Part III
SPECIAL PROCEEDINGS
Chapter XXXIV
PROCEDURE FOR INTERNATIONAL LEGAL ASSISTANCE AND ENFORCEMENT OF INTERNATIONAL TREATIES IN CRIMINAL MATTERS
Provisions governing international legal assistance
Article 507
(1) International legal assistance shall be provided in accordance with the provisions of international treaties.
(2) If there is no international treaty or an international treaty does not regulate certain issues, the international criminal/legal assistance shall be provided in accordance with the provisions of the present Code.
Substance of international legal assistance in criminal matters
Article 508
International legal assistance shall particularly include execution of certain evidentiary and other procedural actions such as interrogation of the defendant, witnesses or expert witnesses, crime scene investigation, search of dwellings or persons, seizure of objects, as well as handing over of files, documents and other objects in connection with preliminary criminal proceedings in the requesting state.
Letters rogatory from the local courts and prosecutor’s offices and jurisdiction
for providing international legal assistance
Article 509
(1) Letters rogatory of the domestic courts and Public Prosecutors on legal assistance in preliminary and trial proceedings shall be delivered to foreign authorities through an authority determined by a special regulation. The same channels shall be used for delivering the letters rogatory of the foreign authorities to the domestic courts.
(2) In case of urgency, if reciprocity exists, letters rogatory may be delivered through the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
(3) By a special act, it shall be determined which courts shall have jurisdiction to execute requests for legal assistance in criminal matters or a certain court may be designated to deal with these matters for all courts from a particular territory.
Forwarding of letter rogatory to the competent court and deciding on
admissibility and the manner of execution of requested action
Article 510
(1) The authority determined by a special regulation shall transmit letters rogatory of a foreign authority to the court having jurisdiction to proceed on.
(2) In cases referred to in Article 509 paragraph 2 of the present Code, the Ministry of Internal Affairs shall transmit letters rogatory to the court through the Ministry of Justice.
(3) A court shall decide in accordance with a domestic law on admissibility and the manner of execution of an action requested by a letter rogatory.
(4) When a letter rogatory concerns a criminal offense for which, according to a domestic law, extradition is not permitted, the court shall request from the authority determined by a special regulation an opinion whether to proceed upon a letter rogatory.
International assistance in criminal matters
EDIT.