Mutual Trust: A Variable Concept in Facilitating Cross-Border Cooperation in Criminal Matters

Mutual trust is the bedrock upon which intra-regional and interregional cooperation are being built. Cooperation is only possible because States have decided to trust each other on specific actions to achieve a determined objective. The EU and ASEAN experienced significant trust issues at their beginning, after the second World Ward in the EU and the decolonisation in Southeast Asia. Today, trust issues have drastically diminished because of the increased interactions and interdependence between the Member States. The ‘legalisation’ of interstate interactions has played a significant role in building trust within the region. In contrast, cooperation within ASEAN is quite limited and is primarily based on interpersonal skills, mutual understanding and knowledge sharing. This chapter analyses the different constructs of mutual trust and its impact on cooperation in the EU and ASEAN. It assesses whether cooperation differs in the two regions. It also examines the ways in which ‘mutual trust’ is defined and used in each region when involved in criminal matters, namely in the EU Area of Freedom, Security and Justice (AFSJ) and in the relevant section of the ASEAN Political-Security Community (APSC). This chapter then highlights the main components of the concept. It begins with the most extensive and detailed understanding of mutual trust found in the EU and moves unto the most conventional version one found in ASEAN. From these elements, a data analysis matrix was created. This matrix determines the approach, structure and content of the rest of the study.