Statutory Instruments
Criminal Law, England And Wales
Criminal Law, Northern Ireland
Made
3rd February 2011
Coming into force in accordance with Article 1
A draft of this Order has been approved by each House of Parliament in accordance with section 50(5)(a) of the Crime (International Co-operation) Act 2003(1).
The Secretary of State, in exercise of the powers conferred by section 51(2)(b) of the Crime (International Co-operation) Act 2003 (‘the 2003 Act’), makes the following Order:
1. This Order may be cited as the Crime (International Co-operation) Act 2003 (Designation of Participating Countries) (England, Wales and Northern Ireland) (No. 2) Order 2011 and shall come into force on the day after the day on which it is made.
2. This Order extends to England and Wales and Northern Ireland.
3. Japan is designated as a participating country under section 51(2)(b) of the 2003 Act for the purposes of sections 32, 35, 43, 44 and 45 of the 2003 Act.
Baroness Neville-Jones
Minister of State
Home Office
3rd February 2011
(This note is not part of the Order)
Part 1 of the Crime (International Co-operation) Act 2003 (‘the 2003 Act’) provides statutory powers pursuant to which the United Kingdom can both seek and provide various forms of mutual legal assistance concerning criminal matters. Some of those statutory powers can, however, only be exercised where the country in question is a ‘participating country’ as defined in section 51(2) of the 2003 Act. Where a country is a Member State of the European Union on the date on which a provision is commenced, that country will, by virtue of section 51(2)(a), fall to be regarded as a participating country for the purpose of the commenced provision. Where, however, a country is not a Member State on the date on which a provision is commenced, that country must be designated as a participating country in an order made under section 51(2)(b) in order to be regarded as a participating country for the purpose of the commenced provision.
Those powers which can only be exercised in relation to a participating country include the power for the Secretary of State to direct that an application seeking information about banking transactions in England and Wales and Northern Ireland for use abroad be made (sections 32 and 35) and the power for requests to be made to other countries for information about banking transactions for use in the UK (sections 43 to 45).
Article 3 of this Order designates Japan as a participating country for the purposes of sections 32, 35, 43, 44 and 45 of the 2003 Act. It is necessary to designate Japan as a participating country for the purpose of these provisions so that the UK may comply with, and benefit fully from, the provisions of an Agreement between the European Union and Japan on mutual legal assistance in criminal matters.