Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters Act (R.S.C., 1985, c. 30 (4th Supp.))

Marginal note:Other laws about witnesses to apply

22.3 For greater certainty, when a witness gives evidence or a statement pursuant to an order made under section 22.2, the evidence or statement shall be given as though the witness were physically before the court or tribunal outside Canada, for the purposes of the laws relating to evidence and procedure but only to the extent that giving the evidence would not disclose information otherwise protected by the Canadian law of non-disclosure of information or privilege.

Marginal note:Contempt of court in Canada

22.4 When a witness gives evidence under section 22.2, the Canadian law relating to contempt of court applies with respect to a refusal by the person to answer a question or to produce a record or thing as ordered by the judge under that section.

Arrest Warrant

Marginal note:Arrest warrant

• 23 (1) The judge who made the order under subsection 18(1) or section 22.2 or another judge of the same court may issue a warrant for the arrest of the person named in the order where the judge is satisfied, on an information in writing and under oath, that

  • (a) the person did not attend or remain in attendance as required by the order or is about to abscond;

  • (b) the order was personally served on the person; and

  • (c) in the case of an order made under subsection 18(1), the person is likely to give material evidence and, in the case of an order under section 22.2, the state or entity believes that the testimony of the person would be relevant to the prosecution of the offence.

• Marginal note:Warrant effective throughout Canada

  (2) A warrant issued under subsection (1) may be executed anywhere in Canada by any peace officer.

• Marginal note:Order

  (3) A peace officer who arrests a person in execution of a warrant issued under subsection (1) shall, without delay, bring the person or cause the person to be brought before the judge who issued the warrant or another judge of the same court who may, to ensure compliance with the order made under subsection 18(1) or section 22.2, order that the person be detained in custody or make a release order, as defined in section 2 of the Criminal Code, the form of which may be adapted to suit the circumstances.

• Marginal note:Copy of information

  (4) A person who is arrested in execution of a warrant issued under subsection (1) is entitled to receive, on request, a copy of the information on which the warrant was issued.

Examination of Place or Site

Marginal note:Approval of request for examination of place or site

• 23.1 (1) When the Minister approves a request of a state or entity to examine a place or site in Canada regarding an offence, including by means of the exhumation and examination of a grave, the Minister shall provide a competent authority with any documents or information necessary to apply for an order.

• Marginal note:Application for order

  (2) The competent authority that is provided with the documents or information shall apply ex parte for an order for the examination of a place or site to a judge of the province in which the place or site is located.

• Marginal note:Terms and conditions of order

  (3) An order may include any terms or conditions that the judge considers desirable, including those relating to the time and manner of its execution, and a requirement for notice.

Transfer of Detained Persons

Marginal note:Approval of transfer request

• 24 (1) When the Minister approves a request of a state or entity to have a detained person who is serving a term of imprisonment in Canada transferred to the state or entity, the Minister shall provide a competent authority with any documents or information necessary to apply for a transfer order.

• Marginal note:Application for transfer order

  (2) The competent authority who is provided with the documents or information shall apply for a transfer order to a judge of the province in which the person is detained.

• Marginal note:Contents of application

  (3) An application made under subsection (2) must

  • (a) state the name of the detained person;

  • (b) state the place of confinement of the detained person;

  • (c) designate a person or class of persons into whose custody the detained person is sought to be delivered;

  • (d) state the place to which the detained person is sought to be transferred;

  • (e) state the reasons why the detained person is sought to be transferred; and

  • (f) specify a period of time at or before the expiration of which the detained person is to be returned.

Marginal note:Making of transfer order

• 25 (1) If the judge to whom an application is made under subsection 24(2) is satisfied, having considered, among other things, any documents filed or information given in support of the application, that the detained person consents to the transfer and that the state or entity has requested the transfer for a fixed period, the judge may make a transfer order.

• Marginal note:Warrant to bring detained person

  (2) A judge to whom an application is made under subsection 24(2) may order that the detained person be brought before him so that that person may be examined with respect to the transfer.

