s 17 Review of Magistrate’s order
17.—(1) Where —(a) a foreign State or declared Commonwealth territory has made a request for the surrender of a person; and (b) a Magistrate has, under section 16(8), ordered that the fugitive be committed to prison or ordered that the fugitive be released, as the case may be, the fugitive or the Attorney-General (on behalf of the foreign State or declared Commonwealth territory) may apply for a review of the order by the General Division of the High Court on a question of fact or a question of law or on a question of mixed fact and law. (2) On the review of an order, the General Division of the High Court may —(a) confirm or vary the Magistrate’s order; (b) quash the Magistrate’s order and substitute a new order in its stead, including —(i) an order for the release of the fugitive; or (ii) an order for the committal of the fugitive to prison to await the warrant of the Minister for the fugitive’s surrender to the foreign State or declared Commonwealth territory, as the case may be; (c) remit the case to the Magistrate with the opinion of the General Division of the High Court; (d) make any order or direction that the Magistrate may make under section 19 or 20; or (e) make any other order or direction as the General Division of the High Court thinks fit. (3) There is no appeal against the decision of the General Division of the High Court under subsection (2). (4) A notice of an application for review of an order mentioned in subsection (1) —(a) must be in Form 10 in the Second Schedule; and (b) must be filed with the Registrar of the State Courts not later than 15 days after the order is made. (5) A notice of an application for review of an order operates as a stay of the Magistrate’s order until the later of the following dates:(a) the expiry of the period of 15 days, starting on the day after which the order was made; (b) if a review is pending, the date that the proceedings are finally determined by the General Division of the High Court. (6) A notice of an application for review of an order, together with any relevant document required in Form 10 in the Second Schedule, must be served —(a) where the application for review is brought by the fugitive — on the Attorney-General; or (b) where the application for review is brought by the Attorney-General — on the fugitive or his or her counsel. (7) Where the Magistrate is informed that the Attorney-General intends to apply for a review of an order discharging a fugitive, the Magistrate may, on the application of the Attorney-General, order that the fugitive be remanded in custody for a period not exceeding 24 hours pending the filing of the notice of an application for review of an order by the Attorney-General. (8) Where notice of an application for review of an order has been filed by either party, the Magistrate may —(a) commit the fugitive to prison pending the determination of the review by the General Division of the High Court; or (b) subject to subsection (9), release the fugitive on bail. (9) Where the Magistrate has ordered that the fugitive be committed to prison under section 16(8), the conditions in section 95(2)(c) of the Criminal Procedure Code 2010 apply to the release of the fugitive on bail under subsection (8), but where the Magistrate has not so ordered, those conditions do not apply to the fugitive’s release on bail. (10) The General Division of the High Court may, upon application by either party, review the decision of the Magistrate under subsection (8) and may confirm, vary or set aside the Magistrate’s decision or make any other order or direction as the General Division of the High Court thinks fit. (11) Where notice of an application for review of an order has been filed —(a) the Magistrate must, as soon as possible, transmit to the General Division of the High Court —(i) the record of the case and all affidavits, statements, documents and exhibits tendered before the Magistrate; (ii) the notes of evidence; (iii) the grounds for the Magistrate’s decision; and (iv) the Magistrate’s finding on any question of law or fact or mixed law and fact which arose during the proceedings; and (b) the Registrar of the State Courts must, as soon as possible, serve on the fugitive or the fugitive’s counsel at the address mentioned in the notice of application for review, a notice that a copy each of the documents mentioned in paragraph (a) are available and can be obtained by applying for those documents. (12) An application for review of an order under this section —(a) does not require permission of the court; (b) must be in Form 11 in the Second Schedule; (c) must contain the particulars of the order on which review is sought and the particulars of the question of fact or law or of mixed fact and law mentioned in subsection (1); and (d) must be filed with the Registrar of the State Courts not later than 14 days after service of the documents mentioned in subsection (11). (13) Sections 377(6), (6A) and (7), 378(3) to (7), 379, 380, 381 and 392(1) to (4) of the Criminal Procedure Code 2010 apply to a review under this section with the necessary modifications as if the review were an appeal against the decision in a criminal trial by a Magistrate’s Court or District Court under that Code, and a reference in those provisions —(a) to a notice of appeal is a reference to a notice of an application for review of an order; (b) to an appellant is a reference to the fugitive or the Attorney-General, as the case may be; (c) to an accused is a reference to the fugitive; (d) to the Public Prosecutor is a reference to the Attorney-General; and (e) to a petition of appeal is a reference to an application for review. (14) If there is any inconsistency between the sections of the Criminal Procedure Code 2010 mentioned in subsection (13) and any provision of this Act, the provision of this Act prevails. (15) The General Division of the High Court must cause notice to be given to the parties to the review of the time and place at which the review will be heard. (16) To avoid doubt, section 417 of the Criminal Procedure Code 2010 on application for order for review of detention does not apply —(a) to any person ordered to be committed to prison under section 16(8); or (b) to any person ordered by the General Division of the High Court to be committed to prison under subsection (2).[Act 17 of 2022 wef 01/07/2022]