TITLE I Definitions Article 1
TITLE II Abolition of checks at internal borders and movement of persons Article 2 - 38
TITLE III Police and security Article 39 - 91
TITLE IV The Schengen Information System Article 92 - 119 -
TITLE V Transport and movement of goods Article 120 - 125 -
TITLE VI Protection of personal data Article 126 - 130 TITLE VII Executive Committee Article 131 - 133 TITLE VIII Final Provisions Article 134 - 142UNOFFICIAL TRANSLATION
from 19 June 1990
APPLYING THE SCHENGEN AGREEMENT OF 14 JUNE 1985
BETWEEN THE GOVERNMENTS OF THE STATES OF THE BENELUX ECONOMIC UNION,
THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF GERMANY AND THE FRENCH REPUBLIC,
ON THE GRADUAL ABOLITION OF CHECKS AT THEIR COMMON BORDERS
The Kingdom of Belgium, the Federal Republic of Germany, the French Republic, the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg and the Kingdom of the Netherlands, hereinafter called the Contracting Parties,
Taking as their basis the Schengen Agreement of 14 June 1985 on the gradual abolition of checks at their common borders,
Having decided to implement the intention expressed in that agreement of bringing about the abolition of checks at their common borders on the movement of persons and facilitating the transport and movement of goods,
Whereas the Treaty establishing the European Communities, supplemented by the Single European Act, provides that the internal market shall comprise an area without internal frontiers,
Whereas the aim pursued by the Contracting Parties coincides with that objective, without prejudice to the measures to be taken to implement the provisions of the Treaty,
Whereas the implementation of that intention requires a series of appropriate measures and close co-operation between the Contracting Parties,
Have agreed as follows:
For the purposes of this Convention:
Internal borders shall mean the common land borders of the Contracting Parties, their airports for internal flights and their sea ports for regular trans-shipment connections exclusively from or to other ports within the territories of the Contracting Parties not calling at any ports outside those territories;
External borders shall mean the Contracting Parties' land and sea borders and their airports and sea ports, provided they are not internal borders;
Internal flight shall mean any flight exclusively to or from territories of the Contracting Parties not landing within the territory of a Third State;
Third State shall mean any State other than the Contracting Parties;
Alien shall mean any person other than a national of a Member State of the European Communities;
Alien reported as a person not to be permitted entry shall mean any alien listed reported as a person not to be in the permitted entry Schengen Information System in accordance with Article 96;
Border crossing point shall mean any crossing point authorized by the competent authorities for the crossing of external borders;
Border control shall mean a check made at a border in response solely to an intention to cross that border, regardless of any other consideration.
Carrier shall mean any natural or legal person whose occupation it is to provide passenger transport by air, sea or land;
Residence permit shall mean an authorization of any type issued by a Contracting Party giving the right of residence within its territory. This definition shall not include temporary admission to residence within the territory of a Contracting Party for the purpose of the processing of an application for asylum or an application for a residence permit;
Application for asylum shall mean any application submitted in writing, orally or otherwise by an alien at an external border or within the territory of a Contracting Party with a view to obtaining recognition as a refugee in accordance with the Geneva Convention of 28 July 1951 relating to the Status of Refugees, as amended by the New York Protocol of 31 January 1967 and as such obtaining the right of residence;
Applicant for asylum shall mean any alien who has submitted an application for asylum within the meaning of this Convention,on which no final decision has been taken;
Processing of an application for asylum shall mean all the procedures for examining and taking a decision on an application for asylum, including measures taken in implementation of a final decision thereon, with the exception of the determination of the Contracting Party responsible for the processing of an application for asylum under this Convention.
CHAPTER 1
Crossing internal frontiers
CHAPTER 2
Crossing external borders
2. Entry to the territories of the Contracting Parties must be refused to any alien who does not fulfill all the above conditions unless a Contracting Party considers it necessary to derogate from that principle on humanitarian grounds or in the national interest or because of international obligations. In such cases permission to enter will be restricted to the territory of the Contracting Party concerned, which must inform the other Contracting Parties accordingly. These rules shall not preclude the application of special provisions concerning the right of asylum or of the provisions of Article 18.
3. An alien who holds a residence permit or a return visa issued by one of the Contracting Parties or, if required, both documents, shall be permitted to enter in transit, unless their name is on the national list of persons reported as not to be refused entry which is held by the Contracting Party at the external borders of which they arrive.
1. Cross-border movement at external borders shall be subject to checks by the competent authorities. Checks shall be made in accordance with uniform principles, within the scope of national powers and national legislation, account being taken of the interests of all Contracting Parties throughout the Contracting Parties' territories.
2. The uniform principles referred to in paragraph 1 shall be as follows:
3. The competent authorities shall use mobile units to exercise surveillance on external borders between crossing points; the same shall apply to border crossing points outside normal opening hours. This surveillance shall be carried out in such a way as not to encourage people to circumvent the checks at crossing points. The surveillance procedures shall, where appropriate, be fixed by the Executive Committee.
4. The Contracting Parties undertake to deploy enough appropriate officers to conduct checks and maintain surveillance along external borders.
5. An equivalent level of control shall be exercised at external frontiers.
The Contracting Parties shall assist each other and shall maintain constant, close co-operation with a view to the effective exercise of checks and surveillance. They shall in particular exchange all relevant, important information, with the exception of data relating to named individuals, unless otherwise provided in this Convention, shall as far as possible harmonize the instructions given to the authorities responsible for checks and shall promote the uniform training and retraining of officers manning checkpoints. Such co-operation may take the form of the exchange of liaison officers.
The Executive Committee shall take the necessary decisions relating to the practical procedures for implementing border checks and surveillance.
1. The Contracting Parties undertake to adopt a common policy on the movement of persons and in particular on the arrangements for visas. They shall give each other assistance to that end. The Contracting Parties undertake to pursue by common agreement the harmonization of their policies on visas.
2. The visa arrangements relating to Third States, the nationals of which are subject to visa arrangements common to all the Contracting Parties at the time when this Convention is signed or later, may be amended only by common agreement of all the Contracting Parties. A Contracting Party may exceptionally derogate from the common visa arrangements with respect to a Third State for over-riding reasons of national policy that require an urgent decision. It must first consult the other Contracting Parties and, in its decision, must take account of their interests and of the consequences of that decision.
1. A uniform visa valid for the entire territory of the Contracting Parties shall be introduced. This visa, the period of validity of which shall be determined by Article 11, may be issued for visits not exceeding three months.
2. Until this visa is introduced the Contracting Parties shall recognize their respective national visas, insofar as these are issued on the basis of common conditions and criteria determined within the framework of the relevant provisions of this Chapter.
3. By way of derogation from paragraphs 1 and 2 above each Contracting Party shall reserve the right to restrict the territorial validity of the visa in accordance with common arrangements determined in the context of the relevant provisions of this Chapter.
1. The visa provided for in Article 10 may be:
2. Paragraph 1 shall not preclude a Contracting Party from issuing a new visa, the validity of which is limited to its own territory, within the half year in question if necessary.
1. The uniform visa provided for in Article 10(1) shall be issued by the diplomatic and consular authorities of the Contracting Parties and, where appropriate, by the authorities of the Contracting Parties designated under Article 17.
2. The Contracting Party competent to issue such a visa shall in principle be that of the principal destination. If this cannot be determined the visa shall in principle be issued by the diplomatic or consular post of the Contracting Party of first entry.
3. The Executive Committee shall specify the implementing arrangements and, in particular, the criteria for determining the principal destination.
1. No visa shall be apposed on a travel document that has expired.
2. The period of validity of a travel document must be greater than that of the visa, taking account of the period of use of the visa. It must enable an alien to return to his country of origin or to enter a third country.
1. No visa may be apposed to a travel document if that travel document is valid for none of the Contracting Parties. If a travel document is valid only for one Contracting Party or for a number of Contracting Parties the visa to be apposed shall be limited to the Contracting Party or Parties in question.
2. If a travel document is not recognized as valid by one or more of the Contracting Parties a visa may be issued in the form of an authorization in place of a visa.
In principle the visas referred to in Article 10 may be issued only if an alien fulfils the conditions of entry laid down in Article 5(1)(a), (c), (d) and (e).
If a Contracting Party considers it necessary to derogate, on one of the grounds listed in Article 5(2), from the principle enunciated in Article 15 by issuing a visa to an alien who does not fulfil all the conditions of entry referred to in Article 5(1), the validity of this visa shall be restricted to the territory of that Contracting Party, which must inform the other Contracting Parties accordingly.
1. The Executive Committee shall adopt common rules for the examination of applications for a visa, shall ensure their correct implementation and shall adapt them to new situations and circumstances.
2. The Executive Committee shall also specify the cases in which the issue of a visa shall be subject to consultation with the central authority of the Contracting Party to which application is made and, where appropriate, the central authorities of other Contracting Parties.
3. The Executive Committee shall also take the necessary decisions regarding the following points:
Visas for visits of more than three months shall be national visas issued by one of the Contracting Parties in accordance with its own legislation. Such a visa shall enable its holder to transit through the territories of the other Contracting Parties in order to proceed to the territory of the Contracting Party which issued the visa, unless he fails to fulfil the conditions of entry referred to in Article 5(1)(a), (d) and (e) or he is on the national reporting list of the Contracting Party through the territory of which he seeks to transit.
CHAPTER 4
Conditions governing the movements of aliens
1. Aliens holding a uniform visa who have legally entered the territory of a Contracting Party may move freely within the territories of all the Contracting Parties throughout the period of validity of their visas, provided they fulfil the conditions of entry referred to in Article 5(1)(a), (c), (d) and (e).
2. Pending the introduction of a uniform visa, aliens holding a visa issued by one of the Contracting Parties who have legally entered the territory of one Contracting Party may move freely within the territories of all the Contracting Parties during the period of validity of their visa up to a maximum of three months from the date of first entry, provided they fulfil the conditions of entry referred to in Article 5(1)(a), (c), (d) and (e).
3. Paragraphs 1 and 2 shall not apply to visas of which the validity is subject to territorial limitation in accordance with Chapter 3 of this Title.
4. This Article shall apply without prejudice to Article 22.
1. Aliens not subject to a visa requirement may move freely within the territories of the Contracting Parties for a maximum period of three months during the six months following the date of first entry, provided they fulfil the conditions of entry referred to in Article 5 (1) (a), (c), (d) and (e).
