NATIONAL ASSEMBLY 
QUESTION FOR WRITTEN REPLY
PARLIAMENTARY QUESTION NO.: 675
DATE OF QUESTION: 15 MARCH 2010

675. Ms M Smuts (DA) to ask the Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development:

Whether the Italian government has requested from 1996 onwards the extradition of a certain person (name furnished) who was first accused and then convicted in Italy of organised crimes relating to the so-called Mafia; if so, (a) on what dates in each case, (b) what were the reasons for refusal in each case, (c) why was the bilateral extradition treaty with Italy not honoured and then terminated, (d) why (i) was section 3 of the Extradition Act, Act 67 of 1962, not used and (ii) has an extradition request in terms of the bilateral treaty with the European Union not been honoured yet, (e) which section in his department dealt with the Italian requests and (f) who took the decision to refuse co-operation with each request?

NW801E

Name of person referred to:- Vitto Palazolo

REPLY:-

Yes, the Italian Government has made two requests for the extradition of the person referred to in the reply.

(a) During December 2001 and January 2007.

(b) As to the request of December 2001, the Italian Authorities withdrew this request per the note verbale of their Embassy, Pretoria dated 03 June 2004.  Therefore, the Government of South Africa could not process the said request.

The January 2007 request has not been refused.  It is being processed as reflected in the reply under paragraph (d) (ii) hereunder.

(c) The bilateral extradition treaty with Italy of 1873 as it applied to South Africa as the then domain of the United Kingdom which concluded the said treaty with Italy, was not honoured as it was outdated.  The treaty, based on specified crimes for purposes of extradition, did not have the crime of mafia.  Therefore, the Italian Authorities were approached to consider the possibility of revoking the treaty, which was subsequently superseded by the EU Convention on Extradition of 1957 to which Italy and South Africa are parties (for South Africa it entered into force on 13 May 2003).

(d)(i) Section 3(2) of the Extradition Act, 1962 (Act No 67 of 1962 (the Act)) could not be used in that Presidential consent, for the purposes of using the Act to respond to a request, could not be sought because the above-mentioned bilateral treaty between Italy and South Africa was still valid.  The Act is only used if there is no treaty between the requesting State and South Africa.

(ii)  The January 2007 Italian request is being processed, but not yet finalised.  A Section 5(1) (Extradition Act) Ministerial notification, that the Italian request has been received, has been issued.  This notification only triggers the extradition process.  At the time when the relevant Magistrate's Court was to be approached with an application to render the person sought extraditable in terms of Section 10(1) of the Act, the Attorneys of the fugitive filed an application for review of the request with the Cape Town High Court (this matter is subjudice).  It is noted that the final decision to grant, or decline the extradition of the person sought is to be made by the Minister in terms of Section 11 of the Act.  However, the above process depends on the outcome of the application for review.

(e) The Chief Directorate: International Legal Relations (earlier Directorate: International Affairs) in the Department dealt with the 2001 and 2007 requests.

(f) As indicated above, the Government of South Africa did not refuse co-operation with the Italian Government regarding each of the requests.

Source: www.parliament.gov

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