Key Benefits:
President of the Republic,
On the report of the Prime Minister and the Minister of State, Minister for Foreign and European Affairs,
Considering the Constitution, in particular articles 52 to 55;
Vu le Decree No. 53-192 of 14 March 1953 amended on the ratification and publication of international commitments undertaken by France,
Decrete:
The agreement between the Government of the French Republic and the Government of Japan on information security, signed in Tokyo on 24 October 2011, will be published in the Official Journal of the French Republic.
The Prime Minister and the Minister of State, Minister for Foreign and European Affairs, are responsible, each with regard to him, for the execution of this decree, which will be published in the Official Journal of the French Republic.
A C C O R D
BETWEEN THE GOVERNMENT OF THE FRENCH REPUBLIC AND THE GOVERNMENT OF THE JAPAN ON THE SECURITY OF INFORMATION
The Government of the French Republic and the Government of Japan below referred to as "the Parties" or separately "the Party".
Desirous of ensuring the mutual protection of classified information exchanged between Parties.
The following agreed:
Article 1
For the purposes of this Agreement,
(a) the term "classified information" means all information produced by the competent authorities of the Government of the French Republic or the Government of Japan for their use, or held by them, requiring protection in the interest of the national security of the Party of origin and to which a security classification marking was assigned. This information may take an oral, visual, electronic, magnetic or written form, or take the form of equipment or technology;
(b) the term "competent authorities" means governmental entities of a Party designated by that Party as responsible authorities for the protection of classified information. Each Party shall inform the other Party of its competent authorities through diplomatic channels;
(c) the term "national laws and regulations" means,
(i) for Japan: the Auto Defence Forces Act (Act No. 165, 1954), the Public Service Act (Act No. 120, 1947) and other applicable laws and regulations in force, and
(ii) for France, Criminal Code, Defence Code and other applicable laws and regulations in force;
(d) the term "individual security clearance" means the ability to process classified information securely, granted to natural persons in accordance with the appropriate procedures of each Party;
(e) the term "contractor" means a natural person or entity, including a subcontractor, who carries out a contract with the recipient Party involving the processing of classified information;
(f) the term "need to know" means the need to have access to classified information for the performance of officially assigned tasks.
Article 2
The classified information provided directly or indirectly by a Party to the other Party shall be protected under the provisions of this Agreement in accordance with the national laws and regulations of each Party.
Article 3
The National Security Authority for each Party is:
For the Government of Japan: Ministry of Foreign Affairs;
For the Government of the French Republic: the General Secretariat for Defence and National Security.
The National Security Authority serves as a focal point for the implementation and interpretation of this Agreement.
Article 4
(a) On request, each Party shall provide the other Party with a copy of its national laws and regulations implemented to ensure the protection of classified information.
(b) Each Party shall inform the other Party of any change in its national laws and regulations that may affect the protection of information classified under this Agreement. In this case, the Parties shall consult, in accordance with the provisions of Article 17, paragraph (b), to consider any amendments to this Agreement. In the meantime, classified information shall be protected in accordance with the provisions of this Agreement, unless otherwise agreed in writing by the issuing Party.
Article 5
(a) For the Government of Japan, classified information designated as SECRET DEFENSE under the Auto Defence Forces Act is marked BOUEI HIMITSU (KIMITSU) or BOUEI HIMITSU and other classified information is marked KIMITSU, GOKUHI or Hi.
For the Government of the French Republic, classified information is marked TRES SECRET DEFENSE, SECRET DEFENSE or CONFIDENTIEIL DEFENSE.
(b) The recipient Party shall mark all classified information transmitted by the name of the issuing Party and the corresponding security classification of the receiving Party as follows:
JapanFrance
KimitsuTRES SECRET DEFENSE
Bouei Himitsu
(Kimitsu)
GokuhiSECRET DEFENSE
Bouei Himitsu
HiCONFIDENTIEL DEFENSE
Article 6
Additional implementation arrangements under this Agreement may be made by competent authorities of the Parties.
