The Cabinet of Ministers has approved a proposal to sign an agreement between Sri Lanka and the Republic of Poland on the extradition of offenders.
The proposal was submitted by the Minister of Justice and National Integration under the provisions of the Extradition Act, No. 5 of 1995, Daily Mirror reported.
The Act provides for foreign nationals convicted in Sri Lanka to serve their sentences in their home countries. It also allows Sri Lankan nationals convicted and sentenced to imprisonment abroad to be extradited to Sri Lanka to serve the remaining portion of their sentences.
The proposed agreement is intended to establish a bilateral framework for such arrangements between the two countries.
Bilateral extradition agreements of this kind set out the offences covered, the procedure for making and considering requests, and the grounds on which a request may be refused. Without one, transfers between the two states depend on ad hoc arrangements or multilateral instruments.
Cabinet approval authorises signature; the agreement itself takes effect once signed and any domestic steps required by each side are completed.
