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The Saeima1 has adopted
and the President has proclaimed the following Law:
Law on the Exchange of Information
for the Prevention, Detection and Investigation of Criminal
Offences
Chapter I
General Provisions
Section 1. Terms used in this
Law
The following terms are used in this Law:
1) Member State - a Member State of the European Union,
as well as a State which applies the conditions of the Schengen
acquis in relation to the exchange of information, in
order to prevent, detect and investigate criminal offences;
2) competent authority of a Member State - an authority
which is assigned as a competent law enforcement authority in the
notification of the General Secretariat of the Council of the
European Union in connection with Council Framework Decision
2006/960/JHA of 18 December 2006 on simplifying the exchange of
information and intelligence between law enforcement authorities
of the Member States of the European Union;
3) request - a request to provide information which has
been submitted by the competent authority of another Member State
in accordance with Council Framework Decision 2006/960/JHA of 18
December 2006 on simplifying the exchange of information and
intelligence between law enforcement authorities of the Member
States of the European Union or which is prepared by an
institution or official of Latvia in accordance with a request by
a competent authority of the respective Member State to provide
information;
4) offence - an offence included in Annex 2 to the
Criminal Procedure Law for which a sentence of deprivation of
liberty is intended in the Member State which has submitted the
request, of which the maximum limit is not less than three
years;
5) information - information included in an information
system, investigatory record proceedings or in a criminal case,
or information which is directly or indirectly accessible to
those institutions in the competence of which is the prevention,
detection or investigation of criminal offences; and
6) information processing - any activities performed
with information, including the storage, organisation,
transformation, utilisation, transferring, transmission and
disclosure, blockage or erasure of information.
Section 2. Purpose and Scope of
Application of this Law
(1) The purpose of this Law is to ensure the swift exchange of
information between Latvia and other Member States within the
framework of co-operation of law enforcement authorities, in
order to prevent, detect and investigate criminal offences.
(2) The Law prescribes the procedures by which information
shall be requested and provided to a competent authority of
another Member State.
(3) The Law shall not regulate international co-operation in
the field of the criminal law.
Chapter II
Provision of Information in a Member State
Section 3. Competence of the
Provision of Information
Information may be provided by the following:
1) an investigative authority or a person performing
investigative fieldwork to which information at the disposal of
institutions or private individuals is accessible;
2) an official of persons performing investigative fieldwork -
information which is acquired when performing investigative
fieldwork; and
3) performers of procedures - information which is acquired
during criminal proceedings.
Section 4. Procedures for the
Examination of a Request
(1) An institution or official, on receiving a request, shall
perform one of the following activities:
1) provide information; or
2) refuse to provide information if reasons exist for refusal
that are provided for in this Law for the provision of
information.
(2) An institution or official which is not competent to
provide information, shall request information or a request shall
be sent to the competent authority or to an official, indicating
the deadline for the sending or provision of a reply.
(3) If an authority or official which is competent to provide
information is not entitled to access the information requested
without the agreement of a prosecutor or court, or is not
entitled to provide it, it shall request without delay the
authorisation of the prosecutor or court provided for in the
regulatory enactments regulating the processing of this
information.
(4) When providing information or refusing the provision of
information, the deadlines for the sending or providing of
information shall be observed.
Section 5. Reasons for the Refusal
of the Provision of Information
(1) The provision of information shall be refused if:
1) it may adversely affect the sovereignty or security of the
State of Latvia;
2) it may threaten the achievement of the objectives of the
process of investigative fieldwork or criminal proceedings;
3) it may threaten the life, health or other lawful interests
of persons;
4) a prosecutor or court does not give the authorisation
provided for in regulatory enactments for the access or provision
of information;
5) information is acquired from another Member State or a
third country and the further transferring of this information is
not permissible in accordance with the conditions of use
thereof;
6) the information is obviously incommensurable with the
achievement of the objectives indicated or unsuitable thereto;
or
7) the request has been submitted by an institution which is
not the competent institution of a Member State.
(2) If the provision of information is refused, based on the
conditions of Paragraph one, Clause 5 of this Section, the
country which may have the relevant information available shall
be indicated, if this is not in contravention of the conditions
of international co-operation.
Section 6. Deadlines for the Sending
of a Reply
(1) A reply shall be sent to the competent authority of a
Member State within 14 days from receipt of the request in
Latvia.
(2) If an urgent request regarding an offence is submitted and
the information requested is accessible online in the information
system, a reply shall be sent within eight hours from receipt of
the request in Latvia.
(3) If the information requested regarding an offence is
accessible online in the information system, a reply shall be
sent within seven days from receipt of the request in Latvia.
Section 7. Suspension of the
Provision of a Reply
(1) If it is not possible to provide information within the
intended deadline or the provision of information within such a
deadline is significantly hindered, or if it is not possible to
ascertain the acceptability of the provision of information
within such a deadline, an institution or official, which is
competent to provide information, may suspend the provision of a
reply as follows:
1) to the request referred to in Section 6, Paragraph two of
this Law - not longer than three days; and
2) to the request referred to in Section 6, Paragraph one or
three of this Law - not longer than ten days.
(2) The competent authority of a Member State shall be
informed without delay (but not later than by the deadlines
referred to in Section 6 of this Law) about the suspension of the
provision of a reply, the reasons for the suspension and the
possible deadline for the provision of a reply.
