Related documents
- Is amended by Extradition Amendment Act, 2018
- Is commenced by Commencement of Extradition Act, 1996

Extradition Act, 1996
Act 11 of 1996
- Published in Government Gazette no. 1358 on 16 July 1996
- Assented to on 1 July 1996
- Commenced on 1 August 1996 by Government Notice of 1996
- [This is the version of this document from 15 October 2020 and includes any amendments published up to 6 October 2022.]
- [Amended by Extradition Amendment Act, 2018 (Act 19 of 2018) on 15 October 2020]
Part I – Preliminary provisions
1. Definitions
In this Act, unless the context otherwise indicates -“enquiry” means an enquiry in terms of section 12;“external warrant” means a judicial document issued under the laws of a requesting country authorising the arrest of a person;“extraditable offence” means an offence contemplated in section 3;“extradition agreement” means and agreement entered into by Namibia and another country in accordance with the Namibian Constitution, providing for the return on a reciprocal basis of persons accused or convicted of an extraditable offence;[The phrase “and agreement” should be “an agreement”.]“magistrate” includes an additional magistrate, divisional magistrate, or regional magistrate;“Minister” means the Minister of Justice;“requesting country” means any country contemplated in section 4(1) which requests the return to that country of a person accused or convicted of an extraditable offence in that country;“return” means the surrender to a country contemplated in section 4(1) of a person requested to be returned to such country under this Act;“this Act” includes the regulations made under section 25.2. Liability to extradition
3. Meaning of “extraditable offence”
4. Countries to which persons may be extradited
Part II – Restrictions on return
5. Restrictions on return
6. Prosecution of Namibian citizens for extraditable offences committed in other countries
Part III – Procedure
7. Requests for return of persons
Subject to section 8, a request for the return of a person under this Act shall be made in writing to the Minister -8. Particulars and documents in support of request for return
9. Further particulars required by Minister
If the Minister considers any information provided in terms of section 8 to be insufficient to decide on the request for return, he or she may, by using the same channel of communication as was used for making the request, require the requesting country to furnish the necessary further particulars within such time as the Minister may determine.10. Authority to proceed and warrant of arrest
11. Provisional warrants of arrest on grounds of urgency
12. Enquiry proceedings for committal
13. Certain conditions for return
No person committed to prison under section 12(5) to await the Minister’s decision contemplated in that section shall, except with his or her consent given before a magistrate in writing, be returned to the requesting country concerned -14. Appeals
15. Waiver of right to enquiry
16. Order for return
17. Extradition to Namibia
Part IV – Miscellaneous
18. Authentication of foreign documents
19. Concurrent requests for return
If requests are concurrently made by or on behalf of the governments of more than one country for the return in terms of this Act of any person, the Minister shall, after taking into account all the circumstances, and in particular -20. Legal representation
21. Bail
22. Custody
23. Handing over of property
24. Transit
Transit through Namibia of a person being extradited from one foreign country to another may be permitted by the Minister following a request made by the country to which that person is being conveyed, and if that person is in custody during such transit, he or she shall remain in custody throughout the transit period.25. Regulations
The Minister may make regulations -26. Repeal of laws, savings and transitional provisions
27. Short title and commencement
This Act shall be called the Extradition Act, 1995, and shall come into operation on a date to be determined by the Minister by notice in the Gazette.[The date “1995” is in error. The short title of the Act must be the “Extradition Act, 1996” since it was gazetted on 16 July 1996. The title of the Act in the heading at the top of this annotated version has been corrected to refer to the year 1996.]History of this document
15 October 2020 this version
Amended by
Extradition Amendment Act, 2018
01 August 1996
Commences.
16 July 1996
Published in
Government Gazette number 1358
Read this version
01 July 1996
Assented to.
Cited documents 5
Documents citing this one 14
- Alexander v Mbumba and Others (2) (APPEAL 179 of 2007) [2007] NAHCMD 69 (6 August 2007)
- Alexander v Minister of Justice and Others (2) (Appeal Judgment) (SA 32 of 2008) [2010] NASC 2 (9 April 2010)
- Ayoub v Minister of Justice and Others (1) (APPEAL 82 of 2012) [2012] NAHC 145 (11 June 2012)
- Ayoub v Minister of Justice and Others (2) (Appeal Judgment) (SA 26 of 2012) [2012] NASC 16 (22 August 2012)
- Civil Aviation Act, 2016
- Namdeb Diamond Corporation (Pty) Ltd v Coetzee (8 of 2017) [2018] NASC 402 (1 August 2018)
- National Fishing Corporation (Pty) Ltd v African Selection Fishing (Namibia) (Pty) Ltd & Others (HC-MD-CIV-ACT-OTH- 1143 of 2021) [2022] NAHCMD 580 (21 October 2022)
- Nghipunya v Minister of Justice (HC-MD-CIV-MOT-GEN 343 of 2021) [2022] NAHCMD 510 (14 October 2022)
- President of the Republic of Namibia and Others v Namibia Employers Federation and Another (SA 53 of 2020) [2022] NASC 28 (2 September 2022)
- Prosecutor-General v Oliveira and Another (SA 76 of 2019) [2021] NASC 49 (29 November 2021)
- Report on the Domestication of the United Nations Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment or Punishment
- S v Ayoub (12 of 2012) [2012] NAHC 286 (6 June 2012)
- S v Koch (1) (SA 13 of 2005) [2006] NASC 6 (29 November 2006)
- S v Mushwena and Others (SA 4 of 2004) [2004] NASC 2 (21 July 2004)