Key Benefits:
567 OF 2000
(February 2)
Official Journal No 43,883 of 7 February 2000
By means of which the "Agreement on cooperation and judicial assistance in criminal matters between the Government of the Republic of Colombia and the Government of the Republic of Venezuela", signed in Caracas, 20 (20) of February of a thousand nine hundred and ninety-eight (1998).
COLOMBIA CONGRESS
Having regard to the text of the "Cooperation Agreement and Judicial Assistance in Criminal Matters between the Government of the Republic of Colombia and the Government of the Republic of Venezuela", signed in Caracas, on 20 February (20) in the 1990s and eight (1998), which to the letter says:
(To be transcribed: photocopy of the full text of the international instrument mentioned, duly authenticated by the Head of the Legal Office of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs).
" COOPERATION AGREEMENT AND JUDICIAL ASSISTANCE IN CRIMINAL MATTERS
BETWEEN THE GOVERNMENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF COLOMBIA AND THE
GOVERNMENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF VENEZUELA
The Government of the Republic of Colombia and the Government of the Republic of Venezuela, hereinafter the Parties;
Considering the bonds of friendship and cooperation that unite us as neighboring countries;
Recognizing that the fight against crime is a shared responsibility of the international community and requires the joint action of the States;
Aware of the need to strengthen mechanisms for judicial cooperation and mutual assistance, to prevent the increase of criminal activities;
In compliance with your internal legal orders;
THE FOLLOWING HAVE BEEN AGREED:
GENERAL PROVISIONS.
ARTICLE 1o. APPLICATION OBJECT AND SCOPE.
1. The Republic of Colombia and the Republic of Venezuela, in accordance with the provisions of this Agreement and in their respective legal systems, undertake to lend themselves the most extensive cooperation and mutual judicial assistance to investigations, prosecutions and prosecutions related to criminal matters.
2. This Agreement does not entitle the authorities or individuals of the Requesting Party to carry out on the territory of the Requested Party functions which, according to the internal laws, are reserved for their authorities, except in the case provided for in the Article 14, numeral 3.
3. This Agreement shall not apply to:
(a) The detention of persons in order to be extradited, or to extradition requests;
(b) The execution of criminal sentences including the transfer of convicted persons to the object of their criminal sentence.
4. This Agreement shall be deemed to be concluded exclusively for the purposes of cooperation and mutual judicial assistance between the Contracting States. The provisions of this Agreement shall not create any right in favour of individuals in order to obtain, remove or exclude evidence or to impede the enforcement of an application.
ARTICLE 2o. DOUBLE INCRIMINATION. The assistance shall be provided even if the fact that it is carried out in the Requesting Party is not considered as a crime by the law of the Required Party.
However, for the execution of judicial inspections, requisitions, records and precautionary or definitive measures on property, the assistance shall be provided only if the legislation of the Replaced Party provides for the fact that the act of the Party is a crime. comes from the Requesting Party.
ARTICLE 3o. SCOPE OF ASSISTANCE. Assistance will include:
a) Notification of procedural acts;
b) Reception, practice and referral of evidence and judicial proceedings, such as testimonies, statements, opinions and inspections of persons, property and places;
c) Localization and identification of people;
(d) Notification of persons and experts to appear voluntarily in order to provide evidence or testimony in the Requesting Party;
e) Transfer of persons detained for the purpose of appearing as witnesses in the Requesting Party or for other purposes expressly indicated in the application;
f) Precautionary measures on goods;
g) Compliance with other requests for goods, including the eventual transfer of the value of the seized goods in a definitive manner to the extent that it is compatible with their domestic law;
h) Delivery of documents and other test objects;
i) Facilitate the entry and permit internal mobility in the territory of the requested State to officials of the Requesting State, in order to assist in the practice of the actions described in this Agreement, provided that the internal Required state to allow;
j) Any other form of assistance in accordance with the purposes of this Agreement as long as it is not incompatible with the laws of the Requested State.
ARTICLE 4. CENTRAL AUTHORITIES.
1. The Central Authorities shall be responsible for submitting and receiving for direct communication between them the requests for cooperation and assistance referred to in this Agreement.
2. For the Republic of Colombia, in relation to requests for assistance sent to Colombia, the Central Authority will be the Prosecutor General's Office. In relation to requests for assistance from Colombia, the Central Authority shall be the Office of the Prosecutor General of the Nation or the Ministry of Justice and Law.
