Advanced Search

RS 0.351.926.81 Cooperation agreement of 26 October 2004 between the Swiss Confederation, of the one part, and the European Community and its Member States, of the other part, to combat fraud and any other illegal activities affecting their inities

Original Language Title: RS 0.351.926.81 Accord de coopération du 26 octobre 2004 entre la Confédération suisse, d’une part, et la Communauté européenne et ses Etats membres, d’autre part, pour lutter contre la fraude et toute autre activité illégale portant atteinte à leurs inté

Subscribe to a Global-Regulation Premium Membership Today!

Key Benefits:

Subscribe Now for only USD$40 per month.

0.351.926.81

Original text

Agreement

Cooperation between the Swiss Confederation, on the one hand, and the European Community and its Member States, of the other part, to combat fraud and any other illegal activities affecting their financial interests

Concluded on 26 October 2004

Approved by the Federal Assembly on December 17, 2004 1

Provisionally applied as of April 8, 2009 2

(State 1 Er October 2015)

The Swiss Confederation,

On one hand,

The European Community,

The Kingdom of Belgium,

The Czech Republic,

The Kingdom of Denmark,

The Federal Republic of Germany,

The Republic of Estonia,

Hellenic Republic,

The Kingdom of Spain,

The French Republic,

Ireland,

The Italian Republic,

The Republic of Cyprus,

The Republic of Latvia,

The Republic of Lithuania,

The Grand Duchy of Luxembourg,

The Republic of Hungary

The Republic of Malta,

The Kingdom of the Netherlands,

The Republic of Austria

The Republic of Poland

The Portuguese Republic,

The Republic of Slovenia,

The Slovak Republic,

The Republic of Finland,

The Kingdom of Sweden,

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

On the other hand,

Hereinafter referred to as Contracting Parties,

Having regard to the close relations between the European Community and its Member States, of the one part, and the Swiss Confederation, of the other part,

Wishing to fight effectively against fraud and any other illegal activity affecting the financial interests of the Contracting Parties,

Taking into account the need to strengthen administrative assistance in these areas,

Convinced that mutual legal assistance, including searches and seizures, must be granted, including in all cases of smuggling and evasion with regard to indirect taxation, in particular value added tax, customs duties and Excise duties,

Recognizing the importance of the fight against money laundering,

Agreed to conclude the following agreement:

Title I General provisions

Art. 1 Purpose

The purpose of this Agreement is to extend administrative assistance and mutual legal assistance in criminal matters between the European Community and its Member States, of the one part, and the Swiss Confederation, of the other part, with a view to combating activities Illegal under s. 2.

Art. 2 Scope of application

1. This Agreement shall apply in the following areas:

(a)
The prevention, detection, investigation, prosecution and administrative and criminal prosecution of fraud and any other illegal activity affecting the respective financial interests of the contracting parties, concerning:
-
Trade in goods in breach of customs and agricultural legislation,
-
Trade in breach of the tax legislation on value added tax, special taxes on consumption and excise duties,
-
The collection or retention of funds-including the use of such funds for purposes other than those for which they were originally granted-from the budget of the Contracting Parties or from the budgets managed by them or on their behalf, Such as subsidies and refunds,
-
The contracting procedures awarded by the contracting parties;
(b)
The seizure and recovery of amounts owing or unduly collected as a result of the illegal activities referred to in the letter. (a).

2. Cooperation within the meaning of Titles II (Administrative Assistance) and III (mutual legal assistance) may not be refused on the sole ground that the application relates to an offence which the requested Contracting Party qualifies as a tax offence or Legislation of the requested Contracting Party does not have the same type of levies or expenditure or does not contain the same type of regulation or legal qualification of the facts as the legislation of the requesting Contracting Party.

3. The laundering of the proceeds of the activities covered by this Agreement shall be included in the scope provided that the activities which constitute the prior fact are punishable under the law of the two Contracting Parties of a sentence Deprivation of liberty or a security measure restricting the freedom of up to six months.

4. Direct taxes are excluded from the scope of this Agreement.

Art. 3 Minor matter

The authority of the requested Contracting Party may refuse a request for cooperation where the alleged amount of duties that are too low or evaded represents a value not exceeding EUR 25 000 or the presumed value of the goods exported Or imported without authorization is a value that does not exceed EUR 100 000 unless the case, because of its circumstances or the person of the suspect, is regarded as very serious by the requesting Contracting Party.

(2) The authority of the requested Contracting Party shall without delay inform the authority of the requesting Contracting Party of the grounds for the refusal of the request for cooperation.

Art. 4 Public Order

Cooperation may be refused if the requested Contracting Party considers that the execution of the application is liable to prejudice the sovereignty, security, public order or other essential interests of the Contracting Party Required.

