199. Presentation of the Federal Chancellor concerning the scope of the European Convention on Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters

According to the Communications of the Secretary-General of the Council of Europe, the following States have their instruments of ratification or Instrument of Accession to the European Convention on Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters (BGBl. No 41/1969, last proclamation of the BGBl area. III No 107/2004):

States:	Date of deposit of the Ratifications and/or Certificate of Accession:
Andorra	26 April 2005
Azerbaijan	4 July 2003
Bosnia and Herzegovina	25 April 2005
Serbia and Montenegro	30 September 2002

On the occasion of the deposit of the instrument of ratification, the following states have declared the following reservations, or Statements made:

Andorra:

Reservations:

With regard to Article 2 of the Convention, the Principality of Andorra reserves the right to provide legal assistance in accordance with the Convention only on the express condition that the results of the investigations and the documents submitted in the documents forwarded shall be made subject to the conditions laid down in the Convention. information and files may not be used without the prior consent of the authorities of the requesting State for purposes other than those mentioned in the request (investigations or proceedings).

With regard to Article 2 of the Convention, the Principality of Andorra reserves the right to refuse a request for mutual legal assistance if:

a)		the criminal acts underlying the request for legal assistance shall not be punishable under the law of Andorra
b)		the person who is being asked for a request for legal assistance has been sentenced by a final judgment in the Principality of Andorra and he/she has served the sentence or if he/she has been acquitted in Andorra in this case.

In accordance with Article 5 of the Convention, the Principality of Andorra reserves the right to carry out requests for legal assistance for search and seizure only under the conditions set out in Article 5 (1) (a) and (c).

According to Art. 13 of the Convention, the Principality of Andorra reserves the right to carry out the transmission of criminal records of a person established in Andorra only on condition that he/she is accused or accused of being a defendant in court has been loaded.

In accordance with Article 22 of the Convention, the Principality of Andorra declares that, in view of the internal organisation and functioning of the criminal record, the competent authorities shall have a systematic exchange of information on the persons convicted of the sentenced persons concerned. decisions contained in this register cannot be guaranteed.

However, these authorities will, at the request of the foreign judicial authority responsible for a specific criminal procedure, register excerpts from foreigners who are not resident in the Principality of Andorra, and of persons resident in Andorra who are charged with criminal records. or have been summoned before the court as a person accused of being accused.

Explanations:

The Principality of Andorra, on the basis of Article 7 (3), declares that a summons to an accused person who is on its territory must be sent to the Andorran authorities at least 30 days before the date fixed for the publication.

The Principality of Andorra further states that, in the event that a request for mutual legal assistance contains a summons before the Court of First Instance, as an injured party, witness or expert, the summons can be made by registered letter, if this permits the right of the requesting State.

With reference to Article 15 (6), the Principality of Andorra declares the following:

A copy of requests for legal assistance pursuant to Article 15 (2) and requests for the prosecution of previous surveys pursuant to Article 15 (4) shall be sent to the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of the Interior of Andorra.

In cases of urgency, the administrative judicial authorities shall, in accordance with the case or not, return the request for mutual assistance to the authorities referred to in Article 15, at the same time it may be transmitted via Interpol or the competent authorities responsible for the application of the request. authorities of the requesting State.

The Principality of Andorra declares, in accordance with Article 16 (2), that requests and attached documents must be sent to the Andorran authorities, accompanied by a translation into Catalan, Spanish or French.

The Principality of Andorra declares that, in urgent cases, the advertisements referred to in Article 21, following all the information required for the procedure initiated, shall at the same time be sent to the Ministry of Justice and Home Affairs and to the Public Prosecutor's Office of the Principals of Andorra can be judged.

In accordance with Article 24, the Principality of Andorra declares that it considers the following Andorra authorities to be the judicial authorities within the meaning of this Convention:

-		the Higher Court of Justice of Andorra;
-		the Court of Corts (Court of First Instance with exclusive criminal jurisdiction);
-		the President of the Court of Corts;
-		the Court of Batlles (Court of First Instance);
-		the batlle (the judge);
-		the Prosecutor General;
-		the Deputy Prosecutor.

