Artikel 20

1. Requests for assistance shall be executed promptly by the competent authorities of the Requested Party in accordance with the national law of that Party and, to the extent that national law permits, in the manner requested by the Requesting Party.
2. Provided it is not contrary to its national law, the Requested Party may authorize the persons specified in the request for legal assistance to be present at the execution of the request. To this end, the Requested Party shall promptly inform the Requesting Party of the date and place of execution of the request for assistance. The persons who have been authorized may request the competent authority of the Requested Party to consider the possibility to submit specific questions referred to the assistance procedures.
3. The Requested Party shall promptly inform the Requesting Party of circumstances, when they become known to the Requested Party, which are likely to cause a significant delay in the execution of the request.
4. The Requested Party may postpone the execution of the request if its immediate execution would interfere with any ongoing criminal investigations or related proceedings in the Requested Party. The Requested Party may also postpone the delivery of documents if such documents are required for civil proceedings in that Party, in which case the Requested Party shall, upon request, provide certified copies of those documents.
5. Before postponing the execution of a request, the Requested Party shall consider whether assistance may be granted subject to certain conditions.
6. If the Requested Party postpones assistance, it shall promptly inform the Requesting Party of the grounds of postponement and an indication, if possible, of the duration of such postponement.