Part 1 of the Crime (International Co-operation) Act 2003 (“the 2003 Act”) provides statutory powers pursuant to which the United Kingdom can both seek and provide various forms of mutual legal assistance concerning criminal matters. Some of those powers can only be exercised where the country in question is a “participating country” as defined in section 51(2) of the 2003 Act. A country must be designated as a participating country for the purpose of the relevant provision.