59–115 

114TH CONGRESS EXEC. REPT. " ! SENATE 2nd Session 114–12 

MUTUAL LEGAL ASSISTANCE TREATY WITH THE 

PEOPLE’S DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF ALGERIA 

SEPTEMBER 13, 2016.—Ordered to be printed 

Mr. CORKER, from the Committee on Foreign Relations, 

submitted the following 

R E P O R T 

[To accompany Treaty Doc. 114–3] 

The Committee on Foreign Relations, to which was referred the 

Treaty between the Government of the United States of America 

and the Government of the People’s Democratic Republic of Algeria 

on Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters, signed at Algiers 

on April 10, 2010 (Treaty Doc. 114–3), having considered the same, 

reports favorably thereon with one declaration, as indicated in the 

resolution of advice and consent, and recommends that the Senate 

give its advice and consent to ratification thereof, as set forth in 

this report and the accompanying resolution of advice and consent. 

CONTENTS 

Page 

I. Purpose ........................................................................................................... 1 

II. Background .................................................................................................... 2 

III. Major Provisions ............................................................................................ 3 

IV. Entry Into Force ............................................................................................ 4 

V. Implementing Legislation ............................................................................. 4 

VI. Committee Action .......................................................................................... 4 

VII. Committee Recommendation and Comments .............................................. 5 

VIII. Text of Resolution of Advice and Consent to Ratification .......................... 5 

I. PURPOSE

The Treaty between the United States of America and Algeria on 

Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters (the ‘‘MLAT with Algeria’’ or ‘‘Treaty’’) is one of a series of modern mutual legal assistance treaties that have been negotiated by the United States and 

is designed to provide a formal basis for mutual cooperation between the United States and Algeria on law enforcement matters 

so as to enhance the ability of the United States to investigate and 

prosecute crimes. 

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1 A subpoena duces tecum is a specific form of subpoena, also called a ‘‘subpoena for the production of evidence.’’ It is a subpoena issued by a court ordering the parties named to appear 

and to produce tangible evidence for use at a hearing or trial. 

II. BACKGROUND

In order for the United States to successfully prosecute criminal 

activity that is transnational in scope, it is often necessary to obtain evidence or testimony from a witness in another country. 

While U.S. federal courts may issue subpoenas to U.S. nationals 

overseas, they lack the authority to subpoena foreign nationals 

found in other countries or the authority to subpoena evidence in 

a foreign country. In addition, effectuating service of a subpoena to 

U.S. persons abroad may prove difficult. 

In the absence of an applicable international agreement, the customary method for obtaining evidence or testimony in another 

country is via a ‘‘letter rogatory’’ which tends to be an unreliable 

and time-consuming process. The term ‘‘letter rogatory’’ is generally used to refer to a formal communication in writing that is 

sent by a court in which an action is pending to a court in a foreign 

country, requesting that certain evidence or the testimony of a person within the latter’s jurisdiction be formally obtained for use in 

the requesting court’s pending action. The State Department advises that the letter-rogatory process can often take a year or more 

and, unless undertaken pursuant to an international agreement, 

compliance is a matter of judicial discretion. Furthermore, the 

scope of foreign judicial assistance might also be limited by domestic information-sharing laws, such as bank and business secrecy 

laws, or be confined to evidence relating to pending cases rather 

than preliminary, administrative, or grand jury investigations conducted prior to the filing of formal charges. Execution of letters rogatory is usually carried out under the judicial norms of the responding country. However, responding country norms may be insufficiently compatible with U.S. law such that the resulting evidence is rendered inadmissible in a U.S. court. Mutual Legal Assistance Treaties (‘‘MLATs’’) are designed to overcome these and 

similar problems. 

