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Part One. Article 11 99Fourth session: 28 June-9 July 1999Notes by the Secretariat1. Delegations based their comments on the text of article 6 of the revised draft conventioncontained in document A/AC.254/4/Rev.3, which was the same as that containedin document A/AC.254/4/Rev.2.Revision based on the summary of the Chairman (A/AC.254/L.37)“Article 612, 13“Prosecution, adjudication and sanctions“1. Each State Party shall make the commission of an offence covered by thisConvention liable to sanctions that take into account the grave nature of those offences.“2. Each State Party shall endeavour to ensure that any discretionary legalpowers under their domestic law relating to the prosecution of persons for offencesthat are covered by this Convention are exercised to maximize the effectiveness oflaw enforcement measures in respect of those offences and with due regard to theneed to deter the commission of such offences.“[3. Each State Party shall ensure that its courts or other competent authoritiesbear in mind the serious nature of the offences that are covered by this Conventionwhen considering the [eventuality] [possibility] of early release or parole of personsconvicted of such offences.] 14“4. Each State Party shall, where appropriate, establish under its domestic lawa long statute of limitations period in which to commence proceedings for any offencecovered by this Convention and a longer period where the alleged offender has evadedthe administration of justice. 15“[5. Each State Party shall take appropriate measures, consistent with its legalsystem, to ensure that a person who is charged with or convicted of an offence that12Paragraphs 1 to 3 of the text of article 6 in document A/AC.254/4/Rev.3 had been combined as follows and wereto be moved to a new article 23 ter:“1. Each State Party shall take the necessary measures, including legislative and administrative measures,in accordance with the fundamental principles of its domestic legal system, to ensure the implementation of itsobligations under this Convention.“2. Each State Party may adopt more strict or severe measures than those provided for by the Conventionfor the Prevention and Control of Transnational Organized Crime.”13Many delegations expressed concerns about the following text, which was article 6, paragraph 4, in documentA/AC.254/4/Rev.3:“Each State Party shall take effective measures to ensure that its territory, or any facility therein, is notallowed to be used by an organized criminal group, or a member thereof, to plan or perpetrate any crime coveredby this Convention in any other country.”The Chairman suggested that the text should be either clarified and redrafted or deleted.14Several delegations expressed concern about this paragraph because, under their legal systems, early release on parolemight depend on factors other than the seriousness of the offence. Other delegations noted that their legal systems did notforesee the possibility of early release. It was suggested that this paragraph might have to be redrafted in less obligatory terms.15This paragraph was based on article 3, paragraph 8, of the United Nations Convention against Illicit Traffic in NarcoticDrugs and Psychotropic Substances of 1988 (United Nations, Treaty Series, vol. 1582, No. 27627). Some delegations proposedits deletion. Several other delegations supported its retention. In addition, one delegation proposed the deletion of thewords “where appropriate” on the grounds that the draft convention would apply only to serious crime and that the wordswould unnecessarily weaken the obligation. Another delegation proposed that the paragraph should end with the words “thisConvention”, with the subsequent text deleted.