This item was published during the term of a previous administration that ended in April 2007
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International Society for Reform of Criminal Law
28/06/2005
International co-operation between criminal justice systems will be the subject of debate at today's sessions of The International Society for the Reform of Criminal Law conference in Edinburgh.
Judges, lawyers and academics from 40 countries around the world will examine the relationships between prosecution and police authorities and other criminal justice partners, looking at both the way these relationships work within a country, and on a global scale.
Scotland has always had a very important role to play in working with other countries to help tackle crimes abroad, and some of these experiences will be shared at today's debates.
Staff in the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service's international co-operation unit are in regular contact with criminal justice partners around the world. It's not just the headline-grabbing extradition cases that they deal with, they also form the contact between Scottish victims and witnesses to foreign crimes and the appropriate authority abroad.
Norman McFadyen, Scotland's Crown Agent, is chairing a session on international co-operation.
Mr McFadyen said:
"In today's world, when crime is international, our response to it must be international as well. In Crown Office we have an International Co-operation Unit, which is skilled and experienced in seeking and providing assistance in cases with an international dimension.
"Co-operation can be at an investigation stage, when prosecutors in Scotland are seeking evidence from another country, or it can involve witnesses from foreign countries travelling to Scotland to give evidence. It obviously works both ways, and Scottish authorities are always anxious to help their foreign counterparts in appropriate cases.
"International co-operation also includes the extradition process, where individuals wanted in another country can be arrested and surrendered subject to suitable safeguards."
ISRCL is a non-governmental association of judges, legislators, lawyers, academics and governmental officials who come together to work actively on the administration of criminal justice, both in their own jurisdictions and internationally.
The 2005 ISRCL conference opened in Edinburgh on Sunday and runs until Thursday.