endeavouring to contribute to the development of bilateral relations;
observing the Council of Europe Convention for the Protection of Individuals with regard to Automatic Processing of Personal Data done at Strasbourg on 28 January 1981 and Recommendation no. R(87)15 of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe of 17 September 1987 regulating the use of personal data in the police sector, which also refers to the cases where the data is not processed automatically;
desiring to intensify and enhance police cooperation;
have agreed as follows:
Article 1
Scope of Cooperation
(1) The Contracting Parties shall, in accordance with their national legislation, foster their cooperation towards preventing danger and ensuring public safety, particularly regarding public order and traffic safety, as well as the prevention, detection and investigation of criminal offences, especially organised crime, terrorism, people trafficking and illegal migration, computer crime, illicit trafficking in narcotic drugs, psychotropic substances and precursors, as well as other criminal offences of international character (hereinafter referred to as police cooperation).
(2) The Contracting Parties shall cooperate especially in cases when criminal offences are committed or preparations for criminal offences are taking place, or have taken place, on the territory of the State of one of the Contracting Parties and there is an indication of a possibility that similar offences or preparations for similar offences are taking place, or have taken place, on the territory of the State of the other Contracting Party.
Article 2
Forms of Cooperation
(1) Police cooperation between the Contracting Parties shall be based on the principle of reciprocity and shall encompass the exchange of information, including personal data, and other measures in accordance with the purpose of this Agreement and the national legislation of the Contracting Parties and international obligations undertaken.
(2) Police cooperation, in accordance with the principle of reciprocity, shall also encompass cooperation in all forms of police surveillance, controlled delivery, undercover operations, witness protection, joint investigation teams, cooperation in cases of hostage taking situations and negotiations, public security threat assessments for major events, road traffic safety, training and secondment of liaison officers.
(3) Police cooperation, in accordance with the principle of reciprocity, shall also encompass the exchange of experience on measures for preventing and combating crime, joint analyses of the crime situation, exchange visits by experts, sharing information and facts on the crime situation and trends in the two states.
Article 3
Exchange of Personal Data
To implement this Agreement the Contracting Parties may exchange the following personal data in accordance with their national legislation:
a) personal data of individuals taking part in the commission or preparation of a criminal offence and their connections as regards the commission of a criminal offence: surname, former surname, first name, other names (aliases, nicknames), gender, date and place of birth, residence, current and former nationalities, and biometric data of an individual;
b) data on the document proving the identity of the individual under item a) of this Article, i.e. a passport or another travel document (number, date of issue, the issuing authority, place of issue, validity period, area of validity);
c) data referring to a fingerprint or palm print of a person involved in the commission of a criminal offence, DNA profile or sample, personal description, photograph;
d) data that police authorities are authorised to collect, process and exchange.
Article 4
Competent Authorities
(1) The Competent Authorities for the implementation of this Agreement shall be:
in the Republic of Slovenia: Ministry of the Interior, General Police Directorate, and
in the Republic of Serbia: Ministry of the Interior, General Police Directorate.
(2) Requests for cooperation shall be exchanged directly by the Competent Authorities. The modalities of communication shall be agreed by the Competent Authorities on a case-by-case basis.
(3) As a rule, requests and replies to them shall be submitted in writing. If personal data are submitted, such modality of submission shall be selected which takes into account the sensitivity of such data. Verbal requests are permissible in urgent cases, but shall be followed by a written request without delay.
(4) The Competent Authorities of the Contracting Parties, in accordance with their national legislation, may exchange information without request on a case-by-case basis, if it is reasonably assumed that, on the grounds of established facts, such information is necessary to eliminate concrete threats to public safety and public order or to investigate criminal offences or that the information may lead to submitting a request for legal assistance.
(5) The Competent Authorities shall communicate in English, unless otherwise agreed.
(6) The Contracting Parties shall exchange the information needed for communication through diplomatic channels.
Article 5
Personal Data Protection
(1) Pursuant to their national legislation, the Competent Authorities of the Contracting Parties commit themselves to ensuring a personal data protection level meeting the conditions of the Convention for the Protection of Individuals with regard to Automatic Processing of Personal Data.
(2) For the purposes of this Agreement:
a) “personal data” shall mean any information relating to an identified or identifiable natural person (“data subject”); an identifiable person is one who can be identified, directly or indirectly, also with reference to sound, images, body elements or aspects, in particular by reference to an identification number or to one or more factors specific to his physical, physiological, mental, economic, cultural or social identity;
b) “processing of personal data” shall mean any operation or set of operations which is performed upon personal data, whether or not by automatic means, such as collection, recording, transcription, multiplication, copying, transmission, searching, classification, storage, separation, crossing, merging, adaptation, modification, provision, use, granting access, disclosure, publication, dissemination, organising, keeping, editing, disclosure through transmission or otherwise, withholding, dislocation or other actions aimed at rendering the data inaccessible, as well as other actions carried out in connection with such data.