3. For the Republic of Venezuela the Central Authority shall be the Ministry of Justice.
The Parties may, by means of diplomatic notes, communicate changes in the designation of Central Authorities.
ARTICLE 5o. COMPETENT AUTHORITIES FOR THE APPLICATION FOR COOPERATION AND ASSISTANCE. For the purposes of this Agreement, requests transmitted by a Central Authority in accordance with this Agreement shall be based on cooperation requirements and the assistance of the competent authorities of the Requesting Party, responsible for the prosecution or investigation of the offences.
ARTICLE 6o. DENIAL OF ASSISTANCE.
1. The Required Party may refuse assistance when:
(a) The request for assistance in the judgment of the Requested State relates to a political or related crime with it;
(b) The person in respect of whom the measure is sought has been cleared or has served his or her conviction in the Replaced Party for the same facts as mentioned in the application or where the criminal action has been extinguished;
(c) Compliance with the application is contrary to its sovereignty, security, public order or other essential or fundamental interests of the Required Party;
d) The request for assistance is contrary to the legal order of the Redeemed Party or does not conform to the provisions of this Agreement;
e) The investigation has been initiated for the purpose of processing or discriminating in any form a person or group of persons for reasons of race, sex, social status, nationality, religion, ideology or any other form of violation of human rights.
2. If the Requested Party refuses assistance, it shall inform the Requesting Party through its central authority, with the reasons it is based, without prejudice to the provisions of Article 13.1.b.
3. The competent authority of the Redeemed Party may refuse, condition or defer compliance with the application, where it is deemed to be an obstacle to an ongoing criminal procedure on its territory.
On these terms, the Requested Party shall consult the Requesting Party through the Central Authorities. If the Requesting Party accepts the conditional cooperation or assistance, the request shall be fulfilled in accordance with the proposed manner.
EXECUTING REQUESTS.
ARTICLE 7o. FORM AND CONTENT OF THE REQUEST.
1. The request for assistance shall be made in writing.
2. The application may be made in advance by telex, facsimile, e-mail or other equivalent means, and must be confirmed by the original document signed by the Requesting Party within 30 days of its formulation.
3. The application shall contain the following information:
a) Identification of the Competent Authority of the Requesting Party;
b) Description of the facts that constitute the object of the cooperation or assistance and the nature of the judicial proceeding, including the crimes to which it relates;
c) Description of the requested cooperation or assistance measures;
d) Reasons for which measures are requested;
e) Reference to applicable legislation;
f) Identity of persons subject to court proceedings, where they are known;
g) The term within which the Requesting Party wants the request to be met.
4. Where necessary, and to the extent possible, the application shall also include:
a) Information about the identity and location of people to be notified and their relationship to the process;
(b) The exact description of the place to be inspected and the identification of the person under examination, as well as the goods subject to a precautionary or definitive measure;
c) The text of the interrogation to be formulated for the practice of the testimonial test in the Required Party, as well as the description of the manner in which any testimony or statement must be made and recorded;
d) The description of the special form and procedures in which the application must be complied with, if required;
e) Information on the payment of expenses to be assigned to the person whose presence is requested from the Required Party;
(f) The indication of the authorities of the Requesting Party that will participate in the process that is developed in the Required Party;
g) Any other information that may be of use to the Required Party to facilitate compliance with the application;
1. Compliance with the requests shall be made in accordance with the law of the Require Party and in accordance with the provisions of this Agreement.
2. At the request of the Requesting Party, the Redeemed Party shall comply with the cooperation or assistance in accordance with the special forms and procedures indicated in the request, unless they are incompatible with its domestic law.
ARTICLE 9o. CONFIDENTIALITY AND LIMITATIONS IN THE USE OF INFORMATION.
1. The Requested Party shall keep the request for legal assistance under reserve, unless its lifting is necessary to execute the request. In this case, the Requested Party will request its approval from the Requesting Party, by written communication, without which the request will not be executed.
2. The Competent Authority of the Redeemed Party may request that the information or evidence obtained under this Agreement be of a confidential nature, in accordance with the conditions specified.
In such a case, the Requesting Party shall respect such conditions. If you cannot accept them, you will notify the Required Party, which will decide on the request for cooperation or assistance.
3. Unless prior authorisation from the Central Authority of the Required Party, the Requesting Party may only use the information or evidence obtained under this Agreement in the investigation or procedure indicated in the application.
