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172 Travaux préparatoires: United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime“5. States Parties shall not decline to render mutual legal assistance under thisarticle on the ground of bank secrecy.“6. States Parties may not decline to render mutual legal assistance under thisarticle on the ground of absence of dual criminality, unless the assistance requiredinvolves the application of coercive measures. 15“7. States Parties shall 16 [, where not contrary to fundamental legal principles,]adopt measures sufficient to enable a person in the custody of one State Party whosepresence in another State Party is requested to give evidence or assist in the investigationsto be transferred if the person consents and if the competent authorities ofboth States agree. 17 Transfer under this paragraph shall not be for the purpose ofstanding trial. For purposes of this paragraph:“(a) The State to which the person is transferred shall have the authority andobligation to keep the person transferred in custody, unless otherwise authorized bythe State from which the person was transferred;“(b) The State to which the person is transferred shall return the person to thecustody of the State from which the person was transferred [as soon as circumstancespermit] or as otherwise agreed by the competent authorities of both States;“(c) The State to which the person is transferred shall not require the State fromwhich the person was transferred to initiate extradition proceedings for the return ofthe person;“(d) The person transferred shall receive credit for service of the sentenceimposed in the State from which he or she was transferred for time served in thecustody of the State to which he or she was transferred.“8. States Parties shall designate a central authority or, when necessary, centralauthorities 18 which shall have the responsibility and power to execute requestsfor mutual legal assistance or to transmit them to the competent authorities for execution.Central authorities shall play an active role in ensuring the speedy executionof requests, controlling quality and setting priorities. The Secretary-General shall benotified of the authority or authorities designated for this purpose. Transmission ofrequests for mutual legal assistance and any communication related thereto shall beeffected between the authorities designated by the States Parties. This requirementshall be without prejudice to the right of a State Party to require that such requestsand communications be addressed to it through the diplomatic channel and, in urgentcircumstances, where the Parties agree, through channels of the International CriminalPolice Organization, if possible. 1915One delegation proposed the deletion of this paragraph. Another delegation noted that the connection between thisparagraph and paragraph 16 should be reviewed.16One delegation was of the view that the word “shall” should be replaced with the word “may”.17One delegation proposed that paragraph 20 should immediately follow this paragraph.18One delegation proposed the elimination of the words “or, when necessary, central authorities”.19Some delegations were of the view that this paragraph should be combined with the corresponding provision on centralauthorities in article 10, on extradition, and be placed in a separate article entitled “Transmission of requests for extraditionand mutual assistance”, to precede the articles on these issues. One delegation was of the view that the separate articleshould more generally include provisions that were common to all forms of international judicial cooperation.