Art. 5 Transmission of information and evidence

(1) The information and evidence disclosed or obtained under this Agreement, in any form, shall be covered by the official secret and shall enjoy the protection afforded to similar information by national law The Contracting Party which has received them and the corresponding provisions applicable to the Community institutions.

Such information and evidence shall not, in particular, be disclosed to persons other than those who, within the Community institutions, Member States or the Swiss Confederation, are, by their functions, called upon to Know or be used by them for purposes other than those falling within the scope of this Agreement.

2. The information and evidence obtained by the requesting Contracting Party pursuant to this Agreement may be transmitted to any Contracting Party if that Contracting Party conducts an investigation for which cooperation is not Would not be excluded or if there were concrete indications that this Contracting Party could usefully conduct such an inquiry. Such communication shall not take place for purposes other than those provided for in this Agreement.

(3) The transmission of information and evidence obtained under this Agreement to another Contracting Party or to more than one Contracting Party may not be the subject of an appeal in the originally requested Contracting Party.

4. Any Contracting Party that is the beneficiary of the communication of information or evidence in conformity with s. 2 respects the limitations on the use of those opposite by the Contracting Party required by the requesting Contracting Party of the first transmission.

5. The transmission of information and evidence obtained pursuant to this Agreement by a Contracting Party to a third State shall be subject to the authorization of the Contracting Party which is the source of such information and Evidence.

Art. 6 Confidentiality

The requesting Contracting Party may request the requested Contracting Party to ensure that the request and its contents remain confidential, except to the extent that it is not compatible with the execution of the request. If the requested Contracting Party cannot comply with the requirements of confidentiality, it shall, in advance, inform the authority of the requesting Contracting Party.

Part II Administrative assistance

Chapter 1 General provisions

Art. 7 Relationship to other agreements

This Title shall not affect the provisions applicable to mutual legal assistance in criminal matters, nor the more extensive obligations in the field of administrative assistance or the more advantageous provisions of bilateral arrangements or Multilateral cooperation between the contracting parties, in particular the Additional Protocol on mutual administrative assistance in customs matters of 9 June 1997 1 .


Art. 8 Scope

1. The Contracting Parties shall assist each other in combating the illegal activities covered by this Agreement, in particular by preventing and detecting operations and other acts and omissions contrary to the relevant legislation, And conducting investigations into them.

2. The assistance established in this Title shall apply to any competent administrative authority of the Contracting Parties acting in the exercise of administrative investigative powers or criminal prosecution powers, including when These authorities exercise powers at the request of the judicial authorities.

If a criminal investigation is carried out by a judicial authority or under its direction, that authority determines whether the requests for mutual assistance or cooperation are made on the basis of the provisions applicable to mutual assistance Judicial in criminal matters or on the basis of this Title.

Art. Skills

The authorities of the Contracting Parties shall apply the provisions of this Title in the framework of the powers conferred on them on the basis of their domestic law. Nothing in this Title shall be construed as altering the competences recognised in accordance with their internal provisions to the authorities of the Contracting Parties within the meaning of this Title.

They shall proceed as if they acted for their own account or at the request of another authority of the same Contracting Party. To this end, they shall use all the legal powers available to them under their domestic law in order to comply with the request.

(2) Applications to non-competent authorities shall be transmitted without delay by the competent authorities to the competent authority.

Art. 10 Proportionality

The authority of the requested Contracting Party may refuse a request for cooperation where it is obvious that:

(a)
The number and nature of the applications submitted by the requesting Contracting Party during a given period imposes a disproportionate administrative burden on the authority of the requested Contracting Party;
(b)
The authority of the applicant Contracting Party has not exhausted the usual sources of information which, depending on the circumstances, could have been used to obtain the information requested without the risk of undermining the achievement of the desired result.
Art. 11 Corporate Services

1. Each Contracting Party shall designate the central service or services competent to deal with requests for administrative assistance within the meaning of this Title.

These services shall make use of any administrative authority competent to carry out the assistance requested.

2. Central services communicate directly with each other.

3. The activity of central services shall not exclude, in particular in cases of emergency, direct cooperation between the other authorities of the Contracting Parties competent in the fields of application of this Agreement. Central services shall be informed of any action involving such direct cooperation.

4. The Contracting Parties shall communicate, in the notification provided for in Art. 44, para. 2, which authorities are considered central services for the purposes of this section.

Chapter 2 Assistance on request

Art. 12 Enquiries

(1) At the request of the authority of the requesting Contracting Party, the authority of the requested Contracting Party shall, within the limits of the scope of this Agreement, communicate to the Contracting Party all the information at its disposal or at the disposal Other authorities of the same Contracting Party so as to enable it to prevent, search and control the illegal activities covered by it or necessary for the recovery of a debt. The authority of the requested Contracting Party shall carry out any administrative research necessary to obtain such information.