ARTICLE 10. INFORMATION ABOUT THE PROCESSING OF THE REQUEST.
1. At the request of the Central Authority of the Requesting Party, the Central Authority of the Redeemed Party shall report within a reasonable time on the processing of the request.
2. The Central Authority of the Requested Party shall promptly report the outcome of the application and shall forward all information and evidence obtained to the Central Authority of the Requesting Party.
3. Where it is not possible to comply with the request, in whole or in part, the Central Authority of the Requested Party shall immediately inform the Central Authority of the Requesting Party and inform the reasons why its compliance was not possible, without prejudice to the provisions of Article 13. 1.b.
ARTICLE 11. EXPENSES. The Required Party shall be responsible for the routine expenses of the application. The Requesting Party will pay the expenses and fees for the experts, as well as the extraordinary expenses incurred for the fulfillment of the request and the travel expenses of the persons indicated in the articles 15 and 16.
FORMS OF COOPERATION OR ASSISTANCE.
ARTICLE 12. NOTIFICATIONS AND DOCUMENT DELIVERY.
1. The competent authority of the requested State shall take all necessary measures to make notifications, citations or delivery of documents relating, in whole or in part, to a request for cooperation or assistance made by the Authority. Competent of the Requesting State, in accordance with the provisions of this Agreement.
2. Any request for the notification, summons or delivery of a document requiring the presence of a person to the authorities of the Requesting State shall be forwarded by the Central Authority of the Requested State in good time to the date of the appointment.
3. The Central Authority of the Requested State shall send a delivery voucher in the form indicated in the application.
4. If the notice or summons is not made, the Required Party shall inform, through the Central Authorities, the Competent Authority of the Requesting Party, the reasons for which it was not possible to take action.
ARTICLE 13. DELIVERY AND RETURN OF OFFICIAL DOCUMENTS.
1. At the request of the Competent Authority of the Requesting Party, the Competent Authority of the Required Party, through the Central Authorities:
a) Provide copies of official documents, records and information accessible to the public;
(b) It may provide copies of documents and information to which the public does not have access, under the same conditions as those documents would be made available to its own authorities. If the assistance provided for in this literal is denied, the Competent Authority of the Redeemed Party shall not be required to express the grounds for refusal.
2. Documents or objects that have been sent in compliance with a request for legal assistance shall be returned by the Competent Authority of the Requesting Party, when the requested Party so requests.
ARTICLE 14. ASSISTANCE ON THE REQUIRED PART.
1. The Central Authority of the Redeemed Party, in accordance with its legislation, shall take the necessary measures to ensure that any person who is in his territory and who is asked to give evidence or expertise, present documents, a background or evidence under this Agreement, whether or not it is necessary to appear before its Competent Authority.
2. The Required Party shall inform in good time the place and date of receipt of the statement of evidence or expertise, or of the documents referred to, a background or evidence. Where necessary, the Competent Authorities shall consult each other through the Central Authorities for the purpose of setting a suitable date for the Competent Authorities of the Parties.
3. The Competent Authority of the Redeemed Party shall authorize under its management the presence of officials of the requesting Party authorities indicated in the request during the course of the proceedings for cooperation or assistance, and shall allow ask questions if it is not contrary to your legislation. The hearing shall take place in accordance with the procedures laid down by the legislation of the Required Party.
4. If the person referred to in numeral 1 alleges immunity, privilege or incapacity under the legislation of the Redeemed Party, this shall be resolved by the Competent Authority of the Redeemed Party prior to the application, and shall be communicated to the Party Requesting through the Central Authority.
5. The documents, background and evidence provided by the declarants or obtained as a result of their declaration or on the occasion of the declaration shall be sent to the Requesting Party in conjunction with the declaration.
ARTICLE 15. ASSISTANCE IN THE REQUESTING PARTY.
1. Where the Requesting Party requests the presence of a person on its territory to testify or to provide information or declaration, the Requested Party shall invite the declarant or expert to appear before the Competent Authority of the Party. Applicant.
2. The Competent Authority of the Redeemed Party shall record in writing the consent of the person whose presence is requested in the Requesting Party, and shall immediately inform the Central Authority of the Requesting Party about the response.
3. The Requesting Party shall bear the costs of the transfer and his/her stay.
ARTICLE 16. HEARING OF PERSONS DETAINED.