2. Paragraph 1 shall not affect the rights of each Contracting Party to extend beyond three months the visit of an alien within its territory in exceptional circumstances or in implementation of a bilateral agreement concluded before the entry into force of this Convention.
3. This Article shall apply without prejudice to Article 22.
1. An alien holding a residence permit issued by one of the Contracting Parties may, under cover of that permit and of a travel document, both documents still being valid, move freely for up to three months within the territories of the other Contracting Parties provided he fulfils the conditions of entry referred to in Article 5 (1) (a), (c) and (e) and is not on the national reporting list of the Contracting Party concerned.
2. Paragraph 1 shall also apply to an alien holding a provisional residence permit issued by one of the Contracting Parties and a travel document issued by that Contracting Party.
3. The Contracting Parties shall communicate to the Executive committee a list of the documents which they issue that are valid as residence permits or provisional residence permits and travel documents within the meaning of this Article.
4. This Article shall apply without prejudice to Article 22.
1. An alien who has legally entered the territory of one of the Contracting Parties shall be obliged to declare himself, in accordance with the conditions imposed by each Contracting Party, to the competent authorities of the Contracting Party the territory of which he enters. Such declaration may be made, at each Contracting Party's choice, either on entry or, within three working days of entry, within the territory of the Contracting Party which he enters.
2. An alien resident within the territory of one of the Contracting Parties who enters the territory of another Contracting Party shall be subject to the obligation to declare himself referred to in paragraph 1.
3. Each Contracting Party shall enact exceptions to paragraphs 1 and 2 and shall communicate them to the Executive Committee.
1. An alien who does not fulfil or who no longer fulfils the short visit conditions applicable within the territory of a Contracting Party must in principle leave the territories of the Contracting Parties without delay.
2. An alien who holds a valid residence permit or temporary residence permit issued by another Contracting Party must enter the territory of that Contracting Party without delay.
3. Where such an alien has not left voluntarily or where it may be assumed that he will not so leave or if his immediate departure is required for reasons of national security or public policy, he must be expelled from the territory of the Contracting Party within which he has been arrested as laid down in the national law of that Contracting Party. If the application of that law does not permit expulsion, the Contracting Party concerned may allow the person concerned to remain within its territory. .
4. Expulsion may be effected from the territory of that State to the alien's country of origin or to any other State to which he may be permitted entry, in particular under the relevant provisions of the re- entry agreements concluded by the Contracting Parties.
5. Paragraph 4 shall not preclude the application of national provisions on the right of asylum, of the Geneva Convention of 28 July 1951 relating to the Status of Refugees as amended by the New York Protocol of 31 January 1967, or of paragraph 2 of this Article or Article 33(1) of this Convention.
Subject to the Executive Committee's definition of the appropriate practical criteria and arrangements, the Contracting Parties shall compensate each other for any financial imbalances resulting from the compulsory expulsion provided for in Article 23 where such expulsion cannot be effected at the alien's expense.
CHAPTER 5
Residence permits and reporting as a person not to be permitted entry
1. Where a Contracting Party considers issuing a residence permit to an alien who has been reported as a person not to be permitted entry it shall first consult the reporting Contracting Party and shall take account of its interests; the residence permit shall be issued only on serious grounds, in particular of a humanitarian nature or pursuant to international obligations.
If a residence permit is issued the reporting Contracting Party shall withdraw the report but may put the alien concerned on its national reporting list of persons not to be permitted entry.2. Where it emerges that an alien holding a valid residence permit issued by one of the Contracting Parties has been reported as a person not to be permitted entry the reporting Contracting Party shall consult the Party which issued the residence permit in order to determine whether there are sufficient grounds for the withdrawal of the residence permit.
If the residence permit is not withdrawn the reporting Contracting Party shall withdraw the report but may put the alien in question on its national reporting list.
CHAPTER 6
Measures relating to organized travel
1. Subject to the obligations arising out of their accession to the Geneva Convention of 28 July 1951 relating to the Status of Refugees, as amended by the New York Protocol of 31 January 1967, the Contracting Parties undertake to incorporate the following rules in their national legislation:
2. The Contracting Parties undertake, subject to the obligations arising out of their accession to the Geneva Convention of 28 July 1951 relating to the Status of Refugees, as amended by the New York Protocol of 31 January 1967, and in accordance with their constitutional law, to impose penalties on carriers who transport aliens who do not possess the necessary travel documents by air or sea from a Third State to their territories.
3. Paragraph 1(b) and paragraph 2 shall also apply to carriers of groups by coach over international road links, with the exception of border traffic.
1. The Contracting Parties undertake to impose appropriate penalties on any person who, for purposes of gain, assists or tries to assist an alien to enter or reside within the territory of one of the Contracting Parties contrary to the laws of that Contracting Party on the entry and residence of aliens.
2. If a Contracting Party is informed of the facts referred to in paragraph 1 which constitute an infringement of the legislation of another Contracting Party, it shall inform the latter accordingly.
3. Any Contracting Party which requests another Contracting Party to prosecute, on the grounds of the infringement of its own legislation, offences such as those referred to in paragraph 1, must specify, by means of an official denunciation or a certificate from the competent authorities, the provisions of law which have been infringed.
CHAPTER 7
Responsibility for the processing of applications for asylum
The Contracting Parties hereby reaffirm their obligations under the Geneva Convention of 28 July 1951 relating to the Status of Refugees as amended by the New York Protocol of 31 January 1967, without any geographical restriction on the scope of those instruments, as also their commitment to co-operate with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in the implementation of those instruments.
1. The Contracting Parties undertake to process any application for asylum lodged by an alien within the territory of any one of them.
2. This obligation shall not bind a Contracting Party to authorize
every applicant for asylum to enter or to remain within its territory.
Every Contracting Party shall retain the right to refuse entry
or to expel any applicant for asylum to a Third State on the basis
of its national provisions and in accordance with its international
commitments.
3. Regardless of the Contracting Party to which an alien addresses an application for asylum, only one Contracting Party shall be responsible for processing that application. It shall be determined by the criteria laid down in Article 30.
4. Notwithstanding paragraph 3 every Contracting Party shall retain the right, for special reasons concerning national law in particular, to process an application for asylum even if under this Convention the responsibility for doing so is that of another Contracting Party.
1. The Contracting Party responsible for the processing of an application for asylum shall be determined as follows:
2. If a Contracting Party has undertaken the processing of an application for asylum in accordance with Article 29f4) the Contracting Party responsible under paragraph 1 of the present Article shall be relieved of its obligations.
3. If the Contracting Party responsible cannot be determined by means of the criteria laid down in paragraphs 1 and 2 the Contracting Party to which the application for asylum was submitted shall be responsible.
1. The Contracting Parties shall endeavour to determine as quickly as possible which of them is responsible for the processing of an application for asylum.
2. If an application for asylum is addressed to a Contracting Party which is not responsible under Article 30 by an alien resident within its territory that Contracting Party may request the Contracting Party responsible to take responsibility for the applicant for asylum in order to process his application for asylum.
3. The Contracting Party responsible shall be bound to take responsibility for the applicant for asylum referred to in paragraph 2 if the request is made within six months of the submission of the application for asylum. If the request is not made within that time the Contracting Party to which the application for asylum was submitted shall be responsible for processing the application.
The Contracting Party responsible for the processing of an application for asylum shall process it in accordance with its national law.
1. If an applicant for asylum is illegally within the territory of another Contracting Party while the asylum procedure is in progress the Contracting Party responsible shall be bound to take him back.
2. Paragraph 1 shall not apply where the other Contracting Party has issued an applicant for asylum with a residence permit valid for one year or more. In this case responsibility for the processing of the application shall be transferred to the other Contracting Party.
1. The Contracting Party responsible shall be bound to take back an alien whose application for asylum has been finally rejected and who has entered the territory of another Contracting Party without being authorized to reside there.
2. Paragraph 1 shall not, however, apply where the Contracting Party responsible expelled the alien from the territories of the Contracting Parties.
1. The Contracting Party which granted an alien the status of refugee and gave him the right of residence shall be bound, provided that those concerned are in agreement, to be responsible for processing any application for asylum made by a member of his family.
2. A family member for the purposes of paragraph 1 shall be the spouse or the unmarried child less than 18 years old of the refugee or, if the refugee is an unmarried child less than 18 years old, his father or mother.
Any Contracting Party responsible for the processing of an application for asylum may, on humanitarian grounds based on family or cultural reasons, ask another Contracting Party to assume that responsibility insofar as the person concerned so wishes. The Contracting Party to whom such a request is made shall consider whether it can grant it.
1. The competent authorities of the Contracting Parties shall at the earliest opportunity send each other details of:
2. The Contracting Parties shall also guarantee close co-operation in the collection of information on the situation in the countries of origin of applicants for asylum with a view to reaching a common assessment.
3. Any instruction given by a Contracting Party concerning the confidential processing of the information that it communicates must be complied with by the other Contracting Parties.
1. Every Contracting Party shall send every other Contracting Party that requests it the information it holds on an applicant for asylum that is necessary for purposes of
2. Such information may concern only
3. In addition, a Contracting Party may ask another Contracting Party to inform it of the grounds invoked by an applicant for asylum in support of his application and, where appropriate, the grounds for the decision taken on it. The Contracting Party requested shall consider whether it can comply with the request made to it. In any case the communication of such information shall be subject to the consent of the applicant for asylum.
4. Exchanges of information shall be effected at the request of a Contracting Party and may be effected only between the authorities the designation of which has been communicated by each Contracting Party to the Executive Committee.
5. The information exchanged may be used only for the purposes set out in paragraph 1. Such information may be communicated only to the authorities and jurisdictions responsible for
6. A Contracting Party that communicates information shall ensure
it is correct and up to date.
If it emerges that this Contracting Party supplied information
that was not correct or should not have been communicated the
recipient Contracting Parties shall be informed without delay.
They shall be bound to correct that information or to delete it.
7. An applicant for asylum shall be entitled to be informed, at
his request, of the information exchanged regarding him as long
as it is available.
If he ascertains that this information is incorrect or should
not have been communicated he shall be entitled to require its
correction or deletion. Corrections shall be effected as laid
down in paragraph 6.
8. In each Contracting Party concerned the communication and receipt of information exchanged shall be recorded.
9. Information communicated shall be preserved no longer than the time necessary for the purposes for which it was exchanged. The need for its preservation must be assessed in due course by the Contracting Party concerned.
10. Information communicated shall in any case have at least the same protection as that laid down in the law of the recipient Contracting Party for information of a similar nature.
