ABU DHABI, Sept 27, (KUNA): Kuwait proposed, at the 15th meeting of the Justice Undersecretaries of the Gulf Cooperation Council states on Tuesday, endorsing the agreement for extradition of criminals among the members states of the council.
In remarks to KUNA on sidelines of the meeting, Kuwait’s Justice Undersecretary Abdul-Aziz Al-Majed said the GCC states needed to finalize such an accord for completing legal and judicial cooperation among these states in the criminal domain. He indicated that the existing relevant agreement should be modified, before endorsement, to cover crimes other than those stipulated in the GCC anti-terrorism treaty.
He indicated that a commission was tasked with examining the Kuwaiti proposal, pending its submission to the GCC ministers of justice at their upcoming meeting in Abu Dhabi.
The GCC criminals extradition accord complies with recommendations of the GCC Ministerial Council, stipulating equal treatment of prisoners, he said, explaining that the council has asked that a member state of the GCC treat a prisoner of another country without discrimination. The Kuwaiti proposal complies with the relevant treaties, one concerning execution of verdicts, prosecution and judicial declarations, signed in December 2005, and another related to combating terrorism, signed in Kuwait in May 2004, said Al-Majed.
He also referred to other agreements related to the transfer of the convicts, a decision by the GCC interior ministers concerning a Kuwaiti proposal to form a commission of experts to study and develop the security treaty and organize extradition of the criminals, hammered out in Riyadh in 2010.
Al-Majed added that the participants in the meeting examined experiences of the member states regarding justice and legal affairs, as well as a proposal to establish centers for guidance and settlement of family disputes.
Moreover, they discussed a bill to fight cyber crimes, a draft regulation of practicing defense, other bills for unifying the judiciaries of the GCC states, family courts and child rights.