6
Transfer of sentenced persons
This provision would permit States Parties to enter into multilateral
or bilateral arrangements for the transfer of persons sentenced to
offences covered by this Convention, consistent with similar UN
treaties.
Mutual legal assistance
States Parties shall afford one another the widest measure of
mutual legal assistance in investigations, prosecutions and judicial
proceedings in relation to the offences covered by this Convention as
provided for in article 3 [articles on criminalization] and shall may
also reciprocally extend to one another similar assistance where the
requesting State Party has reasonable grounds to suspect that the
offence referred to in article 3, paragraph 1 (a) or (b), is transnational
in nature, including that victims, witnesses, proceeds,
instrumentalities or evidence of such offences are located in the
requested State Party and that the offence involves an organized
criminal group seeks the collection of evidence in electronic form of
a criminal offence.
(…)
5. The transmission of information pursuant to paragraph 4 of this
article shall be without prejudice to inquiries and criminal proceedings
in the State of the competent authorities providing the information.
The competent authorities receiving the information shall comply
with a request that said information remain confidential, even
temporarily, or with restrictions on its use. However, this shall not
prevent the receiving State Party from disclosing in its proceedings
information that is exculpatory to an accused person. In such a case,
the receiving State Party shall notify the transmitting State Party prior
to the disclosure and, if so requested, consult with the transmitting
State Party. If, in an exceptional case, advance notice is not possible,
The UNTOC provides a solid basis for the overarching article on
mutual legal assistance for this Convention.
Paragraph 1: The provisions on mutual legal assistance should apply
to the offences covered in the Convention. Canada is reflecting on
the added-value and desirability of extending the measures for
mutual legal assistance to “the collection of evidence in electronic
form of a criminal offence” (taken from paragraph 25(1) Budapest
Convention) or limiting the scope of electronic evidence in relation to
“serious crimes” as per UNTOC.
Paragraph 5: As the requirement regarding exculpatory evidence is a
requirement impacting domestic evidentiary law, we propose that
this portion of paragraph 5 is neither required nor advisable.