U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE

WASHINGTON : 

1

99–118

" SENATE ! 107TH CONGRESS

2d Session

TREATY DOC. 

2002

107–15

TREATY WITH HONDURAS FOR RETURN OF STOLEN, 

ROBBED, AND EMBEZZLED VEHICLES AND AIRCRAFT, WITH ANNEXES AND EXCHANGE OF NOTES

MESSAGE

FROM

THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES

TRANSMITTING

TREATY BETWEEN THE GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES 

OF AMERICA AND THE GOVERNMENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF 

HONDURAS FOR THE RETURN OF STOLEN, ROBBED, OR EMBEZZLED VEHICLES AND AIRCRAFT, WITH ANNEXES AND A RELATED EXCHANGE OF NOTES, SIGNED AT TEGUCIGALPA ON NOVEMBER 23, 2001

SEPTEMBER 5, 2002.—Treaty was read the first time, and together with 

the accompanying papers, referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations and ordered to be printed for the use of the Senate


E:\Seals\Congress.#13
(III)

LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL 

THE WHITE HOUSE, September 3, 2002. 

To the Senate of the United States: 

With a view to receiving the advice and consent of the Senate to 

ratification, I transmit herewith the Treaty Between the Government of the United States of America and the Government of the 

Republic of Honduras for the Return of Stolen, Robbed, or Embezzled Vehicles and Aircraft, with Annexes and a related exchange of 

notes, signed at Tegucigalpa on November 23, 2001. I transmit 

also, for the information of the Senate, the report of the Department of State with respect to the Treaty. 

The Treaty is one of a series of stolen vehicle treaties being negotiated by the United States in order to eliminate the difficulties 

faced by owners of vehicles that have been stolen and transported 

across international borders. Like several in this series, this Treaty 

also covers aircraft. When it enters into force, it will be an effective 

tool to facilitate the return of U.S. vehicles and aircraft that have 

been stolen, robbed, or embezzled and found in Honduras. 

I recommend that the Senate give early and favorable consideration to the Treaty and give its advice and consent to ratification.

GEORGE W. BUSH.

(V)

LETTER OF SUBMITTAL 

THE SECRETARY OF STATE, Washington, August 4, 2002. 

The PRESIDENT, 

The White House. 

THE PRESIDENT: I have the honor to submit to you the Treaty Between the Government of the United States of America and the 

Government of the Republic of Honduras for the Return of Stolen, 

Robbed, or Embezzled Vehicles and Aircraft (‘‘the Treaty’’), with 

Annexes and a related exchange of notes, signed at Tegucigalpa on 

November 23, 2001. I recommend that the Treaty, with Annexes 

and related exchange of notes, be transmitted to the Senate for its 

advice and consent to ratification. 

The Treaty establishes procedures for the return by either Party 

of vehicles or aircraft that are registered, titled or otherwise documented (or, in the case of aircraft, manufactured) in the territory 

of one Party; stolen, robbed, or embezzled in the territory of that 

Party or from one of its nationals; and found in the territory of the 

other Party. The United States currently has three such treaties in 

force, with Mexico, Panama and the Dominican Republican. The 

1981 Convention between the United States of America and the 

United Mexican States for the Recovery and Return of Stolen or 

Embezzled Vehicles and Aircraft (‘‘U.S.-Mexico Treaty’’) entered 

into force in 1983. The treaties with Panama and the Dominican 

Republic, which entered into force in 2001, are two of five similar 

treaties to which the Senate gave advice and consent in October 

2000. The other three treaties are still awaiting entry into force. 

The Treaty with Honduras is very similar to the five recent treaties, all of which, in turn, contain provisions similar to those in the 

U.S.-Mexico Treaty. At the same time, the Treaty with Honduras, 

like the other more recent treaties, incorporate an important improvement in one aspect over the U.S.-Mexico Treaty in that it sets 

more restrictive deadlines for action by the Party receiving a request for the return of a vehicle or aircraft. As with the other stolen vehicle and aircraft treaties, this Treaty will not require implementing legislation. 

Article 1 defines certain terms for purposes of the Treaty. 

Article 2 sets forth the agreement of the Parties, in accordance 

with the Treaty’s terms and procedures, to return vehicles or aircraft that are registered, titled, or otherwise documented (or, in the 

case of aircraft, manufactured) in the territory of one Party; stolen, 

robbed, or embezzled in the territory of that Party or from one of 

its nationals; and found in the territory of the other Party. 