2. Information shall be attached to the reports and other documents, or certified copies or extracts of such reports and documents, on which the information disclosed, including the authorities of the Party, is to be relied upon. Contracting Parties have or have been developed or obtained to respond to the Request for Information.

3. By agreement between the authority of the requesting Contracting Party and the authority of the requested Contracting Party, and in accordance with the detailed instructions of that Contracting Party, officers entitled to that effect by the authority of the Contracting Party In the offices of the authorities of the requested Contracting Party may have access to documents and information within the meaning of s. 1 in the possession of the authorities of that Contracting Party which refer to specific illegal activities falling within the scope of this Agreement. These agents are authorized to make copies of the said documentation.

Art. 13 Monitoring Requests

At the request of the authority of the requesting Contracting Party, the authority of the requested Contracting Party shall, as far as possible, exercise supervision in respect of trade in goods in breach of the regulations referred to in Art. 2. Such surveillance may relate to persons suspected of having participated in or participating in the commission of such illegal activities or to carry out preparatory acts with a view to committing them, as well as on the premises, the Means of transport and the goods in connection with those activities.

Art. 14 Notification and delivery by post

(1) At the request of the authority of the requesting Contracting Party, the authority of the requested Contracting Party shall notify the addressee or notify the addressee, in accordance with the internal provisions of the requested Contracting Party, of all instruments or Decisions by the competent authorities of the requesting Contracting Party falling within the scope of this Agreement.

(2) Requests for notification, which shall indicate the subject matter of the act or decision to be notified, shall be accompanied by a translation into an official language of the requested Contracting Party or in a language acceptable to that party Contracting Party.

3. Contracting Parties may send notices and requests for information and documents directly by post to the operators concerned by the third and fourth indent of Art. 2, para. 1, let. (a) resident in the territory of the other Contracting Party.

Such persons may act on such communications and provide relevant documents and information in the form provided for in the rules and by the arrangements under which the funds were granted.

Art. 15 Requests for investigations

1. At the request of the requesting Contracting Party, the requested Contracting Party shall conduct or cause to be carried out the relevant investigations concerning operations or conduct which constitute or which constitute illegal activities covered by this Agreement. On the basis of the authority of the requesting Contracting Party, the suspicion that such illegal activities have been committed is suspected.

(2) The requested Contracting Party shall make use of any means of inquiry available in its legal order under the conditions under which it may resort to such means if it acted on its own behalf or at the request of another Internal authority, including by the intervention or with the authorization if necessary by the judicial authorities.

This provision is without prejudice to the duty of cooperation of economic operators under Art. 17.

The authority of the requested Contracting Party shall communicate the results of such investigations to the authority of the requesting Contracting Party. Art. 12, para. 2, applies Mut A Sinti .

(3) The authority of the requested Contracting Party shall extend assistance to all circumstances, objects and persons having an apparent connection with the subject-matter of the request for assistance, without the need for a divisional application. In case of doubt, the authority of the requested Contracting Party shall first contact the authority of the requesting Contracting Party.

Art. 16 Presence of agents authorised by the authority of the requesting Contracting Party

1. By agreement between the authority of the requesting Contracting Party and the authority of the requested Contracting Party, agents designated by the authority of the requesting Contracting Party may be present in the investigations referred to in the Article Previous. This presence is not subject to the consent of the person or economic operator to whom the investigation takes place.

2. Officers of the authority of the Contracting Party required shall at all times ensure the conduct of investigations. The agents of the authority of the applicant Contracting Party may, on their own initiative, exercise the powers granted to the agents of the authority of the requested Contracting Party.

On the other hand, they have access to the same premises and to the same documents as the agents of the authority of the Contracting Party required, through their intermediary and solely for the purposes of the ongoing investigation.

3. The authorisation may be subject to conditions.

4. Information brought to the knowledge of the authority of the requesting Contracting Party shall not be used as evidence before the transmission of the documents relating to the execution has been authorised.

Art. 17 Collaboration Devoir

Economic operators are required to cooperate in the execution of the request for administrative assistance, by giving access to their premises, to their means of transport and to their documentation and by providing all relevant information.

Art. 18 Form and content of requests for assistance

1. Requests for assistance shall be made in writing. They are accompanied by the necessary documents to respond to them.

In case of emergency, oral applications are accepted, but must be confirmed in writing as soon as possible.

2. Applications are accompanied by the following information:

(a)
The requesting authority;
(b)
The measure requested;
(c)
The purpose and reason for the request;
(d)
The relevant legislation, rules and other legal elements;
(e)
As precise and complete indications as possible about the natural or legal persons who are the subject of investigations;
(f)
A summary of the relevant facts and investigations, except in the cases provided for in s. 14.

(3) Applications shall be in an official language of the Contracting Party required or in a language acceptable to that Contracting Party.

4. Incorrect or incomplete applications may be corrected or completed. The measures required to qualify for the application are being implemented in the interim.

