Abstract/Summary

The Mutual Legal Assistance Initiative (MLAI) was established to fill the widely acknowledged gap that currently exists within the international legal framework on inter-state cooperation in the prosecution of international crimes. Recent drafts of the MLA Convention are concerned not only with mutual legal assistance and extradition, but a series of wider obligations for states on criminalisation in domestic law, exercise of jurisdiction and protection and reparations regimes for victims. It has become much more than a judicial cooperation treaty. This article analyses the developments and directional changes in the MLAI, questioning whether the current draft Convention aligns with the Initiative’s original objectives and enables it to fulfil its aims.