Several countries wanted to work together to conduct a criminal investigation into the crash. To this end a Joint Investigation Team (JIT) was established on 7 August 2014.
Under the leadership of the Dutch Public Prosecution Service (OM), criminal investigation authorities from the Netherlands, Malaysia, Australia, Belgium and Ukraine, the country where flight MH17 crashed, work together in the JIT.
Certain rules apply to any joint investigation team. These rules ensure, for instance, that results of a criminal investigation in one country can be used in a criminal investigation in another country. There are also rules that allow certain investigative activities to be conducted in one country on behalf of another country.