Law & jurisdiction
What is an MLAT and why does it matter for hosting?
A mutual legal assistance treaty is the formal channel through which one country asks another to gather evidence on its behalf. It matters because a foreign authority generally cannot order a Panamanian or Seychellois host directly — it must route the request through that country's own courts, which is slow and often unsuccessful.
MLAT requests routinely take six to eighteen months. Most treaties require dual criminality — the conduct must be an offence in both countries — and many exclude civil matters entirely, which is why offshore jurisdiction is particularly effective against speculative civil discovery.
Not every pair of countries has a treaty. Where none exists, the requesting state must use letters rogatory, a diplomatic channel that is slower still and entirely discretionary for the receiving court.
See also: MLAT
7 answers in Law & jurisdiction
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