Key Benefits:
The President of the Republic,
On the report of the Prime Minister and the Minister for Foreign Affairs,
In light of articles 52 to 55 of the Constitution;
In view of Act No. 2002-168 of 12 February 2002 authorising the approval of the Convention on Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters between the Government of the French Republic and the Government of the Republic of Argentina, signed in Paris October 14, 1998;
In light of the amended Decree No. 53-192 of 14 March 1953 on the ratification and publication of international commitments entered into by France,
Décrète:
The Convention on Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters between the Government of the French Republic and the Government of the Republic of Argentina, signed in Paris on 14 October 1998, will be published in the Official Journal of the French Republic.
The Prime Minister and the Minister for Foreign Affairs are each responsible for the execution of this Decree, which will be published in the Official Journal of the French Republic.
CONVENTION
JUDICIAL IN CRIMINAL MATTERS BETWEEN THE GOVERNMENT OF THE FRENCH REPUBLIC AND THE GOVERNMENT OF THE REPUBLIC ARGENTINA
The Government of the French Republic and the Government of the Argentine Republic,
Desiring to improve the efficiency of the authorities of the two countries in the investigation and prosecution of offences through cooperation and Mutual assistance in criminal matters,
have agreed as follows:
Article 1
Obligation to Help
1. The two Parties undertake to grant each other the widest possible judicial assistance in any proceedings involving criminal offences, the enforcement of which is, at the time when mutual assistance is sought, the jurisdiction of the judicial authorities of The requesting Party.
2. This Convention shall not apply to the execution of decisions on arrest and conviction, except in the case of confiscation, nor to military offences which do not constitute common law offences.
Article 2
Scope
Self-help includes:
a) Search for people;
b) Notification of judicial decisions;
c) Production of documents and court decisions;
d) Enforcement Searches;
e) Collecting and questioning the persons involved;
f) The summoning of witnesses, experts and persons prosecuted;
g) The transfer of detained persons to testify on the Territory of the requesting Party;
h) Seizure, receivership and confiscation of property.
Article 3
Central Authorities
1. Each Party shall designate a central authority responsible for submitting and receiving applications under this Convention.
2. To this end, central authorities will communicate directly with each other and submit the request to their competent authorities.
3. The central authorities shall be designated at the time of signature of this Convention by simple exchange of letters.
Article 4
Competent authorities
The competent authorities are: France, the judicial authorities; in Argentina, the judicial authorities, including the public prosecutor.
Article 5
Request for assistance
1. The request for mutual assistance shall be made in writing and shall include the following elements:
(a) The authority from which the request is made;
(b) The purpose and ground of the request;
(c) Where possible, the identity and nationality of the person concerned. Cause; and
d) The identity and, if possible, the address of the recipient affected by the request.
2. In the event that the application is not solely for the purpose of notification of acts or the exchange of information on judicial decisions, it shall contain a brief statement of the facts on which it is based and the criminal qualification thereof.
Article 6
Reject Support
1. Assistance may be refused:
a) If it refers to offences considered by the requested Party as a policy or as a common law offence related to a political offence;
(b) If the request is for Search, seizure, receivership and the facts at the origin of the request do not constitute an offence within the meaning of the law of the requested Party;
(c) If the requested Party considers that the execution of the request for assistance May affect its sovereignty, security, public order or other essential interests of its country.
2. Assistance shall be refused if the request is for a measure of confiscation and the facts underlying the request do not constitute an offence under the law of the requested Party.
3. The requested Party shall inform the requesting Party without delay of any decision not to execute the request for assistance in whole or in part, stating the reasons.
Article 7
Execution of the Request
1. Requests for assistance shall be executed under the conditions prescribed by the legislation of the requested Party.
2. However, where the requesting Party requests a particular form of enforcement, the requested Party shall observe the specified terms and conditions, provided that they are not contrary to its own law.
Article 8
Delivery of documents and objects
1. Where the request for assistance is for the furnishing of documents or files, the requested Party shall have the opportunity to send them in the form of a certified copy or photocopy, unless the requesting Party expressly requests the
2. The requested Party may refuse to send any documents or articles requested to it, if its legislation does not allow it to do so, or to stay the shipment, if such objects are necessary for a criminal procedure in progress.
3. Original documents and objects which have been transmitted pursuant to a request for assistance shall be returned as soon as possible by the requesting Party, unless the requested Party waives it.
Article 9
Check-in
The requesting Party may request the requested Party to return to the victim, in accordance with the rights of third parties, any property or values likely to arise from an offence.
Article 10
Product of offenses
1. The requesting Party may request to search for and seize the proceeds of an infringement of its law which may be in the territory of the requested Party.
2. The requested Party shall inform the requesting Party of the result of its
. The requested Party shall take all necessary measures authorised by its legislation to prevent such products from being the subject of a transaction or transferred or transferred before the competent authority of the requesting Party has taken A final decision on them.
4. If the confiscation of the goods is requested, the request shall be executed in accordance with the law of the requested
. The confiscated products shall remain the property of the requested Party unless otherwise agreed.
