1. Best practices in mutual legal assistance
Saskia de Vries,
Seconded prosecutor to Serbia

2. Tools
The European Convention on mutual assistance in criminal matters and its first and second protocol.
The UN Convention on Transnational Organized Crime and its additional protocols.
Council of Europe Convention on Laundering, Search, Seizure and Confiscation of the Proceeds of Crime.

3. Checks Check which convention or treaty
Check if there is a police liason officer who can help you
Check if what you ask is legally possible in the other country
Check the route of your request
Also check EJN website for information in other country

4. What to ask for Explain what you need Explain why you need it
Explain when you need it
Explain how you need it
Be as precise as you can in what you know and what you need. Give names, dates, addresses, bank accounts. Send photo’s, finger prints etc etc.
Do not give a whole expose of your investigation, but what is essential for this request. E.g. if your suspect is suspected of 12 bank robberies, but you need a witness on one bank robbery. Just give the details on this bank robbery and only mention that he is suspected of other crimes to.

5. Witness (1) You want a witness to be interrogated:
Explain how the witness is important to your case and why his/her testimony is needed
Contact details of witness (if applicable).
If you do not have contact details, ask to locate the witness.
Status of witness (also suspect? Defense lawyer present? )
Think about video link

6. Witness (2) Sworn statement needed? Court or prosecutor
Make a list of questions. Can the questions be given to the witness beforehand?
Specify if the witness can have a copy of his statement
Do you or police officers want to be present during the interrogation? Think about this?
Copy of statement or original?
You can also ask the foreign prosecutor to be present during the interrogation and keep you informed. In this way you can put in additional questions.

7. Search (1)
Explain why you want a search and what do you expect to find (in detail).
A search can be done to obtain evidence, but also to seize assets (money, jewels, information on bank accounts).
Give details of places you want to have searched (e.g. home or office) . If you do not know the location, ask to investigate.

8. Search (2)
Specify whether you want (certified) copies of seized documents or originals (it will save time)
If a search is linked to the arrest of suspects, make it clear that the search should take place after the arrest.
You can request that the prosecutor or the police is present during the search. Think about this in complicated cases.

9. Phone intercepts
If you want phone intercepts, please check first what the (legal) conditions are.
Ask for the reports of the intercepts, but also the videotapes
Establish contact between the police teams for exchange of actual information, voice recognition etc.

10. Locating a fugitive suspect
If you hare looking for a fugitive suspect, just obtaining an international arrest warrant might not be enough.
If you have an indication in which country the fugitive is staying, a request might be needed to start an investigation on the whereabouts of the fugitive.
Think about a search after the arrest

11. Bank accounts
If you want an investigation into bank accounts in another country, check first what the possibilities are. E.g. some countries will give the information on the account holder on a police police basis.
Think about the bank monitoring order.
Freezing/seizing bank accounts: assetsharing

12. Spontaneous information
Almost all conventions make it possible to give information (on criminal acts) from your investigation to another country.
This information can be used in another investigation (on request) and also be the start of a new investigation.
Information from a legal request can only be used by the requested country after the consent of the requesting country.

13. Parallel investigation
A parallel investigation is an investigation in two countries concerning the same crimes or same suspects.
Coordination is needed to make sure that the two investigations do not hinder each other.
A joint investigation team might be a solution.