MLA (Mutual Legal Assistance and Extradition) Initiative

About the MLA Initiative

The MLA Initiative emerged after the expert meeting organized by the Netherlands, Belgium and Slovenia in the Hague in November 2011 had confirmed a legal gap in the mutual legal assistance and extradition between States for the national adjudication of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes. The core group of States leading the MLA Initiative was later enlarged with Argentina, Senegal and Mongolia.

Given the nature of atrocity crimes, with suspects, victims, witnesses and evidence often crossing the States' borders, it is paramount to ensure effective international legal cooperation at the global level.

Some existing multilateral treaties contain modern provisions on mutual legal assistance and extradition, such as the UN Convention against Transnational Organised Crime and the UN Convention against Corruption. The MLA is committed to ensuring similar mechanisms of inter-state cooperation for the investigation and prosecution of the most serious international crimes. The initiative therefore addresses the primary responsibility of States to prosecute crimes and the need to improve the effectiveness of the investigation and prosecution of these crimes at national level.

The MLA Initiative operates as a stand-alone process outside the UN Forum. The MLA initiative is supported by 80 states from all over the world. More information about the aim of the MLA Initiative and the list of supporting states can be found in the documents section below.

The process

Since 2011, the MLA Initiative Core Group has been focused on enlisting support for the Initiative among states, both bilaterally and within the multilateral fora.

A crucial step forward was made at the First Preparatory Conference, which took place in Doorn, the Netherlands, on 16-19 October 2017. During the Conference, more than one hundred participants representing over forty supporting States and the civil society discussed the substantive elements of the planned treaty and also its procedural aspects, including the forum for negotiations. The Doorn discussions provided the basis for the Core Group's work on the MLA Preliminary Draft Convention.

The draft MLA Convention was discussed by the participants at the Second Preparatory Conference, which was held in Noordwijk, the Netherlands, on 11-14 March 2019. The comments received were incorporated into the draft MLA Convention by the Core Group.

The Diplomatic Conference planned for June 2020 to formally negotiate the text of the Convention has been postponed due to the pandemic.

During the pandemic, the initiative did not stand still, but virtual consultations were organised to prepare a comprehensive draft that will serve as a basis for negotiations at the Conference.

The Draft Convention, which constituted the initial draft text for the work of the Diplomatic Conference (available among the documents below), was the result of three rounds of virtual consultations in June-November 2021 and June 2022. The reference English version among the documents contains the changes in the form of tracked amendments.

The Ljubljana-The Hague Convention

Having obtained extensive support for the MLA Initiative and with the preparatory work completed, the negotiation phase followed. The expectation that the work on the initiative would be successfully concluded with the adoption of the Convention at the Diplomatic Conference, held in Ljubljana from 15 to 26 May 2023, was fulfilled.

The Ljubljana-The Hague Convention was adopted at the 18th Plenary Session of the MLA Diplomatic Conference in Ljubljana, Slovenia, on 26 May 2023, as a result of the deliberations in the Plenary and the Working Groups, as well as the Drafting Committee.

The final text of the Convention is available among the documents.

The Conference invited all States to sign the Ljubljana-The Hague Convention.

At a Signing Conference on 14-15 February 2024 at the Peace Palace in The Hague, 33 States from around the world signed the Convention, followed by seven more States by 14 February 2025. The Convention is open for accession by all States.

The List of States Parties (40) is available among the documents and on the website of the Federal Public Service Foreign Affairs, Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation of the Kingdom of Belgium as depositary.

Contact data of the Ljubljana-The Hague Convention Depositary:

Directorate of Treaties (J4)
FPS Foreign Affairs, Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation
Rue des Petits Carmes / Karmelietenstraat 15
1000 Brussels
Belgium
MLA.Depositary@diplobel.fed.be