Parliament sends Indian legal assistance treaty to National Security Committee

The parliament has today sent a request made by the President Mohamed Nasheed to sign a ‘’Treaty between the Republic of India and the Republic of Maldives on mutual legal assistance in criminal matters,’’ to the National Security Committee to revise the matter further.

The objective of the treaty was to strengthen the strong diplomatic relations between the Maldives and India by allowing legal assistance from one country to another, said the parliament on its official website.

In a letter sent by the Home Ministry to the President’s Office, the ministry said that the Attorney General (AG)’s legal advice was sought regarding the matter and that the AG had no objections.

The ministry’s letter said that the advice of the Finance Ministry was also sought, which also had no objections.

Assistance in the treaty included locating and identifying persons and objects, serving documents, including documents seeking the attendance of persons.

Assistance included search and seizure, taking evidence and obtaining statements, authorising the presence of persons from the requesting state at the execution of requests, making detained persons available to give evidence or assisting investigations, facilitating the appearance of witnesses or the assistance of persons in investigations.

It also includes taking measures to locate, restrain or forfeit the proceeds of crime and taking measures to locate, freeze and confiscate any funds or finances meant for the financing of acts of terrorism in the territory of either party and any other form of assistance not prohibited by the law of the requested tate was as well mentioned in the assistances that one country will provide to the other according to the treaty.

Article 6[2] of the treaty states that assistance may be refused if the execution of the request would be contrary to the domestic law of the requested state.

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