Co-operation Agreement between the Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court and the International Criminal Police Organization

Date enacted: 2005-03-22

In force: 2005-03-22

Preamble

The Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (hereinafter referred to as 'the ICC-OTP') and

The International Criminal Police Organization-Interpol (hereinafter referred to as 'Interpol');

Recalling that on 17 July 1998 the United Nations Diplomatic Conference of Plenipotentiaries on the Establishment of an International Criminal Court adopted the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court ('Rome Statute');

Recalling that by Resolution AGN/63/RES/9 (Rome, 1994) the Interpol General Assembly has agreed that the Interpol General Secretariat and the National Central Bureaus (NCBs) should assist investigations relating to serious violations of international humanitarian law;

Recalling that the Rome Statute only applies between those countries represented in Interpol which are parties to it,

Recalling that pursuant to Article 54 (3) (c) and (d) of the Rome Statute, the Prosecutor may seek the co-operation of intergovernmental organizations in accordance with its respective competence and mandate, and may enter into such agreements as may be necessary to facilitate the co-operation of an intergovernmental organization, and that pursuant to Article 15(2) of the Rome Statute and Rule 104 of the ICC Rules of Procedure and Evidence, the Prosecutor may seek additional information from states and intergovernmental organizations;

Recalling also that on 9 October 2003 a Letter of Understanding was signed between the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court and the Acting Chief Counsel of the ICPO-Interpol aimed at defining the scope of negotiations between the ICC-OTP and Interpol;

Considering the provisions of Interpol's Constitution, which provides that the Organization's aims are to ensure and promote the widest possible mutual assistance between international organizations dedicated to criminal justice within the limits of the laws existing in the different countries and in the spirit of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights;

Stressing the effective system that Interpol is providing to trace the perpetrators of serious violations of international humanitarian law at international level, which can result in their provisional arrest, and to identify key witnesses of such crimes;

The ICC-OTP and Interpol (hereinafter referred to as "the Parties") have reached the following agreement:

Article 1

Purpose

The purpose of the present Co-operation Agreement is to establish a framework for co-operation between the Parties in the field of crime prevention and criminal justice, including the exchange of police information and the conduct of criminal analysis, the search for fugitives and suspects, the publication and circulation of Interpol notices, the transmission of diffusions, and access to the Interpol telecommunications network and databases.

Article 2

Exchange of information

1.	The Parties agree to exchange information, including police information as defined in Interpol's applicable rules and regulations, in accordance with established Interpol procedures and the Rome Statute and the Rules of Procedure and Evidence.
2.	Interpol member countries and other providers of information may provide information to the ICC-OTP on the condition of confidentiality and solely for the purpose of generating new evidence, in accordance with Article 54(3)(e) of the Rome Statute and Rule 82 of the Rules of Procedure and Evidence. The OTP shall ensure that, in accordance with the Statute, such information shall not be disclosed, at any stage of the proceedings, unless the provider provides express written consent.
3.	Interpol shall facilitate access by the ICC-OTP to the Interpol telecommunications network and databases.
4.	Access by the ICC-OTP to Interpol's telecommunications network and databases shall be in accordance with the Appendix to the present Co-operation Agreement.

Article 3

Modalities of co-operation

1.	The Parties shall each designate a point of contact with a view to ensuring implementation of the provisions of the present Co-operation Agreement.
2.	The Parties shall maintain contact on a regular basis and exchange information on matters of mutual interest.
3.	Arrangements shall be made for reciprocal representation at Interpol meetings and open meetings of the ICC-OTP, convened under their respective auspices and which concern matters in which the other Party has an interest or technical competence.

Article 4

Publication and circulation of Interpol notices

The ICC-OTP shall have the right to request the Interpol General Secretariat to publish and circulate to National Central Bureaus (NCBs) Interpol notices of all types for the facilitation of inquiries: the red notices for the circulation of details of persons sought by the ICC-OTP and for preventing such persons from escaping prosecution; the blue notices for obtaining supplementary information, for instance on perpetrators or key witnesses; the yellow notices for tracing missing persons; and the black notices for facilitating identification of corpses.

These notices will be modified or cancelled in accordance with Interpol internal regulations.

Article 5

Other assistance from Interpol

1.	The ICC-OTP may seek the expertise of the Interpol General Secretariat's specialized staff, in particular in matters related to the search for fugitives and to criminal analysis, subject to any provisions of confidentiality which may prove necessary and within the limits of available resources.
2.	ICC-OTP may also request, through Interpol, the assistance of relevant national teams, including inter alia national Disaster Victim Identifications teams and war crimes units.

Article 6

Financial clause

1.	At the beginning of each fiscal year, Interpol and the ICC-OTP shall agree on the sum to be paid by ICC-OTP to cover in advance costs incurred by Interpol to provide services laid down in the agreement.
2.	In order to take into account the possible evolution of services, this sum may be revised when necessary.

Article 7

Final provisions

1.	The present Co-operation Agreement shall enter into force ninety (90) days after the date on which it is signed by the Secretary General of Interpol and the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, subject to the approval of the Interpol General Assembly.
2.	The provisions of the present Co-operation Agreement may be modified by mutual consent expressed in writing upon the request of one or both of the Parties.
3.	Any dispute regarding the interpretation or implementation of the present Co-operation Agreement shall be resolved amicably by good faith negotiations between the Parties.
4.	The Co-operation Agreement may also be revoked by either Party by giving six months' prior notice in writing to the other Party. The access of ICC-OTP to Interpol telecommunications network and databases shall terminate once the Co-operation Agreement ceases to be in force or under the conditions set forth in the Appendix, whichever occurs sooner. If and when the present Agreement is terminated, all information communicated by the ICC-OTP to Interpol shall be deleted from Interpol's files and Interpol member countries shall be consequently informed.

In witness whereof, the undersigned, being duly authorized representatives of the respective Parties, sign the present Co-operation Agreement in duplicate, in English on the dates appearing under their respective signature.

Appendix

Special Agreement concerning Access by the ICC-OTP to Interpol's Telecommunications System and Databases

[Omitted]