Communication from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs No 3 / 1996 Coll.
Communication from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on the Treaty between the Czech Republic and the Republic of Austria on the addendum to the European Convention on Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters of 20 April 1959 and facilitating its application
Valid
Effective from 01.01.1996
3
COMMUNICATION
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs announces that the Treaty between the Czech Republic and the Republic of Austria on the amendment to the European Convention on Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters of 20 April 1959 and to facilitate its application was signed in Vienna on 27 June 1994 (1).
The Parliament of the Czech Republic gave its assent to the Treaty and the President of the Republic ratified it. The instruments of ratification were exchanged in Prague on 3 October 1995.
The Treaty entered into force on 1 January 1996 pursuant to Article XIX (2) thereof.
The Czech version of the Treaty is hereby published at the same time.
TREATY
between the Czech Republic and the Republic of Austria concerning the Appendix to the European Convention on Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters of 20 April 1959 and facilitating its application
(To Article 1 of the Convention)
(1) Legal aid shall also be granted for proceedings conducted for the purpose of committing an offence which, at the time of the request of legal aid, falls within the jurisdiction of a court or tribunal in one Contracting State and the jurisdiction of an administrative authority in the other Contracting State.
(2) Where legal assistance is provided for the service of documents, prosecution in the requested State shall not be required under the jurisdiction of the judicial or administrative authority.
(3) Legal aid requested under paragraph 1 may be refused if the act had no or only minor consequences and the costs of providing legal aid would not be justified.
(To Article 1 of the Convention)
The Convention and this Treaty shall also apply:
(a) matters relating to the recovery of proceedings;
(b) in matters of grace,
(c) in proceedings relating to claims for compensation for wrongful detention, of others, as a result of criminal proceedings brought, of disadvantages or of wrongful convictions, unless other international conventions apply.
(To Article 2 of the Convention)
(1) Legal aid shall be provided within the framework of the Also in the case of offences of a tax, customs, monopoly and foreign exchange character or relating to levies and levies, and in the case of offences involving infringements of the rules on the treatment of goods or of external trade. The granting of legal aid shall not be refused solely on the grounds that the law of the requested State does not contain the same tax, customs, monopoly and foreign exchange rules or provisions applicable to levies and levies, as well as economic and foreign trade rules as the law of the requesting State.
(2) The obligation of secrecy which exists under the provisions of the Contracting States in fiscal matters does not prevent the legal assistance to be granted under this Article. The circumstances or circumstances with which the judicial or administrative authorities of a Contracting State are to acquaint themselves with in connection with a request for legal aid shall be subject to the obligation of secrecy laid down in the provisions of that Contracting State in fiscal matters.
(To Article 3 of the Convention)
(1) Articles or other assets which come from an act for which there is a threat of a court penalty or have been obtained by means of a criminal offence shall be transmitted for the purpose of giving the injured or other judgment of the court in the requesting State, provided that this is permissible under the law of the requesting State and that there is no situation that:
(a) articles are needed in the requested State as evidence in proceedings brought before a court or administrative authority;
(b) articles are subject to seizure or forfeiture in the requested State; or
(c) they are subject to the law of a third party.
(2) The request referred to in paragraph 1 shall not require the court to order the security.
(3) The requested State shall not apply the customs lien or other substantive liability under the rules of customs and tax law in respect of the provision of articles, and the return of such articles shall be waived subject to the condition that the criminal offence damaged by the owner of the articles would itself owe the benefit.
(To Article 4 of the Convention)
(1) Representatives of the law enforcement authorities, other interested parties and their legal advisors shall be authorised, at the request of the requesting State, to be present in the conduct of legal aid operations in the requested State. They may propose supplementary questions or carry out additional tasks. Article 12 of the Convention applies here.
(2) In accordance with paragraph 1 of this Article, after the indictment has been lodged in the requesting State, the Minister of Justice, otherwise the Supreme Prosecutor, must give his consent to the duties of representatives of the authorities of the second Contracting State, and the Federal Minister of Justice in the Republic of Austria.
(To Article 5 of the Convention)
Legal assistance in the form of provision of objects or inspection shall be granted only where the prosecution of a criminal offence leading to an application for legal aid in the requested State would be in the jurisdiction of the judicial authority.
