International cooperation in drug trafficking cases with third countries : Practical experiences of Liaison Prosecutors at Eurojust

As a result of the cooperation between the Belgian Federal Public Prosecutor’s Office and Eurojust, this report provides a summary of the case and presents the arguments brought forward by the prosecution service in reply to the diplomatic immunity claims of one of the four accused, along with the findings of the court of first instance on this topic. [...] In addition to other matters of substance and procedure, the written arguments of the prosecution and the judgment of the court of first instance contained elaborated considerations that addressed the claims of the defence on diplomatic immunity and state immunity. [...] As the diplomatic sta- tus and the related immunity claims were the basis for the discussion, the arguments of the defence are here presented first, followed by the considerations by the prosecution and the findings of the court of first instance. [...] 10 The ARGO Case Due to the fact that the defendant AA raised the same argument as he had brought before the Court of Cassation in the context of pretrial detention, the court decided to completely concur with the decision of the Court of Cassation on this matter. [...] The court found that the unofficial activities of the defendant AA, of which he was accused, do not at all fit within the permitted limits of public international law, and it cannot have been the intention of the parties to the treaty to cover the actions of which the defendant AA was accused by diplomatic immunity.