1.-(1) This Order may be cited as the Criminal Justice (International Co-operation) Act 1990 (Enforcement of Overseas Forfeiture Orders) (Amendment) Order 1996 and shall come into force on 1st January 1997.

(2) In this Order "the principal Order" means-

(a)in relation to England and Wales, the Criminal Justice (International Co-operation) Act 1990 (Enforcement of Overseas Forfeiture Orders) Order 1991(2); and

(b)in relation to Northern Ireland, the Criminal Justice (International Co-operation) Act 1990 (Enforcement of Overseas Forfeiture Orders) (Northern Ireland) Order 1991(3).

2. In article 12(1)(e) of the principal Order, after the word "made" there shall be inserted the words "or to be made".

3. Schedule 1 to the principal Order (which defines the institution of proceedings for the purposes of article 2(5) of that Order) shall be amended as follows-

(a)after the entry relating to Bermuda there shall be inserted the following-

(b)after the entry relating to the Cayman Islands, there shall be inserted the following-

(c)after the entry relating to Gibraltar, there shall be inserted the following-

(d)after the entry relating to Panama, there shall be inserted the following-

(e)after the entry relating to Switzerland, there shall be inserted the following-

(f)the entry relating to United Mexican States shall be deleted and replaced by the following-

4. Schedule 2 to the principal Order shall be amended as follows:

(a)there shall be inserted at the appropriate places in alphabetical order, the entries for the countries and territories specified in Schedule 1 to this Order (including, in the case of Thailand, the appropriate authority specified);

(b)the entries for Macedonia and Yugoslavia shall be deleted; and

(c)in respect of the countries and territories listed in Schedule 2 to this Order (being countries and territories already designated under Schedule 2 to the principal Order) there shall be inserted, opposite the entries in Schedule 2 to the principal Order the appropriate authorities specified in Schedule 2 to this Order.

5. Schedule 3 to the principal Order shall be amended by the insertion at the appropriate places in alphabetical order of the entries for the countries and territories specified in Schedule 3 to this Order (including where so specified the appropriate authority for a country or territory).

Article 4

SCHEDULE 1DESIGNATED COUNTRIES-DRUG TRAFFICKING OFFENCES

Article 4

SCHEDULE 2COUNTRIES PREVIOUSLY DESIGNATED-DRUG TRAFFICKING OFFENCES INSERTION OF APPROPRIATE AUTHORITY

Article 5

SCHEDULE 3DESIGNATED COUNTRIES-OTHER OFFENCES

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Order)

This Order, which comes into force on 1st January 1997, amends the Criminal Justice (International Co-operation) Act 1990 (Enforcement of Overseas Forfeiture Orders) Order 1991 (S.I. 1991/1463) and the Criminal Justice (International Co-operation) Act 1990 (Enforcement of Overseas Forfeiture Orders) (Northern Ireland) Order 1991 (S.I. 1991/1464). These provide for the enforcement in England and Wales and Northern Ireland of orders made by a court in a designated country or territory for the forfeiture and destruction or other disposal of property used or intended to be used in connection with the commission of a drug trafficking offence. The powers in each of the 1991 Orders also apply to proceedings which have been, or are to be, instituted in a designated country or territory and may result in such an order being made there. The orders were extended by the Criminal Justice (International Co-operation) Act 1990 (Enforcement of Overseas Forfeiture Orders) (Amendment) Order 1993 (S.I. 1993/1791) to include offences corresponding to indictable offences to which Part VI of the Criminal Justice Act 1988 (c. 33) applies and corresponding offences under the law of Northern Ireland.

This Order makes amendments in respect of the countries and territories to which the 1991 Orders apply. The further countries and territories designated for drug trafficking offences are listed in Schedule 1 and those designated for other offences are listed at Schedule 3. Article 4(b) and Schedule 2 inserts the "appropriate authority" in respect of countries previously designated for drug trafficking offences.

Article 2 of the Order also amends article 12(1)(e) of the 1991 Orders. The effect of this amendment is that a certificate issued by or on behalf of an appropriate authority of a designated country, which states that an order to be made by a court in that country will be for the forfeiture and destruction or the forfeiture and other disposal of anything in respect of which an offence has been committed or which was used in connection with the commission of such an offence, shall, in proceedings in the High Court, be admissible as evidence of the facts stated.