• Marginal note:Terms of transfer order

  (3) A transfer order made under subsection (1) must

  • (a) set out the name of the detained person and his place of confinement;

  • (b) order the person who has custody of the detained person to deliver him into the custody of a person who is designated in the order or who is a member of a class of persons so designated;

  • (c) order the person receiving the detained person into custody under paragraph (b) to take him or her to the state or entity and, on the return of the detained person to Canada, to return that person to the place of confinement where he or she was when the order was made;

  • (d) state the reasons for the transfer; and

  • (e) fix the period of time at or before the expiration of which the detained person must be returned.

• Marginal note:Terms and conditions

  (4) A transfer order made under subsection (1) may include any terms or conditions that the judge making it considers desirable, including those relating to the protection of the interests of the detained person.

Marginal note:Absence deemed imprisonment

26 For the purposes of Parts I and II of the Corrections and Conditional Release Act and the Prisons and Reformatories Act, a detained person who is not in the place of confinement from which he was delivered pursuant to a transfer order shall be deemed to be in that place of confinement and to have applied himself industriously to the program of the place of confinement, as long as he remains in custody pursuant to the transfer order and is of good behaviour.

Marginal note:Variation of transfer order

27 A judge who made a transfer order or another judge of the same court may vary its terms and conditions.

Marginal note:Copy of order to jailer

28 A copy of a transfer order made under subsection 25(1) and of an order varying it made under section 27 shall be delivered, by the competent authority who applied for the order, to the Minister and to the person in whose custody the detained person was when the transfer order was made.

Marginal note:Exception for young persons

29 Sections 24 to 28 do not apply in respect of a person who, at the time the request mentioned in subsection 24(1) is presented, is a young person within the meaning of the Youth Criminal Justice Act.

Lending Exhibits

Marginal note:Approval of loan request

• 30 (1) When the Minister approves the request of a state or entity to have an exhibit that was admitted in evidence in a proceeding in respect of an offence in a court in Canada lent to the state or entity, the Minister shall provide a competent authority with any documents or information necessary to apply for a loan order.

• Marginal note:Application for loan order

  (2) After having given reasonable notice to the attorney general of the province where the exhibit sought to be lent to the state or entity mentioned in subsection (1) is located and to the parties to the proceeding, the competent authority who is provided with the documents or information shall apply for a loan order to the court that has possession of the exhibit.

• Marginal note:Contents of application

  (3) An application made under subsection (2) must

  • (a) contain a description of the exhibit requested to be lent;

  • (b) designate a person or class of persons to whom the exhibit is sought to be given;

  • (c) state the reasons for the request, as well as contain a description of any tests that are sought to be performed on the exhibit and a statement of the place where the tests will be performed;

  • (d) state the place or places to which the exhibit is sought to be removed; and

  • (e) specify a period of time at or before the expiration of which the exhibit is to be returned.

Marginal note:Making of loan order

• 31 (1) If the court to which an application is made under subsection 30(2) is satisfied that the state or entity has requested the loan for a fixed period and has agreed to comply with the terms and conditions that the court proposes to include in any loan order, the court may, after having considered any representations of the persons to whom notice of the application was given in accordance with subsection 30(2), make a loan order.

• Marginal note:Terms of loan order

  (2) A loan order made under subsection (1) must

  • (a) contain a description of the exhibit;

  • (b) order the person who has possession of the exhibit to give it to a person designated in the order or who is a member of a class of persons so designated;

  • (c) contain a description of any tests thereby authorized to be performed on the exhibit, as well as a statement of the place where the tests must be performed;

  • (d) fix the place or places to which the exhibit may be removed; and

  • (e) fix the period of time at or before the expiration of which the exhibit must be returned.

• Marginal note:Terms and conditions

  (3) A loan order made under subsection (1) may include any terms or conditions that the court making it considers desirable, including those relating to the preservation of the exhibit.

Marginal note:Variation of loan order

32 A court that made a loan order may vary its terms and conditions.

Marginal note:Copy of order to custodian

33 A copy of a loan order and of an order varying it shall be delivered by the competent authority who applied for the order to the Minister and to the person who had possession of the exhibit when the loan order was made.

Marginal note:Presumption of continuity

34 The burden of proving that an exhibit lent to a state or entity pursuant to a loan order made under subsection 31(1) and returned to Canada is not in the same condition as it was when the loan order was made or that it was tampered with after the loan order was made is on the party who makes that allegation and, in the absence of that proof, the exhibit is deemed to have been continuously in the possession of the court that made the loan order.