Hong Kong and Russia today signed bilateral agreements on mutual legal assistance in criminal matters and the transfer of sentenced persons.
The agreements were signed by Secretary for Security Tang Ping-keung and Russian Minister of Justice Konstantin Chuychenko via video conference.
At the signing ceremony, Mr Tang said both Hong Kong and Russia are committed players in the international efforts to fight crimes and the signing of such agreements represents an important step forward in legal co-operation between the two places.
Under the Basic Law, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government can, with the authorisation of the Central People’s Government, make appropriate arrangements with foreign states for reciprocal juridical assistance.
The mutual legal assistance agreement contains the essential features and safeguards of international agreements of this type.
The assistance covered included identifying and locating people, serving documents, taking evidence, executing requests for search and seizure, providing information and confiscating proceeds of crime.
The agreement on the transfer of sentenced persons embodies the shared conviction of both places that allowing such people to return to their places of origin, where there are no language or cultural barriers and where friends and relatives can pay more visits, is conducive to their rehabilitation.
Hong Kong’s policy is therefore to facilitate such transfers between the city and other jurisdictions as far as possible.
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