1. At the request of the Requesting Party, and whenever the Requested Party agrees, it may be temporarily transferred to the Requesting Party, in order to provide testimony or assistance in investigations, to persons detained in the territory of the Republic of from the Required Party, as long as they consent to it.
2. The shipment will be denied when, depending on the circumstances of the case, the Competent Authority of the Redeemed Party considers the shipment to be inconvenient, among others for the following reasons:
(a) The presence of the detained person is necessary in an ongoing criminal proceedings in the territory of the Redeemed Party;
b) The transfer may involve the prolongation of the preventive detention.
3. The Requesting Party shall keep the person transferred in custody and shall deliver it to the Redeemed Party within the period fixed by it, or prior to that, to the extent that its presence is no longer necessary.
4. The time when the person is outside the territory of the Redeemed Party will be computed for the purposes of preventive detention or penalty compliance.
5. In the event that the transferred person no longer has to remain in detention, the Requested Party shall inform the Requesting Party. That person shall be released and subject to the general regime set out in Article 15 of this Agreement.
6. The detained person who does not give his consent to make statements in the terms of this article, shall not be subject, for this reason, to any sanction nor shall be subject to any such measure.
ARTICLE 17. TEMPORARY WARRANTY.
1. The appearance of a person who consents to testify or provide assistance, as provided for in Articles 15 and 16, shall be conditional on the Requesting Party grant a temporary guarantee by which the person in your territory will not be able to:
a) Stop or prosecute the person for offences prior to departure from the territory of the Reloved Party;
b) Citar the person to appear or to testify in proceedings other than that specified in the application; unless the person manifests his written consent and the Central Authorities of both States agree on it.
2. The temporary guarantee shall cease when the person voluntarily extends his stay in the territory of the Requesting Party for more than 10 days from the moment that his presence is not necessary in that State, in accordance with the Party Required, except circumstances of force majeure or fortuitous case.
ARTICLE 18. PRECAUTIONARY MEASURES.
1. For the purposes of this Agreement.
(a) "Product of the Crime" means goods of any kind derived or obtained directly or indirectly from the commission of a crime or its equivalent value;
b) "Instrument of Crime" means any good used or intended to be used for the commission of a crime.
2. The Competent Authority of a Party, through the Central Authorities, may request the identification and/or adoption of precautionary measures on goods, instruments or proceeds of a crime located in the territory of the another Party.
When it comes to the identification of the proceeds of the crime, the Required Party will report the search result.
3. Once the proceeds of the crime have been identified, or in the case of the instrument of the offence, at the request of the Requesting Party, the Replaced Party, in so far as its domestic law permits, shall take the appropriate precautionary measures. on such goods.
4. The requirement under the preceding paragraph must include:
a) A copy of the requested precautionary measure;
b) A summary of the facts of the case, including a description of the offence, where and when it was committed and a reference to the relevant legal provisions;
(c) As far as possible, a description of the goods in respect of which the measure is intended to be carried out and its commercial value, and the relationship of the goods to the person against which it was initiated;
(d) An estimate of the sum to which the precautionary measure is intended to be applied and the basis of the calculation of the measure.
5. The Required Party shall, in accordance with its legislation, resolve any request for the protection of third-party rights in good faith on the goods that are subject to the measures provided for in the preceding paragraphs.
6. The competent authorities of each Party shall promptly report on the exercise of any appeal or of a decision taken in respect of the precautionary measure requested or adopted.
ARTICLE 19. OTHER COOPERATION AND ASSISTANCE MEASURES. The Parties in accordance with their domestic law may cooperate and assist in the enforcement of definitive measures on goods linked to the commission of an illegal act in the any of the Parties.
ARTICLE 20. CUSTODY AND DISPOSAL OF PROPERTY. The State Party that has the instruments, or the proceeds of the crime, in its custody shall have the instruments in accordance with its internal legislation. To the extent permitted by its legislation and in terms deemed appropriate, that State Party may distribute the seized goods or the proceeds of its sale with the other.
1. Liability for damages that may arise from the acts of their authorities in the execution of this Agreement shall be governed by the domestic law of each Party.
2. One Party shall not be liable for any damages that may result from acts of the authorities of the other Party, in the formulation or execution of an application, in accordance with this Agreement.
