21 AVRIL 2007. - An Act to approve the Convention between the Government of the Kingdom of Belgium and the Government of the Republic of Albania on police cooperation, signed in Brussels on 22 March 2005 (1) (2)

ALBERT II, King of the Belgians,
To all, present and to come, Hi.
The Chambers adopted and We sanction the following:
Article 1^er. This Act regulates a matter referred to in Article 77 of the Constution.
Art. 2. The Convention between the Government of the Kingdom of Belgium and the Government of the Republic of Albania on police cooperation, signed in Brussels on 22 March 2005, will come out its full and complete effect.
Promulgation of this law, let us order that it be clothed with the seal of the State and published by the Belgian Monitor.
Given in Brussels on 21 April 2007.
ALBERT
By the King:
Minister of Foreign Affairs,
K. DE GUCHT
The Minister of Justice,
Ms. L. ONKELINX
The Minister of the Interior,
P. DEWAEL
Seal of the state seal:
The Minister of Justice,
Ms. L. ONKELINX
____
Notes
(1) 2006-2007 session.
Senate:
Parliamentary documents. - Bill tabled on 24 November 2006, No. 3-1947/1. Report, no. 3-1947/2.
Annales parliamentarians. - Discussion, session of 08/02/2007. Vote, meeting of 8 February 2007.
House of Representatives:
Parliamentary documents. - Project transmitted by the Senate, No. 51-2915/1. Report, number. - Text adopted in plenary and subject to Royal Assent, No. 51-2915/2
Annales parliamentarians. - Discussion, meeting of 01/03/2007. Voting, meeting of 1^er March 2007.
(2) This Convention will enter into force on 1^er March 2008.

Convention between the Government of the Kingdom of Belgium and the Government of the Republic of Albania concerning police cooperation
The Government of the Kingdom of Belgium
and
The Government of the Republic of Albania
hereinafter referred to as the Contracting Parties,
Based on the concern to promote relations of friendship and cooperation between the two States, and in particular on the common desire to strengthen police cooperation among them;
Based on the desire to strengthen this police cooperation within the framework of the international commitments undertaken by the two States in respect of fundamental rights and freedoms, including the European Convention on Human Rights and the Council of Europe Convention No. 108 of 28 January 1981 for the protection of persons with regard to the automated processing of personal data;
Considering that international organized crime poses a serious threat to the socio-economic development of the States of the Contracting Parties, and that recent developments in international organized crime endanger their institutional functioning;
Considering that the fight against trafficking in human beings and the suppression of illegal entry and exits of the territory of States and illegal migration, as well as the elimination of organized channels participating in these illegal acts, are a concern of the Governments and parliaments of our two States;
Considering that the illegal production and trade of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances constitute a danger to the health and safety of citizens;
Considering that the only harmonization of relevant legislation is not sufficient to combat the phenomenon of clandestine migration with sufficient efficiency;
Considering that the need for effective international police cooperation in the field of organized crime and illegal migration, including through the exchange and processing of information, is essential to combat and prevent such criminal and criminal activities;
Considering that the fulfilment of this need requires a series of appropriate measures and close cooperation between the Contracting Parties;
Determined to conclude this Convention.
Definitions
Article 1^er
For the purposes of this Convention, the following means:
International trafficking in human beings, any following intentional behaviour:
(a) Facilitate entry into the territory of the State party to this Convention, transit, stay or exit in that territory if it is used, for that purpose, of the constraint, including violence or threats, or if there is recourse to deception, abuse of authority or other forms of pressure in such a way that the person has no other genuine and acceptable choices than to submit to them;
(b) to exploit in any way an informed person that the person has entered, transited or resided in the territory of the State party to this Convention under the conditions specified in (a).
Sexual exploitation of children: Offences referred to in Article 34 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child of 20 November 1989, including the production, sale, distribution or other forms of trafficking in pornographic material involving children and the personal possession of such material.
Technical assistance: Assistance in logistical support to police and migration services.
Nuclear and radioactive material crime: Offences as listed in Article 7, §1^erthe Convention on the Physical Protection of Nuclear Material, signed at Vienna and New York on 3 March 1980.
