Key Benefits:
President of the Republic,
On the report of the Prime Minister and the Minister for Foreign and European Affairs,
Seen them Articles 52 to 55 of the Constitution ;
Vu la Act No. 2009-435 of 21 April 2009 authorizing the approval of the agreement between the Government of the French Republic and the Swiss Federal Council on cross-border cooperation in judicial, police and customs matters, signed in Paris on 9 October 2007;
Having regard to Decree No. 47-936 of 3 May 1947 on the publication of the agreement of 1 August 1946 between France and Switzerland on border traffic;
Vu le Decree No. 53-192 of 14 March 1953 amended on the ratification and publication of international commitments undertaken by France;
Vu le Decree No. 61-917 of 8 August 1961 Publication of the Convention of 28 September 1960 between France and Switzerland on offices with national controls and on road controls;
Vu le Decree No. 95-304 of 21 March 1995 Publication of the Schengen Agreement Implementation Convention of 14 June 1985 between the governments of the States of the Benelux Economic Union, the Federal Republic of Germany and the French Republic relating to the gradual suppression of common border controls, signed at Schengen on 19 June 1990 and its implementing texts;
Vu le Decree No. 2000-287 of 28 March 2000 issuing the 28 October 1998 agreement between the Government of the French Republic and the Swiss Federal Council on the readmission of persons in an irregular situation;
Vu le Decree No. 2003-135 of 13 February 2003 Publication of the Additional Protocol of 28 January 2002 on the establishment of police and customs cooperation centres and the exchange or provision of regional liaison officers in the border area,
Decrete:
The agreement between the Government of the French Republic and the Swiss Federal Council on cross-border cooperation in judicial, police and customs matters, signed in Paris on 9 October 2007, will be published in the Official Journal of the French Republic.
The Prime Minister and the Minister for Foreign and European Affairs are responsible for the execution of this decree, which will be published in the Official Journal of the French Republic.
A C C O R D
OF THE FRENCH REPUBLIC AND THE FIELD COUNCIL ADDRESSED TO THE TRANSBOUNDARY COOPERATION, POLICY AND DOUCH
The Government of the French Republic and the Swiss Federal Council, below referred to as the "Parties",
motivated by the intention of expanding and intensifying cooperation in recent years in their border area, between the police and customs offices,
desirous of developing cooperation between the two Parties in order to ensure better implementation of the provisions on the movement of persons, without affecting security,
wishing to effectively combat cross-border hazards and international crime through a cooperative security system,
to facilitate as much as possible judicial, police and customs cooperation,
in the light of the Agreement of 1 August 1946 between France and Switzerland on border traffic,
in light of the Agreement of 15 April 1958 between Switzerland and France on Border Workers,
in view of the Convention of 28 September 1960 between France and Switzerland, concerning offices with juxtaposed national controls and on road controls,
in view of the Schengen Agreement Implementation Convention signed on 19 June 1990 and its implementing texts,
having regard to the Agreement of 28 October 1998 between the Government of the French Republic and the Swiss Federal Council on the readmission of persons in an irregular situation,
in view of the Additional Protocol of 28 January 2002 on the establishment of police and customs cooperation centres, as well as the exchange or provision of regional liaison officers in the border area,
agreed on the following provisions:
PART I
DEFINITIONS AND OBJECTIVES OF COOPERATION
Article 1
Relevant services
1. In general, the relevant services for the implementation of this Agreement and for the implementation of cooperation are, each with respect to:
For the French Party:
the national police;
the national gendarmerie;
- customs;
the judicial authorities with respect to the application of Title VIII of this Agreement.
For the Swiss Party:
– Federal police, immigration and customs authorities, the Border Guard Corps;
- cantonal police;
the judicial authorities of the Confederation and the cantons;
– the Federal Roads Office with respect to the implementation of Part VIII of this Agreement.
2. The national central bodies within the meaning of this agreement are, for the Swiss Confederation, the Federal Police Office and, for the French Republic, the central direction of the judicial police.
3. National central services within the meaning of this Agreement are:
For the French Party:
the general direction of the national police;
the general direction of the national gendarmerie;
– General Directorate of Customs and Indirect Rights.
For the Swiss Party:
the Federal Police Office.
4. In consultation with the police and customs cooperation centres (CCPD or common centres), the relevant services can also cooperate on a regional level between the departments and cantons of a particular sector, through structures (groups or cells) established in an ad hoc manner.
Article 2
Border area
Constitutes the border area for the exercise of certain modalities of cooperation expressly defined by this Agreement:
For the French Republic:
– the departments of Haute-Savoie, Ain, Jura, Doubs, the territory of Belfort and the department of Haut-Rhin.
For Switzerland:
– the cantons of Valais, Geneva, Vaud, Neuchâtel, Jura, Basel-Campagne, Soleure and Basel-Ville.
Article 3
Definitions
For the purposes of this Agreement, the following means:
(a) "police and customs cooperation centre" or "common centre", a centre established near the common border on the territory of one of the two Parties, within which forms of cooperation between the members of the competent services of the two Parties that are detached from it, in particular in the field of information exchange;
(b) "agents", persons belonging to the relevant services of both Parties and engaged in any capacity in the common centres or in territorial units located in the border area;
(c) "monitoring", the application of all legislative, regulatory and administrative provisions of the two Parties, concerning the safeguarding of public order and security, the fight against illegal traffic and illegal immigration.
Article 4
Objectives
1. The Parties shall, in accordance with their respective sovereignty and the role of the territorially competent administrative and judicial authorities, engage in cross-border cooperation of the police and customs offices, by the definition of new modalities of police and customs cooperation, by the establishment of police and customs cooperation centres and by direct cooperation between the corresponding services.