11. If information is not processed automatically but in another manner each Contracting Party must take appropriate measures to ensure that this Article is complied with by means of effective checks. If a Contracting Party has a service of the type referred to in paragraph 12 it may instruct that service to carry out those checks.
12. If one or more Contracting parties want to computerize the processing of all or part of the information referred to in paragraphs 2 and 3, computerization shall be authorized only if the Contracting Parties concerned have adopted legislation relating to such processing that implements the principles of the Council of Europe Convention of 28 January 1981 for the Protection of Individuals with regard to Automatic Processing of Personal Data and if they have entrusted an appropriate national body with the independent control of the processing and use of data communicated under this Convention.
1. The Contracting Parties undertake to ensure that their police authorities shall, in compliance with national legislation and within the limits of their responsibilities, assist each other for the purposes of preventing and detecting criminal offences, insofar as national law does not stipulate that the request is to be made to the legal authorities and provided the request or the implementation thereof does not involve the application of coercive measures by the requested Contracting Party. Where the requested police authorities do not have jurisdiction to implement a request, they shall forward it to the competent authorities.
2. The written information provided by the requested Contracting Party under paragraph 1 may not be used by the requesting Contracting Party as evidence of the criminal offence other than with the agreement of the relevant legal authorities of the requested Contracting Party.
3. Requests for assistance referred to in paragraph 1 and the replies to such requests may be exchanged between the central bodies responsible in each Contracting Party for international police co-operation. Where the request cannot be made in good time by the above procedure, it may be addressed by the police authorities of the requesting Contracting Party directly to the competent authorities of the requested Party, which may reply directly. In such cases, the requesting police authority shall as soon as possible inform the central body responsible in the requested Contracting Party for international police co-operation of its direct application.
4. In border regions, co-operation may be covered by arrangements between the responsible Ministers of the Contracting Parties.
5. The provisions of this Article shall not preclude more detailed present or future bilateral agreements between Contracting Parties with a common border. The Contracting Parties shall inform each other of such agreements.
1. Police officers of one of the Contracting Parties who,
within the framework of a criminal investigation, are keeping
under observation in their country, a person who is presumed to
have taken part in a criminal offence to which extradition may
apply, shall be authorized to continue their observation in the
territory of another Contracting Party where the latter has authorized
cross-border observation in response to a request for assistance
which has previously been submitted. Conditions may be attached
to the authorization.
On request, the observation will be entrusted to officers of the
Contracting Party in whose territory it is carried out.
The request, for assistance referred to in the first subparagraph
must be sent to an authority designated by each of the Contracting
Parties and having jurisdiction to grant or to forward the requested
authorization.
2. Where, for particularly urgent reasons, prior authorization of the other Contracting Party cannot be requested, the officers conducting the observation shall be authorized to continue beyond the border the observation of a person presumed to have committed offences listed in paragraph 7, provided that the following conditions are met:
Observation shall cease as soon as the Contracting Party in whose territory it is taking place so requests, following the notification referred to in (a) or the request referred to in (b) or where authorization has not been obtained five hours after the border was crossed.
3. The observation referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2 shall be carried out only under the following general conditions:
4. The officers referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2 shall be:
5. The authority referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2 shall be:
6. The Contracting Parties may, at bilateral level, extend the scope of this Article and adopt additional measures in implementation thereof.
7. The observation referred to in paragraph 2 may take place only for one of the following criminal offences:
1. Officers of one of the Contracting Parties following, in
their country, an individual apprehended in the act of committing
one of the offences referred to in paragraph 4 or participating
in one of those offences, shall be authorized to continue pursuit
in the territory of another Contracting Party without prior authorization
where given the particular urgency of the situation it was not
possible to notify the competent authorities of the other Contracting
Party by one of the means provided for in Article 44 prior to
entry into that territory or where these authorities have been
unable to reach the scene in time to take over the pursuit.
The same shall apply where the person pursued has escaped from
provisional custody or while serving a custodial sentence.
The pursuing officers shall, not later than when they cross the
border, contact the competent authorities of the Contracting Party
in whose territory the pursuit is to take place. The pursuit will
cease as soon as the Contracting Party on the territory of which
the pursuit is taking place so requests. AL the request of the
pursuing officers, the competent local authorities shall challenge
the pursued person so as to establish his identity or to arrest
him.
2. The pursuit shall be carried out in accordance with one of the following procedures, defined by the declaration provided for in paragraph 9:
3. Pursuit shall be carried out in accordance with paragraphs 1 and 2 in one of the following ways as defined by the declaration provided for in paragraph 9:
4. In a declaration referred to in paragraph 9, the Contracting Parties shall define the offenses referred to in paragraph 1 in accordance with one of the following procedures:
5. Pursuit shall be subject to the following general conditions:
6. A person who, following the action provided for in paragraph 2, has been arrested by the competent local authorities may, whatever his nationality, be held for questioning. The relevant rules of national law shall apply by analogy. If the person is not a national of the Contracting Party in the territory of which he was arrested, he shall be released no later than six hours after his arrest, not including the hours between midnight and 9.00 in the morning, unless the competent local authorities have previously received a request for his provisional arrest for the purposes of extradition in any form whatever.
7.The officers referred to in the previous paragraphs shall be:
8. This Article shall be without prejudice, where the Contracting Parties are concerned, to Article 27 of the Benelux Treaty of 27 June 1962 on Extradition and Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters as amended by the Protocol of 11 May 1974;
9. On signing this Convention, each Contracting Party shall make
a declaration in which it shall define, on the basis of paragraphs
2, 3 and 4 above, the procedures for implementing pursuit in its
territory for each of the Contracting Parties with which it has
a common border.
A Contracting Party may at any moment replace its declaration
by another declaration, provided the latter does not, restrict
the scope of the former.
Each declaration shall be made after consultations with each of
the Contracting Parties concerned and with a view to obtaining
equivalent arrangements on both sides of internal borders.
10. The Contracting Parties may, on a bilateral basis, extend the scope of paragraph 1 and adopt additional provisions in implementation of this Article.
During the operations referred to in Articles 40 and 41, officers operating on the territory of another Contracting Party shall be regarded as officers of that Party with respect to offences committed against them or by them.
1. Where, in accordance with Articles 40 and 41 of this Convention, officers of a Contracting Party are operating in the territory of another Contracting Party, the first Contracting Party shall be responsible for any damage caused by them during the course of their mission, in accordance with the law of the Contracting Party in whose territory they are operating.
2. The Contracting Party in whose territory the damage referred to in paragraph 1 is caused shall repair such damage under the conditions applicable to damage caused by its own officers.
3. The Contracting Party whose officers have caused damage to whomsoever in the territory of another Contracting Party shall reimburse in full to the latter any sums it has paid out to the victims or other entitled persons.
4. Without prejudice to the exercise of its rights vis-a-vis third parties and without prejudice to paragraph 3, each Contracting Party shall refrain, in the case provided for in paragraph 1, from requesting reimbursement of the amount of the damages it has sustained from another Contracting Party.
1. In accordance with the relevant international agreements and account being taken of local circumstances and the technical possibilities, the Contracting Parties shall set up, in particular in border areas, telephone, radio, and telex lines and other direct links to facilitate police and customs co-operation, in particular for the transmission of information in good time for the purposes of cross-border observation and pursuit.
2. In addition to these short-term measures, they will in particular examine the following possibilites:
1. The Contracting Parties undertake to take the measures required to guarantee that. :
2. Paragraph 1 shall apply by analogy to persons staying in any accommodation provided by professional lessors, in particular tents, caravans and boats.
1. In particular cases, each Contracting Party may, in compliance with its national legislation and without being asked, send the Contracting Party concerned any information which may be of interest to it in helping prevent future crime and to prevent offences against or threats to public order and security.
2. Information shall be exchanged, without prejudice to the arrangements for co-operation in border areas referred to in Article 39l4), through a central body to be designated. In particularly urgent cases, the exchange of information within the meaning of this Article may take place directly between the police authorities concerned, save where national provisions provide otherwise. The central body shall be informed of this as soon as possible.
1. The Contracting Parties may conclude bilateral agreements providing for the secondment, for a specified or unspecified period, of liaison officers from one Contracting Party to the police authorities of the other Contracting Party.
2. The secondment of liaison officers for a specified or unspecified period is intended to promote and to accelerate co-operation between the Contracting Parties, particularly by providing assistance.
3. Liaison officers shall have the task of giving advice and assistance. They shall not be competent to take independent police action. They shall supply information and perform their duties in accordance with the instructions given to them by the Contracting Party of origin and by the Contracting Party to which they are seconded. They shall make report regularly to the head of the police service to which they are seconded.
4. The Contracting Parties may agree within a bilateral or multilateral framework that liaison officers from a Contracting Party seconded to third States shall also represent the interests of one or more other Contracting Parties. Under such agreements, liaison officers seconded to third States shall supply information to other Contracting Parties when requested to do so or on their own initiative and shall, within the limits of their powers, perform duties on behalf of such Parties. The Contracting Parties shall inform one another of their intentions as regards the secondment of liaison officers to third States.
1. The provisions of this Chapter are intended to supplement the European Convention of 20 April 1959 on Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters as well as, in relations between the Contracting Parties which are members of the Benelux Economic Union, Chapter II of the Benelux Treaty on Extradition and Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters of 27 June 1962, as amended by the Protocol of 11 May 1974, and to facilitate the implementation of these agreements.
2. Paragraph 1 shall not affect the application of the broader provisions of the bilateral agreements in force between the Contracting Parties.
Mutual assistance shall also be afforded:
1. The Contracting Parties undertake to afford each other, in accordance with the Convention and the Treaty referred to in Article 48, mutual assistance as regards infringements of their rules of law with respect to excise duty, value added tax and customs duties. Customs provisions are the rules laid down in Article 2 of the Convention of 7 September 1967 between Belgium, the Federal Republic of Germany, France, Italy, Luxembourg and the Netherlands on mutual assistance between customs administrations, as well as Article 2 of Council Regulation (EEC) No 1468/81 of 19 May 1981.
2. Requests based on evasion of excise duties may not be rejected on the grounds that the country requested does not levy excise duties on the goods referred to in the request.
3. The requesting Contracting Party shall not forward or use information or evidence obtained from the requested Contracting Party for enquiries, proceedings or procedures other than those referred to in its request, without the prior assent of the requested Contracting Party.