Azerbaijan:

Reservation:

In accordance with Article 23 (1) of the Convention, the Republic of Azerbaijan declares that, in addition to the reasons provided for in Article 2 of the Convention, legal assistance may also be refused in the following cases:

-		where the request for legal assistance relates to acts which, under the legislation of the Republic of Azerbaijan, are not qualified as criminal offences;
-		where there is a enforceable judgment of a court of the Republic of Azerbaijan or of a third State in respect of the person for the commission of the same act, on the grounds of which it is suspected or accused in the requesting State;
-		where the request for legal assistance relates to a criminal act which is the subject of an investigation or judicial review in the Republic of Azerbaijan, and where the postponing of the execution of that request is impossible.

Explanations:

The Republic of Azerbaijan declares that it cannot ensure the observance of the provisions of the Convention in its territories occupied by the Republic of Armenia until its liberation from the occupation (a schematic map of the occupied territories). Areas are connected).

The Republic of Azerbaijan declares that requests for legal assistance for the purpose of taking evidence relating to the criminal matters referred to in Article 3 of the Convention shall be subject to the provisions of Art. 66 of the Constitution of the Republic of Azerbaijan to be completed:

Excerpt from the Constitution of the Republic of Azerbaijan: Art. 66. Prohibition of testimony against relatives

" No one shall be allowed to tesclaim against himself or against his/her spouse or His/her children, parents or siblings are forced. The full list of members who do not have an obligation to give testimony shall be determined by law. "

The Republic of Azerbaijan declares that legal assistance requests to search for or seize items under the in lit. (a) and (c) of Article 5 (1) of the Convention are to be carried out.

In accordance with Article 7 of the Convention, the Republic of Azerbaijan declares that the cargo to be delivered to a person shall not be transmitted later than 50 days before the date fixed for the publication.

In accordance with Article 15 (6) of the Convention, the Republic of Azerbaijan declares that all requests for mutual assistance between the judicial authorities, as well as all accompanying documents, shall also be forwarded to the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Azerbaijan must be addressed.

In accordance with Article 16 (2) of the Convention, the Republic of Azerbaijan declares that requests or any other documents relating to the application of the Convention shall be accompanied by a translation into Azerbaijani or English must be.

In accordance with Art. 24 of the Convention, the Republic of Azerbaijan declares that, for the purposes of the Convention, the following authorities shall be considered as judicial authorities:

-		the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Azerbaijan;
-		the General Prosecutor's Office of the Republic of Azerbaijan;
-		the courts of the Republic of Azerbaijan (except the Constitutional Court).

Serbia and Montenegro:

In accordance with Article 1 (1) of the Convention, Serbia and Montenegro will only provide legal assistance in proceedings concerning criminal acts which are held in the laws of Serbia and Montenegro, with the prosecution of Serbia and Montenegro in the event of criminal proceedings. a request for legal assistance in the jurisdiction of the competent Serb-Montenegrin courts.

In accordance with Article 7 (3) of the Convention, Serbia and Montenegro will be subject to court proceedings, which are on the name of a person, against which judicial proceedings have been initiated and which are held in their territory, only if: the summons shall be sent to the competent judicial authority 30 days before the court date fixed for the said person.

In accordance with Article 15 (6) of the Convention and in conjunction with the implementation of Article 15 (2) of the Convention, Serbia and Montenegro requested that a copy of the legal assistance request be forwarded to the Federal Ministry of Justice.

In accordance with Article 24 of the Convention, Serbia and Montenegro hereby state that, for the purposes of the present Convention, ordinary courts and public prosecutors shall be considered as judicial authorities.

According to a further note by the Secretary-General of the Council of Europe, the following states have the following states on the occasion of the deposit of their ratification or the reservations and declarations made to the Convention partially or completely withdrawn, or changed:

Bulgaria:

The Republic of Bulgaria declares that, for the purposes of this Convention, it shall define, as judicial authorities, courts, public prosecutors, investigative authorities and the Ministry of Justice.

On 12 November 2003, the National Assembly of the Republic of Bulgaria adopted a law amending the ratification of the European Convention on Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters and the Additional Protocol thereto, the Convention on the the transfer of convicted persons and the European Convention on extradition, as well as the two additional protocols thereto. This law was published in the Official Journal of the European Union No 103/2003 of 25 November 2003.