2. This cooperation is carried out within the framework of domestic law and existing structures and competencies.
Article 5
Common security interests
1. The Parties shall provide each other with information on the fundamental aspects of their crime control strategy and on large-scale projects in the police sector that have an impact on the interests of the other Party.
2. In the development of police strategies and the application of police measures, Parties shall take due account of their common security interests.
3. Where a Party considers that the other Party must make certain provisions to ensure common security, it may submit a proposal to that effect.
Article 6
Joint security analysis
1. Parties shall endeavour to achieve as uniform information as possible with respect to the police security situation.
2. This is done periodically and whenever the circumstances so require, by exchanging points of the situation based on specific criteria, and by analysing together the fundamental aspects of the security situation.
Article 7
Prevention of threats and combating crime
1. Parties shall strengthen their cooperation in the prevention of threats to public safety or order as well as in the fight against crime, while ensuring that the security interests of the other Party are safeguarded.
2. The regulations applicable to the international cooperation of national central bodies in the field of combating crime, particularly within the International Criminal Police Organization (OIPC-lnterpol), are supplemented by the following provisions.
PART II
GENERAL PROVISIONS OF COOPERATION
JUDICIAIRE, POLICY ET DOUANIÈRE
Article 8
Assistance
Parties undertake to ensure that their services, in accordance with their national legislation and within the limits of their competence, provide assistance for the prevention of threats and the fight against punishable acts, provided that national law does not reserve the request to the judicial authorities. Where the required services are not competent to execute an application, they shall forward it directly and without delay to the competent authority and inform the requesting authority.
Article 9
Assistance on request
1. Requests for assistance and their responses shall be exchanged between the competent services within the meaning of Article 1 (1) through the instruments of cooperation established for that purpose. The same applies to requests for assistance for the prevention of imminent threats to public safety and order, as well as responses to these requests.
2. Requests for assistance include:
identification of holders and control of drivers of road vehicles, boats and aircraft;
- requests for driver's licenses, navigation permits or other similar legitimation titles;
– research of current addresses and residences;
identification of telephone line holders;
establishing the identity of persons;
information on the origin of objects, such as weapons, road vehicles and boats (traceability);
information on cross-border observations and prosecutions;
- preparation of plans and harmonization of research measures and the initiation of emergency research;
– determination of the availability of a witness to make a statement to prepare a mutual legal assistance request;
― transmission and comparison of reported data such as material traces found on the scene of an offence, photographs, reports, fingerprints and charts, DNA profiles, to the extent that their communication is authorized by domestic law;
― information from police or customs investigations, documents or computerized files, to the extent that their communication is authorized by domestic law.
3. The national central bodies are immediately informed of requests directly exchanged, as long as they are of particular gravity, whether they are supraregional in nature or whether they relate to the initiation of emergency research and their results.
Article 10
Emergency assistance
1. Where it is not possible, without compromising the success of the measure, to submit, through the competent judicial authorities, requests to:
– the safety of indexes and evidence;
- medical examination and personal search,
- in search of premises,
- the seizure of evidence,
or provisional arrest by the competent authorities,
such requests may be addressed directly to the relevant services of the other Party that are performing them under the conditions provided for in their national law.
2. The competent judicial authorities of the requesting Party and the requested Party shall be informed immediately of such direct correspondence, with the indication of the reasons for the emergency.
3. The transmission to the requesting Party of the results of the measure carried out requires a formal mutual legal assistance request from the judicial authorities. Where the transmission of the results of the completed measure is of an emergency nature within the meaning of paragraph 1, the appropriate competent service may, with the consent of the judicial authority, communicate these results directly to the competent service of the requesting Party.
Article 11
spontaneous assistance
In particular cases, the competent departments of the Parties may, in accordance with their national legislation and without being invited to do so, spontaneously communicate information that may help the other Party to prevent concrete threats to public safety and order or to combat punishable acts. The recipient is required to verify the usefulness of the data transmitted or to destroy or return the data that is not required to the sender.
PART III
SPECIAL MODALITIES OF COOPERATION
JUDICIAIRE, POLICY ET DOUANIÈRE
Article 12
Cross-border observation
1. The officers of one of the Contracting Parties who, as part of a judicial investigation, observe a person presumed to have participated in a fact punishable by a penalty of imprisonment of at least one year, according to the law of the requested State, or where there are substantial grounds for believing that the person observed may participate, for the purposes of a judicial investigation, in the identification where the location of such person is authorized to continue
Upon request, the observation shall be entrusted to the agents of the Contracting Party in whose territory it is carried out.
2. When, for particularly urgent reasons, the prior authorization of the other State cannot be requested, the Observer Agents are allowed to continue beyond the border the observation they make, under the following conditions:
(a) The facts on which the investigation relates to any of the offences or categories of offences listed in Appendix 1 to this Agreement;
(b) The border crossing shall be communicated immediately during the observation to the authority of the other Party designated in paragraph 4;
(c) An application for mutual legal assistance pursuant to paragraph 1 and setting out the grounds for crossing the border without prior authorization will be forwarded without delay.
The observation shall be stopped as soon as the Party on the territory of which it applies following the communication referred to in (b) or (c) or if the authorization is not obtained within 12 hours of the crossing of the border.
3. The authorization is valid for the entire territory and may be subject to conditions.
4. The request for mutual legal assistance must be addressed to the designated authority to grant or transmit the requested authorization:
- for the French Republic: to the central direction of the judicial police, or to the common centres which inform the national central body immediately;
– for Switzerland: to the federal and cantonal criminal prosecution authorities.
A copy of the application should also be transmitted to the common centres.
