Foreign Minister (s) Riveros subscribed the Act of Transfer of Central Authority in Conventions on Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Public Prosecutor's Office
The Minister (s) of Foreign Affairs, Edgardo Riveros and the National Prosecutor of the Public Prosecutor's Office of Chile, Jorge Abbott, today signed a document to transfer the functions of the "Central Authority" currently exercised by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for the purpose of sending, receiving and responding to requests for mutual assistance in criminal matters. The functions inherent in the "Central Authority" are exercised under various multilateral Conventions on international legal cooperation in criminal matters and on cooperation in relation to specific offences with transnational elements.
The designation of the Public Ministry, through the International Cooperation and Extradition Unit of the National Prosecutor's Office, as the Central Authority for this purpose, will operate from the 1st of February of this year.
With this decision, according to the Minister (s) of Foreign Affairs, "we seek to make international legal cooperation more efficient, since this is a tool that the international community possesses to respond to the needs arising from globalization and legal problems or conflicts, particularly with regard to the criminal sphere".
"The transfer of the Central Authority for mutual criminal assistance to the Public Ministry seeks precisely to make it more effective, enhancing the role of this figure, from a more practical point of view, now designating those who effectively execute most of the requests in this matter", added the authority of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Finally, Chancellor (s) Riveros pointed out that "international legal cooperation is the cornerstone in the fight against international crime and is absolutely essential for effective access to justice for many people around the world".