Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty between India and Australia

6.18 Under the Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty, Australia and India have agreed to assist each other in the following areas: The difference between the two categories of countries is that the country that has a mutual legal assistance treaty with India is required to consider service of documents, while countries not members of the Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty are not required to consider such a request. 6.1 The Extradition Treaty between Australia and the Republic of India (Extradition Treaty) and the Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters Treaty between Australia and the Republic of India (Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty) are considered by the Australian Government to be joint treaties and are therefore considered together in this chapter. The Committee supports the Australia-Republic of India Extradition Treaty and the Australia-Republic of India Treaty on Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters and recommends that binding measures be taken. 6.31 The Committee considers that all extradited Australians should receive personal visits from a consular officer at least once a year, unless the Australian has expressly expressed opposition to consular assistance to the satisfaction of consular officers. 6.2 The extradition treaty is based on a model extradition treaty developed by Australia to conform to Australia`s domestic legal framework. [1] Australia`s Model Extradition Treaty has been used to develop a network of bilateral extradition treaties, which currently comprises 35. [2] 2. Mutual legal assistance is any assistance provided by the requested State in the conduct of investigations, prosecutions or other criminal proceedings in the requesting State, whether requested or to be provided by a court or other authority. 6.17 There are major similarities between the Extradition Treaty and the Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty, including the fact that the Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty will replace a non-treaty arrangement based on the Commonwealth, the Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters regime within the Commonwealth. [17] In the present case, however, there are no substantial changes to the functional provisions of the Treaty. The new mutual legal assistance treaty is limited to subjecting the current rules to international law. [18] A Senate treaty document contains the text of the treaty as transmitted to the Senate, as well as the President`s Letter of transmittal, the Secretary of State`s letter of submission, and accompanying documents.

(a) An offence for which States Parties are required to provide mutual legal assistance under a multilateral/international treaty or convention to which both States Parties are parties; n Potential bilateral contractors would not accept reporting requirements for persons extradited from Australia as this would create an administrative burden that would impede the functioning of a contractor`s judicial system. [24] The Ministry of Interior does not issue warrants for arrest without bail. The service of a warrant of arrest without bail is equivalent to the extradition of the person. Extradition requests are based on the legal principles and procedures set out in extradition treaties negotiated with the foreign country concerned. Such applications should be forwarded in the prescribed format to the Ministry of External Affairs, VCP Division, Patiala House Annex, TilakMarg, New Delhi – 110001. 1. States Parties shall afford one another the widest measure of mutual assistance in criminal matters in accordance with the provisions of this Treaty. n Australia can only offer consular assistance to its own citizens if they have requested it. [28] 6.4 The Australian government negotiated this treaty because the Commonwealth Program requires a full hearing of sufficient evidence to provide a prima facie case in support of an extradition request. [4] The Attorney General`s Office (AGD) has described the requirement to establish a prima facie case as follows: (2) The requested State shall bear the costs of executing the request for mutual assistance, except that the requesting State shall bear: 6.6 It is argued that the evidentiary standard is a useful tool to facilitate extradition to and from countries using a civil law system. The Attorney General stated that the legal framework of a civil justice system means that many practitioners in the system do not understand what is meant by prima facie case.

[6] 6.15 Like the Extradition Treaty, the Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty is based on a model Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty developed by Australia. The Model Mutual Legal Assistance Agreement has been used to establish a network of bilateral treaties, which currently includes 25. [15] 5. The requested State shall inform the requesting State without delay of its decision not to comply with a request for assistance or to stay enforcement in whole or in part, and shall give reasons for that decision. (h) any other assistance compatible with the objectives of this Treaty which is not incompatible with the law of the requested State. 3. If it appears that the execution of the request requires exceptional expenses, States Parties shall consult the conditions under which the assistance requested may be provided. 6.30 Although extradited Australian citizens have access to consular assistance upon request, the Committee considers that this is not sufficient to ensure the well-being of these Australians. There may be a number of reasons why a person does not request consular assistance.

This may include the person who does not want help, but it may also include real or perceived bullying, fear of retaliation, ignorance, poor mental or physical health, or communication difficulties. 2. Requests for assistance shall include, where necessary and to the extent possible: 3. The requested State may, upon request, inform the requesting State of the date and place of execution of the request for assistance. Desiring to make cooperation between the two countries more effective through mutual legal assistance in combating crime, including terrorism-related offences, 6.3 Australia`s current extradition relationship with India is based on the Commonwealth Scheme for the Rendition of Fugitive Offenders 1966. It was an agreement whose status was not dealt with between the members of the Commonwealth. Therefore, the Agreement is not binding under international law and does not impose any obligations on participating States. [3] 4. The requested State may consider providing assistance in the absence of dual criminality. (b) The requested State has reasonable grounds to believe that the request for assistance has been made for the purpose of prosecuting a person on account of his race, sex, religion, nationality or political opinion, or that his or her position could be jeopardized for any of these reasons; Nothing in this Treaty shall affect obligations between States Parties under other treaties, agreements or other arrangements, nor shall it prevent States Parties from assisting each other under other treaties or arrangements or by any other means.

The standard required by this contract is information that reasonably demonstrates that the requested person has committed the offence for which extradition is requested and that proves that the person sought is the person against whom the arrest warrant is sought. This standard does not require that every element be supported by evidence. Instead, there must be evidence linking the person to the crime without necessarily proving all the elements of the crime. [9] (a) the purpose of the application and a description of the assistance requested; 1.