MLATs are international agreements that establish a formal, 

streamlined process by which governments may gather information 

and evidence in other countries for use in criminal investigations 

and prosecutions. The United States is currently a party to several 

dozen MLATs. While the specific provisions of MLATs vary, they 

generally obligate treaty partners to take steps on behalf of a requesting treaty partner when certain conditions are met. MLATs 

typically contain provisions concerning the sharing of collected information between parties, the location and identification of persons and potential witnesses within the parties’ territories, the taking of depositions and witness testimony, and the serving of subpoenas duces tecum on behalf of a requesting treaty party.1 Such 

provisions provide for the easier acquisition of evidence and testimony than via letters rogatory and do so in a manner designed to 

be compatible with the admissibility requirements of the requesting State’s courts. MLATs also typically contain provisions concerning the allocation of costs between parties, the form and content of requests for legal assistance, the designation of national law 

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tion, and the grounds for which a treaty party may refuse to provide legal assistance. Increasingly, MLATs have been used as a tool 

to combat terrorism. 

The Algeria MLAT is the first such treaty between the United 

States and Algeria and covers any matter within the jurisdiction of 

the parties’ judicial authorities. In the absence of this Treaty, there 

is no obligation to provide assistance to the United States and thus 

this Treaty would substantially enhance the ability of the United 

States to investigate and prosecute crimes for which such assistance is necessary. A detailed paragraph-by-paragraph analysis of 

this treaty may be found in the Letter of Submittal from the Secretary of State to the President on this instrument, which is reprinted in full in Treaty Document 114–3. What follows is a brief 

summary of some key provisions. 

III. MAJOR PROVISIONS

As with most MLATs, the MLAT with Algeria generally obligates 

the parties to assist each other in criminal investigations, prosecutions, and related law enforcement proceedings, as well as civil or 

administrative proceedings such as forfeiture proceedings that may 

be related to criminal matters. Article 1(2) provides a non-exhaustive list of assistance to be rendered by each Party, which includes 

the taking of evidence, such as testimony, documents, records and 

items or things, on a requesting party’s behalf by way of judicial 

process; executing requests for searches and seizures; effecting 

service of judicial documents; sharing certain obtained information 

or evidence with a requesting State; freezing, forfeiting and recovery of assets or property; permitting the temporary transfer of persons in custody to the requesting party; and other agreed-upon 

forms of assistance. 

Article 3 sets forth a list of circumstances under which a requested State may deny legal assistance to the requesting State. 

Some of the grounds listed are commonly found in MLATs to which 

the United States is a party, such as the ground in Article 3(1)(c) 

permitting the denial of a request when it would prejudice the requested State’s sovereignty, security, public order, or other essential interest; and the military offense exception in Article 3(1)(a). 

Although the United States generally does not impose a ‘‘dual 

criminality’’ requirement upon mutual legal assistance requests, 

Article 3(1)(d) of the Algeria Treaty includes a provision stating 

that if the Requested state determines that the conduct that is the 

subject of the request is not a crime in the Requested State and 

execution of the request would require a court warrant or other 

compulsory measure as grounds for denial of a request. Before denying assistance under the provisions of Article 3, the Requested 

Party is obligated to consult with the Requesting Party to consider 

whether assistance can be given subject to such conditions as the 

Requested Party may deem necessary. 

Article 4 prescribes the form and contents of requests under the 

Treaty. Article 5 generally obligates both Parties’ Central Authority 

(as designated under Article 2) to do everything in their power to 

execute requests and to respond to reasonable requests by the Central Authority on the progress towards execution of the request. 

Article 6, which addresses the allocation of costs associated with 

providing assistance, provides that the requested State must pay 

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2See Articles 22(2) and 23(4). 

all costs relating to the execution of a request, with certain exceptions. Under the Algeria Treaty, these costs include fees of experts 

and witnesses, the costs of translation, interpretation, and transcription, the costs of utilizing video conferencing, and certain travel expenses. This allocation of costs is common in MLATs to which 

the United States is a party. Article 7 governs confidentiality and 

use of the information. The Central Authority of the Requesting 

Party shall use its best efforts to keep confidential such information provided subject to conditions specified by the Requested 

Party. 

Articles 8–16 set forth in detail the procedures to be employed 

in the case of specific types of requests for legal assistance. Articles 

8,9, 10, and 11 govern the control and collection of evidence, such 

as documents and records and the taking of testimony. Article 11 

provides for safe conduct of a person voluntarily appearing in the 

requesting State. Such person shall not be subject to prosecution, 

detention or any restriction of personal freedom for conduct that 

preceded entry into the territory. This guarantee of safe conduct 

only lasts fifteen days after the person is informed his presence is 

no longer required. 

