The negotiation of the Treaty between the Kingdom of Thailand and Hungary on Extradition commenced in 2015. Following the completion of the negotiations, the Thai Cabinet, on 4 September 2018, approved and authorised the signing of the Treaty. Subsequently, Thailand and Hungary signed the treaty at New York, and agreed to exchange the Instruments of Ratification of the Treaty later in Bangkok. On 20 March 2019, Minister of Foreign Affairs entrusted Mr. Thani Thongphakdi, Deputy Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, to exchange the Instruments of Ratification of the Treaty with H.E. Mr. Szilveszter Bus, Ambassador of Hungary to the Kingdom of Thailand, at Buakaew Room, Ministry of Foreign Affairs. According to Article 23 paragraph 1 of the said Treaty provides that “[i]t shall enter into force (30) days after the exchange of instruments of ratification”, the said Treaty, therefore, entered into force on 19 April 2019. The substantive elements of the Treaty are as follows: 

 

1. Extraditable offences are offences punishable under the laws of both countries by imprisonment for a period of at least one year. 

2. Extradition shall not be granted if the Requested State considers that the offence under the extradition request is a political offence or a military offence.

3. Extradition shall not be granted if there has been a final judgment rendered against the person in the Requested state in respect of the offence for which the extradition is requested, or if the statute of limitations has expired under the law of the Requesting State. 

4. Thailand and Hungary have the right to refuse the extradition of its own nationals. If extradition is not granted for such reason, the Requested state shall, at the request of the Requesting state, submit the case to its competent authority for taking criminal action, unless the Requested state has no jurisdiction over the case. 

5. The person sought shall not be punished by any offence other than the offence for which the extradition is requested. 

6. The Requested state shall bear the expenses incurred in conveying the person sought from the territory of the Requested State.  

7. The Extradition Treaty applies only to requests for extradition made after the entry into force regardless of the date of the commission of the offence or offences set out in the requests.

 

Extradition is a form of international cooperation with an aim to bring fugitive offenders back to the country where they have committed crimes for prosecution or punishment. Thailand has concluded extradition treaties with 16 countries (the latest one with Hungary included). Thailand has also had a long history of cooperation in extradition with other countries, from its first extradition treaty in 1911, its Extradition Act B.E. 2472 (1929), to the current Extradition Act B.E. 2551 (2008) which takes into account new developments in extradition law and is the legal framework whereby Thailand extends cooperation in extradition with the international community. 

 

This Extradition Treaty will effectively strengthen cooperation between Thailand and Hungary in suppressing crimes, particularly those of a transnational nature. It will also help promote cordial relationship between the two countries, and lead to further cooperation in other areas of criminal justice.