§ Mr. BercowTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) if he will make a statement on Council Decision 1999/C 322/04 (C322 of 10 November 1999), with reference to the(a) manner of legislative implementation in the United Kingdom and (b) consequences for extradition arrangements; [106403]
(2) what assessment he has made of the impact on UK law of the German initiative on increasing penal sanctions against counterfeiting the euro, set out in document 11302/99 of 5 October 1999; what court of law would try UK cases; and what supreme court would take final appeals. [106429]
231W
§ Mr. Charles ClarkeAn amended version of Germany's initiative on increasing penal sanctions against counterfeiting the Euro was "agreed in substance" at the Justice and Home Affairs Council in December. The text agreed was similar to that deposited for scrutiny with the House in November (reference: 12585/99). The text did not receive final approval at the Council because a number of member states, including the United Kingdom, held parliamentary scrutiny reservations, and because the European Parliament had not yet given its opinion. The Council hopes to adopt the Framework Decision in March.
The draft Framework Decision, as provisionally agreed in December, contains three main legislative implications for the United Kingdom. First, the United Kingdom would be required to ensure that pre-circulation Euro notes and coins are covered by United Kingdom legislation. This requirement would be met by Part I of the Forgery and Counterfeiting Act 1981 in relation to pre-circulation Euro notes, and Part II of the 1981 Act in relation to pre-circulation Euro coins. The Forgery and Counterfeiting (Protected Coins) Order (1999) designates Euro coins as protected coins within the meaning of Section 27(1) of the 1981 Act. Second, the United Kingdom would be required to take jurisdiction over counterfeiting offences committed in whole or in part within the United Kingdom's jurisdiction. The Government intend to meet this requirement through an amendment to Part I of the Criminal Justice Act 1993. Finally, should the United Kingdom adopt the Euro, the United Kingdom would be required to take universal jurisdiction for cases of counterfeiting of the Euro (i.e. to empower United Kingdom courts to try offences of counterfeiting of the Euro which had been committed anywhere in the world).
Cases of counterfeiting of the Euro within the United Kingdom's jurisdiction, like all other criminal offences, would be tried by United Kingdom courts, and the normal avenues of appeal would apply. I do not expect the draft Framework Decision to have any consequences for the United Kingdom's extradition arrangements.