The Federal Office of Justice (Section for Mutual Legal Assistance) of the Federal Department of Justice and Police is the central MLA authority in Switzerland. It has the authority to receive, decide upon admissibility, and to delegate the execution of the requests for mutual legal assistance to the relevant prosecutorial authority either at the federal or cantonal level. In addition, some neighbouring countries can transmit requests directly to the competent federal or cantonal authority. For more information, see 'Channels for transmission of MLA requests' on the Swiss country profile.
The Swiss Federal Office of Justice website offers practical information on international mutual legal assistance between Switzerland and foreign countries. It is directed both at the authorities concerned as well as at individuals working in or affected by the field of international mutual legal assistance.
The information is divided into three sections: criminal law, civil law and a guide to mutual legal assistance.
- The criminal law section provides checklists for and guidance to the various fields of international mutual legal assistance in criminal matters, gives users an insight into the applicable legal documents and supplies them with the contact details of the national and cantonal (Swiss constituent state) authorities concerned.
- The civil law section provides guidance and key information on international mutual legal assistance in civil matters, gives users an insight into the applicable legal documents and supplies them with the contact details of the national and cantonal (Swiss constituent state) authorities concerned.
- The mutual legal assistance guide provides examples of relevant requests and forms, and an index with access to country-specific formalities which need to be observed.
Note: Not all the information on this website is available in English, but several important sections are. Comprehensive versions of the website are available in German, French and Italian (official Swiss languages).
