The European Union Extradition Regulations 2002

ARTICLE 13CENTRAL AUTHORITY AND TRANSMISSION OF DOCUMENTS BY FACSIMILE

1.  Each Member State shall designate a central authority or, where its constitutional system so requires, central authorities responsible for transmitting and receiving extradition requests and the necessary supporting documents, as well as any other official correspondence relating to extradition requests, unless otherwise provided for in this Convention.

2.  When giving the notification referred to in Article 18(2) each Member State shall indicate the authority or authorities which it has designated pursuant to paragraph 1 of this Article. It shall inform the depositary of any change concerning the designation.

3.  The extradition request and the documents referred to in paragraph 1 may be sent by facsimile transmission. Each central authority shall be equipped with a facsimile machine for transmitting and receiving such documents and shall ensure that it is kept in proper working order.

4.  In order to ensure the authenticity and confidentiality of the transmission, a cryptographic device fitted to the facsimile machine possessed by the central authority shall be in operation when the equipment is being used to apply this Article.

Member States shall consult each other on the practical arrangements for applying this Article.

5.  In order to guarantee the authenticity of extradition documents, the central authority of the requesting Member State shall state in its request that it certifies that the documents transmitted in support of that request correspond to the originals and shall describe the pagination. Where the requested Member State disputes that the documents correspond to the originals, its central authority shall be entitled to require the central authority of the requesting Member State to produce the original documents or a true copy thereof within a reasonable period through either diplomatic channels or any other mutually agreed channel.