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13 JULY 2012. - Law on the Agreement between the Government of the Kingdom of Belgium and the Government of Malta on Police Cooperation, signed in Brussels on 1^er December 2005 (1) (2)

ALBERT II, King of the Belgians,
To all, present and to come, Hi.
The Chambers adopted and We sanction the following:
Article 1^er. This Act regulates a matter referred to in Article 77 of the Constitution.
Art. 2. The Convention between the Government of the Kingdom of Belgium and the Government of Malta on police cooperation, signed in Brussels on 1^er December 2005, will release its full effect.
Promulgation of this law, let us order that it be clothed with the seal of the State and published by the Belgian Monitor.
Given in Brussels, 13 July 2012.
ALBERT
By the King:
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs,
D. REYNDERS
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Interior,
Ms. J. MILQUET
The Minister of Justice,
Ms. A. TURTELBOOM
Seal of the state seal:
The Minister of Justice,
Ms. A. TURTELBOOM
____
Notes
(1) Session 2011-2012.
Senate.
Documents
Bill tabled on 13/04/2012, No. 5-1575/1.
Report on behalf of Commission No. 5-1575/2.
Annales parlementaire
Discussion, meeting of May 31, 2012.
Vote, meeting of 31 May 2012.
Room
Documents
Project transmitted by the Senate, No. 53-2230/1.
Report made on behalf of Commission No. 53-2230/2.
Text adopted in plenary and submitted to Royal Assent No. 53-2230/3.
Annales parlementaire
Discussion, meeting of June 14, 2012.
Vote, meeting of 14 June 2012.
(2) This Convention entered into force on 22 September 2012.

Convention between the Government of the Kingdom of Belgium and the Government of Malta on police cooperation
THE GOVERNMENT OF THE BELGIUM ROYAUME
and
THE GOVERNMENT OF MALTE
The Contracting Parties,
WHEREAS to promote relations of friendship and cooperation between the two States, and in particular to strengthen police cooperation among them;
DESIREUX to strengthen this police cooperation within the framework of the international commitments undertaken by the two States in respect of fundamental rights and freedoms, including the European Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms of 4 November 1950 and the Council of Europe Convention No. 108 of 28 January 1981 for the protection of persons with regard to the automated processing of personal data;
CONSIDERING that international organized crime poses a serious threat to the socio-economic development of the Contracting States and that recent developments in international organized crime endanger their institutional functioning;
CONSIDERING that the fight against trafficking in persons and the suppression of illegal entry and exits of the territory of States and illegal migration, as well as the elimination of organized channels, are among the concerns of the respective Governments and parliaments of the Contracting States;
CONSIDERING that the illegal production and trade of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances constitute a danger to the health and safety of our fellow citizens;
CONSIDERING that the only harmonization of relevant legislation is not sufficient to combat the phenomenon of illegal immigration with sufficient efficiency;
CONSIDERING that the need for effective international police cooperation in the field of organized crime and illegal migration, including through the exchange and processing of information, is essential to combat and prevent such criminal activities;
CONSIDERING that the fulfilment of this need requires a series of appropriate measures and close cooperation between the Contracting Parties;
Agreed to conclude this Convention:
DEFINITIONS
Article 1^er
For the purposes of this Convention, the following means:
International Trafficking in Human Beings:
Any intentional behaviour following:
(a) facilitate the entry into the territory of the Contracting Party, the transit, the stay or the exit in that territory if it is used, for that purpose, of the constraint, including violence or threats, or if there is recourse to deception, abuse of authority or other forms of pressure in such a way that the person has no other genuine choice but to subject himself to such pressures;
(b) to exploit in any way an informed person that the person has entered, transited or resided in the territory of the State party to this Convention (under the conditions set out in paragraph (a).
Sexual exploitation of children:
The offences referred to in Article 34 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child of 20 November 1989, including the production, sale, distribution or other forms of trafficking in pornographic material involving children and the detention for personal purposes of such material.
Technical assistance:
By technical assistance, the logistical support provided to police and immigration services must be understood.