(To Article 6 of the Convention)
The requested State may waive the return of evidence or documents unless third parties exercising their right to such matters declare that they do not agree.
(To Article 10 of the Convention)
Article 10 (2) of the Convention shall in any event apply when a witness or expert is summoned. Such persons may themselves require an advance payment under Article 10 (3) of the Convention.
(Articles 11 and 12 of the Convention)
(1) If the requested State permits a person who is in custody in the sovereign territory of the requesting State to be present for the processing of a request for legal aid, it must, during his stay in its sovereign territory, hold him in custody and, after consulting the acts relating to the granting of legal assistance, forward him to the requesting State without delay, unless he requests release.
(2) Where a third State authorises a person in custody in the sovereign territory of a Contracting State to be present for the processing of a request for legal aid, paragraphs 2 and 3 of Article 11 of the Convention shall also apply to the transit of that person through the sovereign territory of the other Contracting State.
(3) The provisions of Article 12 of the Convention shall apply in the cases referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2.
(To Article 13 of the Convention)
(1) The requested State shall transmit information from the criminal record requested by the police authorities of the other Contracting State for the purposes of criminal proceedings to the extent that it could be obtained by its own police authorities in similar cases.
(2) For reasons other than for the purposes of criminal proceedings, information from the criminal record of the second Contracting State shall be provided at the request of the authorities of the second Contracting State to the extent that it could be obtained by its own authorities in similar cases.
(To Article 14 of the Convention)
(1) Requests for service shall also specify the type of document to be served and the position of the beneficiary in the proceedings in the context of the information on the subject matter and the reason for the request.
(2) A copy or a certified copy of the order of the court shall be attached to the application for inspection or for the provision of evidence or documents. If the request for possession of articles or for inspection cannot be accompanied by an original or a certified copy of the judicial order, it is sufficient for the competent judicial authority to declare that the conditions required for this measure are laid down by the rules in force in the requesting State.
(To Article 15 of the Convention)
(1) Unless otherwise provided for in this Treaty, the judicial authorities of both Contracting States may meet directly in matters of legal assistance in criminal matters. Applications under the Convention and this Treaty may be transmitted via the Minister of Justice of the Czech Republic, if an indictment has already been lodged in the requesting State, otherwise via the Supreme Prosecutor of the Czech Republic on the one hand and the Federal Minister of Justice of the Republic of Austria on the other.
(2) Requests for inspection or detention, transfer of objects, transfer or transit of prisoners shall be made via the Attorney General or the Minister of Justice of the Czech Republic and the Federal Minister of Justice of the Republic of Austria. In urgent cases, immediate contact between the judicial authorities is permitted, but a copy of the application must also be transmitted by the route foreseen in sentence 1.
(3) The documents sent may also be served immediately by post in accordance with the rules applicable to postal services. Documents sent by post which are not admissible under the Convention and this Treaty shall be deemed not to be received in both Contracting States.
(4) The requests referred to in Article X of this Treaty shall be forwarded by the Czech State's Supreme Representative, on the one hand, and by the Federal Minister for the Interior of the Republic of Austria, on the other hand, and shall be answered the same way. If there is a danger of delay, immediate contact between the police authorities and the competent authorities in the criminal record shall be permitted.
(To Article 16 of the Convention)
(1) Translations of applications submitted under this Treaty or the supporting documents attached shall not be attached unless otherwise provided for in this Treaty.
(2) The documents to be served should be accompanied by a translation into the language of the requested State drawn up and certified by an official interpreter established in one of the Contracting States. Verification of the signature of the interpreter is not necessary.
(3) If the document to be served is not accompanied by a translation into the language of the requested State, the requested court shall limit itself to arranging for service by transmission of the document to the addressee indicated in the request if he is willing to accept it.
(4) The documents sent pursuant to Article XII (3) of this Treaty by direct mail must always be accompanied by a translation into the language of the requested State. If the document served is not accompanied by a translation into the language of the requested State, the service in the two Contracting States shall be payable for the non-effected. When delivering documents by post to their own nationals, the translation need not be accompanied.
(To Article 20 of the Convention)
The costs arising from the transfer of articles and other assets referred to in Article IV and the transfer and transit of prisoners pursuant to Article IX shall be borne by the requesting State.