ARTICLE 22. AUTHENTICATION OF DOCUMENTS AND CERTIFICATES. Documents from one of the Parties, which are to be filed in the territory of the other Party, which are processed through the Central Authorities, shall not require authentication or any other analogous formality.
ARTICLE 23. DISPUTE RESOLUTION.
1. Any controversy arising from an application shall be resolved by consultation between the Central Authorities.
2. Any dispute arising between the Parties relating to the interpretation or application of this Agreement shall be resolved by consultation between the Parties by diplomatic means.
FINAL PROVISIONS.
1. The cooperation or assistance provided for in this Agreement shall not prevent each Party from providing cooperation or assistance to the other Party under the provisions of other international instruments in force between them.
2. This Agreement shall not prevent the Parties from developing other forms of cooperation or assistance in accordance with their respective legal systems.
ARTICLE 25. ENTRY INTO FORCE AND DURATION.
1. The Parties shall notify by diplomatic means, compliance with the required constitutional procedures as regards the entry into force of this Agreement, which shall take place on the first day of the second month following the date of entry into force of this Agreement. receipt of the last notification.
2. This Agreement shall remain in force indefinitely.
3. This Agreement may be denounced by any of the Parties at any time by means of a Diplomatic Note, which shall have effect six (6) months after the date of receipt by the other Party. The complaint will not affect any requests for assistance in progress.
Subscribed in Caracas on the twentieth day of the month of February of a thousand nine hundred and ninety-eight in two copies in Spanish, both texts being equally valid and authentic.
By the Government of the Republic of Colombia,
MARIA EMMA MEJIA VELEZ,
Minister of Foreign Affairs.
By the Government of the Republic of Venezuela,
MIGUEL ANGEL BURELLI RIVAS,
Minister of Foreign Affairs.
The undersigned Head of the Legal Office of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs,
NOTES:
That the present reproduction is faithful photocopy taken from the original text of the " Cooperation Agreement and Judicial Assistance in Criminal Matters between the Government of the Republic of Colombia and the Government of the Republic of Venezuela, signed in Caracas, Twenty (20) February of a thousand nine hundred and ninety-eight (1998), a document that rests in the archives of the Legal Office of this Ministry. "
Dada en Santa Fe de Bogotá, D. C., at sixteen (16) days of the month of June of a thousand nine hundred and ninety-eight (1998).
the Chief Legal Officer,
HECTOR ADOLFO SYNTURA VARELA.
EXECUTIVE BRANCH OF PUBLIC POWER:
REPUBLIC OF THE REPUBLIC
Santa Fe de Bogota, D. C., 1o. July 1998.
Approved. Submit to the consideration of the honorable National Congress for the constitutional effects.
(Fdo.) ERNESTO SAMPER PIZANO
The Foreign Minister,
(Fdo.) CAMILO REYES RODRIGUEZ.
DECRETA:
ARTICLE 1o. Approve the Agreement on Cooperation and Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters between the Government of the Republic of Colombia and the Government of the Republic of Venezuela, signed in Caracas, 20 (20) February of a thousand nine hundred and ninety-eight (1998).
ARTICLE 2o. In accordance with the provisions of Article 1o. of Law 7a. 1994, the Agreement on Cooperation and Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters between the Government of the Republic of Colombia and the Government of the Republic of Venezuela, signed in Caracas, on the twentieth (20th) February of the thousand nine hundred and ninety-eight (1998), Article 1o. of this Law is approved, will force the Colombian State from the date on which the international link with respect to it is perfected.
ARTICLE 3o. This law governs from the date of its publication.
The President of the honorable Senate of the Republic,
MIGUEL PINEDO VIDAL.
The Secretary General of the honorable Senate of the Republic,
MANUEL ENRIQUEZ ROSERO.
The President of the honorable House of Representatives,
ARMANDO POMARICO RAMOS.
The Secretary General of the honorable House of Representatives,
GUSTAVO BUSTAMANTE MORATTO.
COLOMBIA-NATIONAL GOVERNMENT
COMMUNICATE AND PUBLISH.
Execute, upon revision of the Constitutional Court, in accordance with article 241-10 of the Political Constitution.
Dada en Santa Fe de Bogota, D. C., 2 February 2000.
ANDRES PASTRANA ARANGO
The Foreign Minister,
GUILLERMO FERNANDEZ DE SOTO.
The Minister of Justice and Law,
ROMULO GONZALEZ TRUJILLO.
