Agreement between the Government of the Republic of Latvia and the Government of the Republic of Slovenia on Co-operation in Combating Terrorism, Organized Crime, Illicit Trafficking in Narcotic Drugs, Psychotropic Substances and Precursors and Other Serious Crimes

The Government of the Republic of Latvia and the Government of the Republic of Slovenia (hereinafter referred to as "the Parties"),

Guided by the endeavor to contribute to the development of their bilateral relations;

Convinced of the substantial importance of the co-operation in combating crime, especially terrorism, organized crime and illicit trafficking in narcotic drugs, psycho­tropic substances and precursors;

Aiming to increase their joint efforts for combating terrorism;

Desiring to harmonize their actions against internationally organized crime;

Taking into consideration the relevant international treaties;

have agreed as follows:

Article 1

1. Taking into consideration the national legislation of the Parties and pursuant to the provisions of the present Agreement, the Parties shall co-operate in combating terrorism, organized crime, illicit trafficking in narcotic drugs, psychotropic substances and precursors and other serious crimes.

2. The Parties shall co-operate especially in cases wherein crimes or their preparations are carried out in the territory of the state of one of the Parties, and information obtained refers to the territory of the state of the other Party.

Article 2

For combating terrorism, the Parties:

1) shall exchange information on the planned or committed acts of terrorism, those who participate in such crimes, the methods of commission and the devices used;

2) shall exchange information on terrorist groups and the members of the groups planning, committing or having committed criminal acts in the territory of the state of one of the Parties and to the disadvantage of either Party, as well as information which is necessary for combating terrorism and crimes seriously threatening the public safety;

3) shall exchange analytic and other materials related to terrorism;

4) shall exchange experience and knowledge in the field of ensuring security;

5) in accordance with the national legislation of the Parties, upon the request of one of the Parties, the other Party or both Parties jointly shall carry out operational and other measures.

Article 3

For combating illicit trafficking in narcotic drugs, psychotropic substances and precursors, the Parties:

1) shall inform each other on persons involved in the illicit trafficking in narcotic drugs, psychotropic substances and precursors; on hiding places, means of transport and methods of commission; on the place of origin and destination of the narcotic drugs, psychotropic substances and precursors, as well as of any other relevant details of such crimes, in so far as they are necessary for combating these crimes;

2) shall inform each other on the methods of illicit international trafficking in narcotic drugs, psychotropic substances and precursors, and of other relevant facts;

3) shall exchange the results of criminalistic and criminological research on illicit trafficking in narcotic drugs, psychotropic substances and precursors;

4) shall put at each other's disposal samples of narcotic drugs, psychotropic substances and precursors, if necessary;

5) shall exchange experience in controlling the legal trade of narcotic drugs, psychotropic substances and precursors;

6) in accordance with the national legislation of the Parties, upon the request of one of the Parties, the other Party or both Parties jointly shall carry out operational and other measures.

Article 4

For combating serious crimes, especially organized crime, the Parties:

1) shall inform each other on persons involved in organized crime, their connections, the structure of criminal organizations and groups, the facts of the cases (especially the time, location and method of commission), the attacked facilities, the measures taken, as well as any other relevant details, in so far as they are necessary for combating such crimes;

2) shall exchange information and experience on methods of commission and new forms of transnational organized crime;

3) shall exchange the results of criminalistic and criminological research, the experience on investigation techniques and application of the working methods and equipment;

4) shall, upon request, put at each other's disposal information on and samples of objects resulting from criminal acts or used for committing crimes;

5) shall exchange experts for joint or mutual training in order to obtain a higher level expertise and to study mutually the newest achievements in investigation techniques, equipment and methods used in combating crime;

6) in accordance with the national legislation of the Parties, upon the request of one of the Parties, the other Party or both Parties jointly shall carry out operational and other measures.

Article 5

1. In order to implement the provisions of the present Agreement, the competent authorities of the Parties, on the part of the Republic of Latvia: the Ministry of the Interior, the State Police, the Security Police, the State Border Guard, the State Revenue Service; and on the part of the Republic of Slovenia: the Ministry of the Interior, the Police; shall, within their powers and competence, co-operate with each other directly.