5. Observers are:
- for the French Republic: the officers and judicial police officers of the National Police and the National Gendarmerie, as well as, with regard to their duties relating to the illicit trafficking of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances, the trafficking of arms and explosives, and the illicit transport of toxic or harmful wastes, customs officers;
- for Switzerland: the police officers of the Confederation or the cantons, as well as the officers of the Border Guards Corps.
6. Observation may only be exercised under the following general conditions:
(a) Observers shall comply with the provisions of this article and the law of the Party in the territory of which they operate: they shall be subject to the injunctions of the competent local authorities;
(b) Observer agents are subject to the same legal provisions as the police and customs officers of the Party in the territory of which observation is exercised;
(c) Subject to the situations provided for in para. 2, the officers shall be provided during the observation of a document certifying that the authorization has been granted;
(d) Observer agents must be able to justify at any time their official quality;
(e) Observer agents may carry their weapon of service during observation, under the conditions of Article 40;
(f) Observer agents are prohibited from entering homes and places that are not accessible to the public and may not enter work, business or business premises accessible to the public only during the opening hours;
(g) Any observation shall be reported to the services of the Party in the territory of which it intervened; personal appearance of observers may be required;
(h) The services of the Party to which the Observer Agents depend shall provide, when requested by the services of the Party in the territory of which the observation took place, their assistance to the police investigation or judicial proceedings following the operation to which they participated;
(i) The technical means necessary to facilitate compliance are used in accordance with the legislation of the Party in the territory of which compliance is continued; means used for optical and acoustic monitoring must be mentioned in the request for mutual legal assistance.
Article 13
Cross-border prosecution
1. The officers of one of the Contracting Parties who in their country follow one person:
(a) in flagrante delicto of the commission of an offence or act falling within one of the categories of offences listed in Schedule 2 are authorized to continue the prosecution without prior authorization in the territory of the other Party where its competent authorities were unable to be notified beforehand of the entry into their territory, due to the particular urgency, by one of the means of communication approved by the two Parties or that such authorities were unable to return to their territory
(b) evaded when it was in a state of provisional arrest, or was exempted from the execution of a penalty or custodial security measure.
2. At the latest at the time of the border crossing, the prosecuting officers appeal to the competent services of the Party in whose territory the prosecution takes place. The prosecution must be arrested as soon as the Party on whose territory the prosecution is to take place the request. At the request of the prosecuting officers, the competent local authorities shall apprehend the person charged with establishing his or her identity or arrest.
3. Procuring agents do not have the right of inquiry.
4. The prosecution must be communicated, at the latest at the time of border crossing, to the common centres that advise:
for the French Republic: the prosecutor of the territorially competent Republic;
- for Switzerland: the cantonal police commander and the competent border guard commander.
The joint centres inform national central departments of cross-border prosecutions.
5. The pursuit can be exercised without limitation in space and in time.
6. The following officers are:
- for the French Republic: the officers and judicial police officers of the National Police and the National Gendarmerie, as well as the customs officers, with regard to their duties relating to the illicit trafficking of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances, the trafficking of arms and explosives and the illicit transport of toxic or harmful materials and wastes;
– for Switzerland: officers of the federal and cantonal police and the Border Guard Corps.
7. The prosecution may only be exercised under the following general conditions:
(a) Continuing agents are easily identifiable, either by wearing a uniform, or by armband or by accessories placed on the vehicle; the use of civil holding combined with the use of banalized vehicles without the aforementioned identification is prohibited;
(b) At the end of each prosecution, the prosecuting officers immediately appear before the competent local services of the Party in whose territory they operated and report on their mission; at the request of these services, they are required to remain available until the circumstances of their action have been sufficiently clarified; this condition applies even when the prosecution has not led to the arrest of the person prosecuted;
(c) In cross-border proceedings governed by this Agreement, the use of air and river means is permitted, in accordance with the law of each Party, a technical arrangement specifies the terms and conditions.
For surplus, art. 12, para. 6, applies by analogy, with the exception of letter c.
8. A person who, at the conclusion of the prosecution, has been arrested by the competent local authorities may, irrespective of his nationality, be detained for interrogation, within the limits of the Party's law in the territory of which the arrest took place. If the person does not have the nationality of the Party in the territory of which he or she was arrested, he or she will be released no later than six hours after the arrest, the hours between midnight and nine hours uncounted, unless the locally competent services have received, prior to the discharge of that period, a notice announcing a request for provisional arrest for extradition in any form.
9. This provision applies to non-compliance with an injunction to stop from the agents referred to in section 1 of this Agreement and equipped with their functional insignia, as well as to the passages of force in the border area within the meaning of section 2.
Article 14
Form of joint missions
1. In order to strengthen their collaboration, the competent departments of the Parties shall, as appropriate, form joint analytical and working groups, as well as control, observation and investigation groups, in which the agents of a Party shall, during missions in the territory of the other Party ― subject to the case of application referred to in Article 39 of the functions of advice and support without having their own power of sovereignty.
2. The competent departments of the Parties in the border area within the meaning of Article 2 shall, in accordance with established plans, participate in cross-border research activities, including the arrest of fugitive offenders or the return of missing persons. National central bodies and common centres should be informed of operations involving several cantons or departments.
Article 15
Detachment of liaison officers
1. National central services of the Parties may detach liaison officers from the services of the other Party for a specified or indeterminate duration. These detachments are subject to special agreements between the competent authorities of the Parties.
2. The purpose of the detachment of such agents is to promote and accelerate cooperation among Parties, including by providing assistance:
(a) in the form of information exchange for the purposes of both preventive and repressive fight against crime;
(b) in the execution of requests for police or customs assistance.
