Use Of Mutual Assistance Treaties In Criminal Matters To Obtain Evidence From Abroad For Use In United States

1982 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 48-57

With a view to receiving the advice and consent of the Senate to ratification, I transmit herewith the Treaty on Mutual Legal Assistance between the United States of America and the Kingdom of the Netherlands, together with a related exchange of notes, signed at The Hague on June 12,1981.I transmit also, for the information of the Senate, the report of the Department of State with respect to the treaty.The treaty is one of a series of modern mutual assistance treaties being negotiated by the United States. The treaty is self-executing and utilizes existing statutory authority.The new treaty provides for a broad range of cooperation in criminal matters. Mutual assistance available under the treaty includes: (1) executing requests relating to criminal matters; (2) taking of testimony or statements of persons; (3) effecting the production, preservation, and authentication of documents, records, or articles of evidence.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Dhaxna Sothieson

<p>In January 2012, the United States requested the assistance of the New Zealand government under the Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters Act 1992 (MACMA) to execute a search warrant at Kim Dotcom’s residence. A few months later, the High Court held that this warrant was invalid and its execution unlawful. The case illustrates the importance of effective cooperation between two executive authorities. This article will build on the case and argue that the flexibility of MACMA provisions must be used by domestic authorities to ensure that a request accords with domestic law and fulfils the purpose of the Act. The flexibility of these provisions are even more important to utilise under the new landscape of the Search and Surveillance Act 2012, enacted after Dotcom v Attorney-General, to ensure that New Zealand can register and enforce a foreign search warrant request.</p>


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