.
4. The receiving authority, if requested by the transferring
authority, shall provide a copy of the relevant law of the
receiving territory which provides that the acts or omissions
on account of which the sentence has been imposed by the
courts of the transferring territory constitute a criminal
offence according to the law of the receiving territory, or
would constitute a criminal offence if committed on its
territory.
5. Either authority may ask to be provided with any relevant
information, documents or statements mentioned above before
making a request for transfer or taking a decision on
whether or not to agree to the transfer.
6. The requested authority shall promptly inform the requesting
authority of its decision whether or not to agree to the
requested transfer.
7. The authorities may communicate directly with each other.

ARTICLE 6 - VERIFICATION OF CONSENT
1. The transferring authority shall ensure that the person
required to give consent in accordance with Article 5
paragraph 3(d) consents to the transfer voluntarily and with
full knowledge of the legal consequences thereof. The
procedure of giving such consent shall be governed by the law
of the transferring territory.
2. The transferring authority shall afford an opportunity to the
receiving authority, if the receiving authority so desires,
to verify through an official designated by the receiving
authority, prior to the transfer, that the necessary consent
of the sentenced person or, under the conditions of Article 5
paragraph 3(d), his or her legal representative, has been
given voluntarily and with full knowledge of the legal
consequences thereof.

ARTICLE 7 - EXECUTION OF TRANSFER
Any transfer of the sentenced person shall be executed on a
date, at a place and in manners agreed upon by both authorities.

ARTICLE 8 - EFFECT OF TRANSFER IN THE TRANSFERRING TERRITORY
1. The taking into charge of the sentenced person by the
receiving authority shall have the effect of suspending the
enforcement of the sentence in the transferring territory.
2. The transferring territory may no longer enforce the sentence
if the receiving territory considers enforcement of the
sentence to have been completed.

ARTICLE 9 - EFFECT OF TRANSFER IN THE RECEIVING TERRITORY AND
CONTINUED ENFORCEMENT
1. The sentence shall be enforced as if it had been imposed in
the receiving territory. If it is by nature or duration
incompatible with the law of the receiving territory, the
competent authorities of the receiving territory may, with the
approval of the competent authorities of the transferring
territory prior to transfer, adapt it in accordance with the
sentence prescribed by their own law for a similar offence. When
adapting the sentence, the competent authorities of the
receiving territory shall be bound by the findings of fact,
insofar as they appear from any conviction, judgment, or
sentence imposed by the courts of the transferring territory.
2. The adapted sentence shall, as far as possible, correspond
with the sentence imposed in the transferring territory. It
shall not aggravate, by its nature or duration, the sanction
imposed in the transferring territory, nor exceed the maximum
penalty prescribed by the law of the receiving territory. The
imposed sentence cannot be transformed into the death
penalty. A sanction involving deprivation of liberty may not
be converted into a pecuniary sanction.
3. Prior to the transfer, the receiving authority shall submit
the decision, indicating the sentence, to the transferring
authority.
4. The receiving territory shall reduce or terminate execution
of the sentence as soon as it is informed of any decision by
the transferring territory to pardon the sentenced person, or
of any other decision or measure of the transferring
territory that results in reduction or cancellation of the
sentence.
5. The continued enforcement of the sentence after transfer
shall be governed by the laws and procedures of the receiving
territory, and the latter alone shall be competent to take
all appropriate decisions, including those providing for the
conditions of detention and those providing for release.
6. The receiving authority shall provide the following
information to the transferring authority concerning the
execution of the sentence:
a) when the sentence has been completed;
b) if the sentenced person is granted conditional release;
c) if the sentenced person has escaped from custody, or if the
sentenced person is unable to serve the sentence completely
for any reason, before the sentence has been served
completely; or
d) if the transferring authority requests, a special report.

ARTICLE 10 - REVIEW OF JUDGMENT; AMNESTY, PARDON OR REMISSION
1. The transferring territory alone is entitled the right to
decide on any application for review of the judgment.
2. With the consent of the transferring territory, the sentenced
person received to serve a sentence within the receiving
territory may be granted amnesty, pardon or remission of the
sentence according to the laws of the receiving territory.

ARTICLE 11 - LANGUAGE
Documents transmitted according to this Agreement shall be
accompanied by a translation into the language of the authority
to which they are addressed. The latter specifies the language
in each case.

ARTICLE 12 - EXPENSES
The expenses incurred in relation to the transfer of the
sentenced person shall be borne by the receiving territory
except costs incurred exclusively in the transferring territory,
unless the authorities decide otherwise.

ARTICLE 13 - TRANSIT OF SENTENCED PERSONS
If either authority transfers or receives a sentenced person to
or from any third territory, the other authority shall, subject
to its law, cooperate in facilitating the transit of such a
sentenced person through its territory. The authority intending
to make such a transfer shall give advance notice to the other
authority of such transit.

ARTICLE 14 - CONSULTATION
The authorities may consult with each other concerning the
interpretation, application or implementation of this Agreement,
generally or with respect to a specific case.

ARTICLE 15 - FINAL PROVISIONS
1. This Agreement shall enter into force on the date of the last
signature.
2. This Agreement can be applied to the enforcement of sentences
imposed either before or after its coming into effect.
3. Either the Taipei Cultural and Economic Delegation, or the
Trade Office of Swiss Industries may terminate this Agreement
at any time by giving notice in writing to the other.
Termination shall take effect six months following the date
of receipt of such notification. Termination of this
Agreement shall not affect the transfer proceeding commenced
prior to the termination.

In witness whereof the undersigned, being duly authorized
thereto, have signed this Agreement.

Done in duplicate in English.


For the Taipei Cultural For the Trade Office of
and Economic Swiss Industries
Delegation

Wei-Feng Huang Reto Renggli
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(Signature) (Signature)


11.12.2020 Bern 13.11.2020 Taipei
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