United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime

Mutual Legal Assistance Request Writer Tool

Mutual legal assistance is one of the most important weapons the justice system has against serious international crime. Requests often need to be generated at very short notice and in such a way that avoids legal pitfalls and obstacles when different legal systems are trying to lend each other their criminal justice powers.

Effective assistance in response requires requests to be "right first time." That means they need to contain all critical information needed to:

(a) facilitate affirmative decision and execution of the request, and

(b) avoid legal pitfalls and obstacles in both States when different legal systems cooperate.

They need to be communicated and executed promptly. Avoidable delays in cooperation only benefit criminals at the expense of justice.

The international drug and crime control conventions contain extensive provisions on mutual legal assistance, and related cooperation. As part of its legal assistance services to States to help effectively implement those instruments, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime's Legal Advisory Programme has developed a Mutual Legal Assistance Request Writer Tool to help practitioners draft effective requests, receive more useful responses and streamline the process. It can be used for all serious offences in a State, not just those covered by the international conventions.

MLA Tool workflow process

The workflow chart comprises all the necessary steps that have to be taken by the practitioner when drafting a mutual legal assistance request with the MLA Tool.

To view the workflow process click on the relevant icon below.