Second Additional Protocol to the European Convention on mutual assistance in criminal matters:Article 20 Joint investigation teams

Second Additional Protocol to the European Convention on mutual assistance in criminal matters

Article 20 Joint investigation teams

Geldend

Deze functie is alleen te gebruiken als je bent ingelogd.Deze functie is alleen te gebruiken als je bent ingelogd.Deze functie is alleen te gebruiken als je bent ingelogd.Deze functie is alleen te gebruiken als je bent ingelogd.Deze functie is alleen te gebruiken als je bent ingelogd.

1.

By mutual agreement, the competent authorities of two or more Parties may set up a joint investigation team for a specific purpose and a limited period, which may be extended by mutual consent, to carry out criminal investigations in one or more of the Parties setting up the team. The composition of the team shall be set out in the agreement.

A joint investigation team may, in particular, be set up where:

a)

a Party's investigations into criminal offences require difficult and demanding investigations having links with other Parties;

b)

a number of Parties are conducting investigations into criminal offences in which the circumstances of the case necessitate co-ordinated, concerted action in the Parties involved.

A request for the setting up of a joint investigation team may be made by any of the Parties concerned. The team shall be set up in one of the Parties in which the investigations are expected to be carried out.

2.

In addition to the information referred to in the relevant provisions of Article 14 of the Convention, requests for the setting up of a joint investigation team shall include proposals for the composition of the team.

3.

A joint investigation team shall operate in the territory of the Parties setting up the team under the following general conditions:

a)

the leader of the team shall be a representative of the competent authority — participating in criminal investigations — from the Party in which the team operates. The leader of the team shall act within the limits of his or her competence under national law;

b)

the team shall carry out its operations in accordance with the law of the Party in which it operates. The members and seconded members of the team shall carry out their tasks under the leadership of the person referred to in sub-paragraph a, taking into account the conditions set by their own authorities in the agreement on setting up the team;

c)

the Party in which the team operates shall make the necessary organisational arrangements for it to do so.

4.

In this article, members of the joint investigation team from the Party in which the team operates are referred to as ‘members’, while members from Parties other than the Party in which the team operates are referred to as ‘seconded members’.

5.

Seconded members of the joint investigation team shall be entitled to be present when investigative measures are taken in the Party of operation. However, the leader of the team may, for particular reasons, in accordance with the law of the Party where the team operates, decide otherwise.

6.

Seconded members of the joint investigation team may, in accordance with the law of the Party where the team operates, be entrusted by the leader of the team with the task of taking certain investigative measures where this has been approved by the competent authorities of the Party of operation and the seconding Party.

7.

Where the joint investigation team needs investigative measures to be taken in one of the Parties setting up the team, members seconded to the team by that Party may request their own competent authorities to take those measures. Those measures shall be considered in that Party under the conditions which would apply if they were requested in a national investigation.

8.

Where the joint investigation team needs assistance from a Party other than those which have set up the team, or from a third State, the request for assistance may be made by the competent authorities of the State of operationto the competent authorities of the other State concerned in accordance with the relevant instruments or arrangements.

9.

A seconded member of the joint investigation team may, in accordance with his or her national law and within the limits of his or her competence, provide the team with information available in the Party which has seconded him or her for the purpose of the criminal investigations conducted by the team.

10.

Information lawfully obtained by a member or seconded member while part of a joint investigation team which is not otherwise available to the competent authorities of the Parties concerned may be used for the following purposes:

a)

for the purposes for which the team has been set up;

b)

subject to the prior consent of the Party where the information became available, for detecting, investigating and prosecuting other criminal offences. Such consent may be withheld only in cases where such use would endanger criminal investigations in the Party concerned or in respect of which that Party could refuse mutual assistance;

c)

for preventing an immediate and serious threat to public security, and without prejudice to sub-paragraph b. if subsequentlya criminal investigation is opened;

d)

for other purposes to the extent that this is agreed between Parties setting up the team.

11.

This article shall be without prejudice to any other existing provisions or arrangements on the setting up or operation of joint investigation teams.

12.

To the extent that the laws of the Parties concerned or the provisions of any legal instrument applicable between them permit, arrangements may be agreed for persons other than representatives of the competent authorities of the Parties setting up the joint investigation team to take part in the activities of the team. The rights conferred upon the members or seconded members of the team by virtue of this article shall not apply to these persons unless the agreement expressly states otherwise.

Deze functie is alleen te gebruiken als je bent ingelogd.