Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters (Money-Laundering Convention) Amendment Regulations 1999 (No. 2) 1999 No. 204
EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
STATUTORY RULES 1999 No. 204
Issued by the Authority of the Minister for Justice and Customs
Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters Act 1987
Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters (Money-Laundering Convention) Amendment Regulations 1999 (No. 2)
Section 44 of the Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters Act 1987 ("the Act") provides that the Governor-General may make regulations prescribing matters required or permitted by the Act to be prescribed or necessary or convenient to be prescribed for carrying out or giving effect to the Act. Paragraph 7(2)(b) of the Act provides that regulations may provide that the Act applies to a foreign country subject to any multilateral mutual assistance treaty (being a treaty to which that country is a party) that is referred to in the regulations.
The Act enables Australia to grant or request the following kinds of international mutual assistance in criminal matters: taking of evidence, search and seizure, arrangements for witnesses to give evidence or assist in investigations, and the restraint, forfeiture and confiscation of proceeds of crime.
The Regulations insert the name of Greece in Schedule 3 to the Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters (Money-Laundering Convention) Regulations 1997 (Statutory Rules 1997 No. 248, as amended) ("the existing Regulations").
The existing Regulations give effect in Australian domestic law to the Convention on Laundering, Search, Seizure and Confiscation of the Proceeds from Crime, done at Strasbourg on 8 November 1990 ("the Convention"), in so far as it relates to mutual assistance in criminal matters. To achieve broad international co-operation in search, seizure and confiscation the Convention requires Parties to give effect to other Parties' confiscation orders and to assist in identifying and tracing property and freezing or seizing property to prevent its disposal. For this purpose the existing Regulations provide that, where a country is a Party to the Convention, the Act applies to that country subject to the Convention. Greece will become a Party on 1 October 1999.
Schedule 3 to the existing Regulations specifies the Parties to the Convention for the purposes of subsection 43A(1) of the Act, as provided by regulation 5. Subsection 43A(1) provides that, in a proceeding arising from a request by a foreign country for international assistance in a criminal matter, a document is admissible in evidence if the Attorney-General provides a certificate stating that the document was provided by a specified Party to the Convention in connection with a request for assistance of the type covered by the Convention. This gives effect to Australia's obligation under Article 26 of the Convention to exempt documents transmitted in application of the mutual assistance provisions of the Convention from legalisation formalities. Subsection 43A(2) provides that the regulations may specify the Parties to the Convention for the purposes of subsection 43A(1).
Details of the Regulations are as follows:
Regulation 1 names the Regulations.
Regulation 2 provides that the Regulations commence on 1 October 1999.
Regulation 3 provides that Schedule 1 amends the Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters (Money-Laundering Convention) Regulations 1997 ("the existing Regulations").
Schedule 1 amends Schedule 3 to the existing Regulations by inserting the name of Greece in the list of Parties.
Overview
The Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters (Money-Laundering Convention) Amendment Regulations 1999 (No. 2) were enacted to address the need to facilitate international cooperation in combating money laundering by including Greece as a party to the Convention on Laundering, Search, Seizure and Confiscation of the Proceeds from Crime. This legislative measure was issued under the authority of the Minister for Justice and Customs in accordance with section 44 of the Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters Act 1987. By inserting Greece into Schedule 3 of the existing regulations, these amendments ensure that Australia can provide and receive mutual legal assistance in criminal matters from Greece, thereby fulfilling its obligations under the Convention and enhancing the effectiveness of international cooperation in tracing, freezing, and confiscating the proceeds of crime.
Scope and Application
The Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters (Money-Laundering Convention) Amendment Regulations 1999 (No. 2) pertain to the Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters Act 1987 and are designed to facilitate Australia's engagement in international mutual assistance concerning criminal matters, particularly in relation to money laundering. The Regulations amend the existing Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters (Money-Laundering Convention) Regulations 1997 by adding Greece to the list of countries that are Parties to the Convention on Laundering, Search, Seizure and Confiscation of the Proceeds from Crime. This amendment ensures that Australia can extend its obligations under the Convention to Greece, thereby enabling cooperation in matters such as the identification, tracing, freezing, and seizing of proceeds of crime. The Regulations will come into effect on 1 October 1999, the same date that Greece becomes a Party to the Convention. The inclusion of Greece in the Regulations ensures that documents provided by Greek authorities in the context of mutual assistance requests are admissible in Australian courts, pursuant to the Convention's provisions on the admissibility of evidence and the exemption from legalisation formalities.
Key Provisions
The Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters (Money-Laundering Convention) Amendment Regulations 1999 (No. 2) (Regulations) make amendments to the Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters (Money-Laundering Convention) Regulations 1997 (existing Regulations) to facilitate international cooperation in criminal matters with Greece. Specifically, Section 44 of the Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters Act 1987 allows the Governor-General to make regulations that are necessary or convenient for carrying out or giving effect to the Act, and these Regulations insert Greece into Schedule 3 of the existing Regulations, making it a Party to the Convention on Laundering, Search, Seizure and Confiscation of the Proceeds from Crime (the Convention).
The Regulations impose obligations on parties and entities by facilitating the admissibility of documents in evidence for proceedings arising from requests by foreign countries for international assistance in criminal matters. Specifically, Subsection 43A(1) of the Act provides that a document is admissible if the Attorney-General provides a certificate stating that the document was provided by a Party to the Convention in connection with a request for assistance. The Regulations specify the Parties to the Convention for the purposes of Subsection 43A(1), and by inserting Greece into Schedule 3, the Regulations enable the admissibility of documents provided by Greece in connection with requests for assistance.
There are no specific offences, penalties, or civil or criminal consequences outlined in the Regulations. However, failure to comply with the Regulations or the Act may result in legal consequences, such as the exclusion of evidence in proceedings or the inability to grant or request international mutual assistance in criminal matters. The maximum penalties for breaches of the Act are not specified in the Explanatory Statement.