Article 12 provides that, in the case of a transfer of someone in 

custody, the receiving party has the authority and obligation to 

keep the transferred person in custody, unless permitted by the 

sending party to do otherwise. Further, it must return the person 

back to the custody of the sending party as soon as circumstances 

permit, unless otherwise agreed between the parties. 

Article 18 requires the requested State to assist the requesting 

State with measures to freeze or cause the forfeiture of assets that 

constitute or are derived from proceeds of a crime or are instrumentalities or intended to be used in the commission of a crime. 

Article 20 provides for consultations to promote the most effective use and application of the Treaty. 

IV. ENTRY INTO FORCE

In accordance with Article 22, this Treaty shall enter into force 

upon the exchange of instruments of ratification between the 

United States and Algeria. Once in force, however, the Treaty shall 

apply to all requests presented after the date of entry into force 

and the Algeria Treaty continues to cover requests made prior to 

the date of termination.2

V. IMPLEMENTING LEGISLATION

This treaty, which is self-executing, will be implemented by the 

United States in conjunction with applicable federal statutes, including 18 U.S.C. Sec. 1782. No additional legislation is needed for 

the United States to fulfill its obligations under this Treaty. 

VI. COMMITTEE ACTION

The Committee reviewed the Treaty at a briefing on May 23, 

2016, at which representatives of the Departments of State and 

Justice were present. The Committee considered the Treaty on 

June 23, 2016 and ordered it favorably reported by voice vote, with 

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3Treaty Doc. 114–3 at p. V (stating that ‘‘The [MLAT with Algeria] is self-executing. It will 

not require further implementing legislation.’’). 4The committee has consistently expressed the view that mutual legal assistance treaties are 

self-executing. See, e.g., Exec. Rept. 107–15 at p. 6 (stating that ‘‘[i]it is anticipated that, for 

the United States, the [Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty with Belize] will be ‘‘self-executing.’’); 

and Exec. Rept. 109–14 at p. 6 (stating that ‘‘[t]he committee notes that the provisions of the 

[Mutual Legal Assistance Treaties with Germany and Japan] are self-executing.’’). 

the recommendation that the Senate give its advice and consent to 

the ratification of the Treaty subject to the declaration set forth in 

the resolution of advice and consent to ratification. 

VII. COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION AND COMMENTS

The Committee on Foreign Relations believes that the MLAT 

with Algeria, which would enhance law enforcement cooperation 

between the United States and Algeria, would further U.S. efforts 

in fighting terrorism and transnational crime. Accordingly, the 

committee urges the Senate to act promptly to give advice and consent to ratification of this Treaty, as set forth in this report and 

the accompanying resolution of advice and consent. 

The committee has included a proposed declaration in the resolution of advice and consent, which states that the MLAT with Algeria is self-executing. This declaration is consistent with statements 

made in the Letter of Submittal from the Secretary of State to the 

President on this instrument 3 and with the historical practice of 

the committee in approving mutual legal assistance treaties.4 The 

Senate continues to include statements regarding the self-executing 

nature of treaties in resolutions of advice and consent in light of 

the Supreme Court decision, Medellin v. Texas, 128 S.Ct. 1346 

(2008). The committee continues to believe that a clear statement 

in the resolution is warranted. A further discussion of the committee’s views on this matter can be found in Section VIII of Executive 

Report 110–12. 

VIII. TEXT OF THE RESOLUTION OF ADVICE AND

CONSENT TO RATIFICATION

Resolved (two-thirds of the Senators present concurring therein), 

SECTION 1. SENATE ADVICE AND CONSENT SUBJECT TO A DECLARATION. 

The Senate advises and consents to the ratification of the Treaty 

Between the United States of America and the People’s Democratic 

Republic of Algeria on Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters, signed at Washington on February 20, 2015 (Treaty Doc. 114– 

11), subject to the declaration of section 2. 

SEC. 2. DECLARATION. 

The advice and consent of the Senate under section 1 is subject 

to the following declaration: 

The Treaty is self-executing. 

Æ 

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