Article 11
Remittance of pleadings
The requested Party shall forward to the requesting Party evidence of the The furnishing of the documents, mentioning this surrender, its form and date, possibly by means of a receipt dated and signed by the addressee. If the surrender cannot be carried out, the requesting Party shall be notified without delay and shall be informed of the reasons that prevented it.
Article 12
Appearance of
before the requesting Party
1. The request for the appearance of a person prosecuted, a witness or an expert before the competent authorities shall be addressed to the central authority of the requested Party at least 45 (forty-five) days before the scheduled date of appearance. In the event of an emergency, the central authority of the requested Party may waive this requirement at the request of the central authority of the requesting Party.
2. The requested Party shall carry out the citation in accordance with the request made, but without the application of the coercive measures or the sanctions provided for in the event of non-
. The compensation to be paid and the costs to be reimbursed to the witness and the expert shall be calculated according to the legislation of the requesting Party. The application must specify their amounts.
Article 13
Date and place of execution of the rogatory commission
1. If the requesting Party expressly requests it, the requested Party shall inform it of the date and place of execution of the letters rogatory.
2. The competent authorities and the persons authorised by them may attend this execution, if it consents the requested Party with regard to France, the competent authority with regard to Argentina.
Article 14
Hearing of Persons
on the territory of the requested Party
Where the request is for the examination of a person prosecuted or the hearing of a witness or expert in the territory of the requested Party, It carries out its citation according to its law.
Article 15
Immunity
1. The person being prosecuted, the witness or the expert who, following a quotation, appears before the competent authority of the requesting Party, cannot be prosecuted or detained for facts or convictions prior to leaving the territory of the applicant. Required part.
2. The immunity provided for in this Article shall cease to have effect when the person appearing in court, having had the opportunity to leave the territory of the requesting Party, within 15 (15 days) after his presence was no longer Required by the competent authorities, remained in that territory or returned after leaving it.
Article 16
Transfer of an inmate
1. Where the summons for hearing or confrontation before the competent authorities of the requesting Party concerns a person detained in the territory of the requested Party, the requested Party may not accede to the request if the detainee does not
to it. 2. The requesting Party is under an obligation to keep the transferee in custody and return it under the same conditions as soon as the reasons for the transfer of the person disappeared, unless the requested Party requests Release.
Article 17
Conditions of Refusal
The transfer can be refused:
a) If the presence of the person is necessary in a criminal proceeding on the The territory of the requested Party;
(b) If the transfer is likely to prolong his or her detention; or
(c) If other compelling considerations preclude his or her transfer to the territory of the requesting Party.
Article 18
Transit
1. A Party may authorize transit through its territory of persons held by a third State whose personal appearance for the purpose of hearing or confrontation has been requested by the other Party. This authorization is granted on request with all relevant documents.
2. The transferee must remain in custody in the territory of the requesting Party and, where applicable, in the territory of the Party to which the transit is requested, unless the requested Party requests its release during the surrender Temporary.
3. Each Party may refuse to grant transit of its nationals.
Article 19
Denunciations for criminal prosecution
1. Any denunciation by a Contracting Party for criminal proceedings before the competent authorities of the other Party shall be subject to communication between central authorities.
2. The requested Party shall make known the disposition of such denunciation and shall transmit, where appropriate, a copy of the decision.
Article 20
Fees
1. Subject to the provisions of Article 12 (3), the execution of requests for mutual assistance shall not result in the reimbursement of any costs, except those occasin by the intervention of experts in the territory of the requested Party and by the Transfer or transit of detained persons under sections 16 and 18.
2. If the execution of the application involves extraordinary costs, the central authorities will consult to determine the conditions under which the requested assistance will be granted.
Article 21
Language
The request and the documents attached to it must be accompanied by a translation into the language of the requested Party.
Article 22
Conviction communication
The central authority of a Party shall communicate annually to the central authority of the other Party the notices of conviction issued by its competent authorities against nationals of the other Party and, upon request, the decisions of Conviction.
Article 23
Criminal Record
Each central authority shall communicate to the other central authority, on its application, the criminal record of a person to the extent that its own Legislation allows it.
Article 24
Legalization Dispensation
The documents provided for in this Convention are exempt from legalization and any other similar formality.
Article 25
Consultations
Both Parties shall consult each other, at the request of one of them, through diplomatic channels, on the interpretation and application of this Convention.
Article 26
Effective and denunciation
1. Each Party shall notify the other of the completion of the constitutional procedures required for the entry into force of this Convention, which shall take place on the first day of the second month following the date of receipt of the last Notification.
2. Both Parties may, at any time, denounce this Convention by means of a written notification addressed to the other Party through diplomatic channels; in this case, the denunciation shall take effect on the first day of the following third month On the day on which the said notification is received.
In witness whereof, the representatives of the two Governments, duly authorized, have signed this Convention.
Done at Paris, on 14 October 1998, in duplicate, in French and Spanish, both texts being equally authentic.
Done at Paris, March 12, 2007.
Jacques Chirac
By the President of the Republic:
The Prime Minister,
Dominique de Villepin
The Minister for Foreign Affairs,
Philippe Douste-Blazy
For the Government
of the French Republic:
Hubert Védrine
Minister
foreign affairs
For the Government
of the Argentine Republic:
Guido Di Tella
Minister
of external relations,
of international cooperation
and the cult
