São Paulo – On Wednesday (22), Brazil’s Federal Senate ratified in plenary in Brasília an agreement with the United Arab Emirates providing for mutual legal assistance. The agreement now moves forward for promulgation, the final stage of the legislative process, so that it can come into force as law and be published in the Official Gazette.
According to information from the Agência Senado, the agreement provides for mutual legal assistance in cases of investigations, proceedings related to criminal matters, and criminal prosecution. It includes, for example, search and seizure, taking testimonies and statements, serving procedural acts, conducting expert examinations, and facilitating the division of assets related to a crime, among other steps and actions in a criminal process.
The agreement was signed in 2019 and submitted as a bill in the Chamber of Deputies in 2021, when it began to be reviewed by committees and the plenary. The bill was first approved in the Chamber and then sent to the Senate, where it received a favorable opinion from Senator Sergio Moro in the Foreign Relations Committee. According to him, the agreement contributes to strengthening the Brazilian state in combating transnational crime.
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Translated by Guilherme Miranda
