Which international agreements cover Mutual Legal Assistance?

Response

As mentioned before, there are numerous international and regional agreements on MLA. In the Council of Europe sphere, the European Convention on Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters is the primary basis for MLA.

Under the United Nations, many thematic agreements cover MLA. UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime, UN Convention against Corruption, UN Convention Against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances, and International Convention for the Suppression of the Financing of Terrorism are some of the most used ones.

In Africa, the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, Organization of African Unity Convention on the Prevention and Combating Terrorism, and African Union Convention on Preventing and Combating Corruption can be shown as the basis for MLA.

It is best to check out the provisions and state parties of the convention relating to the crime for which the MLA is requested.