Protocol on Cooperation in Combating Organized Crime in the Caspian Sea to the Agreement on Cooperation in the Field of Security in the Caspian Sea of November 18, 2010
The Governments of the Republic of Azerbaijan, the Islamic Republic of Iran, the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Russian Federation and Turkmenistan, hereinafter referred to as the Parties,
Guided by the Agreement on Cooperation in the Field of Security in the Caspian Sea of November 18, 2010,
Confirming the importance of promoting cooperation among the Caspian littoral States in the sphere of combating crime and law enforcement, and ensuring protection of human rights and freedoms,
Concerned at the spread of organized crime, as well as adverse social and economic consequences of organized criminal activities,
Bearing in mind the shared willingness to promote and strengthen cooperation among the Parties based on the generally recognized principles and norms of international law,
Have agreed as follows:
Article 1
The Parties shall cooperate in accordance with the provisions of this Protocol in order to prevent, detect, suppress and solve crimes committed in organized forms, acting within the scope of their respective competences and in conformity with the international obligations and legislation of their States.
Article 2
1. For the purposes of this Protocol, the competent authorities of the States of the Parties shall be as follows:
- For the Republic of Azerbaijan – the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Azerbaijan;
- For the Islamic Republic of Iran – the Ministry of Interior of the Islamic Republic of Iran;
- For the Republic of Kazakhstan – the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Committee of National Security of the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Prosecutor General's Office of the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Agency of Civil Service Affairs and Combating Corruption of the Republic of Kazakhstan and the Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Kazakhstan;
- For the Russian Federation – the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation, the Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation and the Federal Customs Service;
- For Turkmenistan – the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Turkmenistan, the Ministry of National Security of Turkmenistan, the Prosecutor General's Office of Turkmenistan, the State Migration Service of Turkmenistan, the State Customs Service of Turkmenistan.
2. In case of any changes in the list of competent bodies of the State of a Party, that Party shall notify the Depositary thereof, and the Depositary shall communicate that information to other Parties.
3. The competent bodies of the States of the Parties shall interact directly with each other in matters related to the implementation of the provisions of this Protocol.
Article 3
Cooperation among the Parties under Article 1 of this Protocol shall be aimed at combating:
- Crimes against person, including against human life and health;
- Crimes related to trafficking in persons, especially women and children, and removal of human organs or tissues for transplantation and Illegal migration;
- Trafficking in firearms, ammunition, explosive devices and explosive and toxic substances;
- Crimes in the sphere of economic activity, including those related to the legalization (laundering) of revenues, including proceeds of crime;
- Manufacturing and sale of counterfeit currency notes, documents, securities, as well as credit or debit cards and other payment and valuable documents.
Article 4
1. For the purpose of implementing provisions of this Protocol, the competent bodies of the States of the Parties shall cooperate in the following forms:
- Exchanging information of interest about imminent or committed crimes and persons involved in them;
- Implementing agreed preventive and operational search measures to prevent, detect, suppress and solve crimes;
- Considering requests for undertaking operational search measures in accordance with the legislation of the States of the Parties;
- Experience sharing, including internships, consultations, training sessions and workshops;
- Exchanging legislative and other regulatory acts, and exchanging, on a mutually beneficial basis, scientific and technical literature and information on issues related to the activities of the competent bodies of the States of the Parties;
- Experience sharing in the area of development of information systems, special technical means and equipment.
2. This Protocol shall not address issues of extradition and legal assistance in criminal cases.
Article 5
This Protocol shall not prevent the Parties from the identification and development of other mutually acceptable areas and forms of cooperation subject to the conditions specified in Article 1 of this Protocol.
Article 6
1. Cooperation under this Protocol shall be carried out on the basis of requests for assistance made by the competent bodies of the States of the Parties or on the initiative of a Party assuming that such assistance will be of interest to another Party.
2. Requests for assistance shall be made in writing. In cases of urgency, such requests may be made orally but they should be confirmed in writing, including with the use of text transmission technologies, in no more than 72 hours.
In case of any doubts with regard to the authenticity or the content of the request, additional confirmation may be requested.
3. A request for assistance shall contain the following:
- Names of the competent bodies of the State of the requesting Party and the competent bodies of the State of the requested Party;
- Summary of the case;
- Description of the purpose and rationale of the request;
- Description of the content of the requested assistance;
- Any other information that can be useful for a proper fulfillment of the request.
4. A request for assistance shall be fulfilled in accordance with the legislation of the State of the requested Party but at the request of the requesting Party it may be fulfilled in accordance with the legislation of its own State provided that is not contrary to the legislation or international obligations of the State of the requested Party.
5. A request for assistance made or confirmed in writing shall be signed by the head of the competent body of the State of the requesting Party or other authorized person and shall be certified by the stamp of that competent body.