Article 7
Parties shall ensure that:
(a) the recipient Party shall not disclose classified information to a government, person, undertaking, institution, organization or other entity of a third country without the prior written approval of the issuing Party;
(b) in accordance with its national laws and regulations, the recipient Party shall take appropriate measures to grant classified information a degree of protection equivalent in substance to that granted by the issuing Party;
(c) the recipient Party does not use classified information for purposes other than those for which it was transmitted without the prior written approval of the issuing Party;
(d) the recipient Party shall observe intellectual property rights such as patents, copyrights or trade secrets applicable to classified information in accordance with its national laws and regulations;
(e) each government facility dealing with classified information shall maintain a register of persons with individual security clearance and may have access to such information;
(f) procedures for the identification, location, inventory and control of classified information are established by each Party to manage access to classified information and their dissemination;
(g) the recipient Party shall not lower the security classification level of classified information of the issuing Party without the prior written approval of the issuing Party.
Article 8
(a) No State public official is authorized to have access to classified information solely because of its rank, title or individual security clearance.
(b) Access to classified information is granted only to public officials of the State who need to know it and who have been granted individual security clearance in accordance with the national laws and regulations of the recipient Party.
(c) The Parties shall ensure that the decision to grant individual security clearance to a public official of the State is consistent with the interests of national security and based on all available information indicating whether the public official is trustworthy and reliable for the processing of classified information.
(d) Parties shall implement appropriate measures to ensure that the criteria referred to in the preceding paragraph are met, in accordance with their respective national laws and regulations, with respect to any public official who may be granted access to classified information.
(e) Before a representative of a Party discloses classified information to a representative of the other Party, the recipient Party shall provide to the issuing Party the guarantee that the representative has the necessary level of individual security clearance; that the representative needs to know and that the receiving Party shall take appropriate measures, in accordance with its national laws and regulations, to grant classified information a level of protection equivalent to that granted by the issuing Party.
Article 9
Authorizations for site visits by representatives of the other Party and requiring access to classified information are limited to visits required for official purposes.
The authorization to visit a facility located in the territory of the country of a Party shall be granted only by the Party.
The Party visited is responsible for informing the facility concerned of the proposed visit, its subject matter, its field, and the maximum classification level of classified information that can be provided to visitors.
Requests for visits by representatives of the Parties shall be submitted by the competent authority concerned of the Party conducting the visit to the competent authority concerned of the Party visited by the channels of communication from government to government.
Article 10
The classified information is transmitted between the Parties through government-to-government communication channels. Upon transmission, the receiving Party assumes responsibility for the detention, control and security of classified information.
Article 11
Parties shall keep classified information in such a way as to ensure access only to persons authorized in accordance with Articles 8 and 14.
Article 12
The minimum requirements for the safety of classified information during transmission are as follows.
(a) Classified documents and materials
(i) Documents and materials containing classified information are transmitted in a double sealed envelope, the inner envelope bearing only the reference to the classification of documents or supports and the professional address of the recipient and the outer envelope, the professional address of the recipient, the sender and, where applicable, the registration number.
(ii) No indication of the classification of documents or materials sent shall be visible on the outer envelope. The sealed envelope is then transmitted according to the regulations and procedures provided by the issuing Party.
(iii) Receipts are prepared for packages containing classified documents or supports transmitted between Parties; a receipt for the documents or media sent is signed by the final recipient and returned to the sender.
(b) Classified equipment
(i) Classified equipment is transported into sealed and covered vehicles or is carefully packed or protected to prevent the identification of its details; it is kept under permanent control to prevent any unauthorized person from having access to it.
(ii) Classified equipment that is to be temporarily stored pending shipment shall be placed in a warehouse with appropriate protection at the equipment classification level. Only authorized personnel can access the warehouse.
(iii) Receipts are required whenever classified equipment changes hands on the road.
