Cooperation between central authorities and police officials: the changing face of international legal assistance in criminal matters

Abstract

This article addresses emerging methods of legal assistance in criminal matters and how such methods are encroaching on the scope and function of traditional treaty-based judicial cooperation. More specifically, the author focuses on the phenomenon of financial investigation units (FIUs), which have been instituted to combat money laundering, organized crime, and the financing of terrorism, as well as on the trend toward police cooperation treaties and the use of liaison officers and joint investigation teams as a means of enhancing international police cooperation. He notes that "[b]oth trends are predicated on the perceived need for greater efficiency and expediency in securing not only intelligence on trans-border criminality but also evidence capable of being introduced in pre-trial investigations or at the trial itself." Yet, the author cautions that because these alternatives take place outside the general pattern of judicial cooperation, there is a potential for a violation of human rights, which must be respected. This is particularly problematic with respect to the manner in which evidence has been obtained abroad, especially in the absence of rules obligating States to inform defendants about such collection of evidence and the investigation techniques used. Finally, restrictions on the use of information obtained by FIUs and crossborder police cooperation are discussed, as well as the limiting principles of legality, proportionality, and subsidiarity.