Accordingly, the reservation is 1 The Republic of Bulgaria, under Article 2 of the European Convention on Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters, is partially withdrawn and reads as follows:

" The Republic of Bulgaria declares that it refuses to provide legal assistance if:

-		the perpetrator is not held responsible for an amnesty,
-		criminal liability is excluded on the basis of the statute of limitations,
-		the perpetrator after he committed the act fell into a state of sustainable mental disorder that excluded criminal responsibility,
-		a pending procedure, a enforceable judgment, a decision or a enforceable decision to end the case against the same person for the same deed. "

Estonia:

Estonia has amended the statements made on the occasion of the deposit of its instrument of ratification of the Convention on Art. 15 and 24, the reservation on Article 5 in part and those on Art. 22 2 fully withdrawn.

The statements on Art. 15 and 24 are now as follows:

" According to Article 15 (8) (a) of the Convention (as amended by Art. 4 of the Second Additional Protocol), the Republic of Estonia declares that a copy of the judicial assistance request directly addressed to its judicial authorities to the Ministry of Justice shall be forwarded.

In accordance with Article 24 of the Convention (as amended by Art. 6 of the 2nd Convention) Additional protocol) the Republic of Estonia declares that, for the purposes of this Convention, the following authorities shall be considered as judicial authorities for Estonia: the courts, the Public Prosecutor's Office, the Ministry of Justice and the investigating authorities, which shall apply: The legal basis of criminal procedure law is the conduct of preliminary investigations: the National Police Agency, the District Police, the Security Police, the Central Criminal Police, the Tax and Customs Office, the estonian border police, the Estonian competition authority and the General Staff of the Armed Forces. "

The reservation on Art. 5 reads: " In accordance with Article 5 (1) of the Convention, the Republic shall declare: Estonia, that it will carry out legal assistance requests for searches or seizure of goods only under the conditions laid down in Article 5 (1) (c). "

Finland:

According to the statement by the Secretary-General of the Council of Europe, Finland has now decided to make the reservation 3 to withdraw to Article 11.

Norway:

The Government of Norway shall replace the declaration 4 on Article 26 (4) of the Convention, read as follows: 'The Agreement of 26 April 1974 between Norway, Denmark, Iceland, Finland and Sweden on mutual legal assistance shall be applied'.

United Kingdom:

The United Kingdom has made the declarations 1 and 3 on the occasion of the deposit of its instrument of ratification of the Convention 5 changed or is supplemented. Declaration 1 is now as follows:

'With regard to the Government of the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland, references to the' Justice Ministry ' for the purposes of Article 11 (2), Article 15 (1), (3) and (6) and Article 21 (1) and Article 22 shall be references to the Home Office (for England and Wales), the "Crown Office" (for Scotland) and the Northern Ireland Office (for Northern Ireland). "

With regard to the declaration made on Article 24 (Declaration 3), the United Kingdom states that it also considers the following authorities to be the judicial authorities:

The United Kingdom has further stated that it no longer serves as judicial authorities for the purposes of the Solicitor of Her Majesty's Customs and Excise and persons authorised by it of the Solicitor's Office or the Commissioners of the Inland Revenue. of this Convention. The aforementioned authorities shall be replaced by the Director of the Revenue and Customs Prosecutions Office and any person empowered by the Director of that authority. The Declaration under Article 24 of the Convention 6 is therefore as follows with effect from 1 May 2005:

In accordance with Article 24, for the purposes of the Convention, the Government of the United Kingdom considers the following authorities to be the judicial authorities:

-		Magistrates ' Courts, the Crown Court and the High Court;
-		the Attorney General for England and Wales;
-		the Director of Public Prosecutions and each Crown Prosecutor;
-		the Director and any appointed member of the Serious Fraud Office;
-		the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry with regard to his role in the investigation and prosecution of criminal acts;
-		the Director of the Revenue and Customs Prosecutions Office and any person empowered by the Director of that authority;
-		District Courts and Sheriff Courts and the High Court of Justiciary;
-		the Lord Advocate;
-		any Procurator Fiscal;
-		the Attorney General for Northern Ireland;
-		the Director of Public Prosecutions in Northern Ireland;
-		the Financial Services Authority.

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