Contesting mutual legal assistance evidence: practitioner checklist on letters of request, disclosure, judicial review, admissibility, exclusion and abuse of process

Published by a LexisNexis Corporate Crime expert

Checklists

This Checklist should be read alongside Practice Notes: Mutual legal assistance (MLA) and Grounds for refusing assistance by the requested authority...

The Letter of Request (LOR)

Requests from the UK for mutual legal assistance (MLA) are made through a formal letter of request (LOR). Under the Crime (International Co-operation) Act 2003 (C(IC)A 2003), the UK judicial authorities that may seek assistance are any judge or justice of the peace in England and Wales. A prosecution authority designated by an order of the Secretary of State may likewise request assistance where the conditions in C(IC)A 2003, s 7(5) are fulfilled:

it appears to the authority that an offence has been committed
there are reasonable grounds for suspecting that an offence has been committed, and
the authority has instituted proceedings in respect of the offence in question or the offence is being investigated

Issuing authority

When considering the LOR itself, ask:

Was the LOR issued by a judge or by a prosecuting authority?
Was the LOR lawfully issued?

LOR issued by a judge

Has the application and supporting evidence been disclosed (see further below)?

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Nicholas Chapman

Temple Garden Chambers

Nicholas Chapman's background is in business crime though he now principally acts in civil cases, often involving some criminal dimension. In recent years he has acted in many of the biggest, most complex and most high-profile civil tax fraud cases, frequently as leading junior. He also acts in matters involving substantial questions of pure tax and Community law. He continues occasionally to act in criminal cases involving the most serious allegations of commercial fraud and corruption. He also specialises in civil and quasi-criminal asset recovery and injunctive relief proceedings, principally in the commercial courts. He has particular expertise in cross-border cases; many of his cases have an international dimension and he frequently works with foreign lawyers and as part of multi-disciplinary teams. Nicholas also advises corporations and regulators in very substantial regulatory and compliance matters. His practice also has a...

Web page updated on 20/05/2026

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