Nuclear and radioactive material crime:
Offences as listed in Article 7, § 1^erthe Convention on the Physical Protection of Nuclear Material, signed at Vienna and New York on 3 March 1980.
Money laundering:
Offences as listed in Article 6, § 1^er to 3, the Council of Europe Convention on the Laundering, Screening, Seizure and confiscation of proceeds of crime, signed in Strasbourg on 8 November 1990.
Organized crime:
Any offence committed by a "criminal organization", defined as a structured association, of more than two persons, established in time and acting in a concerted manner in order to commit offences punishable by a custodial penalty or a measure of custodial security of a minimum of four years or a more serious penalty, such offences constitute an end in itself or a means to obtain property benefits, and, where appropriate, influence public authority.
Personal data:
Any information concerning an identified or identifiable natural person (data subject); is deemed to be identifiable a person who may be identified, directly or indirectly, including by reference to an identification number or to one or more specific elements, specific to his or her physical, physiological, psychic, economic, cultural or social identity.
Processing of personal data:
Any operation or set of operations carried out or not using automated processes, such as collection, registration, organization, conservation, adaptation or modification, extraction, consultation, use, transmission, dissemination or any other form of provision, reconciliation or interconnection, as well as locking, erasing or destruction.
Narcotic:
Describes any substance, whether natural or synthetic, contained in Tables I and II of the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs signed in New York on 30 March 1961.
Psychotropic substance:
Describes any substance, whether natural or synthetic, or any natural product of Table I, II, III or IV of the Convention on Psychotropic Substances of 21 February 1971.
Illicit trafficking in narcotic drugs or psychotropic substances:
The cultivation, manufacture or trafficking of narcotic drugs or psychotropic substances contrary to the purposes of the Convention of 30 March 1961 on Narcotic Drugs, the Convention of 21 February 1971 on Psychotropic Substances or the United Nations Convention of 19 December 1988 on the Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances.
Urgent request:
An application is deemed to be an agent in cases where the passage through formal administrative procedure to central bodies may interfere with or compromise preventive or research action.
COOPERATION DOMAINE
Article 2
1. The Contracting Parties undertake to mutually agree, in accordance with the rules and conditions set out in this Convention, the broadest cooperation with regard to police cooperation.
2. Contracting Parties will cooperate in the prevention, suppression and prosecution of organized crime offences, in particular:
- offences against life, physical integrity and human health;
- offences related to the illicit production and trafficking of narcotic drugs, psychotropic substances and precursors;
- illegal immigration;
- procuring, trafficking in human beings and sexual exploitation of children;
- extortion;
- theft, trafficking and illegal trade of weapons, ammunition, explosives, radioactive substances, nuclear materials and other dangerous substances;
- falsifications (fabrication, counterfeiting, processing and distribution) of means of payment, cheques and securities;
- criminality in trade and finance;
- offences against property, including theft, trafficking in works of art and historical objects;
- theft, illegal trade and traffic of motor vehicles and the falsification and use of falsified vehicle documents;
- money laundering.
3. The serious offences of organized crime that are not defined in Article 1 are assessed by the competent national authorities according to the national legislation of the States to which they belong.
Article 3
Collaboration between Parties will also include:
- searching for missing persons and helping to identify unidentified bodies;
- the search on the territory of a Party of stolen, disappeared, diverted or misplaced objects in the territory of the other.
Article 4
Parties shall cooperate in the areas specified in Articles 2 and 3 by:
- exchange of information on areas within the jurisdiction of police and immigration services;
- exchange of equipment;
- technical and scientific assistance, expertise and supplies of specialized technical equipment;
- an exchange of experiences;
- cooperation in the field of vocational training;
- assistance in the preparation of requests for mutual legal assistance in criminal matters;
in accordance with the following provisions.
THE CHANGES OF INFORMATION
Article 5
The Contracting Parties will provide assistance and close and ongoing cooperation. They will, inter alia, exchange all relevant and important information. This cooperation may take the form of permanent contact through liaison officers to be designated.
