The Model Law was prepared by UNODC in response to the General Assembly`s request to the Secretary-General to assist States parties in strengthening their domestic legal framework in a manner consistent with the international legal regime on firearms. The Model Law provides practical assistance to policy makers and legislators in transposing the language of the Firearms Treaty into their national legislation and in strengthening their firearms legislation in a manner consistent with the Firearms Protocol. Model legislation against organized crime was prepared in response to a request by the General Assembly to the Secretary-General to promote, support the efforts of Member States to become parties to and implement the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime and its Protocols. The model legislation would facilitate the review and amendment of existing legislation and the adoption of new legislation by Member States and was designed to adapt it to the needs of each State, regardless of its legal tradition and social, economic, cultural and geographical situation. The purpose of these instruments is to provide guidance for assessing what should be done by States parties to ensure that the full potential of the Organized Crime Convention can be realized. These instruments should be used to provide technical assistance, in particular to assess the technical assistance needs of States parties, with a focus on law enforcement. At the national level, the tools can also enable experts, in particular policy makers and legislators, to assess the implementation of the Convention. Most treaty requests are made on the basis of a Mutual Legal Assistance Agreement (MLAT), which has the force of law. This procedure is generally faster and more reliable than letters rogatory. Consult with the Bureau of International Affairs (OIA) to determine whether the United States has entered into a mutual legal assistance treaty with the country from which the evidence is requested. UNODC has developed model legislation on extradition to assist Member States in implementing the provisions of model treaties approved by the General Assembly in order to enhance the effectiveness of international cooperation.
The Model Law takes into account developments following the adoption of the Model Treaties, in particular the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime of 2000 and the United Nations Convention against Corruption of 2003. In accordance with the Protocol to Combat Trafficking in Persons, supplementing the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime, the purpose of the Handbook is to further facilitate the prevention, protection of victims and prosecution of perpetrators and to strengthen international cooperation to achieve these objectives. The manual covers all stages of the criminal response to trafficking, from victim identification to victim protection, investigation and prosecution. The manual consists of 14 modules which, taken individually, address the specific needs of criminal law practitioners and serve as a practical guide for a more effective criminal justice response to trafficking in human beings. The reference work prepared in accordance with resolution 9/3 of the Conference of the Parties to the Turkish Communities constitutes the first and most comprehensive study of the practical application of the provisions of the Convention on International Cooperation, as documented in specific cases. The aim of the reference book is to provide as complete a picture as possible of the practical application of the Organized Crime Convention as a legal basis for international cooperation at an important moment: having already celebrated the 20th anniversary of its adoption and opening of the Convention, and of the experience gained 18 years after its entry into force. In doing so, the Compendium fills a gap in the range of technical assistance instruments developed by UNODC to assist States parties in preventing and combating organized crime more effectively and in accordance with the requirements of the CTO Convention. The baseline work also facilitates the exchange of relevant experiences among States parties and, on the basis of lessons learned, the development of recommendations to improve and strengthen the use of the Convention as an instrument of international cooperation to combat transnational organized crime more effectively. The TADM determines the obligation to provide assistance, the extent of the assistance and the content of the request. It may also contain evidentiary provisions that differ from the federal rules of evidence. However, it is not only mutual legal assistance treaties that provide for mutual legal assistance: some extradition treaties and many tax treaties contain such provisions.
The MLA tool will be linked to the inventories of UNODC competent national authorities (NAC inventories) to enable the retrieval of NAC coordinates for the preparation of ALM applications. The tool will also be linked to SHERLOC to facilitate practitioners` access to various constantly updated information, such as national guides, legislation on international cooperation in criminal matters and other complementary resources such as manuals, checklists of legal requirements and external links to customized templates and formats from other countries. In order to increase the knowledge and capacity-building of practitioners, UNODC has developed a wide range of publications and legal and technical tools on various areas of international cooperation. The manual is the result of criminal justice expertise from around the world. The diversity of people involved in the drafting of the manual reflects its target audience of criminal law practitioners, including investigators, investigating judges, investigating judges, prosecutors, judges, law enforcement officers, border guards and all other professionals involved in the criminal justice system. Compendium of International Cooperation in Criminal Matters Cases relating to the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime as a Legal Basis (2021). The handbook is available in response to Conference of the Parties resolution 5/8, entitled “Implementation of the provisions of the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime related to international cooperation”. That resolution mandated UNODC to prepare a practical guide to facilitate the drafting, transmission and execution of requests for extradition and mutual legal assistance.
The manual is intended for central and other competent national authorities, policy makers and criminal justice practitioners, including lawyers, investigators, judges and judges who provide international mutual legal assistance.
