International legal assistance at the pre-trial stage of criminal proceedings: european standards and a comparative legal analysis of the legislation of Ukraine and selected EU member states

Abstract

The article presents a comprehensive study of the institution of international legal assistance at the pre-trial investigation stage as an established form of international cooperation in criminal proceedings. It analyses international legal standards enshrined in the 1959 European Convention on Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters and its Additional Protocols.
The author conducts a comparative legal analysis of the criminal procedural legislation of Ukraine, the Republic of Poland, the Slovak Republic, the Czech Republic, and Hungary with regard to the regulatory framework of international legal assistance at the pre-trial stage. It is established that the legal systems under consideration generally comply with European standards, demonstrating both common conceptual approaches and national specificities of legal regulation. In particular, the legislation of the Slovak Republic and the Czech Republic provides for cross-border surveillance as a type of mutual legal assistance, while the legal frameworks of the Czech Republic and Hungary also include additional regulation of covert investigations. These types of international legal assistance at the pre-trial stage combine the efficiency of obtaining evidentiary information with an appropriate level of procedural safeguards, primarily ensured through judicial or prosecutorial control mechanisms exercised by the requested State. The author emphasises the progressive experience of Poland, the Czech Republic, and Hungary in the legal regulation of joint investigation teams as one of the most advanced instruments for combating crime.
The article demonstrates that the conceptual approach of the Czech Republic to international legal assistance at the pre-trial stage is distinguished by the highest degree of systemic coherence, flexibility and procedural detail among the examined states. Particular attention is drawn to the legislative entrenchment of cross-border surveillance as an autonomous type of international legal assistance, which ensures clear delineation of the powers of foreign authorities and procedural guarantees of the rights of persons subject to surveillance. The said normative model may serve as a reference point for the Ukrainian legislator in the further improvement of national legislation in the field of international legal assistance, taking into account the specificities of the state’s legal system and its international and treaty obligations.