The Convention on the Transfer of Sentenced Persons is an international treaty regulating the extradition and social rehabilitation of imprisoned persons. The Convention was concluded in Strasbourg on 21 March 1983 and entered into force on 1 July 1985. It has been ratified by 69 countries, including every country of the Council of Europe except Monaco.[1] It has also been ratified by 21 states outside the Council of Europe, including Australia, Canada, India, Israel, Japan, South Korea, Mexico, the United States and Brazil. The latest accession to the Convention was Brazil in June 2023.
The Convention is intended to facilitate social rehabilitation of prisoners by providing foreigners convicted of a criminal offence the possibility of serving their sentences in their home countries.[2] Humanitarian considerations also played a role in the drafting of the Convention, since factors such as language barriers resulting in difficulties with communication and distance from family and friends can constitute an impediment to social rehabilitation.[3]