Article 6
1. The Contracting Parties undertake to ensure that their police services, in accordance with national law and within the limits of their competence, provide assistance for the prevention and search for punishable acts, provided that the national law of the requested Contracting Party does not reserve the request or its execution to the judicial authorities.
2. In particular cases, each Contracting Party may, in accordance with its national law and without being invited to do so, communicate to the Contracting Party concerned information that may be important to the Contracting Party concerned for the purpose of assisting in the prevention and suppression of offences or for the prevention of threats to public order and security.
Article 7
Any information provided by the requested Contracting Party may not be used by the Requesting Contracting Party for the purpose of providing evidence of the facts incriminated only after a request for mutual legal assistance, in accordance with the provisions of applicable international law.
Article 8
1. Requests for assistance and responses to these requests must be exchanged between the central bodies responsible, by each Contracting Party, for international police cooperation and immigration.
When the request cannot be made in a timely manner by the above-mentioned channel, it may, exceptionally and in an emergency only, be addressed by the competent authorities of the requesting Contracting Party directly to the competent authorities of the requested Party and they may respond directly to it. In these exceptional cases, the requesting authority must notify, as soon as possible, the central body responsible, in the required Contracting Party, for international cooperation, its direct request and to motivate its urgency.
2. The designation of the central bodies responsible for international cooperation and the modalities of mutual assistance shall be resolved by arrangements between the competent ministers of the Contracting Parties.
Article 9
The requesting competent authority shall guarantee the degree of confidentiality that the required competent authority of the other Party has assigned to the information. Security levels are those used by INTERPOL.
Article 10
1. Contracting Parties may detach, for a specified or indeterminate duration, liaison officers from a Contracting Party to the other Contracting Party.
2. The purpose of the detachment of liaison officers for a specified or indeterminate period is to promote and accelerate cooperation between Contracting Parties, including by agreeing to assistance:
a. in the form of exchange of information for the purposes of both preventive and repressive fight against crime;
b. in the execution of requests for mutual assistance in criminal matters;
c. for the purpose of carrying out the missions of the authorities responsible for the monitoring of external borders and immigration;
d. for the purpose of carrying out the missions of the authorities responsible for the prevention of threats to public order.
3. Liaison officers have an advisory and assistance mission. They are not competent for the autonomous execution of police measures. They provide information and carry out their missions in accordance with the instructions given to them by the Contracting Party of origin and by the Contracting Party to which they are detached. They regularly report to the central police cooperation body of the Contracting Party to which they are detached.
4. The competent ministers of the Contracting Parties may agree that liaison officers of a Contracting Party seconded to third States shall also represent the interests of the other Contracting Party.
PROTECTION OF PERSONAL CARACTER DATA
Article 11
1. The processing of personal data pursuant to this Convention shall be subject to the respective national law of each Contracting Party.
2. With regard to the processing of personal data pursuant to this Convention, Contracting Parties undertake to achieve a level of protection of personal data that respects the principles of the Council of Europe Convention of 28 January 1981 for the protection of personal data and Recommendation R (87) 15 of 17 September 1987 of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe to regulate the use of personal data in the police sector.
3. With regard to the processing of personal data transmitted under this Convention, the following provisions apply:
a. data may only be used by the recipient Contracting Party for the purposes for which this Convention provides for the transmission of such data;
b. data may be used only by the judicial authorities, the services and bodies that perform a task or perform a function for the purposes referred to in this Convention and in particular articles 2 and 3. Parties will communicate the list of users;
c. the Contracting Party that transmits the data shall ensure the accuracy and completeness of the data; It is also required to ensure that this data is not retained longer than necessary. If it finds, either on its own initiative or on the basis of a request from the data subject, that incorrect data or that should not have been transmitted have been provided, the recipient Contracting Party must be informed without delay; the data must be corrected or destroyed;
d. a Contracting Party may not invoke the fact that another Contracting Party has transmitted incorrect data to discharge its responsibility under its national law with respect to an injured person;
e. the transmission and receipt of personal data shall be recorded. Contracting Parties shall communicate the list of authorities and services authorized to consult the registration;
f. access to data is governed by the national law of the Contracting Party to which the data subject submits its application. The communication of the data to the applicant is only possible after the prior agreement of the Contracting Party which originates the data;
g. the data may only be used by the Contracting Party to whom it is intended for the sole purpose specified by the Contracting Party which provides them and in accordance with the conditions imposed by that Contracting Party.