VI

Article 3 provides the Treaty’s notification requirements. Article 

3(1) requires that whenever the police, customs, or other authorities of a Party impound or seize a vehicle or aircraft that they have 

reason to believe is registered, titled, or otherwise documented (or, 

in the case of aircraft, manufactured) in the territory of the other 

Party, the first Party must, within 30 days of such impoundment 

or seizure, notify the Embassy of the other Party in writing that 

its authorities have custody of the vehicle or aircraft. Pursuant to 

Article 3(2), in the case of vehicles, this notification must include 

all available identifying information about the vehicle listed in 

Annex 1 to the Treaty. Pursuant to Article 3(3), in the case of aircraft, this notification must include all available identifying information about the aircraft listed in Annex 2 to the Treaty. Annexes 

1 and 2 contain the information the Parties agreed would be sufficient to develop a reliable and complete identification of the vehicle 

or aircraft. 

Article 4 requires authorities who have impounded or seized a 

vehicle or aircraft that they have reason to believe is registered, titled, or otherwise documented in the territory of the other Party 

(or, in the case of aircraft, manufactured in the territory of the 

other Party), to promptly place it in a storage area and to take reasonable steps regarding its safekeeping, including those necessary 

to prevent the obliteration or modification of identifying information, such as vehicle identification numbers and aircraft registration or tail numbers. The article also prohibits such authorities 

from operating, auctioning, dismantling, or otherwise altering or 

disposing of the vehicle or aircraft unless one of several enumerated conditions is met e.g., no request for the return of the vehicle 

or aircraft is received within 60 days of receipt of a notification 

made pursuant to Article 3. 

Article 5 prescribes the form and content of requests for return 

of vehicles and aircraft under the Treaty. Article 5(1) provides that 

after a Party has received a notification pursuant to Article 3, it 

may submit a request for the return of the vehicle or aircraft. Article 5(2) requires the request to be transmitted under seal of a consular officer of the Requesting Party and to follow the form appended in Annex 3 (for vehicles) or Annex 4 (for aircraft) to the 

Treaty. The request must be transmitted under cover of a note to 

the foreign ministry of the Requested Party. 

Requests must include certified copies of documents listed in Article 5(3) (for vehicles) or Article 5(4) (for aircraft). Pursuant to Article 5(5) all documents referenced in Article 5 must be accompanied by an appropriate translation. An exchange of notes accompanying the Treaty memorializes the Parties’ understanding that 

an ‘‘appropriate translation’’ includes forms in which the standard 

language in title or registration documents originating in the 

United States has been translated into Spanish in generic fashion, 

with appropriate blanks to be filled in with the particular information relating to the specific vehicle or aircraft whose return is being 

requested. No further legalization or authentication of documents 

may be required by the Requested Party. Article 5(6) notes that the 

Requested Party may waive the translation requirements of Article 

5(5). 

VII

Under Article 6, a Party that has learned outside of the Article 

3 notification process that the authorities of the other Party may 

have impounded, seized, or otherwise taken possession of a vehicle 

or aircraft that may be registered, title, or otherwise documented 

(or, in the case of aircraft, manufactured) in the territory of the 

first Party, may, through a note to the foreign ministry of the other 

Party, seek official confirmation of this and may request the other 

Party to provide notification pursuant to Article 3. If a notification 

is requested, the other Party must either provide the notification 

or explain, in writing, why notification is not required. The first 

Party may also, in appropriate cases, submit a request for return 

of the vehicle or aircraft as described in Article 5. 

Article 7 details the procedures for a Requested Party’s review of 

a request. Article 7(1) requires that, except as provided in Article 

8, the Requested Party must determine, within 30 days of receiving 

a request for the return of a stolen, robbed, or embezzled vehicle 

or aircraft, whether the request meets the requirements of the 

treaty and notify the Embassy of the requesting Party of its determination. Article 7(2) requires the Requested Party, within 15 days 

of a determination by it that a request for return meets the requirements of the Treaty, to make the vehicle or aircraft available 

to the person identified in the request for return as the owner of 

the owner’s authorized representative. The vehicle or aircraft must 

remain available for such person to take delivery for at least 60 

days. The Requested Party is also required to take necessary measures to permit the owner of the owner’s authorized representative 

to take delivery of the vehicle or aircraft and return with it to the 

territory of the Requesting Party. Where the Requested Party determines that a request for return does not meet the requirements 

of the Treaty, under Article 7(3) it must provide written notification to the Embassy of the Requesting Party, including the grounds 

for its decision. Article 7(4) provides that if the reasons for which 

the request was denied can be remedied, the Requested Party must 

notify the Requesting Party that it has been given a single opportunity to resubmit the request, and that such request must be submitted within 60 days of the date of notification of denial. 

