NCJ Number
74817
Journal
Brooklyn Journal of International Law Volume: 4 Dated: (1978) Pages: 246-268
Date Published
1978
Length
23 pages
Annotation
Procedural and substantive aspects of the prisoner exchange treaties involving the United States, Canada, and Mexico are explored; ramifications with regard to international and constitutional law are highlighted.
Abstract
In July 1977 the U. S. Senate agreed to a treaty between the United States and Canada that would enable persons imprisoned for conviction of crimes in one country to serve their sentences in the prisons of the other country. Shortly thereafter, a similar treaty was approved between the United States and Mexico. Impetus for the treaties involved tensions that had arisen between the United States and Mexico over the treatment of United States citizens who were detained in Mexican prisons. The treaties represent the first peacetime exchange of prisoners ever engaged in by these Nations. The basic concept of the Mexican Treaty is stated in its first article. Sentences imposed in the United States or in Mexico on nationals of the other country may be served in the country of their nationality. Probationary and parole sentences are included. The treaty does not apply to all prisoners; the offense for which the offender is sentenced must be 'generally punishable' as a crime in the receiving jurisdiction. In addition, the offender may not be a domiciliary of the transferring jurisdiction. Special provisions are made for youthful and mentally unsound individuals. The Candian Treaty parallels the Mexican Treaty in most essential points both substantively and procedurally. The treaties represent a significant positive step towards the goal of international cooperation in the realm of criminal law. They are uncomplicated procedurally; challenge established concepts of conflicts of law regarding foreign penal judgments that have served little beneficial purpose; and present no affront to United States jurisprudence. A total of 149 footnotes are included.