Mutual legal assistance treaty, explained
An MLAT is an agreement used by participating countries to request specified assistance in legal investigations or proceedings.
- The field
- Legal
- Reading time
- 1 minute
- In this entry
- Meaning · relevance · limits
The meaning
An MLAT is an agreement used by participating countries to request specified assistance in legal investigations or proceedings.
Why it matters
It matters when data or evidence is sought across borders. The scope and procedure depend on the particular treaty.
The boundary
The absence of one bilateral treaty does not establish that no other legal cooperation route exists.
Understand the request channel
Investigators in one country seek evidence held in another. A treaty-based request may pass through the countries’ designated authorities and be assessed under the receiving country’s procedures. That route differs from a direct support enquiry, a civil evidence request or a domestic subpoena served on an entity already within the issuing authority’s reach.
- Record who issued the request, what information is sought and the legal mechanism asserted.
- A treaty’s existence does not establish that every requested disclosure must occur.