NCJ Number
160101
Journal
European Journal on Criminal Policy and Research Volume: 3 Issue: 4 Dated: (1995) Pages: 91-98
Date Published
1995
Length
8 pages
Annotation
This study discusses Germany's experience in the area of mutual assistance in criminal matters with other European countries.
Abstract
The discussion is limited to the legal, practical, and policy problems that have arisen in the past 5 years in mutual assistance in criminal matters. The radical changes in Europe's criminal law and criminal policy landscape over the last few years have been no less dramatic than those that occurred in the political arena. Under the conditions of the "Cold War," the East-West frontiers were sealed, thus restricting the movement of people and limiting the international travel of criminals across national borders. With the transition to open borders, there has been a need for cross-border crime prevention. There is, however, a lack of sufficient instruments of cooperation and relevant practical experience in cooperation. Under the law of most European states, most kinds of mutual assistance, including extradition, can also be executed on a nontreaty basis, that is, on the basis of the respective domestic laws on mutual assistance. There is no shortage of multilateral agreements in Europe. Since the mid-1950's, the Council of Europe has been building a network of criminal law conventions unique in the world. The current state of the ratification of European conventions by the states of Central and Eastern European countries shows there is still a long way to go before the extensive application of these conventions in all these states can be achieved. There is a need for agreements, to be reached prior to accession to the conventions, to facilitate the processing of the growing number of requests for mutual assistance without requiring the administrative and parliamentary workload entailed by the conclusion of treaties. As a country particularly dependent on agreements, Germany has enriched its treaty policy with the instrument of "joint records of results." This kind of agreement has been reached with nine Central and Eastern European states in the past 5 years after expert discussions. The elements of this agreement are outlined in this article, along with some problems in achieving mutual assistance in criminal matters.