Rule of law
In their cooperation in the area of justice, freedom and security, the Parties shall attach particular importance to the promotion of the rule of law, including the independence of the judiciary, access to justice, and the right to a fair trial.
Legal cooperation
1. The Parties agree to develop judicial cooperation in civil and commercial matters, in particular as regards the ratification and implementation of multilateral conventions on civil judicial cooperation, including the Conventions of the Hague Conference on Private International Law in the field of international legal cooperation and litigation as well as the protection of children.
2. The Parties agree to facilitate and encourage the arbitral solution of civil and private commercial disputes whenever possible according to the applicable international instruments.
3. As regards judicial cooperation in criminal matters, the Parties will seek to enhance arrangements on mutual legal assistance and extradition. This would include, where appropriate, accession to, and implementation of, the relevant international instruments of the United Nations including the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court as referred to in Article 6 of this Agreement.
Personal data protection
1. The Parties agree to cooperate in order to improve the level of protection of personal data to the highest international standards such as that contained in the UN Guidelines for the Regulation of Computerized Personal Data Files (UN General Assembly Resolution 45/95 of 14 December 1990).
2. Cooperation on protection of personal data may include, inter alia, exchange of information and expertise.
Migration
1. The Parties agree to strengthen and intensify cooperation in the areas of the illegal migration, smuggling and trafficking in human beings, as well as the inclusion of the migration concerns in the national strategies for economic and social development of the areas from which migrants originate.
2. In the framework of the cooperation to prevent and control illegal immigration, the Parties agree to readmit their nationals who stay illegally in the territory of the other Party. To this end, the Parties will provide their nationals with appropriate identity documents for such purposes. In cases where the nationality is in doubt, the Parties agree to identify their alleged nationals.
3. The Parties endeavour to conclude, if necessary, an agreement regulating the specific obligations for readmission of their nationals. This will also address conditions relating to nationals of other countries and stateless persons.
Combating illicit drugs
1. In accordance with their respective laws and regulations, the Parties will aim at reducing the supply and trafficking of, and demand for, illicit drugs as well as their impact on drug users and society at large and to achieve a more effective prevention of diversion of drug precursors used for the illicit manufacture of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances. In their cooperation, the Parties shall ensure that a comprehensive and balanced approach is taken in pursuing this aim through legal market regulations and effective action and coordination between the competent authorities including those from the health, education, social, law enforcement and justice sectors.
2. The Parties shall agree on means of cooperation to attain these objectives. Actions shall be based on commonly agreed principles along the lines of the relevant international conventions, the Political Declaration and the Special Declaration on the guiding principles of drug demand reduction, approved by the Twentieth United Nations General Assembly Special Session on Drugs in June 1998.
Combating organised crime and corruption
The Parties agree to cooperate on and contribute to the fight against organised, economic and financial crime and corruption, counterfeiting and illegal transactions, through full compliance with their existing mutual international obligations in this area including on effective cooperation in the recovery of assets or funds derived from acts of corruption. The Parties will promote the implementation of the UN Convention on Transnational Organised Crime and its supplementing Protocols and the UN Convention against Corruption.
Combating money laundering and terrorism financing
1. The Parties agree on the need to work towards and to cooperate on preventing the use of their financial systems to launder the proceeds of all criminal activities including drug trafficking and corruption and to the financing of terrorism. This cooperation extends to the recovery of assets or funds derived from the proceeds of crimes.
2. The Parties may exchange relevant information within the framework of respective legislations and apply appropriate standards to combat money laundering and financing of terrorism equivalent to those adopted by relevant international bodies active in this area, such as the Financial Action Task Force on money laundering (FATF).
Combating cyber crime
1. The Parties will strengthen cooperation to prevent and combat high technology, cyber and electronic crimes and the distribution of terrorist content via the Internet through exchanging information and practical experiences in compliance with their national legislation within the limits of their responsibility.
2. The Parties will exchange information in the fields of the education and training of cyber crime investigators, the investigation of cyber crime, and digital forensic science.
Law enforcement cooperation
The Parties agree to cooperate among law enforcement authorities, agencies and services and to contribute to disrupting and dismantling transnational crime threats common to the Parties. The cooperation among law enforcement authorities, agencies and services can take the form of mutual assistance in investigations, sharing of investigational techniques, joint education and training of law enforcement personnel and any other type of joint activities and assistance as may be mutually agreed by the Parties.
Source: EUR-Lex (Publications Office of the EU), © European Union, reuse permitted under Commission Decision 2011/833/EU.