Article 8 sets forth several circumstances under which a Requested State either has no obligation to return a vehicle or aircraft for which return has been requested or can defer the surrender of the vehicle or aircraft. Article 8(1) provides that if a vehicle or aircraft whose return is requested is being held in connection 

with a criminal investigation or prosecution, its return pursuant to 

the Treaty will be effected when its presence is no longer required 

for purposes of that investigation or prosecution. However, the Requested Party is required to take all practicable measures consistent with its domestic law to assure that substitute pictorial or 

other evidence is used whenever possible in such investigation or 

prosecution so that the vehicle or aircraft may be returned as soon 

as possible. 

Article 8(2) provides that if the ownership or custody of a vehicle 

or an aircraft whose return is requested is at issue in a pending 

judicial action in the territory of the Requested Party, its return 

pursuant to the Treaty will be effected at the conclusion of that judicial action. However, if such judicial action results in a decision 

VIII

that awards the vehicle or aircraft to a person other than the person identified in the request for return as the owner of the vehicle 

or aircraft or the owner’s authorized representative, the Requested 

State has no obligation to return the vehicle or aircraft under the 

Treaty. 

Article 8(3) states that a Party has no obligation under the Treaty to return a requested vehicle or aircraft if such vehicle or aircraft is subject to forfeiture under its laws because it was used in 

its territory for the commission of a crime with the consent or complexity of the owner, or because it represents the proceeds of such 

a crime. However, the Requested Party may not forfeit the vehicle 

or aircraft without giving the owner or the owner’s authorized representative reasonable advance notice and an opportunity to contest such forfeiture in accordance with the laws of that Party. 

Under Article 8(4), a Party will have no obligation under the 

Treaty to return a stolen, robbed, or embezzled vehicle or aircraft 

if no request for return is received within 60 days of receipt of notification made pursuant to Article 3. 

Article 8(5) requires the Requested Party to notify the Embassy 

of the Requesting Party in writing within 30 days of receipt of a 

request for return if the return of a stolen, robbed, or embezzled 

vehicle or aircraft is postponed pursuant to Article 8. 

Article 9 addresses expenses associated with the return of vehicles and aircraft under the Treaty. Article 10(1) prohibits the Requested Party from imposing any import or export duties, taxes, 

fines, or other monetary penalties or charges on vehicles or aircraft 

returned in accordance with the Treaty, or on their owners or authorized representatives, as a condition for the return of such vehicles or aircraft. Article 9(2) provides that reasonable expenses incurred in the return of a vehicle or aircraft in accordance with the 

Treaty, including towing costs, storage costs, maintenance costs, 

transportation costs, and costs of translation of documents required 

under the Treaty, are to be borne by the person seeking the return 

and are to be paid prior to the return of the vehicle or aircraft. 

Under Article 9(3), the expenses of return in particular cases may 

include the costs of any repairs or reconditioning of a vehicle or aircraft that were necessary to permit the vehicle or aircraft to be 

moved to a storage area or to maintain it in the condition in which 

it was found. However, the person seeking the return of a vehicle 

or aircraft will not be responsible for the costs of any other work 

performed on the vehicle or aircraft while it was in the custody of 

the authorities of the Requested Party. 

Article 9(4) provides that if the Requested Party complies with 

the provisions of the Treaty with respect to recovery, storage, safekeeping, and, where appropriate, return of a vehicle or aircraft, no 

person is entitled to compensation from the Requested Party for 

damages sustained while the vehicle or aircraft was in the custody 

of the Requested Party. 

Article 10 provides that the mechanisms for the recovery and return of stolen, robbed, or embezzled vehicles or aircraft under the 

Treaty are in addition to those available under the laws of the Requested Party. It also states that nothing in the Treaty will prejudice any rights for the recovery of stolen, robbed, or embezzled vehicles or aircraft under applicable domestic law. 

IX

Article 11 states that any differences regarding the interpretation or application of the Treaty are to be resolved through consultations between the Parties. Article 12(1) states that the Treaty 

will be subject to ratification and will enter into force on the date 

of exchange of instruments of ratification. Article 12(2) declares 

that the attached Annexes are an integral part of the Treaty. Article 12(3) provides that either Party may terminate the Treaty upon 

a minimum of six months written notification. Notification of termination must be made through diplomatic channels, and termination does not affect requests for return that are pending when 

said termination takes effect. 

The Department of Justice joins the Department of State in favoring approval of the Treaty, with Annexes and the related exchange of notes, by the Senate as soon as possible. 

Respectfully submitted, 

COLIN L. POWELL. 

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