Seminar on mutual legal assistance – criminal matters – surrender of fugitive offenders

Anabela Miranda Rodrigues, Aggregate Professor at the Law Faculty of the Coimbra University and Director of the Centre for Judicial Studies, Lisbon, Portugal, and Luís Manuel Cunha da Silva Pereira, Procurator of the Portuguese Republic and faculty member of the said Center, are the two lecturers of the Seminar on “Mutual Legal Assistance – Criminal Matters – Surrender of Fugitive Offenders” that commences tomorrow, June 6, at 6.30 pm, at the auditorium of the Legal and Judicial Training Centre (Luso-International Bank Building, 18th floor). Included in the Co-operation Programme in the Legal Field between the European Union and Macao, this seminar will last for four days and will be conducted in Portuguese. On the first day, the approached subjects will be “The fundamental components of International Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters”, “The Institutions for International Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters”, “Extradition”, “Request for extradition”, “The decision to extradite: prerogative of the Executive power or decision of the Judicial power?” and “The Limits to Extradition”. The second day, June 7, continues with the subject “The Limits to Extradition”, followed by “The Effects of Extradition”, “The legal framework applicable to the territory of Macao” and “The European experience – the European Council”. The third day, June 8, is entirely dedicated to the topic “The European Union and the Construction of an Area of Freedom, Security and Justice”. On the last day, June 9, the approached subjects will be “The surrender before International Criminal Jurisdictions”, “The concurrence of requests for surrender”, “Extradition and other requests of the surrendering of persons” and “Procedures alternative to Extradition”. Specially targeted at legal advisors, this seminar is organised by the Legal and Judicial Training Centre and the International Law Office and will count with a participation of around 50 local participants. The Co-operation Programme in the Legal Field between the European Union and Macao, which incorporates this seminar, has as its main objective the “Consolidation of the Macao Legal System” and is already in its fourth and last year, taking place until February 2006. The total budget for the programme is of 1.980.000 euros, shared in equal parts by the European Union and Macao. The co-ordination of the Co-operation Programme is at the responsibility of the International Law Office, being the organisation of the pertaining actions ensured by several other entities of the MSAR’s Government, namely the Legal and Judicial Training Centre, the Legal Affairs Bureau, the Economic Services and the Institute of European Studies, other than the International Law Office itself.