B. MLA General Procedures B.1. Central Authority Competent to Receive, Process, and Implement MLA Requests in Criminal Matters • The central authority to receive and process all requests related to MLA is the Ministry of Justice (MOJ). Only requests based on the RHG have to be sent through diplomatic channels. Requests based on MLA treaties may be sent directly to the ministry. • Requests are forwarded by the MOJ to a judge at the Court of Justice who rules whether the assistance will be granted. All MLA requests are also copied to the Office of the Public Prosecutor (OPP) for commenting. The OPP may instigate a domestic investigation based on the facts described in the request. In the MLA proceeding, the OPP is a party and may challenge decisions of the judge. The court examines the request to determine whether the basic legal conditions are met, whether grounds for refusal exist, and whether the request contains sufficient information to be executed. • Once the court deems the request admissible, it is executed. When the legal assistance proceedings are concluded, the materials to be surrendered are transferred to the MOJ, who forwards them to the requesting foreign authority directly or through diplomatic channels. B.2. Language Requirements • Requests have to be made in German or be accompanied by a German translation. Requests based on the Palermo and Merida Conventions may also be sent in English. C. Asset Recovery Specific C.1. Stage of Proceedings at Which Assistance may be Requested •
All measures as outlined below are available once a criminal investigation or prosecution has been instituted by the competent authority, which may be an investigating judge; a public prosecutor; or the police, if under the laws of the requesting state the policy are competent to undertake such investigations and the investigation will lead into a judicial investigation. It is not required that proceedings already be pending before a court.
Tracing C.2. Available Tracing Mechanisms Liechtenstein may take any measures on behalf of a foreign country that would be available in the context of domestic cases (RHG Article 9 ), namely: •
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Strafprozesseordnung (StPO) (Criminal Procedure Code) Articles 105–124 provide for the questioning of witnesses in court. I
Barriers to Asset Recovery
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