OBTAINING ASSISTANCE FROM BRUNEI DARUSSALAM IN CRIMINAL MATTERS

Central Authority for Brunei Darussalam

The Attorney General is the Central Authority for Brunei Darussalam. The Mutual Legal Assistance Secretariat of the Attorney General's Chambers is responsible for handling and processing all formal requests for assistance in accordance with the provisions of the Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters Order 2005, Criminal Conduct (Recovery of Proceeds) Order 2000, Drug Trafficking (Recovery of Proceeds) Act, any applicable Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty and other relevant domestic laws.

All requests must be sent by the Central Authority of the requesting country to the Central Authority of Brunei Darussalam to the following address:

Mutual Legal Assistance Secretariat
Attorney General's Chambers
The Law Building
KM 1, Jalan Tutong
Bandar Seri Begawan BA1910
Brunei Darussalam

Where the request is urgent in nature, the request may be made orally but shall be confirmed subsequently in writing in English. Alternatively, a copy of the request may be sent via fax at +(673) 222 3100.

It is not necessary for requests to be sent through diplomatic or consular channels.

Where Brunei Darussalam has a Mutual Legal Assistance treaty / memorandum of understanding / other agreement with a country, the transmission of requests must follow the procedure stated in such treaty/memorandum of understanding/other agreement.

Types Of Assistance

Under the Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters Order 2005, Brunei Darussalam may provide assistance in the following matters:-

 Obtaining evidence;
 Taking written statements;
 Securing production orders;
 Obtaining attendance of persons in a foreign country ;
 Custody of persons in transit;
 Search and seizure;
 Locating and identifying persons; and
 Arranging service of process

Such assistance may be provided even in the absence of any formal agreement or treaty. However in such circumstances, there must be assurance given by the requesting country that it will entertain a similar request by Brunei Darussalam for assistance in criminal matters.

Under the Criminal Conduct (Recovery of Proceeds) Order 2000 and Drug Trafficking (Recovery of Proceeds) Act, Brunei Darussalam may render assistance in the enforcement of foreign confiscation orders and proceedings in Brunei Darussalam provided that the requesting country is a designated county or territory under these legislation.

Form Of Requests

Countries may utilize the following samples for their formal requests of assistance to Brunei Darussalam, subject to any modifications to comply with the relevant treaty or agreement:

 Request for the obtaining of evidence;
 Request for a production order;
 Request for the attendance of a person(s) / prisoner(s);
 Request for custody of persons in transit;
 Request for search and seizure;
 Request for identifying or locating persons; and
 Request for service of process.

Queries

Any queries regarding mutual legal assistance in criminal matters in Brunei Darussalam and requests for assistance may be sent to the Central Authority at the above address or via email at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .