Competent bodies of CSTO States will be able to set up joint investigative groups

The 525th session of the Federation Council of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation approved ratification of the Treaty on Matters of Jurisdiction and Legal Assistance in Cases Related to Temporary Presence of Formations of Forces and Assets of the Collective Security System in the Territories of the Collective Security Treaty Organization Member States.
According to the website of the Federation Council of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation, this creates a mechanism enabling the competent bodies of the CSTO Member States to cooperate on matters of legal assistance.
Vladimir Dzhabarov, first deputy Chairman of the Federation Council Committee on International Affairs, said in his report that the treaty aimed to create a mechanism for cooperation between competent bodies of the CSTO Member States on matters of jurisdiction and legal assistance in cases related to temporary presence of formations of forces and assets of the Collective Security System in the territories of the CSTO Member States.
“The treaty regulates in detail the order, procedure and terms of interaction between the competent bodies of the parties within the framework of exercising jurisdiction and rendering legal assistance in criminal and administrative cases in the areas of deployment of the CSTO formations,” Vladimir Dzhabarov noted.
“It establishes a legal basis for the creation of joint investigative teams. The treaty provides for a special safeguard clause, under which a request for legal assistance may be rejected if the provision of such assistance may harm the sovereignty or security of the state or contradict its national legislation,” said the first deputy Chairman of the Federation Council Committee on International Affairs.