Section 8. Procedures for Sending a
Reply
(1) Information, information regarding the suspension of the
provision of a reply, the reasons for the suspension and the
possible deadline for the provision of a reply, and information
regarding the reasons for refusing the provision of information
shall be sent on completion of a form, the content and style of
which shall be specified by Cabinet.
(2) A reply to a request shall normally be sent to the
competent authority of a Member State in the same manner as the
request is received.
(3)A reply may also be sent with the intermediation of the
State Police or other competent authority, if the sending of the
relevant reply is within the competence thereof. In such case, an
institution or official who has received a request from another
Member State shall be informed regarding the sending of a
reply.
(4) A reply shall be sent in the official language or in the
official language of another Member State which is normally used
by the law enforcement authorities in co-operation.
(5) If a reply contains information of official secret objects
or of restricted access, it shall be sent observing the
requirements of the regulatory enactments regulating the
protection of information.
Section 9. Provision of Information
on One's Own Initiative (Spontaneous Provision of
Information)
(1) The official indicated in Section 3, Clause 2 and 3 of
this Law shall provide information to another Member State, if a
request is not received thereby, but there is a reason to believe
that such information may help an institution of the Member State
in whose competence is the prevention, detection and
investigation of criminal offences to prevent, detect or
investigate an offence and there are no reasons for the refusal
of the provision of information referred to in Section 5,
Paragraph one, Clauses 1, 2, 3 or 5 of this Law.
(2) The information referred to in Paragraph one of this
Section shall be provided by sending a form, the content and
style of which shall be specified by the Cabinet, and observing
the conditions for sending information referred to in Section 8,
Paragraphs three, four and five of this Law.
Section 10. Reference Regarding the
Use of Information
(1) On providing information, one or more permissible
objectives for the use of the information shall be indicated, as
follows:
1) the prevention, detection and investigation of a criminal
offence or the immediate prevention of a significant threat to
public safety; or
2) proof of a criminal offence.
(2) An institution or official which decides regarding the
provision of information may also indicate other restrictions for
the use of information provided for in the regulatory enactments
regulating the processing of information.
(3) The objectives for the use of information referred to in
Paragraph one, Clause 2 of this Section shall only be indicated
if the information has been acquired from the following:
1) the Population Register;
2) the Punishment Register;
3) the State Register of Vehicles and Drivers - regarding the
registration data of vehicles and the driving licence thereof;
and
4) the information systems of tractors and the drivers thereof
- regarding the registration data of vehicles and the driving
licence thereof.
Section 11. Request for Information
Regarding the Results of Process Completion and Processing of
Information
(1) If an institution or official providing information has a
reason to believe that the outcome of a process performed in a
Member State may promote the prevention, detection or
investigation of other criminal offences, it may in turn request
information regarding the results of completion of the respective
process.
(2) An institution or official which provides information
shall request that the relevant Member State informs regarding
information processing after the submission thereof, if this is
specified in the regulatory enactments regulating information
processing.
Chapter III
Requesting Information from Another Member State
Section 12. Grounds for Requesting a
Member State to Provide Information
If there are grounds to believe that information is at the
disposal of another Member State, which may help to prevent,
detect or investigate a criminal offence and that it is not
possible to ensure the implementation of the task thereof without
the acquiring of such information or the implementation thereof
is significantly hampered, an official referred to in Section 3,
Paragraphs two and three, may request the provision of
information.
Section 13. Request to Provide
Information
(1) A request addressed to another Member State to provide
information shall be prepared by completing a form, the content
and style of which shall be determined by the Cabinet.
(2) When requesting that the provision of information
regarding an offence be provided urgently, justification for the
urgency shall be indicated in the request.
Section 14. Sending a Request
(1) A request to provide information shall be sent to the
competent authority of another Member State with the
intermediation of the State Police or other competent
authority.
(2) If a request to provide information contains subject
matter of an official secret or restricted access information, it
shall be sent observing the requirements of the regulatory
enactments regulating the protection of information.
Chapter IV
Processing of Information and Informing Member States Regarding
the Results of Process Completion
Section 15. Use of Information
Provided by a Member State
(1) The use of information requested shall only be permissible
for such objectives for which a Member State has provided this
information, or for the immediate prevention of a significant
threat to State security. The use of information provided by a
Member State for another objective shall only be permissible with
the agreement of the Member State providing the information.
(2) Institutions and officials to which information provided
by a Member State has become known shall process this
information, observing the restrictions applicable thereto and
those indicated by the Member State.
(3) The inclusion of information provided by a Member State in
an information system shall be permissible if the Member State
has expressed the appropriate agreement. If information provided
by a Member State is included in an information system, this
shall be erasable at the end of the data storage deadline
specified in the information system, or at the end of the
deadline specified by the Member State, if this is shorter than
the data storage deadline specified in the information
system.
Section 16. Provision of Information
Regarding the Results of Process Completion and Processing of
Information
(1) If a Member State which has provided information has
expressed a request to receive information regarding the outcome
of the process thereof, in connection with which information is
provided, an institution or official which has requested the
information shall provide information regarding the results of
completion of the relevant process.
(2) If a Member State which has provided information has
expressed a request to receive information regarding the
information processing after the receipt thereof, the institution
or official which has requested the information shall provide
such information.
The Saeima adopted this Law on 12 March 2009.
President V. Zatlers
Rīga, 1 April 2009
1 The Parliament of the Republic of
Latvia
Translation © 2009 Valsts valodas centrs (State
Language Centre)
