Research Directorate, Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, Ottawa

1. Warrant (mandat d'amener)

The warrant is defined as follows in article 336 of Burundi’s Criminal Procedure Code (Code de procédure pénale):

[translation]

Article 336. The warrant is a written order provided to law enforcement by a public prosecutor, or in some cases by the judge, to bring before them the person indicated therein by reason of suspicions or charges against them or because they refused to appear, by a summons officially served by a trial court or the public prosecutor.

The warrant is an order to retain, not detain.

The warrant is valid for three months from the day it is signed. Subsequently, it may not be executed unless it has been renewed by the judicial authority from which it was issued.

The person to which the warrant is issued must be promptly brought before the prosecution or jurisdiction from which it was issued. They must be questioned no later than the day after they arrive at the location of the prosecution that signed the warrant or at the next hearing of the court that issued it. (Burundi 2013, art. 336)

Article 28 of this Code states the following:

[translation]

Article 28. If the alleged offender fails to appear, the Officer of the Judicial Police must seek them out within the jurisdiction of the High Court and order them to appear before it and, if necessary, constrain them.

If the same offender lives outside of the jurisdiction, the Officer of the Judicial Police must, for the same purpose, ask the Prosecutor of the Republic or, failing that, the judge of the nearest Tribunal of Residence to issue the warrant against them. (Burundi 2013, art. 28)

Article 70 states the following:

[translation]

Article 70. For crimes or flagrant offences, the Prosecutor of the Republic may issue a warrant against any person suspected of participating in the offence. They immediately question the person brought before them. (Burundi 2013, art. 70)

Articles 79 and 82 of the same code state the following:

[translation]

Article 78. The Public Prosecutor may issue a warrant against any person who refuses to appear.

Article 82. The Public Prosecutor may issue a warrant against the defaulting witness. (Burundi 2013, art. 78 and 82)

In correspondence sent to the Research Directorate, an associate professor at the Faculty of Law at the University of Ottawa, familiar with the Burundian judicial system having worked in it and whose research interests include the Burundian legal system, stated that the warrant may be issued by three authorities:

• Prosecution of the Republic for the High Court (first level)
• General Prosecution for the Court of Appeal (second level)
• General Prosecution of the Republic for the Supreme Court and the Anti-Corruption Court. (Associate professor 8 June 2017)

Corroborating information could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.

2. Format and Content

A blank copy of a warrant (obtained from the prosecution of Mukaza, in Bujumbura), sent by the Associate professor, is attached to this Response (attachment 1).

The Associate professor stated that a warrant must contain the following information:

Content

• Issuing party
• Identity of the accused and case references
• Identity of the authority executing the warrant

Format Heading:

Republic of Burundi

Ministry of Justice

Prosecution: Name of the appropriate territorial division (Associate professor 8 June 2017, in bold and underlined in the original)

A copy of a Ministry of Justice stamp, sent by the Associate professor, is attached to this Response (attachment 2). The Associate professor stated that this is the stamp that [translation] “typically” appears on the warrant (Associate professor 8 June 2017).

According to the Associate professor, warrants issued by the prosecution are the same in all regions of Burundi [translation] “with minimal differences in format without altering the content” (Associate professor 8 June 2017). Corroborating information could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.

3. Arrest Warrant

The Associate professor stated that the arrest warrant [translation] “is a procedural order by which a person accused of an offence must be arrested and detained to ensure they will attend the trial for their alleged offences” (Associate professor 8 June 2017). A blank copy of an arrest warrant, sent by the Associate professor, is attached to this Response (attachment 3).

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim for refugee protection. Please find below the list of sources consulted in researching this Information Request.

References

Associate professor, University of Ottawa. 8 June 2017. Correspondence sent to the Research Directorate.

Burundi. 2013. Loi no 1/10 du 3 avril 2013 portant révision du Code de procédure pénale. [Accessed 8 June 2017]

Additional Sources Consulted

Oral sources: Association des femmes juristes du Burundi; Avocats sans frontières; Burundi – Embassy of Burundi in Canada; Canada – Consulate of Canada in Bujumbura; International Human Rights Law Group; Interpol; lawyers in Burundi.

Internet sites, including: Avocats sans frontières; Burundi – Gouvernement de la République du Burundi, Ministère de la Sécurité publique; ecoi.net; Factiva; Iwacu; Keesing’s Document Checker; United Nations – Refworld.

Attachments

1. Burundi. N.d. Ministère de la Justice, parquet de Mukaza. “Copie en blanc d’un mandat d’amener.” Sent to the Research Directorate by the Associate professor, University of Ottawa, 8 June 2017.
2. Burundi. N.d. Ministère de la Justice, parquet de Mukaza. “Copie d’un sceau du ministère de la Justice.” Sent to the Research Directorate by the Associate professor, University of Ottawa, 8 June 2017.
3. Burundi. N.d. Ministère de la Justice, parquet de Mukaza. “Copie en blanc d’un mandat d’arrêt.” Sent to the Research Directorate by the Associate professor, University of Ottawa, 8 June 2017.