(3) As regards the processing of personal data transmitted pursuant to this Agreement, the following provisions shall apply:
a) personal data may only be processed by the receiving Contracting Party for the purposes mentioned in this Agreement, and in accordance with the conditions imposed by the Contracting Party which transmitted the data;
b) the Contracting Party which transmitted the data shall ensure that data are accurate, complete and updated as well as adequate, relevant and not excessive in relation to the purposes for which they are transmitted. In doing so, it shall observe any bans on data communication imposed by the national legislation. The data shall not be communicated if the Competent Authorities have any grounds to assume that this could violate the national legislation or impair interests of the parties concerned which are worthy of protection;
c) personal data may only be used by the judicial and other competent authorities that are authorized by national legislation to process personal data for the purposes mentioned in this Agreement;
d) the use of personal data for further purposes by the competent authorities of the receiving Contracting Party shall only be authorized after prior express and written approval of the Competent Authorities of the Contracting Party which transmitted the data and in accordance with the national legislation of the receiving Contracting Party;
e) the Contracting Parties shall inform each other about the authority supervising the processing and exchange of personal data;
f) the communication of personal data to other competent authorities of one Contracting Party shall only be authorized after prior express and written approval of the Contracting Party which transmitted the data;
g) onward transfers of personal data to other authorities of a Third Country for the purposes mentioned in this Agreement shall only be permitted in compliance with the national legislation and with the prior consent of the Contracting Party which transmitted the data. If the transfer of the data is essential for the prevention of an immediate and serious threat to public security or to essential interests of the receiving Contracting Party and consent cannot be obtained in time, the transfer can occur without prior consent, on a case-by-case basis, subject to further safeguards. The transmitting Country must be informed without delay;
h) the Contracting Parties shall ensure that data are kept for no longer than necessary with a view to the purposes for which data are transmitted; the Competent Authorities of the transmitting Contracting Party shall notify the Competent Authorities of the receiving Contracting Party of any particular periods of erasure under the national legislation concerning the transferred personal data. If it emerges that incorrect data have been transmitted or data have been unlawfully transmitted, each Contracting Party must notify the other Contracting Party without delay. Where it is confirmed that data transmitted is inaccurate, each Contracting Party processing the data shall take the necessary measures to rectify the information. In the case of an unlawful or erroneous transmission by a Contracting Party, the receiving Contracting Party shall delete the data immediately upon becoming aware of such an event;
i) all transmissions and receptions of personal data are to be logged or documented. The data must be kept at disposal to the supervisory authority in charge of ensuring data processing as well as data integrity and security;
j) the rights to access the transferred data, to have them rectified and/or erased shall be granted to the individual the data refer to. To this end the Contracting Party before which the said individual invokes this right must have in place specific and accessible procedures enabling him/her to exercise his/her rights.
Article 6
Exchange and Mutual Protection of Classified Information
The Contracting Parties shall exchange and protect classified information for the purposes of this Agreement in accordance with the provisions of a separate agreement on the exchange and mutual protection of classified information.
Article 7
Exceptions
(1) If one Contracting Party believes that acting upon a specific request or taking specific cooperation measures under this Agreement may limit its sovereignty, threaten its national security or other important interests or violate the national legislation, that Contracting Party shall inform the other Contracting Party that it refuses, in whole or in part, cooperation or imposes certain conditions for it.
(2) The Contracting Party that sends such a request shall be informed as soon as possible of the reasons why the request cannot be complied with in whole or in part.
Article 8
Expenses
Each Contracting Party shall bear the expenses incurred by its own authorities in implementing this Agreement.
Article 9
Implementing Protocols
The Contracting Parties may agree on protocols for the purpose of implementing this Agreement.
Article 10
Settlement of Disputes
Disputes regarding the implementation of this Agreement that cannot be settled through consultations between the Competent Authorities of the Contracting Parties shall be settled through diplomatic channels.
Article 11
Relation to Other International Agreements
(1) The provisions of this Agreement shall not affect any bilateral or multilateral agreements binding the Contracting Parties.
(2) This Agreement shall not affect international legal assistance in criminal matters or extraditions.
Article 12
Final Provisions
(1) This Agreement shall enter into force on the thirtieth day following the day of the receipt of the later notification by which the Contracting Parties inform each other of the fulfilment of the internal legal requirements for its entry into force.
(2) The Contracting Parties shall agree in writing to any amendments to this Agreement.
(3) Upon entry into force of this Agreement, the Agreement between the Federal Government of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and the Government of the Republic of Slovenia on Cooperation in the Fight against Organised Crime, Illicit Drugs, Psychotropic Substances and Precursors Trafficking, Terrorism and other Serious Crimes done at Ljubljana on 6 April 2001 shall cease to have effect.
(4) This Agreement is concluded for an indefinite period of time. Either Contracting Party may terminate it by sending a notification through diplomatic channels. The termination shall become effective six months following the date when the notification of such termination is received.
Done at Ljubljana on 14 November 2012 in two original copies in the Slovene, Serbian and English languages, all texts being equally authentic. In case of divergence in interpretation the English text shall prevail.
For the Government
of the Republic of Slovenia
Vinko Gorenak (s)
For the Government
of the Republic of Serbia
Ivica Dačić (s)