Canada's mutual legal assistance rules now cover supranational bodies like the European Public Prosecutor's Office

Plain-language summary · AI-assisted · not legal advice

The Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters Act has been expanded so that Canada can provide legal assistance not only to foreign states and international criminal courts or tribunals, but also to supranational bodies responsible for investigating or prosecuting criminal matters. The European Public Prosecutor's Office has been added to the designated schedule, making it eligible to receive assistance directly. The Minister of Foreign Affairs can now add or remove supranational bodies from the schedule by order (with the Minister of Justice's agreement), and can enter into administrative arrangements with such bodies even when no formal agreement or schedule listing exists. Organizations or individuals involved in cross-border criminal investigations that may touch EU-level prosecutorial bodies should be aware that Canada can now cooperate formally with those bodies under this framework.

Who this affects: businesses subject to cross-border criminal investigations · legal counsel advising on international criminal matters · federal government departments handling mutual legal assistance requests · organizations interacting with EU-level prosecutorial bodies