The Competent National Authorities (CNAs) on-line Directory

Since the entry into force of the United Nations Convention against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances, 1988 (the 1988 Convention), the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) has been collecting information from Member States on competent authorities designated to receive, respond to and process requests for mutual legal assistance 1988 Convention, article 7), requests for cooperation to suppress illicit traffic by sea ( 1988 Convention, article 17), and more recently, extradition requests ( 1988 Convention, article 6 ). As at 20 November 2007, the contact information for competent authorities of more than 150 States or dependent territories had been provided to UNODC, including information on specific procedures to be followed in urgent cases.

Following decision 3/2 (18 October 2006) of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime ( UNTOC Convention, adopted in 2000), the Directory has been extended to include authorities designated under that convention to receive, respond to and process extradition requests ( UNTOC, article 16), requests for transfer of sentenced persons ( UNTOC, article 17), requests for mutual legal assistance ( UNTOC, article 18) and requests for cooperation to suppress the smuggling of migrants by sea ( Protocol against the Smuggling of Migrants by Land, Sea and Air, supplementing the UNTOC, article 8).

The on-line Directory provides information on the competent national authorities under the 1988 Convention and under the UNTOC Convention in order to facilitate cooperation between countries in accordance with the international drug control and crime treaties. It allows CNAs easy access to the updated contact information of their counterparts in most countries of the world, as well as means of communication, and provides information on the legal requirements for cooperation. The on-line Directory currently contains the contact information of over 606 CNAs, by five thematic categories:

• Extradition - authorities designated to receive, respond to and process extradition requests under Article 6 of the 1988 Convention and Article 16 of the UNTOC Convention; as well as transfer of sentenced persons under Article 17 of the UNTOC Convention.
• Mutual Legal Assistance - authorities designated to receive, respond to and process mutual legal assistance requests under Article 7 of the 1988 Convention and Article 18 of the UNTOC Convention.
• Illicit Traffic by Sea - authorities designated to receive, respond to and process requests for cooperation to suppress illicit traffic by sea under Article 17 of the 1988 Convention.
• Smuggling of migrants by sea - authorities designated to receive, respond to and process requests for cooperation to suppress smuggling of migrants by sea under article 8 of the Protocol against the Smuggling of Migrants by Land, Sea and Air, supplementing the UNTOC.

Governments are kindly requested to review the information in the Directory and to communicate any changes to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, Treaty and Legal Affairs Branch, Vienna International Centre, P.O. Box 500, A-1400 Vienna, Austria (telefacsimile: +43-1 26060 5865, e-mail: legal@unodc.org).

Please note: Access is reserved for competent national authorities designated in accordance with articles 6 (extradition), 7 (mutual legal assistance) and 17 (traffic by sea) of the United Nations Convention against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances, 1988 or in accordance with articles 16, 17 and 18 of the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime and article 8 of the Protocol against the Smuggling of Migrants by Land, Sea and Air, supplementing the UNTOC. 

For more information contact: cna@unodc.org

To request an account please click here

Find a Competent National Authority

Links

To find national laws implementing the Drug Conventions go to the Legal Library.

To download the Mutual Legal Assistance Request Writer tool go to MLA.

To access UNODC legal tools (Model Laws, Model Treaties, Best Practices Reports) go to Legal Tools.