4. The mutual assistance provided for in this Article may be refused where the alleged amount of duty underpaid or evaded is no more than ECU 25000 or where the presumed value of the goods exported or imported without authorization is no more than ECU 100000, unless, given the circumstances or the identity of the accused, the case is deemed to be extremely serious by the requesting Contracting Party.
5. The provisions of this Article shall also apply when the mutual assistance requested concerns infringements punishable only by a fine as infringements of the rules of law in proceedings brought by the administrative authorities, where the request for assistance emanates from a judicial authority.
The Contracting Parties may not make the admissibility of letters rogatory for search or seizure dependent on conditions other than the following:
1. Each Contracting Party may address procedural documents directly by post to persons who are in the territory of another Contracting Party. The Contracting Parties shall send the Executive Committee a list of the documents which may be forwarded in this way.
2. Where there is reason to believe that the addressee does not understand the language in which the document is drafted, the document - or at least the important passages in it - must be translated into (one of) the language(s) of the Contracting Party in the territory of which the addressee is staying. If the authority forwarding the document knows that the addressee speaks only another language, the document - or at least the important passages thereof - must be translated into that other language.
3. An expert or witness who has failed to answer a summons to appear, sent to him by post, shall not, even if the summons contains a notice of penalty, be subjected to any punishment or measure of restraint, unless subsequently he voluntarily enters the territory of the requesting Party and is there again duly summoned. The authority sending a summons to appear by post shall ensure that it does not involve penalties. This provision shall be without prejudice to Article 34 of the Benelux Treaty on Extradition and Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters of 27 June 1962 as amended by the Protocol of 11 May 1974.
4. If the offence on which the request for assistance is based is punishable under the law of both Contracting Parties as an infringement of the regulations which is being prosecuted by the administrative authorities where the decision may give rise to proceedings before a criminal court, the procedure outlined in paragraph 1 must in principle be used for the forwarding of procedural documents.
5. Notwithstanding paragraph 1, procedural documents may be forwarded through the legal authorities of the requested Contracting Party where the addressee's address is unknown or where the requesting Contracting Party requires a formal service.
1. Requests for assistance may be made directly between legal authorities and returned through the same channels.
2. Paragraph 1 shall not prejudice the possibility of requests being sent and returned between Ministries of Justice or through the intermediary of national central offices of the International Criminal Police Organization.
3. Requests for the temporary transfer or transit of persons provisionally under arrest or detained or who are the subject of a measure depriving them of their liberty, and the periodic or occasional exchange of data from the judicial records must be effected through the Ministries of Justice.
4. Within the meaning of the European Convention of 20 April 1959 on Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters, Ministry of Justice means, where the Federal Republic of Germany is concerned, the Federal Minister of Justice and the Justice Ministers or Senators of the Federal States.
5. Information laid with a view to proceedings in respect of infringements of the legislation on driving and rest time, in accordance with Article 21 of the European Convention of 20 April 1959 on Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters or with Article 42 of the Benelux Treaty on Extradition and Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters of 27 June 1962, as amended by the Protocol of 11 May 1974, may be sent by the legal authorities of the requesting Contracting Party directly to the legal authorities of the requested Contracting Party.
A person who has been finally judged by a Contracting Party may not be prosecuted by another Contracting Party for the same offences provided that, where he is sentenced, the sentence has been served or is currently being served or can no longer be carried out under the sentencing laws of the Contracting Party.
1. A Contracting Party may, when ratifying, accepting or approving this Convention, declare that it is not bound by Article 54 in one or more of the following cases:
2. A Contracting Party which has made a declaration regarding the exception referred to in paragraph 1(b) shall specify the categories of offences to which this exception may apply.
3. A Contracting Party may at any moment withdraw a declaration relating to one or more of the exceptions referred to in paragraph 1.
4. The exceptions which were the subject of a declaration under paragraph 1 shall not apply where the Contracting Party concerned has, in respect of the same acts, requested the other Contracting Party to prosecute or has granted the extradition of the person concerned.
If further proceedings are brought by a Contracting Party against a person who has been finally judged for the same offences by another Contracting Party, any period of deprivation of liberty served on the territory of the latter Contracting Party on account of the offences in question must be deducted from any sentence handed down. Account will also be taken, to the extent that national legislation permits, of sentences other than periods of imprisonment already undergone.
1. Where a Contracting Party accuses an individual of an offence and the competent authorities of that Contracting Party have reason to believe that the accusation relates to the same offences as those for which the individual has already been finally judged by another Contracting Party, these authorities shall, if they deem it necessary, request the relevant information from the competent authorities of the Contracting Party in whose territory judgment has already been delivered.
2. The information requested shall be provided as soon as possible and shall be taken into consideration as regards further action to be taken in the proceedings in progress.
3. At the time of ratification, acceptance or approval of this Convention, each Contracting Party will nominate the authorities which will be authorized to request and receive the information provided for in this Article.
The above provisions shall not preclude the application of wider national provisions on the "non bis in idem" effect attached to legal decisions taken abroad.
1. The provisions of this Chapter are intended to supplement the European Convention of 13 September 1957 on Extradition as well as, in relations between the Contracting Parties which are members of the Benelux Economic Union, Chapter I of the Benelux Treaty on Extradition and Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters of 27 June 1962, as amended by the Protocol of 11 May 1974, and to facilitate the implementation of these agreements.
2. Paragraph 1 shall not affect the application of the broader provisions of the bilateral agreements in force between Contracting Parties.
In relations between two Contracting Parties, one of which is not a party to the European Convention on Extradition of 13 September 1957, the provisions of the said Convention shall apply, subject to the reservations and declarations made at the time of ratifying this Convention or, for Contracting Parties which are not parties to the Convention, at the time of ratifying, approving or accepting the present Convention.
The French Republic undertakes to extradite, at the request of one of the Contracting Parties, persons against whom proceedings are being taken for offences punishable under French law by deprivation of liberty or under a detention order for a maximum period of at least two years and under the law of the requesting Contracting Party by deprivation of liberty or under a detention order for a maximum period of at least a year.
1. As regards interruption of prescription, only the provisions of the requesting Contracting Party shall apply.
2. An amnesty granted by the requested Contracting Party shall not prevent extradition unless the offence falls within the jurisdiction of that Contracting Party.
3. The absence of a charge or an official notice authorizing proceedings, necessary only under the legislation of the requested Contracting Party, shall not affect the obligation to extradite.
The Contracting Parties undertake, in accordance with the Convention and the Treaty referred to in Article 54, to extradite between themselves persons being prosecuted by the legal authorities of the requesting Contracting Party for one of the offences referred to in Article 50(1), or being sought by them for the purposes of execution of a sentence or detention order imposed in respect of such an offence.
A report included in the Schengen Information System in accordance with Article 95 shall have the same force as a request for provisional arrest under Article 16 of the European Convention on Extradition of 13 September 1957 or Article 15 of the Benelux Treaty on Extradition and Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters of 27 June 1962, as amended by the Protocol of 11 May 1974.
1. Without prejudice to the option to use the diplomatic channel, requests for extradition and transit shall be sent by the relevant Ministry of the requesting Contracting Party to the relevant Ministry of the requested Contracting Party.
2. The relevant Ministries shall be:
1. If the extradition of a wanted person is not obviously prohibited under the laws of the requested Contracting Party, that Contracting Party may authorize extradition without formal extradition proceedings, provided that the wanted person agrees thereto in a statement made before a member of the judiciary after being examined by the latter and informed of his right to formal extradition proceedings. The wanted person may have access to a lawyer during such examination.
2. In cases of extradition under paragraph 1, a wanted person who explicitly states that he will not invoke the rule of speciality may not revoke that statement.
The following provisions shall apply between the Contracting Parties who are parties to the Council of Europe Convention of 21 March 1983 on the Transfer of Sentenced Persons, for the purposes of supplementing that Convention.
1. The Contracting Party in whose territory a sentence of deprivation of liberty or a detention order has been imposed in a judgment which has obtained the force of res judicata in respect of a national of another Contracting Party who, by escaping to his own country, has avoided the execution of that sentence or detention order, may request the latter Contracting Party, if the escaped person is in its territory, to take over the execution of the sentence or of the detention order.
2. The requested Contracting Party may, at the request of the requesting Contracting Party, prior to the arrival of the documents supporting the request that the execution of the sentence or of the detention order or part of the sentence be taken over, and prior to the decision on that request, take the convicted person into police custody or take other measures to ensure that he remains in the territory of the requested Contracting Party.
The transfer of execution under Article 68 shall not require the consent of the person on whom the sentence or the detention order has been imposed. The other provisions of the Council of Europe Convention of 21 March 1983 on the Transfer of Sentenced Persons shall apply by analogy.
1. The Contracting Parties shall set up a permanent working party to examine common problems relating to the combating of offences involving narcotic drugs and to draw up proposals, where necessary, to improve the practical and technical aspects of co-operation between the Contracting Parties. The working party shall submit its proposals to the Executive Committee.
2. The working party referred to in paragraph 1, the members of which are nominated by the relevant national authorities, shall include representatives of the police and of the customs authorities.
1. The Contracting Parties undertake as regards the direct or indirect sale of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances of whatever type, including cannabis, and the possession of such products and substances for sale or export, to take, in compliance with the existing United Nations Conventions (+), all measures necessary for the prevention and punishment of the illicit traffic in narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances.
2. The Contracting Parties undertake to prevent and to punish by administrative and penal measures the illegal export of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances, including cannabis, as well as the sale, supply and handling of such products and substances, without prejudice to the relevant provisions of Articles 74, 75 and 76.
3. To combat the illegal importation of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances, including cannabis, the Contracting Parties shall strengthen the checks on the movement of persons and goods and of means of transport at their external borders. Such measures shall be drawn up by the working party provided for in Article 70. This working party shall consider inter alia the reassignment of some of the police and customs staff released from internal border duty, as well as recourse to modern drug-detection methods and sniffer dogs.
4. To ensure compliance with this Article, the Contracting Parties shall specifically maintain surveillance on places known to be used for drug trafficking.
5. The Contracting Parties shall do all in their power to prevent and combat the negative effects of the illicit demand for narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances of whatever kind, including cannabis. The measures adopted to this end shall be the responsibility of each Contracting Party.
(+) Single Conventions on Narcotic Drugs of 1961 as amended by the 1972 Protocol amending the 1961 Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs; the 1971 Convention on Psychotropic Substances; the United Nations Convention of 20 December 1988 on Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances.
The Contracting Parties shall, in accordance with their constitution and their national legal system, ensure that legislation is enacted to permit the seizure and confiscation of assets deriving from illicit traffic in narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances.