(To Article 21 of the Convention)
(1) On the basis of a transmitted criminal notification pursuant to Article 21 of the Convention, the competent authorities of the second Contracting State shall, under the law of that State, initiate criminal proceedings in the same way as in the case of a criminal offence committed in their territory. The requested State shall carry out proceedings against foreign property which, under the law of the requesting State, are criminal even if, under its law, the competent administrative authorities are in charge of the proceedings.
(2) The competent authorities of the State of the crime scene shall examine, on a case-by-case basis, whether the filing of a criminal notification pursuant to Article 21 of the Convention is desirable in order to establish the truth, for other reasons relevant to criminal proceedings, for reasons relating to the imposition of a sentence or the execution of a sentence or to the interest of the resocialisation of the accused.
(3) In order to assess the criminal offences committed in transport, the traffic rules in force at the scene of the crime are based in the requested State.
(4) The proposal necessary for the opening of criminal proceedings or similar authorisation given in the requesting State shall be effective in the requested State. If an application or authorisation is required only under the law of the requested State, it may be supplied in addition within a reasonable period to be specified by the requested State.
(5) The application shall contain a short description of the facts and, as far as possible, details of the defendant, his nationality and his place of residence. The application shall be accompanied by:
(a) the original or a certified copy of the (copy) of the files, as well as the factual evidence which is applicable;
(b) a copy of the provisions on the facts and penalties applicable to the act in force at the crime scene and, in addition, the traffic rules applicable to their assessment,
(c) the statement of the injured party required to initiate criminal proceedings.
(6) Evidence items and original documents shall be returned to the requesting State as soon as possible unless the requesting State withdraws. The existing rights of the requested State or third parties to the transferred articles shall remain unaffected.
(To Article 21 of the Convention)
The judicial authorities of the requesting State shall definitively waive any further measures relating to the prosecution or enforcement of the sentence for an offence for which a request has been made to take charge of the prosecution of the accused person:
(a) where the sentence given in the requested State has been enforced, remitted or suspended;
(b) if the execution of the sentence has been suspended in whole or in part or the decision on punishment has been suspended;
(c) where, for reasons of proof, the accused person has been definitively acquitted or brought to an end.
(To Article 24 of the Convention)
In the spirit of this Treaty, the following shall be considered as judicial authorities:
(a) for the Czech Republic: courts, prosecutors and the Ministry of Justice,
(b) for the Republic of Austria: courts, prosecutors and the Federal Ministry of Justice.
(To Article 29 of the Convention)
If one of the Contracting States declares the Convention, the denunciation of the Convention shall take effect two years after the notification of denunciation to the Secretary-General of the Council of Europe has been received in relation to the Czech Republic and the Republic of Austria.
(1) This Treaty is subject to ratification. The instruments of ratification will be exchanged in Prague.
(2) The Treaty will enter into force on the first day of the third month following the month in which the instruments of ratification were exchanged.
(3) The Treaty remains in force for an indefinite period, unless one of the Contracting States denies the Treaty in writing by diplomatic means; in this case, the contract shall cease to be in force one year after the termination but no later than the date on which the European Convention on Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters between the Contracting States of this Treaty expires. To prove it, the agents of both Contracting States signed this contract and sealed it.
Done at Vienna, 27 June 1994, in two original copies, each in the Czech and German languages, the two texts being equally authentic.
For the Czech Republic:
JUDr. Jiří Novák v. r.
Minister for Justice
For the Republic of Austria
Dr Nikolaus Michalek v. r.
Federal Minister for Justice
1) European Convention on Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters of 20 April 1959, published under No 550 / 1992 Coll.
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Regulation Information
| Citation | Communication from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs No 3 / 1996 Coll., on the Agreement between the Czech Republic and the Republic of Austria on the Addendum to the European Convention on Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters of 20 April 1959 and to facilitate its application |
|---|---|
| Regulation Type | - |
| Author | - |
| Collection | Code of Laws |
| Date of Promulgation | 05.01.1996 |
|---|---|
| Effective from | 01.01.1996 |
| Effective until | - |
| Status | Valid |
The regulation text is for informational purposes only.
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