The Convention is intended to assist States in attaining a similar degree of efficiency even in the absence of full legislative harmony.

The PC-R-SC's terms of reference were to examine the applicability of European penal law conventions to the search, seizure and confiscation of the proceeds from crime – and consider this question, in the light of the ongoing work of the Pompidou Group[2] and the United Nations, in particular as regards the financial assets of drug traffickers.

At the 443rd meeting of their Deputies in September 1990, the Committee of Ministers approved the text of the convention and decided to open it for signature on 8 November 1990.

Investigations, searches, seizures and other measures were often carried out on the basis of codes of criminal procedure which were drafted a number of years ago.

Another of the main purposes of the Convention is to provide an instrument obliging States to adopt efficient measures in their national laws to combat serious crime and to deprive criminals of the fruits of their illicit activities.

Once again, wide discrepancy in national legislations and lack of powers for some law enforcement agencies was sometimes exploited by criminals to avoid detection and punishment.

[5] In order to overcome certain shortcomings encountered in the above-mentioned European penal law conventions, CETS 141 sought to provide a complete set of rules, covering all the stages of the procedure from the first investigations to the imposition and enforcement of confiscation sentences and to allow for flexible but effective mechanisms of international co-operation to the widest extent possible.

In order to secure the confiscation of the instruments and proceeds from crime, the Convention provides two forms of international co-operation.

The Convention provides also that the Parties shall, before refusing or postponing co-operation, consult each other and consider whether the request may be granted partially or subject to conditions.

The need for efficient national legal remedies was considered by the PC-R-SC from the point of view of international cooperation.

The PC-R-SC identified considerable differences with regard to the basic systems of confiscation at national level in the member States of the Council of Europe.

International co-operation relating to confiscation requires that efficient instruments be put at the disposal of law enforcement agencies.

might be moved from one country to another in a matter of days, hours and sometimes minutes, it is necessary that rapid measures may be taken in order to "freeze" a current situation to enable the authorities to take the necessary steps.

It is nevertheless customary for the non-member State to request accession in a letter addressed to the Secretary General of the Council of Europe.