1. The Contracting Parties undertake, in accordance with their constitution and their national legal system, to take measures to allow monitored deliveries to take place in the illicit traffic in narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances.
2. In each individual case, a decision to allow monitored deliveries will be taken on the basis of prior authorization by each of the Contracting Parties concerned.
3. Each Contracting Party shall retain responsibility for and control over the operation on its own territory and shall be empowered to intervene.
With respect to legal trade in narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances, the Contracting Parties agree to transfer inside the country, wherever possible, checks conducted at the border and arising from obligations under the United Nations Conventions listed in Article 71.
1. As regards the movement of travellers to the territory of the Contracting Parties or within such territory, individuals may carry narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances in connection with medical treatment, provided they produce at any check a certificate issued or authenticated by a competent authority of the State of residence.
2. The Executive Committee shall adopt the form and content of the certificate referred to in paragraph 1 and issued by one of the Contracting Parties, with particular reference to the data regarding the nature and quantity of the products and substances and the duration of the journey.
3. The Contracting Parties shall notify each other of the authorities responsible for the issue and authentication of the certificate referred to in paragraph 2.
1. The Contracting Parties shall, if necessary, and in accordance with their medical, ethical and practical usage, adopt the appropriate measures for the monitoring of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances subjected in the territory of one or more Contracting Party to more rigorous checks than in their own territory so that the effectiveness of such checks is not prejudiced.
2. Paragraph 1shall also apply to substances frequently used for the manufacture of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances.
3. The Contracting Parties shall notify each other of the measures taken in order to monitor the legal trade in the substances referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2.
4. Problems experienced in this connection shall be regularly raised in the Executive Committee.
1. The Contracting Parties undertake to bring into line with the provisions of this Chapter their national laws, regulations and administrative provisions relating to the purchase, possession, sale and surrender of firearms and ammunition.
2. This Chapter covers the purchase, possession, sale and surrender of firearms and ammunition by natural and legal persons; it does not cover their supply to the central and territorial authorities, the armed forces or the police, nor the purchase or possession by them of firearms and ammunition nor the manufacture of firearms and ammunition by public undertakings.
1. For the purposes of this Chapter, firearms shall be classified as follows:
2. The locking mechanism, the magazine and the barrel of firearms shall be subject mutatis mutandis to the provisions which apply to the weapon of which they form or are intended to form a part.
3. For the purposes of this Convention, "short firearms" means firearms with a barrel which is not more than 30 cm long or with a total length of not more than 60 cm; "long firearms" means all other firearms.
1. The list of prohibited firearms and ammunition shall include the following items:
2. The competent authorities may, in special cases, grant authorizations for the firearms and ammunition referred to in paragraph 1, if public order and security do not preclude it.
1. The list of firearms, the purchase and possession of which is subject to authorization, shall include at least the following firearms if they are not prohibited:
2. The list of firearms subject to authorization shall not include:
The list of firearms subject to declaration shall include, if such arms are neither prohibited nor subject to authorization:
The list of arms referred to in Articles 79, 80 and 81 shall not include:
A permit to purchase and possess a firearm listed in Article 80 may be issued only:
1. Declarations in respect of the firearms mentioned in Article 81 shall be entered in a register kept by the persons referred to in Article 85.
2. If a firearm is disposed of by a person not referred to in Article 85, a declaration of disposal must be made in accordance with the detailed rules to be laid down by each Contracting Party.
3. The declarations referred to in this Article must contain the necessary details to identify the persons and the arms concerned.
1. The Contracting Parties undertake to subject to an obligation of authorization persons who manufacture firearms subject to authorization and persons selling such firearms, and to subject to an obligation of declaration persons who manufacture firearms subject to declaration and persons selling such firearms. Authorization in respect of firearms subject to authorization shall also cover firearms subject to declaration. The Contracting Parties shall make effective checks on persons who manufacture arms and persons who sell arms.
2. The Contracting Parties undertake to adopt measures to ensure that, as a minimum requirement, all firearms are marked durably with a serial number permitting their identification and carry the manufacturer's mark.
3. The Contracting Parties shall oblige manufacturers and dealers to keep a register of all firearms subject to authorization or to declaration; the register must make it possible rapidly to determine the nature of firearms, their origin and the purchaser.
4. As regards firearms subject to authorization subject to Articles 79 and 80, the Contracting Parties undertake to adopt measures to ensure that the serial number and the manufacturer's mark on the firearm are reproduced on the permit supplied to its holder.
1. The Contracting Parties undertake to adopt measures prohibiting, legitimate holders of firearms subject to authorization or declaration from transferring these arms to persons not holding a permit for their purchase or a declaration certificate.
2. The Contracting Parties may authorize the temporary transfer of such firearms in accordance with procedures which they lay down.
1. The Contracting Parties shall incorporate in their national legislation provisions permitting permits to be withdrawn from persons who no longer satisfy the conditions for the issue of permits laid down in Article 83.
2. The Contracting Parties undertake to take appropriate measures, including seizure of firearms and withdrawal of permits and to punish in an appropriate way infringements of the laws and administrative provisions applicable to firearms. Such penalties may provide for the confiscation of firearms.
1. Persons who have a permit to purchase a firearm shall not require an authorization to purchase ammunition for such firearms.
2. The purchase of ammunition by persons who do not have a permit to purchase arms shall be subject to the system governing the arm for which the ammunition is intended. Such authorization may cover a single category or all categories of ammunition.
The lists of firearms which are prohibited, subject to authorization or subject to declaration may be amended or supplemented by the Executive Committee to take account of technical developments, economic trends and State security.
The Contracting Parties shall have to adopt more stringent laws and provisions on the purchase and possession of firearms and ammunition.
1. The Contracting Parties agreed, on the basis of the European Convention of 28 June 1978 on the Control of the Acquisition and Possession of Firearms by individuals, to create within the framework of their national legislation an exchange of information on the acquisition of firearms by persons - whether private individuals or retailing gunsmiths - normally resident or established in the territory of another Contracting Party. a retailing gunsmith is deemed to be any person whose professional activity consists, in whole or in part, in trade in or the retailing of firearms.
2. The exchange of information shall concern:
3. Information regarding the acquisition of firearms shall be communicated without delay and shall include the following data:
4. Each Contracting Party shall designate the national authority responsible for sending and receiving the information referred to in paragraphs 2 and 3 and shall notify the other Contracting Parties without delay of any change in the identity of that authority.
5. The authority designated by each Contracting Party may forward the information notified to it to the competent local police authorities and to the authorities responsible for checks at the borders, for the purposes of preventing or prosecuting punishable offences and breaches of the rules.
1. The Contracting Parties shall set up and maintain a joint information system; hereinafter referred to as the Schengen Information System, consisting of a national section in each of the Contracting Parties and a technical support function. The Schengen Information System shall enable the authorities designated by the Contracting Parties, by means of an automated search procedure, to have access to reports on persons and objects for the purposes of border checks and controls and other police and customs checks carried out within the country in accordance with national law and, in the case of the single category of report referred to in Article 96, for the purposes of issuing visas, the issue of residence permits and the administration of aliens in the context of the application of the provisions of this Convention relating to the movement of persons.
2. Each Contracting Party shall set up and maintain, for its own account and at its own risk, its national section of the Schengen Information System, the data file of which shall be made materially identical to the data files of the national sections of each of the other Contracting Parties using the technical support function. To ensure the rapid and effective transmission of data as referred to in paragraph 3, each Contracting Party shall observe, when creating its national section, the protocols and procedures which the Contracting Parties have jointly established for the technical support function. Each national section's data file shall be available for the purposes of automated search in the territory of each of the Contracting Parties. It shall not be possible to search the data files of other Contracting Parties' national sections.
3. The Contracting Parties shall set up and maintain jointly and with joint liability for risks, the technical support function of the Schengen Information System, the responsibility for which shall be assumed by the French Republic; the technical support function shall be located in Strasbourg. The technical support function shall comprise a data file which ensures that the data files of the national sections are kept identical by the on-line transmission of information. The data file of the technical support function shall contain reports on persons and objects where these concern all the Contracting Parties. The data file of the technical support function shall contain no data other than those referred to in this paragraph and in Article 113(2).
The purpose of the Schengen Information System shall be in accordance with this Convention to maintain public order and security, including State security, and to apply the provisions of this Convention relating to the movement of persons, in the territories of the Contracting Parties, using information transmitted by, the system.
1. The Schengen Information System shall contain only the categories of data which are supplied by each of the Contracting Parties and are required for the purposes laid down in Articles 95 to 100. The Contracting Party providing a report shall determine whether the importance of the case warrants the inclusion of the report in the Schengen Information System.
2. The categories of data shall be as follows:
3. The items included in respect of persons, shall be no more than the following:
Other references, in particular the data listed in Article 6, first sentence of the Council of Europe Convention of 28 January 1981 for the Protection of Individuals with regard to Automatic Processing of Personal Data, shall not be authorized.
4. Insofar as a Contracting Party considers that a report in accordance with Articles 95, 97 or 99 is incompatible with its national law, its international obligations or essential national interests, it may subsequently add to the report in the data file of the national section of the Schengen Information System a note to the effect that the action referred to will not be taken in its territory in connection with the report. Consultations must be held in this connection with the other Contracting Parties. If the reporting Contracting Party does not withdraw the report it will continue to apply in full for the other Contracting Parties.
1. Data relating to persons wanted for arrest for extradition purposes shall be included at the request of the judicial authority of the requesting Contracting Party.
2. Prior to making a report, the reporting Contracting Party shall
check whether the arrest is authorized by the national law of
the requested Contracting Parties. If the reporting Contracting
Party has doubts, it must consult the other Contracting Parties
concerned.
The reporting Contracting Party shall send the requested Contracting
Parties together with the report, by the swiftest means, the following
essential information relating to the case:
3. A requested Contracting Party may add to the report in the file of the national section of the Schengen Information System a note prohibiting arrest in connection with the report, until such time as the note is deleted. The note shall be deleted no later than 24 hours after the report is included, unless the Contracting Party refuses to make the requested arrest on legal grounds or for special reasons of expediency. Where, in particularly exceptional cases, this is justified by the complexity of the facts underlying the report, the above time limit may be extended to one week. Without prejudice to a qualifying note or a decision to refuse arrest, the other Contracting Parties may make the arrest requested in the report.