Art. 19 Working with information

1. The information collected shall be used only for the purposes covered by this Agreement. Where a Contracting Party requests the use of such information for other purposes, it shall request the prior written consent of the authority which provided it. This use is then subject to the restrictions imposed by that authority.

2. Le par. 1 does not preclude the use of information in the course of judicial or administrative proceedings initiated for non-compliance with the legislation referred to in the request for administrative assistance if the same means of assistance are available For these actions. The competent authority of the Contracting Party providing such information shall be notified without delay of such use.

3. Contracting Parties may report, as evidence, in their minutes, reports and testimony, as well as in court proceedings and prosecutions, information collected and documents consulted In accordance with the provisions of this Agreement.

Chapter 3 Spontaneous Assistance

Art. Instant assistance

The forms of cooperation established in the preceding chapter may take place without the prior request of another Contracting Party.

2. The authority of the Contracting Party which transmits the information may, in accordance with domestic law, attach conditions to the use of such information by the authority of the receiving Contracting Party.

3. All the authorities of the Contracting Parties are bound by these conditions.

Chapter 4 Special forms of cooperation

Art. Common Operations

1. During the import, export and transit of goods, where the volume of transactions and the resulting risks from the point of view of the taxes and subsidies involved are likely to result in significant losses to the budget of the Contracting Parties may agree to conduct joint cross-border operations with a view to the prevention and prosecution of illegal activities falling within the scope of this Agreement.

2. Coordination and planning of cross-border operations shall be within the competence of the central service or an Office designated by it.

Art. Joint Special Investigation Teams

The authorities of several Contracting Parties may, by mutual agreement, establish a joint task force of special investigation established in a Contracting Party.

2. The investigation team conducts difficult investigations involving the mobilisation of important resources and coordinates joint actions.

Participation in such a team shall not confer on the representatives of the authorities of the Contracting Parties which compose it the power to intervene in the territory of the Contracting Party where the investigations are carried out.

Art. Bind agents

1. The competent authorities of the Contracting Parties may agree to the secondment, for a fixed or indeterminate period, of liaison officers of a Contracting Party to the competent services of another Contracting Party with a view to To provide mutual support in the implementation of administrative assistance.

2. Liaison officers have a mission of advice and assistance. They do not have autonomous powers of intervention in the territory of the host contracting party. They may, with the agreement or at the request of the competent authorities of the Contracting Parties:

(a)
Facilitate and accelerate the exchange of information;
(b)
Assist in investigations;
(c)
Participate in the processing of assistance requests;
(d)
Advising and assisting the host contracting party in the preparation and execution of cross-border operations;
(e)
Carry out any other tasks for which the Contracting Parties may agree between them.

3. The competent authorities of the contracting parties shall settle the details by mutual agreement.

4. Liaison officers may represent the interests of one or more Contracting Parties.

Chapter 5 Recovery

Art. 24 Recovery

At the request of the requesting Contracting Party, the required Contracting Party shall recover the claims falling within the scope of this Agreement as if it were its own claims.

(2) An application for the recovery of a debt shall be accompanied by an official copy or a certified copy of the title which permits the execution thereof, issued by the requesting Contracting Party and, if applicable, the original or a copy thereof Certified in accordance with other documents required for recovery.

The required Contracting Party shall take the provisional measures to ensure the recovery of a debt.

4. The authority of the requested Contracting Party shall transfer to the authority of the requesting Contracting Party the amount of the debt which it has recovered. In agreement with the requesting Contracting Party, it may deduct the percentage corresponding to the administrative costs incurred by it.

5. Notwithstanding the first paragraph, claims to be recovered do not necessarily enjoy the privileges of similar claims arising in the requested Contracting Party.

Title III Mutual assistance

Art. 25 Relationship to other agreements

1. The provisions of this Title are intended to complement the European Convention on Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters of 20 April 1959 1 , as well as the Convention on Laundering, Search, Seizure and Confiscation of the Proceeds from Crime of 8 November 1990 2 And should facilitate their application between the contracting parties.

2. The more favourable provisions arising from bilateral or multilateral agreements between the contracting parties are not affected.


Art. 26 Proceedings in which mutual assistance is also granted

Mutual legal assistance is also granted:

(a)
In proceedings for facts which are punishable under the national law of one of the two Contracting Parties or of the two Contracting Parties in respect of infringements of the regulations pursued by administrative authorities whose decision May give rise to an appeal before a court competent in particular in criminal matters;
(b)
In civil actions joined to criminal proceedings, as long as the criminal court has not yet definitively ruled on criminal proceedings;
(c)
For facts or infringements which may incur the liability of a legal person of the requesting Contracting Party.

Assistance shall also be granted for the purposes of investigations and procedures for the seizure and confiscation of the instruments and proceeds of such offences.

