Mutual legal assistance treaty

A mutual legal assistance treaty (MLAT) is an agreement between two or more

countries for the purpose of gathering and exchanging information in an effort to
enforce public or criminal laws.
Modern states have developed mechanisms for requesting and obtaining evidence
for criminal investigations and prosecutions. When evidence or other forms of legal
assistance, such as witness statements or the service of documents, are needed from
a foreign sovereign, states may attempt to cooperate informally through their
respective police agencies or, alternatively, resort to what is typically referred to as
requests for mutual legal assistance." The practice of mutual legal assistance
developed from the comity-based system of letters rotatory, though it is now far
more common for states to make mutual legal assistance requests directly to the
designated central authority within each state. In contemporary practice, such
requests may still be made on the basis of reciprocity but may also be made pursuant
to bilateral and multilateral treaties that obligate countries to provide assistance.
This assistance may take the form of examining and identifying people, places and
things, custodial transfers, and providing assistance with the immobilization of the
instruments of criminal activity. With regards to the latter, MLATs between the
United States and Caribbean nations do not cover U.S. tax evasion, and are therefore
ineffective when applied to Caribbean countries, which usually act as offshore "tax
havens".
Assistance may be denied by either country (according to agreement details) for
political or security reasons, or if the criminal offence in question is not equally
punishable in both countries. Some treaties may encourage assistance with legal aid
for nationals in other countries.
Many countries are able to provide a broad range of mutual legal assistance to other
countries through their justice ministries even in the absence of a treaty, through
joint investigations between law enforcement in both nations, emergency disclosure
requests, letters rotatory, etc. In some developing countries, however, domestic laws
can actually create obstacles to effective law enforcement cooperation and mutual
legal assistance.
 MLAT signed by India with other foreign countries as per list provided by MHA

Sl. No. Name of Year

the Country

1 Australia 2011

2 Azerbaijan 2013

3 Baharin 2005

4 Bangladesh 2011

5 Belarus 2006

6 Bosnia&Her 2010
zegovina

7 Bulgaria 2008

8 Canada 1998

9 Ezypt 2009

10 France 2005

11 Hongkong 2009

12 Iran 2010

13 Indonesia 2011
14 Israel 2015

15 Kazakhstan 2000

16 Kyrgez 2014
Republic

17 Kuwait 2007

18 Malaysia 2012

19 Maritius 2006

20 Mexico 2009

21 Mangolia 2004

22 Myanmar 2010

23 Russia 2000

24 Singapore 2005

25 South 2005
Africa

26 South 2005
Korea

27 Spain 2007

28 Sri Lanka 2010

29 Switzerland 1989

30 Sultanate 2015
of Oman

31 Tajikistan 2003

32 Thailand 2004

33 Turkey 1993

34 Ukrain 2003

35 United Arab 2000

Emirates

36 United 1995
Kingdom

37 United 2005
States of
America
38 Uzbekistan 2001

39 Vietnam 2008