Money laundering: Offences as listed in Article 6, paragraphs 1^er to 3 of the Council of Europe Convention on the Laundering, Screening, and the Seizure and confiscation of proceeds of crime, signed in Strasbourg on 8 November 1990.
Organized crime: any offence as referred to in Article 2 of the UN Convention of 12 December 2000 concerning transnational organized crime.
Processing of personal data: by personal data, any information concerning an identified or identifiable natural person must be heard (data subject); is deemed to be identifiable a person who may be identified, directly or indirectly, including by reference to an identification number or to one or more specific elements, specific to his or her physical, physiological, psychic, economic, cultural or social identity.
By processing personal data, it is necessary to hear any operation or set of operations carried out or not using automated processes, and applied to personal data, such as the collection, recording, organization, preservation, adaptation or modification, extraction, consultation, use, communication by transmission, diffusion or any other form of disposal, removal or interconnection,
Narcotics: Any substance, whether natural or synthetic, contained in Table I or Table II of the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs, made in New York on 30 March 1961.
Psychotropic substance: any substance, whether natural or synthetic, or any natural product of Table I, II, III or IV of the Convention on Psychotropic Substances of 21 February 1971.
Illicit trafficking in narcotic drugs or psychotropic substances: the cultivation, manufacture or trafficking of narcotic drugs or psychotropic substances contrary to the purposes of the Convention of 30 March 1961 on Narcotic Drugs, the Convention of 21 February 1971 on Psychotropic Substances or the United Nations Convention of 20 December 1988 on the Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances.
Urgent request: an application is deemed to be a urgent in cases where the passage through formal administrative procedure to the central authorities may interfere or jeopardize preventive or research action.
Areas of cooperation
Article 2
1. Each Contracting Party undertakes to grant to the other Party, in accordance with the rules and conditions set out in this Convention, the broadest cooperation with regard to police cooperation.
2. The Contracting Parties shall cooperate in the prevention, punishment and prosecution of serious crimes of organized crime, in particular:
- offences against the life, health and physical integrity of persons;
- offences related to the illicit production and trafficking of narcotic drugs, psychotropic substances and precursors;
- illegal immigration and trafficking in human beings;
- procuring, trafficking in human beings and sexual exploitation of children;
- extortion of funds;
- theft, trafficking and illegal trade of weapons, ammunition, explosives, radioactive substances, nuclear materials and other dangerous substances;
- falsifications (fabrication, counterfeiting, processing and distribution) of identity documents, means of payment, cheques and securities;
- criminality in trade and finance;
- offences against property, including theft, trafficking in works of art and historical objects (voluntary with violence, robbery with breaking);
- theft with or without violence, illegal trade and traffic of motor vehicles and the falsification and use of falsified vehicle documents;
- money laundering.
3. The forms of serious organized crime that are not defined in Article 1 are appreciated by the competent national authorities according to the national legislation of the States to which they belong.
Article 3
Collaboration between Contracting Parties will also include:
- searching for missing persons and helping to identify unidentified bodies;
- the search on the territory of a Contracting Party of stolen, disappeared, diverted or misplaced objects in the territory of the other.
Article 4
The Contracting Parties shall cooperate in the areas specified in Articles 2 and 3 above by:
- exchange of information on areas within the jurisdiction of police and immigration services;
- exchange of equipment;
- technical and scientific assistance, expertise and supplies of specialized technical equipment;
- an exchange of experiences;
- cooperation in the field of vocational training;
- assistance in the preparation of requests for mutual legal assistance;
in accordance with the following provisions.
The exchange of information
Article 5
The Contracting Parties will assist and ensure close and ongoing cooperation. They will, inter alia, exchange all relevant and important information.
This cooperation may take the form of permanent contact through liaison officers to be designated.
Article 6
1. The Contracting Parties undertake to ensure that their police services, in accordance with national law and within the limits of their competence, provide assistance for the prevention and search for punishable acts, provided that the national law of the requested Contracting Party does not reserve the request or its execution to the judicial authorities.
