Skip navigation

About Mutual Legal Assistance

His Majesty's Attorney General is the Central Authority for Jersey in matters related to Mutual Legal Assistance (“MLA”) and all matters are handled by the Mutual Legal Assistance team.

Type of assistance

We provide the following types of assistance to foreign governments and authorities in relation to both criminal proceedings and non-conviction based asset recovery proceedings:

  • obtaining evidence, including documentary evidence and witness statements;

  • restraining assets to prevent dissipation during an investigation or ahead of the conclusion of proceedings;

  • registration of final orders to recover assets;

  • asset sharing requests following conclusion of proceedings;

  • service of process (criminal); and

  • extradition.

Basis for Assistance

MLA is provided on the basis of comity and reciprocity, as well as under the treaties that have been ratified on Jersey’s behalf by the United Kingdom.

These include:

  • the European Convention on Extradition 1957;
  • the United Nations Convention against the Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances 1971;
  • the European Convention on the Suppression of Terrorism 1977;
  • the Council of Europe Convention on Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters 1959 and the Additional Protocol signed on 17 March 1978;
  • the Council of Europe Convention on laundering, search, seizure and Confiscation of the Proceeds of Crime 1990;
  • the OECD Convention on Combating Bribery of OECD Legal Instruments Foreign Public Officials in International Business Transactions 1997;
  • the United Nations International Convention for the Suppression of the Financing of Terrorism 1999;
  • the Council of Europe Criminal Law Convention on Corruption 2002;
  • the United Nations Convention against Corruption 2003; and
  • the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organised Crime 2004.

Help and Guidance

The MLA team in the Law Officers’ Department deals with MLA requests on behalf of the Attorney General.  Written Guidance is available on this website, however, the MLA team welcomes informal approaches in advance of formal requests being made to provide any additional guidance that may be required.  Please contact the MLA team at mla@lawofficers.je.