MUTUAL LEGAL ASSISTANCE  States regularly cooperate with each other to facilitate the collection and exchange of information for use in criminal investigations or prosecutions. States parties to UNCAT shall provide the “greatest measure of assistance” to other States in respect of torture offences, including supplying all evidence necessary for the proceedings; and they shall follow international treaties on mutual judicial assistance in this regard (Article 9, UNCAT). Whether in relation to proceedings in respect of torture offences, or other ordinary criminal offences, if there is a “real risk” that evidence obtained from other States has been obtained by torture or ill-treatment, this evidence would need to be excluded per Article 15 UNCAT. Many States limit the risk of being potentially considered complicit in torture by establishing a clear basis for the sharing and receiving of information and ‘intelligence’ with other States, and have procedures in place to assess the risk that information that may have been obtained by torture, and to restrict their engagement if that risk cannot be ruled out. “ There is State responsibility for complicity in torture when one State gives assistance to another State in the commission of torture or other ill-treatment, or acquiesces in such acts, in the knowledge (including imputed knowledge) of the real risk that torture or ill-treatment will take place or has taken place, and aids and assists the torturing State in maintaining impunity for the acts of torture or ill-treatment. A State would thus be responsible when it was aware of the risk that information was obtained by torture or other ill-treatment, or ought to have been aware of that risk and did not take reasonable steps to prevent it.” Report of the UN Special Rapporteur on torture, Juan E. Méndez, 10 April 2014, A/HRC/25/60, para. 53. Sharing information with other States Policies for sharing information can include provisions to: • Prevent information sharing with other States where there is a credible risk that such sharing will contribute to or facilitate the violation of the prohibition on torture (and establish due diligence and risk assessment procedures to determine whether such a credible threat exists) • Require the attachment of limitations (‘caveats’) when sharing information to ensure such information is not used in violation of domestic or international law and establish procedures to monitor adherence to and address breaches of such limitations (‘caveats’) • Assess the reliability of the information when it is shared (and keep this assessment under review, for example, if errors are discovered or concerns emerge regarding its reliability) TOOL: Non-admission of evidence obtained by torture and ill-treatment 12/15