Article 7
1. The competent body of the State of the requested Party may refuse, wholly or partially, to provide assistance if it believes that the fulfillment of the request can impair sovereignty, security, public order or other essential interests of its State or is contrary to the legislation or international obligations of its State.
2. The assistance may be denied if the conduct that gave rise to the request is not considered as criminal under the legislation of the State of the requested Party.
3. The assistance may be denied if it can impede an investigation or judicial proceedings underway in the territory of the State of the requested Party or if it is contrary to judicial decisions that have been issued by courts of the State of the requested Party and have come into force.
4. Before taking decision to deny the assistance in accordance with paragraphs 1 and 2 of this Article, the competent body of the State of the requested Party may hold consultations with the competent body of the State of the requesting Party in order to establish additional conditions under which the assistance may still be provided. The competent body of the State of the requesting Party shall comply with the conditions on which the assistance is provided to it.
5. The competent body of the State of the requesting Party shall be notified in writing of the denial of the request, wholly or partially, with the statement of reasons for the denial.
Article 8
1. The competent body of the State of the requested Party shall take all the necessary measures to ensure prompt and as complete as possible fulfillment of the request.
The competent body of the State of the requesting Party shall be immediately notified of the circumstances that prevent or significantly delay the fulfillment of the request.
2. If the fulfillment of the request is beyond the powers of the competent body of the State of the requested Party, it shall immediately notify thereof the competent body of the State of the requesting Party and, upon its request, shall forward the request to the appropriate competent body.
3. The competent body of the State of the requested Party shall be entitled to request additional information necessary, in its opinion, for a proper fulfillment of the request.
4. If the competent body of the State of the requested Party believes that an immediate fulfillment of the request could impede a criminal prosecution or other proceedings underway in the territory of its State, it may postpone the fulfillment of the request or make it subject to conditions identified as essential upon consultations with the competent body of the State of the requesting Party. If the competent body of the State of the requesting Party agrees to the proposed conditions, it shall comply therewith.
5. The competent body of the State of the requested Party shall, in the shortest possible time, notify the competent body of the State of the requesting Party of the results of the fulfillment of the request.
Article 9
1. Each Party shall ensure confidentiality and protection of information and documents received from other Parties if the providing Party finds their disclosure undesirable.
The level of confidentiality of such information and documents shall be determined by the providing Party.
2. The competent body of the State of the requested Party shall, at the request of the competent body of the State of the requesting Party, take necessary measures to ensure confidentiality of the fact of the request, the content of the request and the accompanying documents, as well as of the fact of the assistance.
Should it be impossible to fulfill the request without compromising confidentiality, the competent body of the State of the requested Party shall notify thereof the competent body of the State of the requesting Party which shall decide whether the request should be fulfilled under such conditions.
3. Results of the fulfillment of the request received under this Protocol may not be used for purposes other than those for which they were requested and provided without consent of the providing Party.
4. Disclosure of information received by a Party under this Protocol to a third party shall require a preliminary consent of the providing Party.
5. Classified information shall be exchanged in accordance with the procedure established by the legislation of the State of the providing Party.
Article 10
The Parties shall bear their own costs associated with the implementation of this Protocol, unless agreed otherwise in each particular case.
Article 11
In the process of cooperation under this Protocol, the Parties shall use Russian and English as their working languages.
Article 12
The competent bodies of the States of the Parties may, as necessary, hold working meetings and consultations to address issues related to the strengthening of cooperation under this Protocol and making it more effective.
Article 13
Any disagreements among the Parties regarding the interpretation or application of the provisions of this Protocol shall be settled through consultations and negotiations.
Article 14
This Protocol shall not affect rights and obligations of the Parties arising from other international treaties to which their respective States are parties.
Article 15
The Republic of Azerbaijan shall be the Depositary of this Protocol.
Article 16
This Protocol may be amended and supplemented by mutual consent of the Parties. Amendments and supplements to this Protocol shall be an integral part of it and shall be made in separate protocols entering into force in accordance with Article 18 of this Protocol.
Article 17
Nothing in this Protocol shall be considered as predetermining the legal status of the Caspian Sea.
Article 18
1. This Protocol shall be of indefinite duration and shall enter into force on the thirtieth day following the date of receipt by the Depositary, via diplomatic channels, of the last written notification of the completion by the Parties of their internal procedures necessary for its entry into force.
2. Each of the Parties may withdraw from this Protocol by notifying the Depositary accordingly. For that Party the Protocol shall remain in force for twelve months from the date of receipt by the Depositary of such notification.
Done at Aktau on 12 August 2018 in one original copy in the Azerbaijani, Farsi, Kazakh, Russian, Turkmen and English languages, all texts being equally authentic.
In case of disagreement, the Parties shall refer to the English text.
The original copy of this Protocol shall be deposited with the Depositary which shall transmit its certified copies to all the Parties.
For the Government of the Republic of the Azerbaijan
For the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran
For the Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan
For the Government of the Russian Federation
For the Government of Turkmenistan