II. Specific provisions
B. Judicial assistance; procedural provisions
Article 16
Postponement of the execution of requests for assistance from the International Criminal Court
(1) The execution of a request for judicial assistance from the International Criminal Court may be postponed :
(b) for a time period agreed upon with the International Criminal Court if the immediate execution of the request would interfere with ongoing investigations or proceedings in a case other than the one the request relates to.
1. If the immediate execution of a request would interfere with an ongoing investigation or prosecution of a case different from that to which the request relates, the requested State may postpone the execution of the request for a period of time agreed upon with the Court. However, the postponement shall be no longer than is necessary to complete the relevant investigation or prosecution in the requested State. Before making a decision to postpone, the requested State should consider whether the assistance may be immediately provided subject to certain conditions.
2. If a decision to postpone is taken pursuant to paragraph 1, the Prosecutor may, however, seek measures to preserve evidence, pursuant to article 93, paragraph 1 (j).