Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters in the European Union: A Model for the World?

The Council of the European Union (Brussels) established on may 29, 2000 in accordance with Article 34 of the Treaty on European Union the Convention on Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters between Member States of the European Union (the EU Convention). A protocol to this Convention was adopted on October 16, 2001 (?the EU Protocol?). Both are expected to enter into force by the end of 2002. The new legal instruments on mutual assistance in criminal matters will change this mechanism in Europe. They are also expected to have a significant impact all over the world and possibly mark the beginning of a new era in this fast developing area. The EU Convention and its Protocol extend the field of mutual assistance to include administrative-criminal proceedings and cases where a legal person is liable for the offences under investigation. The abolition of the fiscal offences exception and the radical limitation of the political offence exception, along with the exclusion of bank secrecy as a reason for refusing cooperation, remove barriers to speedy and efficient interstate cooperation. Cross border wire tapping has been regulated in detail in Articles 17-20 of the EU Convention in an attempt to strike ?a delicate balance between the efficiency of investigations and respect for individual freedoms? while the exchange of information on bank accounts and the monitor of banking transactions is being simplified in Articles 1-3 of the EU Protocol thus providing the long arm of the law with unprecedented new strength.