Mutual Legal Assistance
The current situation
Mutual Legal Assistance (MLA) is the formal way in
which countries request and provide assistance in obtaining
evidence located in one country to assist in criminal
investigations or proceedings in another country.
What we’re doing about it
- New legislation - we have implemented new laws
to extend the types of assistance we can provide and
speed up the way we can provide assistance, making
the most of new technology. Home
Office Circular 23/2004 describes the assistance
available under the new legislation.
- New international agreements - we have signed new
agreements on mutual legal assistance, which we will
be ratifying soon. We will update the website with
details once these agreements are in force.
- We are active in the EU, Council of Europe, Commonwealth,
G8 and UN to agree new initiatives for improving mutual
legal assistance.
- We participate in the European Judicial Network
and Eurojust, which facilitate judicial co-operation
within the European Union. Contact details of our
representatives are available in the guidance and
here.
Return to this site in the new year for further
updates on our international agreements.
What you can do
1. IF YOU ARE OVERSEAS AND NEED LEGAL ASSISTANCE
FROM THE UK
If you are overseas and have questions about how to
make a request to any part of the UK, read Part 1 of
the guidelines
(second edition now available) or click below for other
language versions:
Deutsch
Vordruck
zum anhang an rechtshilfeersuchen auf suche und beschlagnahme
Español
Français
Formulaire
à inclure dans les lettres rogatoires visant
à la perquisition et la saisie
Italiano
2. IF YOU ARE IN THE UK AND NEED LEGAL ASSISTANCE
FROM OVERSEAS
Requests from the United Kingdom can only be issued
by judicial authorities and, in England, Wales and Northern
Ireland, designated prosecuting authorities. Judicial
authorities may issue requests on behalf of the defence
once proceedings have been instituted.
If you have any questions about making a request from
the UK, read Part 2 of the guidelines.
Requests for television links
On 1st September 2004, section 32(1)(a) and (3) of
the Criminal Justice Act 1988 were brought into force
for the purposes of trials on indictment, appeals to
the Criminal Division of the Court of Appeal and hearings
of references under section 9 of the Criminal Appeal
Act 1995. This means that it is now possible for evidence
to be given in these proceedings via a live television
link when the witness is outside the United Kingdom.
Whether another country can accede to such a request
will depend on its own law.
Direct transmission
Our legislation allows requests to be sent directly,
without using the central authorities here or in the
requested state. However, not all countries accept this.
Annex H of the English version of the guidelines now
contains an updated list of countries accepting direct
transmission. Please return to this site for updates,
which will be posted on the front page when received.
When sending direct, there are a number of ways of
identifying the correct judicial authority for your
request:
- Ask one of the UK contact points of the EJN for
assistance
- Contact the liaison magistrate if your request is
to Italy, France or Spain. Contact
details.
When sending direct, please ensure that you indicate
clearly in your request that the evidence can also be
returned directly and email notification of requests
transmitted directly overseas to: ukcentralauthority@homeoffice.gsi.gov.uk
|
