the latter case, the sole and unique effect of the annulment ordered shall be the automatic release of the person sought. §3 Passive Extradition ART 242: If Mali is the requested State and receives a request for extradition from a requesting third State, the Minister of Justice, through the Attorney General in whose jurisdiction the person sought was arrested, shall submit, to the Indictment Chamber, the relevant request together with all documents relevant to the examination of the case. ART 243: The documents referred to in Article 242, in addition to the request for extradition, must obligatorily include the following elements: - the nationality of the person sought; the documents or deeds relating to the prosecution or judgement giving rise to the request; an authentic copy of the law of the requesting State relating to the description of the offence and the penalty incurred or handed down. ART 244: The Indictment Chamber shall verify that there is no manifest error with respect to the person; whether the misdemeanour or the felony, which is the basis of the request of the requesting State, is a matter of ordinary or political law; whether the competent foreign court is an ordinary or special court; whether or not the person sought is a Malian national; if the offence is punishable in Mali. The Indictment Chamber shall not have the power to assess even superficially the merits of the proceedings or conviction for which extradition is required; As soon as the acts are raised by the requesting Government, a presumption of relevance shall apply to their existence and their criminal character, in the assessment of the case. ART 245: The person sought shall appear before the Indictment Chamber no later than eight days after the Attorney General gives notice of the legal document under which the arrest took place; Eight days may be granted at the request of either party, and within eight days of the previous period, the file shall be referred to the Minister of Justice alongside the legal opinion of the Indictment Chamber. ART 246: Proceedings before the Indictment Chamber shall be public and shall have all parties duly heard, unless otherwise decided pursuant to an application from the Public Prosecutor's office or the person sought. No third party shall intervene. The only parties concerned shall be the person sought and the Public Prosecutor who alone represents law and order in Mali. ART 247: The person sought may be assisted by counsel and an interpreter. However, he/she must compulsorily appear and testify before the Indictment Chamber even in the case of voluntary extradition. In this case, the offender who formally consents to be surrendered to the authorities of the requesting country must do so before the Indictment Chamber; If he/she h as previously expressed his/her intentions in a precise manner on this point, the Indictment Chamber, before taking a decision, must give its consent to it. The provisions of Paragraph 3 of Article 248 shall apply. ART 248: The Indictment Chamber shall rule on the request for extradition. It shall give its unqualified opinion in the form of a judgement which may be appealed at the Criminal Division of the Judicial Chamber of the Supreme Court. In the event of a favourable opinion, the extradition procedur e shall be completed only in its judicial phase, the Government shall decide and assess, in a discretionary manner, whether it is possible to hand over the person sought. If the hand over is decided, the Minister of Justice shall propose, for signature by the Prime Minister, a decree authorising extradition. If the extradited person has not been received by the agents of the requesting country within one month of notification of the act, he/she shall be released and may no longer be sought for the same cause. In the event of an unfavourable opinion, the Government shall be boun d and may not grant extradition. The arrested individual shall be immediately released. 44