Clause 1 - Service of overseas process
Crime (International Co-operation) Bill [Lords]
9:15 am
Mr David Heath (Somerton and Frome, Liberal Democrat)
I shall speak to amendments Nos. 116 and 126 to 129, which have been tabled by my hon. Friend the Member for Orkney and Shetland and me.
It is inevitable that much of the Committee's discussion will reflect what was said in another place. Indeed, there is a degree of similarity between the amendments tabled by the hon. Member for South-East Cambridgeshire (Mr. Paice) and those tabled by his noble Friends in another place. I do not criticise that, but simply say that there are still areas where the clarity of the answers given in another place continues to allow for further questions. I am interested to hear the Minister's response to the hon. Member for South-East Cambridgeshire. What are his comments on the wording, ''participating country''? The situation is clearly blurred as to the proposed legislation's statement of intent and its potential effect were it to be interpreted in its widest sense in terms of administration.
My amendments are designed to narrow down the counties to which the arrangements will be applied. The selling point of the legislation was that it would enable mutual recognition of processes, administration
and procedures relating to legal co-operation. However, the Bill's wording appears to allow for a degree of non-reciprocity. It allows the Home Secretary to apply applications from outside the United Kingdom in a way that may not be reciprocated in the country of origin. It is important to probe the Government so that we understand exactly what they think. Why have they phrased the Bill in the way that they have?
Amendment No. 116 deals with precisely the same point about service of process under clause 1, and introduces the terms ''reciprocating country''. Amendment No. 126 does the same thing for clause 13, which covers requests for assistance from overseas authorities. Amendment No. 129 provides a simple definition of what I mean by a ''reciprocating country''—a country that is a signatory to, and has ratified, the conventions on which the legislation is, at least theoretically, based. That is precisely the selling point of the Bill, as given by the Minister.