2. The competent authorities of the Parties may specify the definite fields of co-operation and the forms of communication in separate Protocols.

3. The Parties shall notify each other through diplomatic channels on the information necessary for mutual communication.

4. The Parties shall promptly notify each other through diplomatic channels of any changes in the list of the competent authorities of the Parties referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article.

5. In the absence of other agreement, the English language shall be used in communication and exchange of information between the competent authorities of the Parties.

Article 6

Taking into consideration the national legislation of the Parties for the protection of personal data transmitted in the course of the co-operation, the following conditions shall apply:

1) the receiving Party may use the data solely for the purpose and under the conditions determined by the transmitting Party;

2) upon the request of the transmitting Party, the receiving Party shall give information on the utilization of the data trans­mitted and the results thus achieved;

3) personal data may be forwarded solely to the competent authorities of the Parties combating terrorism, organized crime, illicit trafficking in narcotic drugs, psycho­tropic substances and precursors and other serious crimes. Data may be forwarded to other authorities only upon prior written permission of the transmitting Party;

4) the transmitting Party shall undertake to ensure that the transmitted data are correct and shall ascertain whether the transmission is necessary and corres­ponds to the intended purpose. In case it is subsequently ascertained that incorrect or unauthorised data have been transmitted, the receiving Party must be informed immediately. The receiving Party shall correct the errors or, in case the data should not have been transmitted, destroy them;

5) upon request by an entitled person all requested data about him/her, as well as information on processing thereof shall be given to such person. With respect to giving information on personal data, the national legislation of the transmitting Party shall prevail;

6) when transmitting the data, the trans­mitting Party shall inform the receiving Party of the deadline for the deletion thereof in accordance with the national legislation of the transmitting Party. Regardless of the deadline, the data relating to the person concerned must be deleted as soon as they cease to be needed. The transmitting Party must be informed about the deletion of the transmitted data and about the reasons for the deletion. In the event of termination of the present Agreement, all data received on its basis must be destroyed;

7) the Parties shall keep a record of the transmission, receipt and deletion of data;

8) the Parties shall protect effectively the personal data transmitted against unauthorized access, change and publication.

Article 7

1. The Parties shall protect the secrecy of information classified as such by any of the Parties in accordance with the national legislation of the Parties in so far as this is required on the basis of the national legislation of the transmitting Party.

2. Documents, data and technical equipment transmitted pursuant to the present Agreement shall be forwarded to a non-Party of the present Agreement only upon prior written permission of the trans­mitting Party.

Article 8

1. In order to promote and evaluate the co-operation pursuant to the present Agreement, the Parties shall set up a Joint Commission. The Parties shall notify each other of their members designated to the Joint Commission through the diplomatic channels.

2. The Joint Commission shall hold meetings when necessary, at the initiative of either Party. The Joint Commission shall hold its meetings alternately in the Republic of Latvia and in the Republic of Slovenia.

Article 9

Either Party may reject in whole or in part or may condition to comply with the request for assistance or co-operation in case it would threaten its national sovereignty, endanger its security or basic interests, or violate its national legislation.

Article 10

The provisions of the present Agreement do not affect the implementation of the provisions of other bilateral or multilateral international treaties concluded by the Republic of Latvia or the Republic of Slovenia.

Article 11

The Parties may make amendments and supplements to the present Agreement in the form of protocols, which become an integral part of the present Agreement. The amendments and supplements to the present Agreement shall enter into force in accordance with paragraph 1 of Article 12 of the present Agreement.

Article 12

1. The present Agreement shall enter into force on the thirtieth day following the date of receipt of the last of the notifications through diplomatic channels by which the Parties notify each other of the completion of the internal procedures necessary for the present Agreement to enter into force.

2. The present Agreement is concluded for an unlimited period of time. Each Party may at any time terminate the present Agreement by giving the other Party a written notice to that effect through the diplomatic channels. Termination of the present Agreement shall enter into force on the ninetieth day following the date of receipt of such notice.

Done at Riga on 13^th September 2005 in two originals in the Latvian, Slovenian and English language, all texts being equally authentic. In case of differences in the interpretation, the English text shall prevail.