Art. 27 Transmission of applications

(1) Applications made under this Title shall be submitted by the authority of the requesting Contracting Party either through a competent central authority of the requested Contracting Party, or directly to the authority of the Party Contracting Party competent to execute the request of the requesting Contracting Party. The authority of the requesting Contracting Party and, where applicable, the authority of the requested Contracting Party, shall send a copy of the application to their respective central authority for information.

(2) Any document relating to the application or its execution may be transmitted by the same means. It shall be sent, at least in a copy, directly to the authority of the requesting Contracting Party.

(3) If the authority of the Contracting Party receiving the request is not competent to grant mutual assistance, it shall forward it without delay to the competent authority.

4. Defective or incomplete applications shall be accepted in so far as they contain the essential elements for being satisfied, without prejudice to their subsequent regularisation by the authority of the requesting Contracting Party. The authority of the requested Contracting Party shall notify such defects of the authority of the requesting Contracting Party and shall grant it a time limit for regularization.

The authority of the requested Contracting Party shall, without delay, transmit to the authority of the requesting Contracting Party any other indication which may permit the requesting party to complete its application or to extend it to other measures.

5. The Contracting Parties shall communicate, in the notification provided for in Art. 44, para. 2. The competent central authority or authorities for the purposes of this Article.

Art. 28 Delivery by mail

1. As a general rule, Contracting Parties send pleadings directly by post to persons in the territory of the other Contracting Party, in the proceedings for the illegal activities referred to in the present Agreement.

(2) If the authority of the Contracting Party which is at the origin of the documents knows, or has reason to consider, that the recipient knows only another language, the documents, or at least the most important passages thereof, shall be Accompanied by a translation into that other language.

The authority of the sending contracting party shall inform the addressee that no measure of constraint or sanction can be executed directly by the addressee in the territory of the other Contracting Party.

4. All the pleadings shall be accompanied by a note stating that the addressee may obtain from the authority identified in the note of the information on his rights and obligations concerning the part.

Art. Provisional measures

1. Within the limits of its internal law and its respective powers and at the request of the requesting party's authority, the competent authority of the requested Contracting Party shall order the provisional measures necessary for the To maintain an existing situation, to protect legal interests threatened or to preserve evidence, if the request for assistance does not appear to be manifestly inadmissible.

2. Preventative freezing and seizure shall be ordered in relation to the instruments and proceeds of the offences for which mutual assistance is sought. If the proceeds of an offence no longer exist, in whole or in part, the same measures are ordered in relation to goods in the territory of the Contracting Party that are required and which correspond to the value of the product in question.

Art. Presence of the authorities of the requesting Contracting Party

The requested Contracting Party shall, at the request of the requesting Contracting Party, authorize representatives of the applicant's authorities to assist in the execution of the request for mutual legal assistance. This presence is not subject to the consent of the person concerned by the measure.

The authorisation may be subject to conditions.

2. The persons present have access to the same premises and to the same documents as the representatives of the authority of the Contracting Party required, through their intermediary and for the sole purpose of the execution of the request for mutual legal assistance. In particular, they may be allowed to ask or propose questions and suggest acts of instruction.

3. That presence may not result in the disclosure of facts to persons other than those authorized under the preceding paragraphs in breach of the legal or human rights of the person concerned. Information brought to the knowledge of the authority of the requesting Contracting Party shall not be used as a means of proof before the decision on the transmission of the documents relating to enforcement has acquired force Judged.

Art. Search and seizure

The Contracting Parties shall not suborder the admissibility of letters rogatory for the purpose of search and seizure under conditions other than the following:

(a)
The fact which gave rise to the letters rogatory is punishable under the law of the two Contracting Parties to a custodial sentence or a security measure restricting the freedom of not less than six months, or punishable on the basis of Right of one of the two Contracting Parties to an equivalent sanction and in accordance with the law of the other Contracting Party in respect of an infringement of the regulations pursued by administrative authorities whose decision may give rise to an appeal before A court competent in particular in criminal matters;
(b)
The execution of the letters rogatory is compatible with the law of the required Contracting Party.

(2) Letters rogatory for the purpose of search and seizure for money laundering offences falling within the scope of this Agreement shall also be admissible provided that the activities which constitute the prior fact are Under the law of the two Contracting Parties to a custodial sentence or a security measure restricting the freedom of up to six months.

Art. 32 Request for banking and financial information

1. If the conditions of s. 31 are fulfilled, the requested Contracting Party shall execute requests for assistance in obtaining and transmitting banking and financial information, including:

(a)
Identification and information concerning bank accounts opened in banks established in its territory where the persons under investigation are holders, authorised or controlled;
(b)
Identification and all information concerning transactions and banking transactions made from, to or through one or more bank accounts or by specified persons within a specified period.