(iv) The receipts are signed by the final recipient and returned to the sender
(c) Electronic communications
The classified information transmitted electronically is protected during transmission by using encryption adapted to the information classification level. Information systems that process, store or transmit classified information shall be granted security approval of the appropriate authority of the Party using the system.
Article 13
(a) Parties shall destroy documents and materials classified by burning, grinding, pulp reduction or by any other means preventing the reconstruction of all or part of classified information.
(b) Parties destroy classified equipment and make it unknowable or modify it to prevent the reconstruction of all or part of classified information.
(c) If the Parties reproduce classified documents or materials, they must also reproduce all original security markings that appeared therein or mark each copy. Parties shall place the classified documents or materials reproduced under the same control as the original classified documents or materials. Parties limit the number of copies to that required for official purposes.
(d) Parties shall ensure that all translations of classified information are carried out by persons with individual security clearance in accordance with Articles 8 and 14. Parties limit the number of copies to the minimum required and control their dissemination. These translations include appropriate security classification markings and an appropriate note in the language in which they are translated indicating that these documents or materials contain classified information from the issuing Party.
Article 14
Prior to the handover to a contractor of any classified information received from the other Party, the recipient Party shall take appropriate measures, in accordance with its national laws and regulations, to ensure that:
(a) No person has the right to access classified information solely because of its rank, title or individual security clearance;
(b) the contractor and its facilities are in a position to protect classified information;
(c) all persons who need to know about it have an individual security clearance;
(d) the issuance of an individual security clearance shall be decided in the same manner as that provided for in Article 8;
(e) the appropriate procedures shall be implemented to ensure compliance with the criteria referred to in paragraph c of Article 8 concerning any person who has been granted access to classified information;
(f) all persons with access to classified information are informed of their responsibility to protect information;
(g) initial and regular security inspections shall be conducted by the recipient Party to each facility of the contractor where the classified information of the issuing Party is retained or consulted to ensure that it is protected in accordance with this Agreement;
(h) access to classified information is limited to persons in need of knowledge;
(i) be kept in each structure, a register of all persons with individual security clearance and who are authorized to have access to that information;
(j) Qualified persons are appointed, take responsibility and hold the control and protection of classified information;
(k) classified information shall be kept in the same manner as that provided for in Article 11;
(l) classified information shall be transmitted in the same manner as that provided for in articles 10 and 12;
(m) classified documents and equipment shall be destroyed in the same manner as that provided for in Article 13;
(n) the classified documents shall be reproduced and controlled in the same manner as that provided for in Article 13;
(o) the translation of classified information is carried out and copies are processed in the same manner as that provided for in Article 13.
Article 15
The issuing Party shall be immediately informed of any alleged or established disappearance or compromise of its classified information and the receiving Party shall initiate an investigation to determine the circumstances. The receiving Party shall transmit to the issuing Party the findings of the investigation and information on the measures taken to prevent the recurrence of such disappearances or compromises.
Article 16
Any questions relating to the interpretation or implementation of this Agreement and further implementation arrangements shall be settled only by consultation between the Parties.
Article 17
(a) This Agreement shall enter into force on the date of its signature.
(b) Amendments to this Agreement shall be concluded by written mutual agreement of the Parties.
(c) This Agreement shall remain in force for a period of one year and shall be renewed automatically each year unless one Party informs the other Party in writing, by diplomatic means, with a notice of ninety days, of its intention to denounce it.
(d) Notwithstanding the termination of this Agreement, all classified information provided under this Agreement shall continue to be protected in accordance with the provisions of this Agreement.
Done in Tokyo on 24 October 2011 in two copies, in French and Japanese languages, both texts being equally authentic.
Done on 30 January 2012.
Nicolas Sarkozy
By the President of the Republic:
The Prime Minister,
François Fillon
The Minister of State,
Minister for Foreign Affairs
and European,
Alain Juppé
For the Government
of the French Republic:
François-Xavier Léger
Chargé d'affaires a.i.
to the Embassy of France in Japan
For the Government
of Japan:
Kouchiro Gemba
Minister
Foreign Affairs
