Legal Assistance

Objective:

To reinforce the drug control institutional and legislative framework in accordance with internationally adopted standards.

Implemented activities:

1. Assessment of the current legal and institutional framework;
2. Elaboration of legislative and institutional frameworks in accordance with EU standards;
3. Support of adoption of new drug control legislation;
4. Provision of equipment for judges and prosecutors;
5. Training for judges and prosecutors.

Progress:

Belarus

• For the first time, the recommendations developed by the Legal Task Force to the Council of Ministers provided a systematic and comprehensive view of the barriers of the national legislation and organizational infrastructure of Belarus against the background of the national standards. The recommendations not only engaged governmental structures to address these problems, but also served as foundation for further improvement of the Belarusian legislation on illegal trafficking of drugs, psychotropic substances and their precursors;
• The recommendations of the Legal Task Force pertaining the turnover of precursors were adopted by the Ministry of Health;
• Based on the recommendations of the Legal Task Force the Ministry of the Interior initiated amendments to the national drug law. Among them are: 
     - differentiation of punishment depending on the type of drug;
     - harshening of the punishment for selling drugs in educational institutions, public places and military units;
     - introduction of criminal responsibility for circulation of precursors without a prove of purpose to produce legal drugs;
     - introduction of criminal responsibility for cultivation of psychotropic mushrooms with the purpose to sell.
  The amendments initiated by the Ministry of the Interior went through the first reading in the Parliament in April 2007 and got the approval of the mps. The second reading will take place by the end of 2007.
• The technical capacity of judges and prosecutors improved through provision of equipment;
• The knowledge and professional skills of judges, prosecutors and relevant law enforcement officers on extradition and mutual legal assistance in the area of freezing and confiscation of criminally gained proceeds improved through the national workshop on Implementing the Norms of International Law on Extradition and Mutual Legal Assistance into National Law and Practice (Minsk 2005; a regional workshop on Improving International Legal Cooperation in the Area of Extradition and Freezing of Illegal Proceeds (Kiev 2006).
• 30 judges, prosecutors and law enforcement officers (10 from each country) trained on practical and legal aspects of domestic and international undercover operations, controlled deliveries, intelligence gathering, analysis and exchange (Minsk 2006).

Ukraine

• The awareness of national authorities on the need to adopt legislation and institutional framework in line with EU standards was Increased through activities of the Legal Task Force;
• Legal provisions to the Criminal, Administrative Codes and Law "On circulation of drugs, psychotropic substances and precursors in Ukraine" went through first readings in the Parliament.
• Modifications to the Law “On intelligence gathering activity” (on authorization of investigative competence to the State Customs Service) went through first reading in the Parliament.
• International legal cooperation of judges and prosecutors strengthened through provision of equipment and national and regional seminars facilitated by UNODC.
• Equipment delivered to the General Prosecutor’s office and the Supreme Court of Ukraine.
• The Law "On circulation of drugs, psychotropic substances and precursors in Ukraine“, adopted in December 2006, comprised 7 of 13 proposed by BUMAD legal provisions;

Moldova

• Amendments to Criminal Code, Code of Administrative Offences and Code of Criminal Procedure, which introduce new drug related crimes and administrative offences, as well as new procedures concerning drugs as evidences, passed by the Parliament in November 2005;
• The legal framework on circulation of drugs improved during 2006 through approval of a number of Governmental decisions dealing with different aspects (transit, depositing, cultivation);
• The list of narcotic drugs, psychotropic substances and plants containing such kind of substances tracked down in illicit traffic, as well as their quantities, approved by Government Decision in January 2006;
• The rules and procedures on international mutual assistance in criminal matters, including in drug related cases, set up through Law on international mutual assistance in criminal matters, passed in December 2006;
• International legal cooperation of law enforcement bodies strengthened through national seminar facilitated by UNODC;
• As result of national seminar „Implementation in the law and national practice of international law rules pertaining to extradition and mutual legal assistance” (1-3 September 2005), the proposal to amend art. 46, paragraph (3) of the Constitution has been submitted to the Ministry of Justice. According to the procedure of Constitution revision, the draft law had to be presented for consideration of the Parliament only with a positive conclusion of the Constitutional Court. The constitutional draft law on amendment of art. 46, paragraph (3) has been submitted to the Parliament on 12 May 2006. However, the Parliament decided to postpone its consideration for some time due to different reactions of the civil society.

Activities planned for 2007:

The activities will focus on improving the legal and institutional framework of the target countries. This will include conferences and seminars on issues related to combating drug trafficking, enhancing cooperation between law enforcement agencies of different countries, and the stimulation of improving national legislation aimed at combating drug trafficking.

As a result of the actions conducted the following immediate objectives will be achieved:

• judges/ prosecutors/law enforcement officers will be trained on specific procedures of counteracting illegal drug threat;
• examples of EU legislation and practices will be presented to the pool of national professionals working in the field, thus stimulating respective changes in the national legislation;
• judges/ prosecutors will be trained on international cooperation;
• inter-agency contacts among law enforcement officers/drug liaison officers/judges/prosecutors of the region and EU Member States will be increased.

It is necessary for policy makers as well as law enforcement agencies – both in the EU and at national level – to improve and share their knowledge. This will be done through an exchange of best practices, mainstreaming and strategic and operative analyses of the drug crime phenomena. The detection of new drug crime developments in above-mentioned areas will have consequences for policy decision-making, and consequently EU law enforcement prioritisation in this field.