2. To the extent permitted under its right of criminal procedure for similar internal cases, the requested Contracting Party may order the supervision for a specified period of the banking operations undertaken, at To or through bank accounts or by specified persons, and the communication of the results to the requesting Contracting Party. The decision on the monitoring of transactions and the communication of results shall be taken in each individual case by the competent authorities of the requested Contracting Party and shall be in accordance with the national law of that Contracting Party. Contracting Party. The practical arrangements for monitoring shall be the subject of an agreement between the competent authorities of the requesting and requested Contracting Parties.

3. Each Contracting Party shall take the necessary measures to ensure that the financial institutions do not disclose to the customer concerned or to other third parties that measures are carried out at the request of the requesting Contracting Party or An investigation is in progress, for a limited period of time to what is necessary to avoid compromising the outcome.

4. The authority of the Contracting Party from which the application originates:

(a)
Indicates the reasons for which it considers that the information requested is likely to be fundamental to the investigation of the offence;
(b)
Specifies the reasons for assuming that banks in the required Contracting Party hold the accounts in question and indicates, to the extent that it has indices, which banks may be involved;
(c)
Communicates any information that may facilitate the execution of the application.

5. A Contracting Party shall not invoke bank secrecy as grounds for rejecting any cooperation in respect of a request for assistance from another Contracting Party.

Art. 33 Monitored Deliveries

The competent authority of the requested Contracting Party undertakes that, at the request of the authority of the applicant Contracting Party, controlled deliveries may be authorised on its territory in the course of criminal investigations Concerning offences liable to give rise to extradition.

2. The decision to use controlled deliveries shall be taken in each case by the competent authorities of the requested Contracting Party, in accordance with its national law.

The controlled deliveries shall take place in accordance with the procedures laid down in the law of the requested Contracting Party. The power to act, the direction and control of the operation belong to the competent authorities of the latter.

Art. 34 Remission for forfeiture or restitution

(1) At the request of the requesting Contracting Party, the objects, documents, funds or other values that have been seized as a precautionary measure may be surrendered for the purpose of confiscation or restitution to the person entitled to it.

2. The required Contracting Party may not refuse the remission of the fact that the funds correspond to a debt of a fiscal or customs nature.

3. The rights granted by a third party in good faith to these objects remain reserved.

Art. 35 Acceleration of mutual aid

1. The authority of the requested Contracting Party shall execute the request for mutual legal assistance as soon as possible, taking into account the best of the procedural or other deadlines indicated by the authority of the requesting Contracting Party. This explains the reasons for these deadlines.

(2) Where the application cannot be executed, or cannot be carried out entirely, in accordance with the requirements of the authority of the requesting Contracting Party, the authority of the requested Contracting Party shall without delay inform the authority of the Contracting Party and indicates the conditions under which the application could be executed. The two authorities may subsequently agree on the continuation of the request, if necessary by making it conditional upon compliance with those conditions.

If it is foreseeable that the time limit fixed by the authority of the requesting Contracting Party to execute the application may not be complied with and the reasons set out in s. 1, second sentence, clearly shows that any delay will significantly impede the procedure carried out by that authority, the authority of the requested Contracting Party shall indicate, without delay, the estimated time necessary for the execution of the application. The authority of the requesting Contracting Party shall, without delay, indicate whether the application is nevertheless maintained. The two authorities can then agree on the continuation of the application.

Art. 36 Use of information and evidence

The information and evidence provided under the mutual assistance procedure may be used, in addition to the procedure for which mutual assistance has been provided:

(a)
In criminal proceedings in the requesting Contracting Party against other persons who participated in the commission of the offence for which mutual assistance had been granted;
(b)
Where the facts underlying the application constitute another offence for which mutual assistance should also be granted;
(c)
In proceedings for the confiscation of the instruments and proceeds of the offences for which mutual assistance should be granted and in proceedings for damages arising out of the facts for which mutual assistance had been granted.
Art. Unsolicited transmission

1. Within the limits of their internal law and competence, the judicial authorities of a Contracting Party may spontaneously transmit information and evidence to a judicial authority of another Contracting Party Where they consider that they may be useful to the authority of the receiving Contracting Party in initiating or carrying out investigations or proceedings, or that such information and evidence may lead to that authority, Apply for mutual legal assistance.

(2) The authority of the Contracting Party which transmits the information and means of evidence may, in accordance with its domestic law, attach conditions to the use of such information and evidence by the authority of the Contracting Party Recipient.

3. All the authorities of the Contracting Parties are bound by these conditions.

Art. 38 Procedures in the required Contracting Party

The request for mutual assistance shall not prejudice the rights which may arise as a result of the applicant contracting party's quality as a civil party in internal criminal judicial proceedings initiated before the authorities of the Contracting Party Required.