3. The liaison officer performs advisory, advisory, support and assistance functions, without being competent for the autonomous execution of police or customs measures. It provides information and executes its missions as part of the instructions given to it by the sending Party. He regularly reports to the chief of the service to which he is seconded.
4. A liaison officer seconded by a Party to a third State may, with the mutual consent of the national central services, also represent the interests of the other Party.
5. This provision applies by analogy to the detachment of immigration officers.
Article 16
Provision of assistance during events
large scale, disasters or serious accidents
1. The relevant services of the two Parties provide mutual assistance, within their national law, in mass events or similar major events, as well as in the event of disasters and serious accidents:
(a) by informing each other, as soon as possible, of such events or situations that may have cross-border repercussions, as well as of the findings related thereto;
(b) taking and coordinating the necessary measures in their territory in situations with cross-border impacts;
(c) providing as much assistance as possible in the form of specialized units, law enforcement units, specialists and advisers, as well as the delivery of equipment, at the request of the Party in the territory of which the event or situation occurs.
The provisions of this Article shall not affect the applicable rules on mutual legal assistance between the two Parties.
2. Requests for assistance within the meaning of paragraph 1 are written and processed by the national central services of the Parties. Other competent services within the meaning of Article 1 of this Agreement may also take the necessary emergency measures.
3. As part of the measures taken at mass events or large-scale events, in the territory of a State, arrangements between competent administrations define the nature, date and duration of the event for which the units of the other State are required, the conditions of employment, as well as the method of compensation of the units made available.
4. In serious accidents involving persons or property and requiring prompt intervention by the police forces, the intervention of the patrol closest to the location of the accident, regardless of its Party of origin, is permitted, in order to ensure first aid and to secure the site before the arrival of the territorially competent unit. In this context, when they are in the territory of a Party, the officers of the other Party shall not exercise their powers of police, respect the rules relating to the road traffic in force and are subject to the provisions of Article 40 of this Agreement.
5. The Agreement of 14 January 1987 between the Swiss Confederation and the French Republic on mutual assistance in the event of a disaster or serious accident remains applicable.
Article 17
Air and river use
1. In the context of the missions provided for in this Agreement, river means and, in accordance with agreement among the relevant services, air assets may also be engaged; regulations relating to air military cooperation in the field of air police remain applicable.
2. During cross-border missions, officers are subject to the same air and river transport requirements as the Party ' s agents in the territory of which the mission is continued.
Article 18
Escorts
1. The competent departments of the Parties are authorized to visit the territory of the other Party in the context of escorts of exposed personalities.
2. Notices of cross-border escorts must be addressed, prior to the border crossing, to the common centres; they immediately inform the national central services.
3. Upon the crossing of the border, escorts are accompanied and placed under the control of the Party ' s officers in the territory of which they act.
4. An escort may carry their weapons of service under the conditions of section 40.
5. On the routes taken by the escorts, the vehicles engaged are subject to the rules of the road traffic of the State concerned.
6. Repatriation, return and extradition shall not fall under this article.
Article 19
Transit
1. In order to ensure the safety of intervention officers or to facilitate operational movement in the border area, the competent departments of the Parties may, if necessary, transit through the territory of the other Party.
2. Transit notices must be sent, prior to the border crossing, to the common centres.
3. Where they are located in the territory of the other Party, they do not exercise their powers of police or customs, and comply with the rules on road traffic in force.
PART IV
CENTERS OF POLICY AND DOUBLE COOPERATION
Rule 20
Organization
1. Common centres are located near the common border of the two Parties and are intended to accommodate a staff of both Parties.
2. The competent services of both Parties shall jointly determine the facilities necessary for the operation of the common centres.
3. The construction and maintenance costs of the common centres are shared equally between each Party.
4. Common centres are reported by official registrations.
5. Within the premises assigned to their exclusive use within the common centres, officers are subject to the disciplinary and hierarchical authority of their respective services. They may, if necessary, require the assistance of agents of the other Party.
6. Parties agree, for the purposes of service, all facilities under their laws and regulations with respect to the use of telecommunications means.
7. Parties maintain and transmit the list of officers assigned to common centres.
8. Letters and packages of service from or to common centres may be transported through the care of agents assigned to them without the postal service.
Article 21
Implantation
1. The establishment of common centres is set by an additional protocol.
2. By an exchange of notes, the number and headquarters of the common centres can be changed later.
Article 22
Function
1. Subject to the competence of the national central bodies, the common centres are, throughout the territory of the Parties, at the disposal of the relevant services for the exchange of information and their support in order to promote the smooth development of cross-border cooperation in police and customs matters, including to safeguard public safety and order, to combat illicit trafficking, illegal immigration and cross-border crime.
2. Officers stationed in the common centres cannot independently perform operational interventions and do not have a stand-alone field missions.
Article 23
Special missions
1. Within the common centres, in the areas referred to in Article 22, the relevant services contribute, inter alia:
- coordinating joint research and monitoring measures in the border area;
- the preparation and delivery of irregular foreign nationals in compliance with existing agreements;
- the preparation and support of cross-border observations and prosecutions under heading III.
2. Common centres inform operational units in the border area of measures taken or to be taken that may affect them.
3. The common centres inform operational units in the border area of the meetings they organize and which may concern them, so that they may attend.
Article 24
Joint work
1. As part of their respective competencies, staff in common centres work on a team basis and provide mutual assistance. They exchange information on cross-border cooperation, collect, analyze and transmit information without prejudice to the exchange of information through national central bodies and direct cooperation. They may respond to requests for information from the relevant services of both Parties, under the conditions set out in Part II of this Agreement; the provisions of Part VI of this Agreement shall also apply in respect of data protection.