4. If, for particularly urgent reasons, a Contracting Party requests an immediate search, the Party requested shall examine whether it is able to withdraw its note. The Contracting Party requested shall take the necessary steps to ensure that the action to be taken can be carried out without delay if the report is validated.
5. If the arrest cannot be made because an investigation has not been completed or owing to a refusal by the requested Contracting Party, the latter must regard the report as being a report for the purposes of communicating the place of residence of the person concerned.
6. The requested Contracting Parties shall carry out the action to be taken as requested in the report in compliance with extradition Conventions in force and with national law. They shall not be required to carry out the action requested where one of their nationals is involved, without prejudice to the possibility of making the arrest in accordance with national law.
1. Data relating to aliens who are reported for the purposes of being refused entry shall be included on the basis of a national report resulting from decisions taken, in compliance with the rules of procedure laid down by national legislation, by the administrative authorities or courts responsible.
2. Decisions may be based on a threat to public order or national
security and safety which the presence of an alien in national
territory may pose.
Such may in particular be the case with:
3. Decisions may also be based on the fact that the alien has been the subject of a deportation, removal or expulsion measure which has not been rescinded or suspended, including or accompanied by a prohibition on entry or, where appropriate, residence, based on non-compliance with national regulations on the entry or residence of aliens.
Data relating to persons who have disappeared or to persons who, in the interests of their own protection or in order to prevent threats, need to be placed provisionally in a place of safety at the request of the competent authority or the competent judicial authority of the reporting Party, shall be included in order that the police authorities can communicate their whereabouts to the reporting Party or can remove the person to a place of safety for the purposes of preventing him from continuing his journey, if so authorized by national legislation. This shall apply in particular to minors and to persons who must be interned by decision of a competent authority. Communication of the information shall be subject to the consent of the person who has disappeared, if of full age.
1. Data relating to witnesses, to persons summoned to appear before the judicial authorities in connection with criminal proceedings in order to account for acts for which they are being prosecuted, or to persons who are to be notified of a criminal judgment or of a summons to appear in order to serve a custodial sentence, shall be included, at the request of the competent judicial authorities, for the purposes of communicating their place of residence or domicile.
2. Information requested shall be communicated to the requesting Party in accordance with national legislation and with the Conventions in force concerning mutual judicial assistance in criminal matters.
1. Data relating to persons or vehicles shall be included, in compliance with the national law of the reporting Contracting Party, for the purposes of discreet surveillance or specific checks, in accordance with paragraph 5.
2. Such a report may be made for the purposes of prosecuting criminal offences and for the prevention of threats to public safety:
3. In addition, a report may be made in accordance with national law, at the request of the authorities responsible for State security, where concrete evidence gives reason to suppose that the information referred to in paragraph 4 is necessary for the prevention of a serious threat by the person concerned or other serious threats to internal or external State security. The reporting Contracting Party shall be required to consult the other Contracting Parties beforehand.
4. For the purposes of discreet surveillance, the following information may in whole or in part be collected and transmitted to the reporting authority when border checks or other police and customs checks are carried out within the country:
When such information is collected, steps must be taken to ensure that the discreet nature of the surveillance is not jeopardized.
5. In the context of the specific checks referred to in paragraph 1, persons, vehicles and objects carried may be searched in accordance with national law, in order to achieve the purpose referred to in paragraphs 2 and 3. If the specific check is not authorized in accordance with the law of a Contracting Party, it shall automatically be converted, for that Contracting Party, into discreet surveillance.
6. A requested Contracting Party may add to the report in the file of the national section of the Schengen Information System a note prohibiting, until the note is deleted, performance of the action to be taken pursuant to the report for the purposes of discreet surveillance or specific checks. The note must be deleted no later than 24 hours after the report has been included unless the Contracting Party refuses to take the action requested on legal grounds or for special reasons of expediency. Without prejudice to a qualifying note or a refusal decision, the other Contracting Parties may carry out the action requested in the report.
1. Data relating to objects sought for the purposes of seizure or of evidence in criminal proceedings shall be included in the Schengen Information System.
2. If a search brings to light the existence of a report on an item which has been found, the authority noticing the report shall contact the reporting authority in order to agree on the requisite measures. For this purpose, personal data may also be transmitted in accordance with this Convention. The measures to be taken by the Contracting Party which found the object must comply with its national law.
3. The categories of object listed below shall be included:
1. Access to data included in the Schengen Information System and the right to search such data directly shall be reserved exclusively for the authorities responsible for
2. In addition, access to data included in accordance with Article 96 and the right to search such data directly may be exercised by the authorities responsible for issuing visas, the central authorities responsible for examining visa applications and the authorities responsible for issuing residence permits and the administration of aliens within the framework of the application of the provisions on the movement of persons under this Convention. Access to data shall be governed by the national law of each Contracting Party.
3. Users may only search data which are necessary for the performance of their tasks.
4. Each of the Contracting Parties shall communicate to the Executive Committee a list of the competent authorities which are authorized to search the data included in the Schengen Information System directly. That list shall indicate for each authority the data which it may search, and for what purposes.
1. The Contracting Parties may use the data provided for in Articles 95 to 100 only for the purposes laid down for each type of report referred to in those Articles.
2. Data may be duplicated only for technical purposes, provided that such duplication is necessary for direct searching by the authorities referred to in Article 101. Reports by other Contracting Parties may not be copied from the national section of the Schengen Information System in other national data files.
3. In connection with the types of report provided for in Articles 95 to 100 of this Convention, any derogation from paragraph 1 in order to change from one type of report to another must be justified by the need to prevent an imminent serious threat to public order and safety, for serious reasons of State security or for the purposes of preventing a serious offence. The prior authorization of the reporting Contracting Party must obtain for this purpose.
4. Data may not be used for administrative purposes. By way of derogation, data included in accordance with Article 96 may be used, in accordance with the national law of each of the Contracting Parties, only for the purposes of Article 101 (2).
5. Any use of data which does not comply with paragraphs 7 to 4 shall be considered as a misuse in relation to the national law of each Contracting Party.
Each Contracting Party shall ensure that, on average, every tenth transmission of personal data is recorded in the national section of the Schengen Information System by the data file managing authority for the purposes of checking the admissibility of searching. The recording may be used only for this purpose and shall be deleted after six months.
1. The law applying to reports shall be the national law of the reporting Contracting Party, unless more rigorous conditions are laid down in this Convention.
2. Insofar as this Convention does not lay down specific provisions, the law of each Contracting Party shall apply to data included in the national section of the Schengen Information System.
3. Insofar as this Convention does not lay down specific provisions concerning performance of the action requested in the report, the national law of the Contracting Party requested which carries out the action shall apply. Insofar as this Convention lays down specific provisions concerning performance of the action requested in the report, responsibility for the action to be taken shall be governed by the national law of the requested Contracting Party. If the action requested cannot be performed, the requested Contracting Party shall inform the reporting Contracting Party without delay.
The reporting Contracting Party shall be responsible for the accuracy, up- to-dateness and lawfulness of the inclusion of data in the Schengen Information System.
1. Only the reporting Contracting Party shall be authorized to amend, supplement, correct o-r delete data which it has introduced.
2. If one of the Contracting Parties which has not made the report has evidence to suggest that an item of data is legally or factually inaccurate, it shall advise the reporting Contracting Party thereof as soon as possible; the latter must check the communication and, if necessary, correct or delete the item in question without delay.
3. If the Contracting Parties are unable to reach agreement, the Contracting Party which did not generate the report shall submit the case to the joint supervisory authority referred to in Article 115(1) for its opinion.
Where a person has already been the subject of a report in the Schengen Information System, a Contracting Party which introduces a further report shall come to an agreement on the inclusion of the reports with the Contracting Party which introduced the first report. The Contracting Parties may also adopt general provisions to this end.
1. Each of the Contracting Parties shall designate an authority which shall have central responsibility for the national section of the Schengen Information System.
2. Each of the Contracting Parties shall make its reports via that authority.
3. The said authority shall be responsible for the correct operation of the national section of the Schengen Information System and shall take the measures necessary to ensure compliance with the provisions of this Convention.
4. The Contracting Parties shall inform one another, via the Depositary, of the authority referred to in paragraph 1.1. The right of any person to have access to data relating to him which are included in the Schengen Information System shall be exercised in accordance with the law of the Contracting Party before which it invokes that right. If the national law so provides, the national supervisory authority provided for in Article 114(1) shall decide whether information shall be communicated and by what procedures. A Contracting Party which has not made the report may communicate information concerning such data only if it has previously given the reporting Contracting Party an opportunity to state its position.
2. Communication of information to the person concerned shall be refused if it may undermine the performance of the legal task specified in the report or in order to protect the rights and freedoms of others. It shall be refused in any event during the period of reporting for the purposes of discreet surveillance.
Any person may have factually inaccurate data relating to him corrected or have legally inaccurate data relating to him deleted.
1. Any person may, in the territory of each Contracting Party, bring before the courts or the authority competent under national law an action to correct, delete or provide information or obtain compensation in connection with a report concerning him.
2. The Contracting Parties shall undertake amongst themselves to execute final decisions taken by the courts or authorities referred to in paragraph 1, without prejudice to the provisions of Article 116.
1. Personal data included in the Schengen Information System for the purposes of locating persons shall be kept only for the time required to achieve the purposes for which they were supplied. No later than three years after their inclusion, the need for their retention must be reviewed by the reporting Contracting Party. This period shall be one year in the case of reports referred to in Article 99.
2. Each of the Contracting Parties shall, where appropriate, set shorter review periods in accordance with its national law.
3. The technical support function of the Schengen Information System shall automatically inform the Contracting Parties of a scheduled deletion of data from the system, giving one month's notice.
4. The reporting Contracting Party may, within the review period, decide to retain the report if its retention is necessary for the purposes for which the report was made. Any extension of the report must be communicated to the technical support function. The provisions of paragraph 1 shall apply to report extension.
1. Data other than those referred to in Article 112 shall be retained for a maximum of ten years, data relating to identity documents issued and to registered bank notes for a-maximum of five years and those relating toymotor vehicles, trailers and caravans for a maximum of three years.
2. Data deleted shall continue to be retained for one year in the technical support function. During that period they may be consulted only for the purposes of subsequently checking their accuracy and the lawfulness of their inclusion. Afterwards they must be destroyed.
1. Each Contracting Party shall designate a supervisory authority responsible, in compliance with national law, for carrying out independent supervision of the data file of the national section of the Schengen Information System and for checking that the processing and utilization of data included in the Schengen Information System are not in violation of the rights of the person concerned. For this purpose the supervisory authority shall have access to the data file of the national section of the Schengen Information System.