2. In particular cases, each Contracting Party may, in accordance with its national law and without being invited to do so, communicate to the Contracting Party concerned information that may be important to the Contracting Party concerned for the purpose of assisting in the prevention and suppression of offences as referred to in Article 2 of this Convention or for the prevention of threats to public order and security.
Article 7
Any information provided by the requested Contracting Party may not be used by the requesting Contracting Party in order to demonstrate the facts incriminated only after a request for mutual legal assistance in accordance with the applicable international provisions.
Article 8
1. Requests for assistance and responses to these requests must be exchanged between the central bodies responsible, by each Contracting Party, for international police cooperation and immigration.
Where the request cannot be made in a timely manner by the above-mentioned channel, it may, exceptionally and in an emergency only, be addressed by the competent authorities of the requesting Contracting Party directly to the competent authorities of the requested Contracting Party and may respond directly to it. In these exceptional cases, the requesting authority shall notify, as soon as possible, the central body responsible, in the required Contracting Party, for international cooperation, its direct request and its urgency.
2. The designation of the central bodies responsible for international cooperation and the modalities of mutual assistance are resolved by arrangements between the competent ministers of the Contracting Parties.
Article 9
The requesting competent authority shall guarantee the degree of confidentiality that the required competent authority of the other Contracting Party has assigned to the information. Security levels are those used by INTERPOL.
Article 10
1. Contracting Parties may detach, for a specified or indeterminate duration, liaison officers from a Contracting Party to the other Contracting Party.
2. The detachment of liaison officers for a specified or indeterminate duration is intended to promote and accelerate cooperation between Contracting Parties, including by agreeing to:
(a) in the form of an exchange of information for the purposes of both preventive and repressive fight against crime;
(b) in the execution of requests for mutual assistance in criminal matters;
(c) for the purpose of carrying out missions of the authorities responsible for the monitoring of external borders and immigration;
(d) for the purpose of carrying out the missions of the authorities responsible for the prevention of threats to public order.
3. Liaison officers have an advisory and assistance mission. They are not competent for the autonomous execution of police measures. They provide information and carry out their missions in accordance with the instructions given to them by the Contracting Party of origin and by the Contracting Party to which they are seconded. They regularly report to the central police cooperation body of the Contracting Party to which they are seconded.
4. The competent Ministers of Contracting Parties may agree that liaison officials of a Contracting Party seconded to third States shall also represent the interests of the other Contracting Party.
5. The liaison officer may be attached and accredited to a third diplomatic mission of a State of the European Union.
Protection of personal data
Article 11
1. Pursuant to this Convention, the processing of personal data is subject to the respective national legislation of each Contracting Party.
2. With regard to the processing of personal data pursuant to this Convention, Contracting Parties undertake to achieve a level of protection of personal data that complies with the provisions of the Council of Europe Convention of 28 January 1981 for the protection of persons with respect to the automated processing of personal data and Recommendation R (87) 15 of 17 September 1987 of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe to regulate the use of personal data.
3. With regard to the processing of personal data transmitted under this Convention, the following provisions apply:
(a) data may only be used by the recipient Contracting Party for the purposes for which this Convention provides for the transmission of such data. The use of data for other purposes is only possible after the prior authorization of the Contracting Party which transmits the data and in accordance with the legislation of the Contracting Party to whom it is intended;
(b) data may be used only by judicial authorities, services and bodies that perform a task or perform a function for the purposes referred to in this Convention and in particular articles 2 and 3. Parties will provide the user list;
(c) the Contracting Party which transmits the data shall ensure its accuracy and completeness. It is also required to ensure that these data are not retained longer than necessary. If it finds either on its own initiative or on the basis of a request from the data subject, that incorrect data or that should not have been transmitted have been provided, the recipient Contracting Party(s) must be informed without delay; the latter or the latter are required to correct or destroy the data or to mention that the data is incorrect or should not have been transmitted;
(d) a Contracting Party may not invoke the fact that another Contracting Party has transmitted incorrect data to discharge its responsibility under its national law with respect to an injured person;
(e) the transmission and receipt of personal data shall be recorded. Contracting Parties shall communicate the list of authorities or services authorized to consult the registration;
(f) access to data is governed by the national law of the Contracting Party to which the data subject submits its application. The communication of the data to the applicant is only possible after requesting the authorization of the Contracting Party that originates the data;
(g) the data may only be used by the Contracting Party to whom it is intended and in accordance with the conditions imposed by that Contracting Party.