2. The common centres are authorized, for the purpose of carrying out their tasks under this Agreement, to establish a common database, through an event log, that all requests processed by the two Parties (the "current hand" business control system). Only staff in common centres have direct access to this business control system. In accordance with their national legislation, the Parties shall, in an additional protocol, regulate the terms and conditions for the implementation of this provision, including the type of data entered, the retention period of data, and the access and communication rights and the control system of this common database.
3. The competent services of each Party shall designate an officer responsible for the organization of joint work.
PART V
COOPERATION DIRECTE IN FRONTAL ZONE
Rule 25
Relationship between operational units
1. Each operational unit of a service designated in Article 1, competent in the border area, corresponds to one or more operational units of the services of the other Party. These correspondences give rise to privileged exchanges of information and personnel between operational units provided for in this title.
2. Each operational unit ensures regular contact with its corresponding units.
Rule 26
Cooperation between corresponding units
The corresponding units of the two Parties as defined in Article 25 undertake direct cross-border cooperation in police and customs matters.
In this context, and without prejudice to the provisions of Article 23 of this Agreement, these units together, in particular, for the purpose of:
coordinating their joint actions, in order to safeguard public order and security, to combat illicit trafficking, illegal immigration and delinquency in the border area; common centres are informed of these actions;
collect and exchange information in police and customs matters.
To this end, the corresponding units can also agree on the loan of materials, and exchange experiences and know-how.
Rule 27
Detachment of agents
1. Each competent department of one Party may detach in the corresponding units of the other Party agents without exercise of the right of sovereignty. These officers are chosen to the extent possible from those who serve or have already served in the corresponding units of those in which they are seconded.
2. These agents work in relation to the corresponding units of the unit to which they are assigned. As such, they have knowledge of records that possess or may possess a cross-border dimension. The choice of these files is agreed between the officials of the corresponding units.
3. The detachment of these officers is regulated by an additional protocol. Section 15, paragraphs 2 and 3, applies by analogy.
Rule 28
Mixed patrols in border area
1. Relevant officers within the meaning of Article 1 of this Agreement may participate in joint or mixed patrols in the border area defined in Article 2.
2. The task of joint patrols is to carry out direct cross-border cooperation aimed at preventing threats to public order and security, combating illicit trafficking, illegal immigration and crime in the border area and ensuring border surveillance.
3. State officials in the territory of which the joint patrol takes place may conduct inspections and arrests.
4. Agents of the partner state have a role of observation, support, advice, assistance, information and advice. They are not competent for the autonomous execution of police or customs measures. When participating in a joint patrol, officers of the other Party are also empowered to establish the identity of persons and, to the extent that they attempt to avoid control, to apprehend them in accordance with the national law of the Party in the territory of which the patrol takes place. It is the responsibility of the Party ' s agents in the territory of which the patrol takes place to take further coercive measures. However, in the case that the success of the official act would be compromised or significantly more difficult to obtain without the intervention of the officers of the other party, they are authorized to take the necessary measures under the control of the agents of the Party in the territory of which the patrol is conducted.
5. The rights and obligations of officers, as well as the conditions for carrying out the missions, are subject to the laws and regulations of the country in which these missions are carried out.
6. For the surplus, the provisions of Part VII apply to these officers.
7. The joint centres are informed about the establishment of joint patrols and the results of their missions.
Rule 29
Regular meetings between officials
1. The responsible units meet regularly and according to the operational requirements of the respective units. On this occasion:
- they take stock of the cooperation of their units;
- exchange their statistical data on the various forms of crime within their jurisdiction;
― they develop and update common response patterns for situations requiring coordination of their units on both sides of the border;
― they jointly develop research plans;
- they organize patrols within the meaning of Article 28 in which a unit of one of the two Parties may receive assistance from one or more officers of a unit of the other Party;
– they program joint exercises in the border area;
― they agree on the needs of predictable cooperation according to the planned demonstrations or the evolution of various forms of crime.
2. A report is prepared at the end of each meeting.
3. Those responsible for the common centres are informed of these meetings and may, where appropriate, attend or be represented.
PART VI
PROTECTION OF DATA
Rule 30
Principle
1. To the extent that the following articles do not otherwise provide, the processing of personal data transmitted under this Agreement shall be in accordance with the stated objectives, the possible conditions established by the service which transmitted the data and the requirements applicable to the processing of personal data in the receiving State.
2. Any use of data, including registration, modification, transmission, blocking and deletion, as well as any other form of data exploitation, shall be deemed to be processed within the meaning of this Agreement.
3. The relevant provisions of current federal law apply in the territory of the Swiss Confederation, since the cantons do not have their own data protection regulations.
Rule 31
Assignment to specific use
1. The personal data provided under this Agreement may not be processed by the consignee for purposes other than those for which it was communicated only with the authorization of the service that transmitted them. The admissibility of such authorization is determined by the national law of the service that transmitted the data.
2. Personal data provided for protection against public safety and order or for the prevention of offences may, with the authorization of the service that transmitted them, be treated in the interest of the prosecution of serious offences. Similarly, personal data reported in the interest of criminal prosecution may, with the authorization of the service that has transmitted them, be processed for the purpose of preventing serious offences or protecting against significant dangers to public safety and order.
Rule 32
Requirement for rectification and destruction
1. The personal data transmitted under this Agreement shall be destroyed:
(a) when inaccurate;
(b) where the security authority that has communicated them informs the recipient that such data has been collected or transmitted illegally;
(c) where it turns out that they are not or are no longer necessary for the performance of the task that justified their transmission, unless their treatment for other purposes is expressly authorized.
