Revised Laws of Saint Lucia (2021)

18.   Acceptance or refusal of request

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   (1)   Subject to this section, a request for assistance under this Act duly made by a Commonwealth country shall be accepted.

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   (2)   A request for assistance under this Act made by a Commonwealth country shall be refused if, in the opinion of the central authority for Saint Lucia—

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      (a)     the request relates to the prosecution or punishment of a person for an offence that is, or is by reason of the circumstances in which it is alleged to have been committed, an offence of a political character;

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      (b)     there are substantial grounds for believing that the request has been made with a view to prosecuting or punishing a person for an offence of a political character;

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      (c)     there are substantial grounds for believing that the request was made for the purpose of prosecuting, punishing or otherwise causing prejudice to a person on account of the person's race, sex, religion, nationality, place of origin or political opinions;

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      (d)     the request relates to the prosecution or punishment of a person in respect of conduct that, if it has occurred in Saint Lucia, would not have constituted an offence under the Criminal Code;

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      (e)     the granting of the request would be contrary to the Constitution of Saint Lucia, or would prejudice the security, international relations or any substantial interest related to national security or other essential public policy of Saint Lucia;

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      (f)     the request relates to conduct by a person which constitutes an offence in respect of which the person has already been convicted or acquitted by a court or tribunal in Saint Lucia;

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      (g)     the inmate is not prepared to give his or her consent to the transfer in the case of a request such as is referred to in section 23(1);

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      (h)     the request is for assistance of a kind which cannot be given under this Act, or would require steps to be taken for its implementation that could not be lawfully taken; or

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      (i)     the implementation of the request would require an individual to act, or refrain from acting, in a certain way and the individual is not willing to do so and cannot be lawfully compelled to do so.

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   (3)   A request for assistance under this Act made by a Commonwealth country may be refused if, in the opinion of the central authority for Saint Lucia—

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      (a)     the request relates to the prosecution or punishment of a person in respect of conduct that occurred, or is alleged to have occurred, outside the country making the request and similar conduct occurring outside Saint Lucia in similar circumstances would not have constituted an offence against the laws of Saint Lucia;

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      (b)     the request relates to the prosecution or punishment of a person in respect of conduct where, if it has occurred in Saint Lucia at the same time and had constituted an offence against the laws of Saint Lucia the person responsible could no longer be prosecuted by reason of lapse of time or for any other reason;

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      (c)     the provision of the assistance would impose an excessive burden on the resources of Saint Lucia;

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      (d)     the conditions, exceptions or qualifications imposed under section 4(2) in relation to the country prevent the request being accepted;

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      (e)     the request, not being one such as is referred to in section 17(2), does not meet the requirements of the Schedule;

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      (f)     there are reasonable grounds for doing so in the case of a request such as is referred to in section 23(1); or

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      (g)     the request cannot be accommodated within relevant legal practices and procedures in Saint Lucia.

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   (4)   If, in the opinion of the central authority for Saint Lucia the expense involved in complying with a request for assistance under this Act made by a Commonwealth country, and accepted, would be of an extraordinary nature, the central authority for Saint Lucia shall consult with the central authority for the country as to the terms and conditions under which compliance with the request may continue and, in the absence of agreement in that regard, the central authority for Saint Lucia may refuse to continue further with the request.

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   (5)   Where any of the grounds referred to in subsection (2) or (3) apply in relation to some, but not all, of the matters in respect of which a request for assistance under this Act is made, nothing in this section operates to prevent the request being accepted to the extent that no such ground applies.

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   (6)   If a request for assistance under this Act made by a Commonwealth country other than an informal one made under section 17(2) is refused, the fact of and, subject to subsection (7), the grounds for, the refusal shall be given by the central authority for Saint Lucia to the central authority for that country.

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   (7)   In the case of a refusal of a request such as is referred to in section 23(1), the central authority for Saint Lucia is not required to give grounds for the refusal.

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   (8)   After giving preliminary consideration to a request for assistance under this Act made by a Commonwealth country, the central authority for Saint Lucia may require the central authority for that country to furnish information relative to the request, and if that information is not furnished within such period as the central authority for Saint Lucia considers reasonable the request shall be deemed to have been withdrawn.

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   (9)   For the purposes of this section, an offence is not an offence of a political character if it is an offence within the scope of any international convention to which both Saint Lucia and the Commonwealth country making the request are parties and which imposes on the parties thereto an obligation to afford mutual assistance in criminal matters relating to the offence.