4. In addition, with respect to transmission, the following provisions apply:
(a) data can only be transmitted to police and immigration authorities and services; the communication of data to other bodies that pursue the same objectives as those services and authorities and that act in that same framework may only take place after the prior authorization of the Contracting Party providing them;
(b) upon request, the Contracting Party concerned shall inform the Contracting Party which shall transmit the data of its use and the results obtained on the basis of the data transmitted.
5. Each Contracting Party shall designate a supervisory authority, in accordance with national law, to exercise independent control over the processing of personal data carried out on the basis of this Convention and to verify whether such treatments are not in violation of the rights of the person concerned. These supervisory authorities are also competent to analyse the difficulties in the application or interpretation of this Convention relating to the processing of personal data. Such supervisory authorities may agree to cooperate in the missions recognized by this Convention.
Article 12
If personal data are transmitted through a liaison officer referred to in Article 10, the provisions of this Article shall apply only when the liaison officer transmits this data to the Contracting Party to which it has been detached.
Exception
Article 13
Each of the Contracting Parties refuses assistance when it comes to political or military offences or where such assistance is contrary to the legal provisions in force in its territory.
Each of the Contracting Parties may refuse assistance or subject it to conditions in respect of offences related to political or military offences or where the fulfilment of assistance may threaten the sovereignty, security, public order or other essential interests of the State.
Other forms of cooperation
Article 14
1. The Contracting Parties agree to provide mutual assistance in the field of vocational training and technical assistance for problems related to the operation of the police.
2. The Contracting Parties agree to exchange their practical experiences in all areas referred to in this Convention.
3. The modalities of mutual assistance are regulated by arrangements between the competent ministers of the Contracting Parties.
Concertation
Article 15
1. The competent ministers of the Contracting Parties may establish permanent or occasional working groups to examine common problems relating to the suppression and prevention of the areas of crime referred to in Article 2 and the areas of cooperation referred to in Article 3 and to develop, where appropriate, proposals to improve, if necessary, the practical and technical aspects of cooperation between the Contracting Parties.
2. The costs associated with the implementation of cooperation shall be borne by each Contracting Party, unless otherwise provided by the representatives of the Contracting Parties, duly authorized.
3. The competent Ministers of Contracting Parties shall establish an assessment group that shall report to the Ministers every three years.
Settlement of disputes
Article 16
Any dispute arising from the interpretation or application of this Convention shall be resolved by a joint consultative commission.
There shall be established a joint consultative commission, composed of representatives of the Ministries of Foreign Affairs, Interior and Justice, which shall meet periodically at the request of either State, in order to facilitate the resolution of problems arising from the interpretation or application of this Convention.
Final provisions
Article 17
The provisions of this Convention shall apply only to the extent that they are consistent with national law.
Monitoring of the implementation of this Agreement shall be carried out in accordance with the national law of each Contracting Party.
Article 18
The Contracting Parties shall, in writing and through diplomatic channels, notify each other of the fulfilment of the constitutional formalities required for the entry into force of this Convention.
The Convention shall enter into force on the first day of the second month following the date of receipt of the last notification.
This Convention shall be concluded for an unlimited period of time. Any Contracting Party may denounce it by means of a diplomatic written notification to the other Contracting Party. The denunciation will take effect 6 months after the date of its consignment.
Article 19
Any Contracting Party may send to the other Contracting Party any proposals to amend this Convention. The Contracting Parties agree to the amendments to this Convention.
In faith, the undersigned, duly authorized to do so, have affixed their signatures to the bottom of this Convention.
Done in Brussels on 22 March 2005, in two original copies, in each language, Albanian, French and Dutch, the three texts being equally authentic.