Title IV Final provisions

Art. 39 Joint Committee

1. A Joint Committee shall be established, composed of representatives of the Contracting Parties, which shall be responsible for the proper application of this Agreement. To this end, it makes recommendations and makes decisions in the cases provided for in the agreement. It shall act by mutual agreement.

The Joint Committee shall establish its rules of procedure, which shall contain, among other provisions, the arrangements for the convening of meetings, the appointment of its President and the definition of the term of office allocated to the latter.

The Joint Committee shall meet as required and at least once a year. Each Contracting Party may request the convening of a meeting.

The Joint Committee may decide to set up any working group or experts to assist it in the performance of its tasks.

Art. 40 Dispute Settlement

(1) Each Contracting Party may submit to the Joint Committee a dispute relating to the interpretation or application of this Agreement, inter alia, where it considers that another Contracting Party does not follow up the Requests for cooperation addressed to him.

2. The Joint Committee shall endeavour to resolve the dispute as soon as possible. All relevant information to allow for a thorough review of the situation with a view to finding an acceptable solution is provided to the Joint Committee. To this end, the Joint Committee shall examine all possibilities for maintaining the proper functioning of this Agreement.

Art. Reciprocity

The authority of the requested Contracting Party may refuse a request for cooperation where the requesting Contracting Party does not respond repeatedly to a request for cooperation in similar cases.

2. Before refusing a request for cooperation on the basis of reciprocity, the Joint Committee shall be informed in order to give it an opportunity to take a decision on the matter.

Art. Revision

If a Contracting Party wishes to revise this Agreement, it shall submit a proposal to that effect to the Joint Committee, which shall make recommendations, in particular with a view to initiating negotiations.

Art. 43 Territorial scope of application

This Agreement shall apply to the territory of the Swiss Confederation, on the one hand, and to the territories where the Treaty establishing the European Community is applicable under the conditions laid down by the latter, on the other.

Art. 44 Entry into force

1. This Agreement is concluded for an indefinite period.

2. It shall be ratified or approved by the Contracting Parties in accordance with their own procedures. It shall enter into force on the first day of the second month following the last notification of the instruments of ratification or approval.

Until the entry into force of this Agreement, each Contracting Party may, where it makes the notification referred to in par. 2 or at any later time, declare that the latter is applicable, as far as it is concerned, in its relations with any other Contracting Party having made the same declaration. Such declarations shall take effect ninety days after the date of receipt of the notification.

Art. 45 Denunciation

The European Community or the Swiss Confederation may denounce this Agreement by notifying the other Contracting Party of its decision. Denunciation shall take effect six months after the date of receipt of the notification of termination.

Art. Application over time

The provisions of this Agreement shall apply to applications concerning illegal activities committed at least six months after the date of signature.

Art. Extension of the Agreement to the new Member States of the European Union

(1) Any State which becomes a Member State of the European Union may, subject to written notification to the Contracting Parties, become a Contracting Party to this Agreement.

2. The text of the agreement in the language of the acceding Member State, drawn up by the Council of the European Union, will be authenticated on the basis of an exchange of letters between the European Community and the Swiss Confederation. It will be valid as an authentic text within the meaning of s. 48.

This Agreement shall enter into force in respect of any new Member State of the European Union which shall accede to it ninety days after the receipt of the notification of its instrument of accession, or on the date of entry into force of the Agreement if It has not yet entered into force on the expiry of the said period of ninety days.

4. Where this Agreement has not yet entered into force upon notification of their instrument of accession, Art. 44, para. 3, applies to the new acceding Member States.

Art. 48 Languages

This Agreement shall be drawn up in duplicate in the English, Danish, Danish, Spanish, Estonian, Finnish, French, Greek, Hungarian, Italian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Dutch, Polish, Portuguese, Slovak, Slovenian and Swedish languages. And Czech, each of these texts being equally authentic.

2. The Maltese version of this Agreement shall be authenticated by the Contracting Parties on the basis of an exchange of letters. It shall also be authentic, on the same basis as the languages referred to in subs. 1.

In witness whereof, The undersigned plenipotentiaries have signed at the bottom of this Agreement.

Done at Luxembourg, 26 October 2004.

(Suivent signatures)

Final Act

The Plenipotentiaries of the Swiss Confederation,

On one hand,

And

The Kingdom of Belgium,

From the Czech Republic,

The Kingdom of Denmark,

The Federal Republic of Germany,

The Republic of Estonia,

The Hellenic Republic,

The Kingdom of Spain,

The French Republic,

Ireland,

The Italian Republic,

The Republic of Cyprus,

The Republic of Latvia,

The Republic of Lithuania,

The Grand Duchy of Luxembourg,

The Republic of Hungary,

The Republic of Malta,

The Kingdom of the Netherlands,

The Republic of Austria,

The Republic of Poland,

The Portuguese Republic,

The Republic of Slovenia,

The Slovak Republic,

The Republic of Finland,

The Kingdom of Sweden,

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland,

The European Community,

On the other hand,

Meeting in Luxembourg on 26 October 2004 for the signing of the cooperation agreement between the European Community and its Member States, of the one part, and the Swiss Confederation, of the other part, to combat fraud and any other illegal activity In respect of their financial interests, have adopted the following joint declarations and appended to this Final Act:

1.
Joint Declaration on Laundering;
2.
Joint Declaration on the cooperation of the Swiss Confederation in Eurojust and, if possible, the European Judicial Network.

