A bilateral agreement on mutual assistance in combatting ordinary crime and terrorism was signed by the Minister for Justice, Michael McDowell, and the US ambassador yesterday.
The agreements seal a deal between the US and the EU signed on June 25th, 2003. Individual agreements have to be signed with each of the member states, and Ireland is the 11th to do this. Legislation to give effect to the agreements will be brought forward in the Criminal Justice (Mutual Assistance) Bill, to be published in the summer.
They update and supplement agreements on extradition and co-operation in the detection of crime, which have been in operation for 20 years. The agreements allow the two governments to form joint investigation teams, to take evidence in court from expert witnesses via video-link, and to search for suspect foreign bank accounts.
The 1983 bilateral Extradition Treaty has also been updated, mostly procedurally. In cases where the imposition of the death penalty might arise in the US, it will now be possible to seek guarantees that it will not be imposed or, if imposed, will not be carried out.
Mr McDowell stressed that these arrangements had nothing to do with the US detention centre in Guantánamo Bay, and that ordinary crime was as much a target as terrorism. "They will contribute to enhanced co-operation which is vital if we are to meet the challenge posed by modern transnational crimes such as terrorism, drug trafficking and fraud," he said.
Referring to EU measures to combat terrorism, such as data retention, Mr McDowell said that telecommunication information would be very important in the investigation of the London bombing.
"There are 25,000 Muslims in Ireland. Ninety-nine point nine per cent of them have nothing but contempt for this. The central tenets of Islam are opposed to the taking of innocent life."
Referring to last week's bombing, the US ambassador, James Kenny, said: "The entire international community must engage the fight against terrorism because, just as globalisation has brought great benefits to societies around the world, so also does globalisation allow evil to operate more freely across borders."
He added that this agreement was about more than terrorism, about crime that touches individuals and families at many levels.