International agreements such as the European Convention for Safeguarding Human Rights and the International Pact on Civil Rights specify the basic principles of the rule of law. The increase in organized crime raises the issue of whether these principles should be maintained or revised. Organized crime may push the reversal of the burden of proof beyond what has occurred under the ordinary law. Another issue is whether organized crime has resulted changes in the places where evidence can be sought, techniques of seeking evidence, and the organizations investigating the evidence. A further issue relates to laws regarding the protection of witnesses who collaborate with the criminal justice system in the investigation and prosecution of organized crime and whether these protections are greater than that for other crimes.