In addition, the plenipotentiaries of the Member States of the European Union and those of the Community, as well as the Plenipotentiaries of the Swiss Confederation, have adopted the Agreed Minute of the negotiations which is annexed to this Final Act. The Agreed Minute is binding.

Done at Luxembourg, 26 October 2004.

(Suivent signatures)

Joint Declaration on Laundering

The Contracting Parties agree that Art. 2, para. 3, of the agreement on cooperation in the fight against money laundering includes in the context of prior facts those constituting tax fraud or smuggling by trade according to Swiss law. Information received on the basis of a money-laundering application may be used in procedures for money laundering, except in proceedings against Swiss persons if all relevant acts of the offence have been exclusively Committed in Switzerland.

Joint Declaration on the cooperation of the Swiss Confederation in Eurojust and, if possible, the European Judicial Network

The Contracting Parties take note of the Swiss Confederation's wish to be able to explore the possibility of cooperation between the Swiss Confederation in the work of Eurojust and, where possible, the European Judicial Network.

Agreed minutes of the negotiations on the Cooperation Agreement between the Swiss Confederation, of the one part and the European Community and its Member States, of the other part, to combat fraud and any other illegal activities affecting the Their financial interests

The Contracting Parties have agreed as follows:

Re art. 2, para. 1, let. (a)

The terms "fraud and any other illegal activity" also include smuggling, corruption and laundering of the proceeds of the activities covered by this Agreement, subject to s. 2, para. 3.

The terms "trade in goods in violation of customs and agricultural legislation" are heard independently of the passage (departure, destination or transit) or not of the goods by the territory of the other Contracting Party.

The terms'trade in breach of tax legislation in the field of value added tax, special taxes on consumption and excise duties' shall be heard independently of the passage (departure, destination or transit) or not Goods or services in the territory of the other Contracting Party.

Re art. 15, para. 2

The term "means of inquiry" includes hearings of persons, visits and searches in premises and means of transport, copying of documents, the request for information and the seizure of objects, documents and values.

Re art. 16, para. 2, para. 2

This paragraph includes, inter alia, that persons present may be allowed to ask questions and propose acts of inquiry.

Re art. 25, para. 2

The concept of multilateral agreements between the contracting parties includes, inter alia, the agreement between the European Union, the European Community and the Swiss Confederation on the association of the Swiss Confederation to the Implementation, application and development of the Schengen acquis.

Re art. 35, para. 1

By 'request for mutual legal assistance', it is also understood that the information and evidence must be transmitted to the authority of the requesting Contracting Party.

Re art. 43

The European Commission shall, no later than at the time of signature of the Agreement, communicate an indicative list of the territories to which this Agreement applies.

Status of ratifications and provisional application of the Agreement between Switzerland and the European Community and its Member States (Art. 44, para. 3), 1 Er October 2015 3

Member States

Ratification

Provisionally applied as soon as:

Germany

29.09.2008

09.04.2009

Austria

23.06.2006

Belgium

02.06.2008

28.09.2011

Bulgaria

13.10.2008

08.04.2009

Cyprus

25.01.2008

European Union

19.12.2008

08.04.2009

Denmark

08.11.2006

Spain

16.11.2007

Estonia

03.03.2005

06.01.2011

Finland

15.01.2009

15.04.2009

France

12.04.2007

08.04.2009

Greece

Hungary

31.03.2006

Ireland

Italy

20.04.2010

Latvia

09.06.2005

Lithuania

16.02.2007

Luxembourg

29.01.2009

Malta

14.05.2008

Netherlands

21.12.2009

21.03.2010

Poland

06.09.2006

08.04.2009

Portugal

11.06.2008

19.01.2010

Czech Republic

25.07.2006

Romania

03.04.2008

08.04.2009

United Kingdom

27.04.2006

20.04.2009

Sweden

29.05.2008

08.04.2009

Switzerland

23.10.2008

08.04.2009

Slovakia

04.05.2007

22.04.2012

Slovenia

21.12.2005


RO 2009 1299 ; FF 2004 5593


1 RO 2009 1297
2 Status of ratifications and provisional application of the Agreement between Switzerland and the European Community and its Member States (Art. 44, para. 3) in the Annex.
3 RO 2015 4067


State 1 Er October 2015