NCJ Number
239656
Journal
Internal Security Volume: 4 Issue: 1 Dated: January-June 2012 Pages: 89-98
Date Published
June 2012
Length
10 pages
Annotation
The article contains analysis on the specifics of conducting investigative and other procedural actions by consular officers in the framework of consular legal assistance in criminal matters for competent authorities of the sending state.
Abstract
The importance of this consular function increases significantly in the circumstances of the impossibility for law enforcement authorities of the sending state to carry out independent activity on the compound of its foreign mission without the consent of the receiving state. Some legal implications of conducting procedural actions by consuls are highlighted with due consideration to the fact, that the compound of a foreign mission constitutes the territory of the receiving state (problems of voluntariness on the part of the participant of the action, permissibility of advising him of criminal responsibility, participation of lawyers and law enforcement officers of the sending state, limited application of the law of the sending state), as well as the issues of obtaining the receiving state's permission to carry out respective actions, certain limitations on them (depending on the nationality of the participant of the action etc.). The article also deals with the terminology used to define the said kind of legal assistance in international treaties and domestic law. In terms of legal regulation and practical application of that consular function, of particular interest are those existing in Germany (detailed regulations and application in extraordinary cases), Poland (precedence over international legal assistance in criminal matters) and Russia (inconsistency of legal regulations and non-application of that institution). The author's conclusion is that in spite of its certain inherent disadvantages, this kind of legal assistance can play a very significant role in the practice of law enforcement. (Published Abstract)