2. Any person shall have the right to ask the supervisory authorities to check the data concerning him which are included in the Schengen Information System, and the use which is made of such data. That right shall be governed by the national law of the Contracting Party to which the request is made. If the data have been included by another Contracting Party, the check shall be carried out in close co-ordination with that Contracting Party's supervisory authority.
1. A joint supervisory authority shall be set up, with resposibility for supervising the technical support function of the Schengen Information System. This authority shall consist of two representatives of each national supervisory authority. Each Contracting Party shall have one vote. Supervision shall be carried out in accordance with the provisions of this Convention, of the Council of Europe Convention of 28 January 1981 for the Protection of Individuals with regard to the Automatic Processing of Personal Data, taking into account Recommendation R (87) 15 of 17 September 1987 of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe regulating the use of personal data in the police sector, and in accordance with the national law of the Contracting Party responsible fyor the technical support function.
2. As regards the technical support function of the Schengen Information System, the joint supervisory authority shall have the task of checking that the provisions of this Convention are properly implemented. For this purpose it shall have access to the technical support function.
3. The joint supervisory authority shall also be competent to examine any difficulties of application or interpretation which may arise during the operation of the Schengen Information System, to study problems which may arise with the exercise of independent supervision by the national supervisory authorities of the Contracting Parties or in the exercise of the right of access to the system, and to draw up harmonized proposals for the purpose of finding joint solutions to problems.
4. Reports drawn up by the joint supervisory authority shall be forwarded to the authorities to which the national supervisory authorities submit their reports.
1. Each Contracting Party shall be responsible, in accordance with its national law, for any injury caused to a person through the use of the national data file of the Schengen Information System. This shall also be the case where the injury was caused by the reporting Contracting Party, where the latter included legally or factually inaccurate data.
2. If the Contracting Party against which an action is brought is not the reporting Contracting Party; the latter shall be required to reimburse, on request, sums paid out as compensation, unless the data were used by the requested Contracting Party in contravention of this Convention.
1. With regard to the automatic processing of personal data which are transmitted pursuant to this Title, each Contracting Party shall, not later than when this Convention enters into force, make the national arrangements necessary to achieve a level of protection of personal data at least equal to that resulting from the principles of the Council of Europe Convention of 28 January 1981 for the Protection of Individuals with regard to the Automatic Processing of Personal Data, and in compliance with Recommendation R (87) 15 of 17 September 1987 of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe regulating the use of personal data in the police sector.
2. The transmission of personal data provided for in this Title may take place only where the arrangements for the protection of personal data provided for in paragraph 1 have entered into force in the territory of the Contracting Parties concerned by the transmission.
1. Each of the Contracting Parties shall undertake, in respect of the national section of the Schengen Information System, to take the measures necessary to:
2. Each Contracting Party must take special measures to ensure the security of data when it is being transmitted to services located outside the territories of the Contracting Parties. Such measures must be communicated to the joint supervisory authority.
3. Each Contracting Party may designate for the processing of data in its national section of the Schengen Information System only specially qualified persons subject to security checks.
4. The Contracting Party responsible for the technical support function of the Schengen Information System shall take the measures laid down in paragraphs 1 to 3 in respect of the latter.
1. The costs of setting up and using the technical support function referred to in Article 92C3!, including the cost of cabling for connecting the national sections of the Schengen Information System to the technical support function, shall be defrayed jointly by the Contracting Parties. Each Contracting Party's share shall be determined on the basis of the rate for each Contracting Party applied to the uniform basis of assessment of value-added tax within the meaning of Article 2(1) (c) of the Decision of the Council of the European Communities of 24 June 1988 on the system of the Communities' own resources.
2. The costs of setting up and using the national section of the Schengen Information System shall be borne by each Contracting Party individually.
1. The Contracting Parties shall jointly ensure that their laws, regulations or administrative provisions do not unjustifiably impede the movement of goods at internal borders.
2. The Contracting Parties shall facilitate the movement of goods at internal borders by carrying out formalities relating to prohibitions and restrictions at the time goods are cleared through customs for release for consumption. Such customs clearance may, at the option of the party concerned, be conducted either within the country or at the internal border. The Contracting Parties shall endeavour to encourage customs clearance within the country.
3. Insofar as it is not possible in certain spheres to achieve
the simplifications referred to in paragraph 2 in whole or in
part, the Contracting Parties shall endeavour to bring about the
conditions therefor amongst themselves or within the framework
of the European Communities.
This paragraph shall apply in particular to the monitoring of
compliance with rules concerning transport permits, to technical
inspection of means of transport, To veterinary checks and animal
health checks, veterinary checks on health and hygiene, to plant
health checks and to the monitoring of transport of dangerous
goods and waste.
4. The Contracting Parties shall endeavour to harmonize formalities concerning the movement of goods at external borders and to monitor compliance therewith in accordance with uniform principles. The Contracting Parties shall, to that end, work closely together within the Executive Committee, within the framework of the European Communities and within other international fora.
1. The Contracting Parties shall, while complying with Community
law, waive the checks and cease to require submission of the plant
health certificates, prescribed by Community law for certain plants
and plant products.
The Executive Committee shall adopt the list of plants and plant
products to which the simplification specified in the first sentence
above shall apply. It may amend this list and shall set the date
of entry into force for such amendments. The Contracting Parties
shall inform each other of the measures adopted.
2. Should there be a danger of harmful organisms being introduced or propagated, a Contracting Party may request the temporary reinstatement of the surveillance measures prescribed by Community law, and may implement them. It shall immediately inform the other Contracting Parties thereof in writing, giving the reasons for its decision.
3. Plant health certificates may continue to be used as the certificate required by virtue of the law on the protection of species.
4. The competent authority shall, upon request, issue a plant health certificate when a consignment is intended in whole or in part for re- exportation, insofar as plant health requirements are met in respect of the plants or plant products concerned.
1. The Contracting Parties shall step up their co-operation in order to ensure the safe transport of dangerous goods, and undertake to harmonize the national provisions adopted pursuant to international Conventions in force. They undertake, moreover, particularly with a view to maintaining the existing level of safety, to:
2. The Contracting Parties shall step up their co-operation in
order to conduct checks on transfers of dangerous and of non-dangerous
waste across internal borders.
To that end, they shall endeavour to adopt a common position as
regards the amendment of Community Directives on the monitoring
and management of transfers of dangerous waste and in respect
of the introduction of Community acts concerning non-dangerous
waste, with the aim of setting up an appropriate infrastructure
for the disposal thereof and of introducing standards on such
disposal harmonized at a high level.
In the absence of Community rules on non-dangerous waste, checks
on transfers of such waste shall be conducted on the basis of
a special procedure whereby transfers to the point of destination
may be checked at the time of processing.
The provisions of the second sentence of paragraph 1 above shall
also apply to this paragraph.
1. The Contracting Parties undertake to consult each other for the purposes of abolishing amongst themselves the current obligation to provide a permit for the export of strategic industrial products and technologies, and to replace such a permit if necessary, by a flexible procedure in instances where the countries of first and final destination are Contracting Parties.
Subject to such consultations, and in order to guarantee the effectiveness of such checks as may prove necessary, the Contracting Parties shall, by co-operating closely within a co-ordination system, endeavour to conduct such exchanges of information as are appropriate in the light of national legislation.2. With regard to products other than the strategic industrial products and technologies referred to in paragraph 1, the Contracting Parties shall endeavour, on the one hand, to have export formalities conducted within the country and, on the other, to harmonize their monitoring procedures.
3. Within the framework of the objectives set out in paragraphs 1 and 2 above, the Contracting Parties shall undertake consultations with the other partners concerned.
The number and frequency of checks on goods during movements of travellers at internal borders shall be reduced to the lowest level possible. Further reductions in and the final abolition of such checks will depend on the gradual increase of travellers' exemptions and on future developments in the rules applicable to travellers crossing borders.
1. The Contracting Parties shall conclude arrangements on the secondment of liaison officers from their customs administrations.
2. The secondment of liaison officers shall be for the general purposes of promoting and accelerating co-operation between the Contracting Parties, in particular within the framework of existing Conventions and Community acts on mutual assistance.
3. The duties of liaison officers shall be of a consultative nature, and to provide assistance. They shall not be empowered to take customs administration measures on their own initiative. They shall provide information and shall perform their duties in accordance with the instructions given to them by the Contracting Party of origin.
1. With regard to the automatic processing of personal data transmitted pursuant to this Convention, each Contracting Party shall, no later than the time of entry into force of this Convention, adopt the national provisions required to achieve a level of protection of personal data at least equal to that resulting from the principles of the Council of Europe Convention of 28 January 1981 for the protection of individuals with regard to automatic processing of personal data.
2. Personal data for which this Convention provides may not be transmitted until after the provisions for the protection of personal data as specified in paragraph t have entered into force within the territory of the Contracting Parties involved in such transmission.
3. The following provisions shall, moreover, apply in respect of the automatic processing of personal data transmitted pursuant to this Convention:
4. This Article shall not apply to the transmission of data provided for under Title II, Chapter ? and in Title IV. Paragraph 3 shall not apply to the transmission of data provided for under Title III, Chapters 2, 3, 4 and 5.
1. Where personal data are transmitted to another Contracting Party pursuant to the provisions of this Convention, the provisions of Article 126 shall apply to the transmission of data from a non-automated data file and to their incorporation in another non-automated data file.
2. Where, in cases other than those governed by Article 126(1), or by paragraph 1 of the present Article, personal data are transmitted to another Contracting Party pursuant to this Convention, Article 126f3) shall, with the exclusion of subparagraph (e), apply. The following provisions shall also apply:
3. This Article shall not apply to the transmission of data provided for under Title II, Chapter 7, and Title III, Chapters 2, 3, 4 and 5 as also in Title IV.
1. The transmission of personal data for which this Convention makes provision may not take place until the Contracting Parties involved in that transmission have instructed a national supervisory authority to monitor independently, in respect of the processing of personal data in data files, compliance with the provisions of Article 126 and Article 127 and the provisions adopted in implementation thereof.
2. Insofar as the Contracting Party has, in accordance with its national legislation, instructed a supervisory authority to monitor independently, in one or more areas, compliance with the provisions on the protection of personal data not incorporated in a data file, that Contracting Party shall instruct the same authority to supervise compliance with the provisions of this Title in the areas involved.
