Part VI
Mutual legal assistance in criminal matters
CHAPTER III
Special forms of international assistance
Article 160 - A
Controlled and surveyed deliveries
1. For the purposes of obtaining the identification of largest possible number of offenders and establishing their criminal liability, in co-operation with one or more foreign States, the Public Prosecution shall be empowered to authorise on a case by case basis, upon request from one or more foreign States, in particular where such is provided for in a conventional instrument, that criminal police bodies abstain from acting within the framework of trans-border criminal investigations concerning extraditable offences.
2. The Portuguese authorities shall have the legal powers to act as well as the supervision and control of the criminal investigation operations conducted within the framework of the provisions of the preceding paragraph, without prejudice to the necessary co-operation with the competent foreign authorities.
3. Authorisations given under paragraph 1 above shall be without prejudice to the exercise of criminal proceedings for the facts in respect of which the Portuguese law is applicable; they shall be given only where :
a) the competent foreign authorities have ensured that both their legislation provides adequate criminal sanctions for the offence at stake and criminal proceedings shall be exercised; and
b) the competent foreign authorities have ensured the security of the substances and goods at stake against the risks of flight and loss; and
c) the competent foreign authorities have undertaken urgently to communicate detailed information about the results of the operation as well as the acts performed by each of the offenders, in particular those who acted in Portugal.
4. Even where the above-mentioned authorisation has been granted, the criminal police bodies shall act if safety margins noticeably decrease or if any circumstance arise that renders the arrest of the culprits, or the seizure of the substances or goods, more difficult; where such action by the police bodies was not previously communicated to the authority that granted the authorisation, such shall be done in writing within the next 24 hours.
5. Subject to the existence of an agreement with the country of destination, where prohibited or dangerous substances are in transit, they may be partially replaced by innocuous; a written record shall be filed.
6. Non-compliance of obligations undertaken by foreign authorities may constitute grounds for refusal of authorisation in case of future requests.
7. International agreements are made by the National Bureau of INTERPOL, through the "Polícia Judiciária" (criminal police organisation).
8. Any other entity that receives requests for controlled deliveries, in particular the "Direcção-Geral de Alfândegas" (Directorate General of Customs), either through the Customs Co-operation Council or through its foreign counterparts, without prejudice of processing of custom-specific data, shall address such a request to the "Polícia Judiciária" (criminal police organisation) for action.
9. The Public Prosecution magistrate of the judicial circle of Lisbon shall be empowered to decide upon requests for controlled deliveries.
Article 160 - B
Undercover action
1. Criminal investigation officials of other States may develop undercover action in Portugal, in accordance with the applicable law; in such cases, their status shall be similar to that of Portuguese criminal investigation officials.
2. Action as mentioned in paragraph 1 above is subject both to a request based on an international agreement, treaty or convention, and reciprocity.
3. The judge of the "Tribunal Central de Instrução Criminal" (Central Court of Criminal Investigation) shall be empowered to authorise such action, upon a proposal of the Public Prosecution magistrate at the "Departamento Central de Investigação e Acção Penal - DCIAP" (Central Department for Criminal Investigation and Action)
Article 160 - C
Interception of telecommunications
1. Upon request of the competent authorities of a foreign State, the interception of telecommunications effected in Portugal may be authorised, if such is provided for in an international agreement, treaty or convention and provided that, in similar national circumstances, interception would be admissible under the Portuguese criminal procedural law.
2. The "Polícia Judiciária" (criminal police) shall be empowered to receive requests for interception; it shall thereupon submit the requests to the Criminal Investigations' judge of Lisbon for authorisation.
3. The decision concerning the authorisation mentioned in the preceding paragraph shall include an authorisation for the immediate transmission of the communication to the requesting State, should such transmission be provided for in the international agreement, treaty or convention under which the request was made.
Article 161
Information on the law applicable
1. Any information requested by a foreign judicial authority and relating to the provisions of Portuguese law that are applicable in the framework of criminal proceedings shall be given by the Bureau for Documentation and Comparative Law of the Attorney-General's Office.
2. Any Portuguese judicial authority requiring information on foreign law shall request such collaboration as is necessary from the Bureau mentioned in the preceding paragraph.
Other types of assistance - authority - ICC proceedings
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