2. The service that transmits the data shall indicate to the recipient any particular retention times that the recipient is required to comply.
Rule 33
Communication
1. If the service that sends the data upon request, the recipient shall inform the recipient whenever the personal data is processed.
2. Where a competent service of one of the Parties finds that the personal data it has transmitted under this Agreement are inaccurate and must be corrected or, as a result of unlawful processing, must be destroyed, it shall immediately inform the consignee.
3. When the recipient finds illicit processing of the data transmitted, the recipient must also immediately inform the service that provided them.
Rule 34
Journalization
1. The competent service that transmits the data as well as the recipient of the data shall record to the record the communication made, the recipient, the object, the reason, the content of the request and the date of each data transmission. The minutes of on-line transmissions must be automated.
2. Recording of logging records must be kept for at least three years.
3. The data recorded in the minutes can only be used to verify whether the data protection requirements have been met.
Rule 35
Procedure for reporting information
1. The right of the data subject to the data subject is governed by the national law of the Party in which the request for information is submitted.
2. Before deciding on the granting of information, the recipient of the data must provide the service that provided them with an opportunity to express their opinion.
Rule 36
Data processing on foreign territory
1. The Parties shall guarantee the protection of personal data transmitted to them against unauthorized access, modification and publication.
2. The control over the processing of personal data collected during a cross-border operation on the territory of another Party is the responsibility of the competent services of the Party in the interest of which they have been collected and in accordance with its national law. In this regard, the control conditions and any requirements imposed by the control authority must be met.
3. Agents who carry out a mission on another Party's territory may not directly access the personal data processed in that other Party by means of computer support.
Rule 37
Association de la Suisse à l'acquis de Schengen
The provisions of the Schengen Agreement for Data Protection will apply to this Agreement, starting with the full application by Switzerland of the provisions of the Agreement between the Swiss Confederation, the European Union and the European Community on the Association of the Swiss Confederation to the implementation, application and development of the Schengen acquis signed on 26 October 2004.
PART VII
APPLICABLE LAW OF THE OFFICIAL OPERATIONS OF THE PARTIES ON THE TERRITORY OF THE PART
Rule 38
Exemption from foreign formalities
Agents performing their duties in the territory of the other Party shall not be subject to the provisions limiting immigration and registration procedures for aliens, nor to the members of their dependent family.
Rule 39
Public Power Skills Exercise by Agents
of any Party in the territory of the other Party
1. In cases of detachment within a team called to assist in the sense of art. 16, in a joint patrol within the meaning of art. 28 or any other common group, agents of a Party operating in the territory of the other Party may perform public power powers, under the control and operational conduct of the competent service of the Party in the territory of which the mission is conducted, if it is necessary to take urgent measures to repel threats to public safety and order or to combat offences.
2. Pursuant to the provisions of this Agreement, agents of a State, on a mission to the territory of the other State, may, under the conditions provided for by the national law of the State in the territory of which the mission takes place, apprehend a surprised person in flagrante delicto of commission or participation in the commission of a flagrant offence punishable by imprisonment, to hand it over to the competent local authorities.
Rule 40
Uniforms and service weapons
1. The officers of a Party operating on the territory of the other Party under this Agreement shall be entitled to wear the uniform, and to carry their service weapon or other means of constraint authorized by their national legislation, unless the other Party announces that it opposes or authorizes it under certain conditions.
2. These same agents are allowed to use their weapons only in the event of self-defence.
3. The relevant services exchange information on service weapons and their other means of restraint used.
Rule 41
Assistance and service reports
1. The Parties shall grant to all agents operating on their territory on behalf of the other Party the same protection and assistance as to their own agents.
2. Each officer is required to comply with the rules of procedure of the unit or common centre in which he or she is detached, but he or she remains subordinate to his or her original hierarchy and to the requirements of his or her national law with respect to his or her service reports, terms and conditions of engagement and disciplinary status.
3. The Convention of 9 September 1966 between Switzerland and France with a view to avoiding double taxation in respect of income and property taxes applies to agents detached or assigned to a common centre.
Rule 42
Civil liability
1. Parties shall renounce each other any action to repair any damage that may be caused to their property or to their personnel, on the occasion of a cooperative mission conducted under this Agreement, unless the agents have acted intentionally or through serious negligence.
2. Each Party shall be liable for any damage caused by its agents to third parties during the course of a mission to the territory of the other Party, in accordance with the law of the Party in whose territory they operate.
3. The Party in whose territory the damage referred to in paragraph 2 is caused shall take the compensation of such damage under the conditions applicable to the damage caused by its own agents.
4. The Party whose officers caused the damage referred to in paragraph 2 in the territory of the other Party shall pay in full to the other Party the amounts paid by the Party as compensation to the injured person or his or her eligible persons.
5. The provisions of this Article shall apply provided that the Parties have not agreed otherwise.
Rule 43
Criminal accountability
The officers of the competent services referred to in Article 1, on a mission to the territory of the other Party in accordance with this Agreement, shall be assimilated, with respect to the offences against which they are victims or committed, to agents of the Party in the territory of which they operate.
PART VIII
INFRACTIONS FOR REQUIREMENTS
ON ROAD TRAFFIC
Rule 44
Definition of breaches of requirements
on Road Traffic
In violation of the road traffic requirements within the meaning of this heading, the following means:
- for Switzerland: offences under the Federal Road Traffic Act and the provisions of application,
- for the French Republic: the offences defined by the road code, as well as the breaches of the requirements for the duration of the driving, the rest of the professional drivers, and the transport of dangerous goods by road.
