CDL-AD(2006)009 -6- 17. Transit is an act whereby State B provides facilities for State A to send a prisoner through its territory. 18. Transit is regulated by bilateral and multilateral treaties, inter alia Article 21 of the European Convention on Extradition, which provides: 1. Transit through the territory of one of the Contracting Parties shall be granted on submission of a request by the means mentioned in Article 12, paragraph 1, provided that the offence concerned is not considered by the Party requested to grant transit as an offence of a political or purely military character having regard to Articles 3 and 4 of this Convention. 2. Transit of a national, within the meaning of Article 6, of a country requested to grant transit may be refused. 3. Subject to the provisions of paragraph 4 of this article, it shall be necessary to produce the documents mentioned in Article 12, paragraph 2. 4. If air transport is used, the following provisions shall apply: a when it is not intended to land, the requesting Party shall notify the Party over whose territory the flight is to be made and shall certify that one of the documents mentioned in Article 12, paragraph 2.a exists. In the case of an unscheduled landing, such notification shall have the effect of a request for provisional arrest as provided for in Article 16, and the requesting Party shall submit a formal request for transit; b when it is intended to land, the requesting Party shall submit a formal request for transit. 5. A Party may, however, at the time of signature or of the deposit of its instrument of ratification of, or accession to, this Convention, declare that it will only grant transit of a person on some or all of the conditions on which it grants extradition. In that event, reciprocity may be applied. 6. The transit of the extradited person shall not be carried out through any territory where there is reason to believe that his life or his freedom may be threatened by reason of his race, religion, nationality or political opinion. 19. Although the wording of Article 21 § 4 a) indicates that States need to “notify” a transit flight, State practice on this matter may vary, and indeed some States do not appear to require notification of transit of a prisoner by air over their territory, when no landing is planned6. 20. European Council Directive no. 2003/110/EC of 25 November 2003 on assistance in cases of transit for the purposes of removal by air7, underlines that “member States are to implement this Directive with due respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms” and that “in 6 The Explanatory report on the European Convention on Extradition underlines that different approaches were taken by the different States as to whether the transport of a person on board of a ship or aircraft of the nationality of a country other than the requesting or requested Parties was to be considered as transit through the territory of that country. This question was left to be settled in practice (see Explanatory Report on Article 21, at http:/conventions.Council of Europe.int/treaty/en/reports/htlm/024.htm). 7 OJ L, 321, 6.12.2003, p. 26.