Saint Lucia Central Authority – International Legal Cooperation
The Attorney General is the Central Authority for Saint Lucia for the purposes of international legal cooperation, which ordinarily relates to mutual legal assistance in criminal matters, international civil recovery and extraditions.
Mutual legal assistance (MLA) is a tool of international cooperation whereby countries seek to assist each other in the investigation and prosecution of criminal offences and the recovery of the proceeds of crime, which possess a trans-national dimension.
Saint Lucia’s MLA obligations are principally derived from the Harare scheme, the substance of which is encapsulated in the Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters Act, Cap. 3.03 of the Revised Laws of Saint Lucia. This Act allows Saint Lucia to provide a broad range of assistance to all requesting foreign countries. Other related legislation include: the Extradition Act, Money Laundering Act and Proceeds of Crime Act.
By virtue of the Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal and Related Matters (Central Authority) Order Number 59 of 2008, the Central Authority of Saint Lucia is the office of the Attorney General, with the Solicitor General being given general oversight of the international cooperation unit.
Interested persons may consult our Fiche [insert pdf link] for further information concerning the type of assistance we can provide. Please however be advised that the said Fiche is provided for information purposes only. It does not purport to provide or express any legal opinion and should be read accordingly.
Our contact information is as follows:
Attorney General’s Chambers
2nd Flr, Francis Compton Bldg
Waterfront, Castries
Saint Lucia
We can be contacted as follows:
Email: attorneygeneral@agchambers.govt.lc
Phone: 758 – 468 – 3202
Extraditions
Saint Lucia also provides assistance in extraditing fugitives back to foreign states. However, if the foreign state is not listed in the Schedule of the Extradition Act, a statutory instrument may be required to permit the extradition to that specific foreign state.
The process is as follows:
- The requesting state makes a request for the provisional arrest of the fugitive by providing the warrant of arrest from the requesting state which should identify the fugitive as well as the offence committed, along with the requesting state’s undertaking to submit the formal request for surrender within sixty (60) days.
- The requesting state must then submit the formal request for the fugitive’s surrender by providing a letter of request for his surrender with all the relevant supporting documents evidencing the commission of the offence. The request should contain direct evidence (usually in the form of affidavit evidence) supporting the criminal allegation.
- The Central Authority will then apply for surrender. The fugitive has fifteen (15) days to appeal, failing which, the fugitive will be surrendered to the requesting state. An application for the arrest and extradition can be done simultaneously, provided the requesting state has submitted all of the pertinent documents.
Relevant legislation can be found here.
Statutory Provisions
Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal and Related Matters Act – Cap.3.03
Proceeds of Crime Act – Cap.3.04