U.S. and UK Agree on Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty

On January 6, 1994, the United States Department of Justice announced that it has signed a Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty (MLAT) with the United States. The achievement of the MLAT is important because discussions first started in 1985 and the first round of negotiations occurred in 1989. Hence the negotiations indicate that, even among governments which have long been friendly and have similar legal systems and close economic ties, agreeing on the principles surrounding cooperation on evidence can be difficult. The achievement of an agreement between the U.S. and the UK is also extremely important because of the fact that both countries have many criminal cases pending in English dependencies, such as the Commonwealth Caribbean. ..[more]