Rule 45
Communications from the vehicle registry,
subsequent investigations
1. Data derived from national vehicle registration files, which are in fact and in the right to vehicles (vehicle data) as well as data relating to persons with a registration certificate (registration certificate data or vehicle owners) may, upon request of one Party, be communicated to the other, as they are necessary for the prosecution of traffic violations.
2. The recipient service undertakes to use the data only for the purposes of a road offence. The request for the transmission of the data shall be for a specific vehicle or registration certificate holder.
3. For the purpose of responding ―including in the context of an automated procedure ― to applications that report the registration of vehicles, the central registration authorities shall make available the following data that they have recorded in their files:
(a) Registration certificate holder data, at least:
for natural persons: name, first name, and address;
for legal persons and authorities: name or name and address;
(b) Vehicle data, at least:
― registration number, and chassis number (vehicle identification number, VIN);
- type, brand and model.
4. The terms and conditions for the submission of the application, the extent of the information and the transmission of information within the meaning of this Article shall be governed by a technical arrangement between the competent authorities of the Parties.
5. Where the competent prosecution authorities of the requesting Party require additional information for the purposes referred to in paragraph 1, they may address directly to the competent service of the requested Party.
Rule 46
Content of notified documents
Parts that are notified to the respondent must contain in particular the following information:
(a) The nature, place, date and time of the offence, as well as the method of finding the facts (means of evidence);
(b) The registration number and ― if possible ― the type, mark and model of the vehicle with which the offence was committed or, failing that information, any other element likely to allow the identification of the vehicle;
(c) The amount of the fine or penalty in cash to be imposed, or the fine or penalty itself with reference to the time limit and payment terms;
(d) The grounds and formalities of protest and appeal.
Rule 47
Forced enforcement requests, conditions
1. Upon request, the Parties shall provide assistance in the enforcement of decisions by which the competent court or the competent administrative authority of one of the Parties shall find and, consequently, punish a breach of the road traffic requirements. The following conditions must be met:
(a) The amount to be recovered is at least 70 euros or 100 Swiss francs;
(b) The application is limited to the recovery of a sum of money;
(c) The decision is enforceable and is not subject to a prescription, in accordance with the law in force in the requesting Party;
(d) The decision was made in respect of a natural person who, under the law of the enforcement State, could, because of his age, be criminally responsible for the facts on which the decision was rendered.
2. Following a request for assistance in enforcement, the requesting Party may not resume the enforcement procedure itself until the requested Party has notified the requesting Party that its application has been rejected or that it is not possible for the requesting Party to proceed with enforcement.
3. The competent enforcement authorities shall transmit directly in writing all the requests and communications arising therefrom. This procedure also applies when the decision was rendered by a court. All modes of communication of information are allowed as long as they allow to keep a written record. The application is accompanied by a copy of the decision and a statement by which the requesting authority certifies that the conditions specified in the paragraph. 1 letters b and c are filled. The requesting Party may also include in its application other information relevant to the execution of the offence, including the specific circumstances of the offence, such as the method of commission that has been taken into account to determine the amount of the fine and the text of the legal requirements applied.
4. Delivery assistance is not granted when:
(a) The decision provides for deprivation of liberty as a principal measure;
(b) Contraventions to road traffic requirements with other offences that do not fall within the same area, unless traffic regulations are subject to a separate or exclusive prosecution.
Rule 48
Reasons for refusal, obligation to inform,
degree and end of forced execution
1. The processing of the application may be refused when:
(a) the offence in the decision cannot be prosecuted as such under the law in force in the requested Party;
(b) the processing of the application shall be clashed with the principle of ne bis in idem;
(c) the law of the enforcement State provides for immunity that makes it impossible to execute the decision.
2. When the processing of an application is refused, the requesting Party must be informed of the request, with the reasons for the refusal being communicated to it.
Rule 49
Immediateity of forced execution, conversion,
means of restraint
1. Decisions are executed directly by the competent authorities of the requested Party and the amount of the fine is converted into its currency. The official exchange rate valid on the day the decision was made is decisive. If, once converted, the amount of the penalty in cash imposed exceeds that of the maximum penalty which, under the law in force in the requested Party, would be pronounced for the same contravention of the road traffic requirements, the enforcement of the decision is limited to the maximum penalty.
2. The execution of a decision shall be governed by the law in force in the requested Party.
Rule 50
Delivery product and fees
The costs arising from the measures taken within the meaning of this Title are not charged to the requesting Party; the proceeds of execution and the amount of the costs set out in the decision shall return to the requested Party.
PART IX
PAPLICATION MODALITIES
AND FINAL PROVISIONS
Rule 51
Derogation
Where one of the Parties considers that the execution of a request or the application of a cooperation measure is likely to affect its national sovereignty or to endanger its security or other essential interests, it shall communicate to the other Party its total or partial impossibility of cooperating or inform that it shall subject its cooperation to specific conditions.
Rule 52
Joint Committee
1. A joint committee composed of representatives of national central offices, operational units and common centres regularly assesses the implementation of this Agreement at least once a year, and thus:
(a) Take stock of cooperation on the basis of this agreement;
(b) resolves issues related to the application or interpretation of this Agreement;
(c) identify any necessary supplements or updates;
(d) Develop joint work programmes and coordinated strategies.
2. A report is prepared at the end of each meeting.
Rule 53
Dissemination of information
1. Parties:
∙ communicate the organization charts and coordinates of the relevant services and any changes affecting them;
― develop a simplified code to designate operational locations;
• exchange their professional publications and organize regular mutual collaboration in the writing of them;
∙ disseminate information exchanged with common centres and corresponding units.
2. The competent services for the purposes of this Agreement shall communicate in French, subject to the Swiss cantons of German or Italian expression which are entitled to respond to requests also in one of these two languages.
