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What is the framework for International Cooperation in Extradition and Mutual Assistance matters?

posted 6 years ago

With the increasing prevalence of transnational and cyber-enabled crime and the globalisation
of international markets, there has been an increasing need for international
cooperation in dealing with transnational crimes and in dealing with extradition and mutual assistance matters.

Every country differs in their approach to combating transnational crime
and has different extradition and mutual assistance laws. Efforts have been
made to harmonise the various laws however this still presents ongoing
challenges.

 

United Nations Convention and Central Authorities

 

The United Nations Convention against
Transnational Organized Crime, in article 18, paragraph 13, specifically
references the creation of a central authority for each of the parties to the
Convention and makes it compulsory that each party designate a central
authority for the purposes of mutual legal assistance. There is no requirement
for the central authority to be created for the purposes of extradition,
although it is common practice in a number of countries for this office to also
be responsible for dealing with extradition matters.

 

International Crime Cooperation

 

In Australia, the relevant central
authority is the International Crime Cooperation, which holds the following
responsibilities:

 

·        
Extradition: responsible for extradition
casework arising under the Extradition Act 1988

·        
International transfer of prisoners: responsible for
casework arising under the International Transfer of Prisoners Act 1997

·        
Mutual Assistance: responsible for casework arising
under the Mutual Assistance in Criminal
Matters Act 1987

 

The benefits of Australia’s International Crime Cooperation Central
Authority and foreign Central Authorities

 

The International Crime Cooperation Central Authority is the hub for any
sort of international criminal legal cooperation between Australia and other
countries. The benefit of having this central authority is that Australia has
more control over incoming and outgoing requests for cooperation in relation to
mutual assistance and extradition matters, and a centre of expertise with
respect to international cooperation.

The existence of central authorities in foreign countries also allows
Australia to develop a knowledge base of other legal systems and the
requirements of those systems.

 

INTERPOL and its interaction with central authorities

 

INTERPOL can be utilized in urgent
circumstances as a communications conduit for mutual assistance and extradition
matters should the need arise.

INTERPOL has a network of national central bureaux that liaise with
other departments of a member state, with national central bureaux in other
states and with the General Secretariat of INTERPOL. Each national central
bureau is connected to the I-24/7 network, which enables the transmission of
requests for cooperation in relation to mutual assistance and extradition
matters in a timely and secure manner.

 

Police liaison officer programmes and their interaction with INTERPOL
and central authorities

 

Police liaison officer programmes can
also be highly beneficial to international cooperation. Many police forces
throughout the world have officers posted overseas to liaise with police forces
in specific countries or geographical areas.

As a result, they possess knowledge in their area of operations, such as
the command structure of local police forces; the structure of local
administrations, including the courts; and local geographical or political
challenges that may exist, all of which may have a bearing on matters
pertaining to international cooperation.

The liaison officers can also perform a useful reporting function, being
the “eyes and ears” of a central authority and keeping other participants
informed of potential challenges that may arise in the course of a mutual
assistance or extradition request.

In complex transnational criminal matters it is common to see
cooperation between Australia’s domestic police force with members of foreign
law enforcement posted to Australia in areas concerning procedure, cross border
investigations and the sharing of information regarding cases which may be
relevant to both, or multiple jurisdictions. This creates an informal system of
information sharing which is often unregulated, unlike the prescriptive nature
of formal mutual assistance requests. This carries the risk that the
information that is being exchanged is not sufficiently scrutinised  to
ensure that it complies with any relevant privacy and/or secrecy laws operating
in Australia.

 

Australian Federal Police (AFP) across the world

 

The AFP International
Operations 
incorporates Liaison Officers, Police Advisors and Missions
across five regions, each with a regional manager:

·        
The Americas

·        
Asia

·        
Europe, Africa and the Middle East

·        
Pacific and External Territories

·        
South East Asia

The regional managers are responsible for overseeing and providing
strategic leadership and guidance for senior liaison officers and advisors and
implementing region wide law enforcement. The posts within each region have responsibility
for a number of countries within that region.

 

Conclusion

 

In an increasingly connected world and with the growth of crimes with a
transnational character, central authorities such as Australia’s International
Crime Cooperation benefit from utilising the expertise and capabilities of
INTERPOL and police liaison officer programmes, to complement the work of the
central authority. It is nevertheless important to ensure that sufficient
regulatory oversight remains in place to avoid any unintended human rights
breaches of those being investigated.

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