3. This Article shall not apply to the transmission of data provided for under Title II, Chapter 7 and in Title III, Chapters 2, 3, 4, and 5.
With regard to the transmission of personal data pursuant to Title III, Chapter 1, the Contracting Parties undertake, without prejudice to the provisions of Articles 126 and 127, to implement a level of protection for personal data which complies with the principles of Recommendation R (87) 15 of 17 September 1987 of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe regulating the use of personal data in the police sector. Moreover, with regard to transmission pursuant to Article 46, the following provisions shall apply:
If personal data are transmitted through a liaison officer as referred to in Article 47 or Article 125, the provisions of this Title shall apply only where that liaison officer transmits such data to the Contracting Party which seconded him to the territory of the other Contracting Party.
1. An Executive Committee shall be set up for the implementation of this Convention.
2. Without prejudice to the special powers granted to it by this Convention, the general purpose of the Executive Committee is to ensure that this Convention is implemented correctly.
1. Each of the Contracting Parties shall have one seat on the Executive Committee. The Contracting Parties shall be represented on the Committee by a Minister responsible for the implementation of this Convention; he may be assisted by the requisite experts who may participate in the deliberations.
2. The Executive Committee shall take its decisions unanimously. It shall draw up its own rules of procedure; in this connection it may provide for a written procedure for the taking of decisions.
3. At the request of the representative of a Contracting Party, the final decision on a draft on which the Executive Committee has taken its decision may be postponed until no more than two months after the submission of that draft.
4. The Executive Committee may set up Working Parties comprising representatives of the Administrations of the Contracting Parties in order to conduct preparations for decisions or for other work.
The Executive Committee shall meet in the territory of every Contracting Party in turn. It shall meet as often as necessary in order to discharge its duties effectively.
The provisions of this Convention shall apply only insofar as they are compatible with Community law.
The provisions of this Convention shall apply subject to the provisions of the Geneva Convention of 28 July 1951 relating to the Status of Refugees, as amended by the New York Protocol of 31 January 1967.
1. A Contracting Party which envisages conducting negotiations on border checks with a Third State shall inform the other Contracting Parties thereof in good time.
2. No Contracting Party shall conclude with one or more Third States agreements simplifying or abolishing border checks without the prior agreement of the other Contracting Parties, subject to the right of the Member States of the European Communities to conclude such agreements jointly.
3. The provisions of paragraph 2 shall not apply to agreements on local border traffic since these agreements comply with the exemptions and arrangements laid down under Article 3(1).
This Convention shall not be the subject of any reservations, save for those referred to in Article 60.
As regards the French Republic, the provisions of this Convention shall apply only to the European territory of the French Republic.
As regards the Kingdom of the Netherlands, the provisions of this Convention shall apply only to the territory of the Kingdom of the Netherlands situated in Europe.
1. The present Convention shall be subject to ratification, acceptance or approval. The instruments of ratification, acceptance or approval shall be deposited with the Government of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, which shall notify all the Contracting Parties thereof.
2. This Convention shall enter into force on the first day of the second month following the deposit of the final instrument of ratification, acceptance or approval. The provisions concerning the setting up, activities and jurisdiction of the Executive Committee shall apply as from the entry into force of this Convention. The other provisions shall apply as from the first day of the third month following the entry into force of this Convention.
3. The Government of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg shall notify all the Contracting Parties of the date of entry into force.
1. Any Member State of the European Communities may become a Party to this Convention. Such accession shall be the subject of an agreement between that State and the Contracting Parties.
2. Such an agreement shall be subject to ratification, acceptance or approval by the acceeding State and by each of the Contracting Parties. It shall enter into force on the first day of the second month following the deposit of the final instrument of ratification, acceptance or approval.
1. Any Contracting Party may submit to the depository a proposal to amend This Convention. The depository shall forward that proposal to the other Contracting Parties. At the request of one Contracting Party, the Contracting Parties shall re-examine the provisions of the Convention if, in their opinion, there has been a fundamental change in the conditions obtaining when the Convention entered into force.
2. The Contracting Parties shall adopt amendments to this Convention by mutual consent.
3. Amendments shall enter into force on the first day of the second month following the date of deposit of the final instrument of ratification, acceptance or approval.
1. When Conventions are concluded between the Member States
of the European Communities with a view to the completion of an
area without internal frontiers, the Contracting Parties shall
agree on the conditions under which the provisions of the present
Convention are to be replaced or amended in the light of the corresponding
provisions of such Conventions.
The Contracting Parties shall, to that end, take account of the
fact that the provisions of this Convention may provide for more
extensive co- operation than that resulting from the provisions
of the said Conventions.
Provisions which are in breach of those agreed between the Member
States of the European Communities shall in any case be adapted
in any circumstances.
2. Amendments to this Convention deemed necessary by the Contracting
Parties shall be subject to ratification, acceptance or approval.
The provision contained in Article 141(3) shall apply; it being
understood that the amendments will not enter into force before
the said Conventions between the Member States of the European
Communities come into force.
In witness whereof, the undersigned, duly authorized to that end,
have hereunto set their hands.
Done at Schengen, this nineteenth day of June in the year one
thousand nine hundred and ninety, in a single original, in the
Dutch, French and German languages, all three texts being equally
authentic, which shall be deposited in the archives of the Government
of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, which shall transmit a certified
copy to each of the Contracting Parties.
For the Government of the Kingdom of Belgium,
For the Government of the Federal Republic of Germany,
For the Government of the French Republic,
For the Government of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg,
For the Government of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
At the time of signing, the Convention implementing the Schengen Agreement of 14 June 1985 between the Governments of the States of the Benelux Economic Union, the Federal Republic of Germany and the French Republic regarding the gradual abolition of checks at their common borders, the Contracting Parties adopted the following statements:
1. Joint statement concerning Article 139
The signatory States shall, prior to the entry into force of the Convention, inform each other of all circumstances of significance for the matters covered by the Convention and for its entry into force.2. Joint statement concerning Article 4
The Contracting Parties undertake to make every effort to comply with this deadline simultaneously and to preclude any shortcomings in security. Before 31 December 1992, the Executive Committee shall examine what progress has been made. The Kingdom of the Netherlands stresses that difficulties in meeting the deadline in a particular airport cannot be excluded but that this will not give rise to any shortcomings in security. The other Contracting Parties will take account of this situation although this may not be allowed to lead to difficulties for the internal market.3. Joint statement regarding Article 71(2)
Insofar as a Contracting Party derogates from the principle referred to in Article 71(2) in connection with its national policy on the prevention and treatment of addiction to narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances, all Contracting Parties shall adopt the requisite administrative measure and penal sanctions to prevent and penalize the illicit import action and export action of such products and substances, particularly towards the territory of the other Contracting Parties.4. Joint statement concerning Article 121
The Contracting Parties shall, while complying with Community law, waive the checks and cease to require submission of the plant health certificates, prescribed by Community law for the plants and plant products5. Joint statement on national asylum policies
The Contracting Parties shall make an inventory of national asylum policies with a view to the harmonization thereof.
6. Joint statement concerning Article 132
The Contracting Parties shall inform their national Parliaments of the implementation of this Convention.
Done at Schengen, this nineteenth day of June in the year one thousand nine hundred and ninety, in a single original, in the Dutch; French and German languages, all three texts being equally authentic, which shall be deposited in the archives of the Government of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, which shall transmit a certified copy to each of the Contracting Parties.
For the Government of the Kingdom of Belgium,
For the Government of the Federal Republic of Germany,
For the Government of the French Republic,
For the Government of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg,
For the Government of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
Further to the Final Act of the Convention implementing the Schengen Agreement of , 14 June 1985 between the Governments of the States of the Benelux Economic Union, the Federal Republic of Germany and the French Republic regarding the gradual abolition of checks at their common borders, the Contracting Parties adopted the following joint statement and took note of the following unilateral declarations made in respect of the said Convention:
I. Statement on the scope of the Convention
The Contracting Parties note that, after the unification of the two German States, the scope of the Convention shall under international law also extend to the current territory of the German Democratic Republic.
II. Declarations by the Federal Republic of Germany concerning the interpretation of the Convention
1. The Convention has been concluded in the light of the prospective
unification of the two German States. The German Democratic Republic is
not a foreign country in relation to the Federal Republic of Germany.
Article 136 shall not apply in relations between the Federal Republic
of Germany and the German Democratic Republic.
2. This Convention shall not jeopardize the arrangements agreed in the Germano-Austrian exchange of letters of 20 August 1984 simplifying checks at their common borders for nationals of both States. Such arrangements will however have to be implemented in the light of the over-riding security and immigration requirements of the Schengen Contracting Parties so that such facilities will in practice be restricted to Austrian nationals.
III. Declaration by the Kingdom of Belgium concerning Article 67
The procedure which will be implemented internally for taking over the execution of a foreign judgment will not be that specified in the Belgian law on the transfer of sentenced persons between States, but rather a special procedure which will be determined when this Convention is ratified.
Done at Schengen, this nineteenth day of June in the year one thousand nine hundred and ninety, in a single original, in the Dutch, French and German languages, all three texts being equally authentic, which shall be deposited in the archives of the Government of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, which shall transmit a certified copy to each of the Contracting Parties.
For the Government of the Kingdom of Belgium,
For the Government of the Federal Republic of Germany,
For the Government of the French Republic,
For the Government of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg,
For the Government of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
by the Ministers and State Secretaries meeting in Schengen on 19 June 1990
The Governments of the Contracting Parties to the Schengen Agreement will commence or continue discussions in the following spheres in particular:
- improving and simplifying practice in respect of extradition;
- improving co-operation on proceedings in respect of road traffic offences;
- arrangements for the mutual recognition of loss of entitlement to drive motor vehicles;
- possibilities of reciprocal collection of fines;
- introduction of rules on reciprocal transfers of criminal proceedings including the possibility of transferring the accused person to his country of origin;
- introduction of rules on the repatriation of minors who have been unlawfully removed from the authority of the person responsible for exercising parental authority;
- further simplification of checks on commercial movements of goods.
Done at Schengen, this nineteenth day of June in the year one thousand nine hundred and ninety, in a single original, in the Dutch, French and German languages, all three texts being equally authentic, which shall be deposited in the archives of the Government of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, which shall transmit a certified copy to each of the Contracting Parties.
For the Government of the Kingdom of Belgium,
For the Government of the Federal Republic of Germany,
For the Government of the French Republic,
For the Government of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg,
For the Government of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.