Rule 54
Training and development
The relevant training and development services, including:
(a) by exchanging, designing and joint, if necessary, teaching programmes for training and development;
(b) Joint training and development seminars and cross-border exercises;
(c) inviting representatives of the other Party to attend, as observers, particular exercises and commitments;
(d) conducting mutual visits between the corresponding units of the border area;
(e) allowing representatives of the other Party to participate in training, seminars and refresher courses;
(f) conducting interns exchanges to familiarize staff with the structures and practices of services of the other Party;
(g) by interrogating on the domestic law in force on their territory, in particular on road traffic rules for cross-border observation and prosecution;
(h) by promoting appropriate language training for staff serving in common centres and border area units.
Rule 55
Financial provisions
1. The provisions of this Agreement shall be consistent with the budgetary limits of each Party.
2. Each Contracting State shall bear the costs incurred by its services in the application of this Agreement, subject to Articles 16, 20, paragraphs 3 and 50.
Rule 56
CE Agreement on Customs Mutual Assistance
Cooperation between customs administrations, as provided for in this Agreement, shall be carried out without prejudice to the provisions of the Additional Protocol of 9 June 1997 on mutual administrative assistance in customs matters between the European Community and Switzerland.
Rule 57
Implementation conventions
Competent authorities of the Parties are empowered to make additional agreements or arrangements on the basis and within the limits of this Agreement for the purpose of regulating the administrative and technical implementation of this Agreement and strengthening cross-border cooperation.
Rule 58
Entry into force, duration and denunciation
1. Each Party shall notify the other of the fulfilment of the constitutional procedures required for the entry into force of this Agreement, which shall take effect on the first day of the month following the day on which the second notification is received.
2. This Agreement shall be concluded for an indefinite period. Each Party may denounce it at any time with a written notice of six months. Such denunciation shall not jeopardize the rights and obligations of the Parties arising from the cooperation under this Agreement.
3. The Swiss Party shall register this Agreement with the United Nations General Secretariat in accordance with art. 102 of the Charter of the United Nations.
4. This Agreement cancels and supersedes the Agreement of 11 May 1998 between the Swiss Federal Council and the Government of the French Republic on cross-border cooperation in judicial, police and customs matters, as well as the exchange of letters relating to the establishment of joint patrols in border areas, signed on 26 April/28 May 2004 between the Government of the French Republic and the Swiss Federal Council.
In faith, the representatives of both Governments, duly authorized to do so, have signed this Agreement.
Made in French in Paris, on 9 October 2007, in double copy.
For the Government
of the French Republic:
Michèle Alliot-Marie,
Minister of Interior,
from overseas
and territorial authorities
For the Council
Swiss Federal:
Christoph Blocher,
Federal Councillor,
Head of Federal Department
Justice and police
A N N E X E 1
Offence categories and offences authorizing
an urgent cross-border observation:
―voluntary homicide, serious bodily harm,
- a serious offence of a sexual nature,
voluntary fire,
- counterfeiting and falsification of means of payment,
- aggravated flight and recel,
― racket and extortion of funds,
abduction, sequestration and hostage taking,
- trafficking in human beings,
- illicit trafficking in narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances,
- illicit trafficking in weapons, ammunition and explosives,
- destruction by explosives,
- illicit trafficking in toxic, harmful, nuclear and radioactive materials,
acts of terrorism,
- sexual exploitation of children and child pornography,
corruption,
― fraud,
― money-laundering,
cybercrime,
- crimes against the environment, including illicit trafficking in endangered animal species and illicit trafficking in endangered species and plant species,
― helps in the irregular entrance and stay,
- illicit trafficking in human organs and tissues,
racism and xenophobia,
— illicit trafficking in cultural property, including antiques and works of art,
- scam,
– counterfeiting and hacking of products,
falsification of administrative documents and traffic of false,
- illicit trafficking in hormonal substances and other growth factors,
- diversion of means of transport,
– sabotage,
participation in a criminal organization.
The facts mean an act consummated, a simple attempt or a criminal preparatory act. They are always qualified according to the law of the requested Party.
A N N E X E 2
Offence categories and offences authorizing
the realization of a cross-border prosecution:
―voluntary homicide, serious bodily harm,
- a serious offence of a sexual nature,
voluntary fire,
- counterfeiting and falsification of means of payment,
- aggravated flight and recel,
― racket and extortion of funds,
abduction, sequestration and hostage taking,
- trafficking in human beings,
- illicit trafficking in narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances,
- illicit trafficking in weapons, ammunition and explosives,
- destruction by explosives,
- illicit trafficking in toxic, harmful, nuclear and radioactive materials,
- a crime of leakage following an accident that caused death or serious injury,
acts of terrorism,
- sexual exploitation of children and child pornography,
corruption,
― fraud,
― money-laundering,
cybercrime,
- crimes against the environment, including illicit trafficking in endangered animal species and illicit trafficking in endangered species and plant species,
― helps in the irregular entrance and stay,
- illicit trafficking in human organs and tissues,
racism and xenophobia,
— illicit trafficking in cultural property, including antiques and works of art,
- scam,
– counterfeiting and hacking of products,
falsification of administrative documents and traffic of false,
- illicit trafficking in hormonal substances and other growth factors,
- diversion of means of transport,
– sabotage,
participation in a criminal organization.
The facts mean an act consummated, a simple attempt or a criminal preparatory act. They are always qualified according to the law of the requested Party.
Done in Paris, July 7, 2009.
Nicolas Sarkozy
By the President of the Republic:
The Prime Minister,
François Fillon
Minister for Foreign Affairs
and European,
Bernard Kouchner