4. With respect to transmission, the following provisions apply:
a. data can only be transmitted to police and immigration authorities and services; the provision of data to other services may be made only after prior authorization from the Contracting Party providing them;
b. Upon request, the Contracting Party shall inform the Contracting Party which shall transmit the data of its use and the results obtained on the basis of the data transmitted.
5. Each Contracting Party shall designate a supervisory authority, in accordance with national law, to exercise independent control over the processing of personal data carried out on the basis of this Convention and to verify whether such treatments are not infringinging on the rights of the person concerned. These supervisory authorities are also competent to analyse the difficulties in the application or interpretation of this Convention relating to the processing of personal data. These supervisory authorities may agree to cooperate in the missions recognized by this Convention.
Article 12
If personal data are transmitted through a liaison officer referred to in Article 10, the provisions of this Convention are also applicable.
EXCEPTION
Article 13
Each Contracting Party shall refuse assistance in political or military offences or in cases where such assistance is contrary to the legal provisions in force in its territory.
Each of the Contracting Parties may refuse assistance or subject it to conditions in respect of offences related to political or military offences or where the fulfilment of assistance may threaten the sovereignty, security, public order or other essential interests of the State.
The Party that refuses assistance shall inform the other Party within 30 days, explaining the reasons for such refusal.
OTHER COOPERATION FORMS
Article 14
1. The Contracting Parties agree to provide mutual assistance in the field of vocational training and technical assistance for problems related to the operation of the police.
2. The Contracting Parties agree to exchange their practical experiences in all areas covered by this Convention.
3. The modalities of mutual assistance are regulated by arrangements between the competent ministers of the Contracting Parties.
IMPLEMENTATION OF THE CONVENTION
Article 15
1. The competent ministers of the Contracting Parties may establish permanent or occasional working groups to examine common problems concerning the suppression and prevention of the areas of crime referred to in Article 2 and the areas of cooperation referred to in Article 3 and to develop, where appropriate, proposals to improve, where appropriate, the practical and technical aspects of cooperation between the Contracting Parties.
2. The costs associated with the implementation of cooperation shall be borne by each Party, unless otherwise provided by the representatives of the Parties, duly authorized.
3. The competent ministers of the Contracting Parties shall establish an assessment group that shall report to the Ministers every three years.
DIFFERENDUM REGULATIONS
Article 16
Any dispute arising from the interpretation or application of this Convention shall be resolved by a joint consultative commission.
There shall be established a joint advisory committee, composed of representatives of the Ministries of Foreign Affairs, Interior and Justice, which shall meet periodically at the request of either State, to facilitate the resolution of problems arising out of the interpretation or application of this Convention.
FINAL PROVISIONS
Article 17
The provisions of this Convention shall apply only to the extent that they are consistent with national law.
Monitoring of the implementation of this Convention shall be carried out in accordance with the national law of each Contracting Party.
Article 18
The Contracting Parties shall, in writing and through diplomatic channels, notify each other of the fulfilment of the constitutional formalities required for the entry into force of this Convention.
The Convention shall enter into force sixty days after the date of receipt of the last notification.
This Convention shall be concluded for an unlimited period of time. Any Party may denounce it by means of a diplomatic written notification to the other Party. The denunciation shall take effect six months after the date of its consignment.
Article 19
Any Party may send to the other Party any proposals to amend this Convention. The Parties shall agree on the amendments to this Convention.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the undersigned, duly authorized to do so, have affixed their signature at the bottom of this Convention.
DONE IN Brussels, 1^er December 2005, in two copies, in the English, French and Dutch languages, the three texts being equally authentic.