2002D0187 — EN — 01.10.2003 — 001.001 — 1
This document is meant purely as a documentation tool and the institutions do not assume any liability for its contents
►B COUNCILDECISION
of28February2002
settingupEurojustwithaviewtoreinforcing thefightagainstseriouscrime
(2002/187/JHA)
(OJ L 63, 6.3.2002, p. 1)
Amended by:
Official Journal
No page date
►M1Council Decision 2003/659/JHA of 18 June 2003 L 245 44 29.9.2003
▼B
COUNCILDECISION
of28February2002
setting up Eurojust with a view to reinforcing the fight against
seriouscrime
(2002/187/JHA)
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,
Having regard to the Treaty on European Union, and in particular Arti-
cles 31 and 34(2)(c) thereof,
Having regard to the initiative of the Federal Republic of Germany and
to that of the Portuguese Republic, the French Republic, the Kingdom
of Sweden and the Kingdom of Belgium (1),
Having regard to the opinion of the European Parliament (2),
Whereas:
(1)It is necessary to improve judicial cooperation between the
Member States further, in particular in combating forms ofserious crime often perpetrated by transnational organisations.
(2)The effective improvement of judicial cooperation between theMember States requires the immediate adoption of structuralmeasures at European Union level to facilitate the optimal coor-dination of action for investigations and prosecutions covering
the territory of more than one Member State with full respect
for fundamental rights and freedoms.
(3)In order to reinforce the fight against serious organised crime,the Tampere European Council of 15 and 16 October 1999, inparticular in point 46 of its conclusions, decided on the setting
up of a unit (Eurojust) composed of prosecutors, magistrates or
police officers of equivalent competence.
(4)This Eurojust unit is set up by this Decision as a body of theEuropean Union withlegal personality and financed from th e
general budget of the European Union, except as regards the
salaries and emoluments of the national members and assistingpersons, which are borne by their Member State of origin.
(5)The objectives of Regulation (EC) No 1073/1999 of the
European Parliament and of the Council of 25 May 1999
concerning investigations conducted by the European Anti-FraudOffice (OLAF)(
3) are also relevant to Eurojust. The Eurojust
College should adopt the necessary implementing measures toachieve those objectives. It should take full account of the sensi-
tive work carried out by Eurojust in the context of investigations
and prosecutions. In this connection, OLAF should be deniedaccess to documents, evidence, reports, notes or information, inwhatever form, which are held or created in the course of theseactivities, whether under way or already concluded, and thetransmission of suchdocuments, evidence, reports, notes and
information to OLAF should be prohibited.
(6)In order to be able to attain its objectives as efficiently as
possible, Eurojust should fulfil its tasks either through one ormore of its national members or acting as a College.
(7)The competent authorities of the Member States should be ableto exchange information with Eurojust in accordance witharrangements which serve and observe the interests of publicservice.2002D0187 — EN — 01.10.2003 — 001.001 — 2
(1) OJ C 206, 19.7.2000, p. 1 and
OJ C 243, 24.8.2000, p. 15.
(2) OJ C 34 E, 7.2.2002, p. 347 and opinion delivered on 29 November 2001
(not yet published in the Official Journal).
(3) OJ L 136, 31.5.1999, p. 1.
▼B
(8)Eurojust's jurisdiction is without prejudice to the Community's
competence to protect its own financial interests and is also
without prejudice to existing conventions and agreements, inparticular the European Convention on Mutual Assistance inCriminal Matters (Council of Europe) signed in Strasbourg on20 April 1959, and also the Convention on Mutual Assistanceon Criminal Matters between the Member States of the European
Union(
1) adopted by the Council on 29 May 2000, and the
Protocol (2) thereto adopted on 16 October 2001.
(9)In order to achieve its objectives, Eurojust processes personaldata by automated means or in structured manual files. Accord-ingly, the necessary steps should be taken to guarantee a level of
data protection which corresponds at least to that which results
from the application of the principles of the Convention for theProtection of Individuals withregard to Automatic Processing ofPersonal Data (Council of Europe) signed in Strasbourg on 28January 1981, together with subsequent amendments thereto, inparticular the Protocol opened for signature on 8 November
2001, once suchamendments are in force between th e Member
States.
(10)In order to help ensure and check that personal data areprocessed properly by Eurojust, a joint supervisory body shouldbe set up which, given the composition of Eurojust, should
consist of a panel of judges or, if the constitutional or national
system of a Member State so requires, of persons exercising anequivalent function which gives them sufficient independence.The powers of this joint supervisory body should be withoutprejudice to the jurisdiction of national courts or to the arrange-
ments for any appeals which may be brought before them.
(11)In order to ensure harmonious coordination of the various activ-
ities pursued by the Union and the Community and havingregard to Article 29 and Article 36(2) of the Treaty, theCommission should be fully involved in Eurojust's proceedingsconcerning general questions and questions coming within its
competence. Eurojust's rules of procedure should detail the
arrangements for the Commission to participate in Eurojust'sproceedings in areas within its jurisdiction.
(12)Provisions should be laid down to ensure that Eurojust and theEuropean Police Office (Europol) (
3) establishand maintain close
cooperation.
(13)Eurojust and the European Judicial Network set up by Joint
Action 98/428/JHA(4) should have a privileged relationship. To
that end, the secretariat of the Network should be placed withinthe Eurojust secretariat.
(14)In order to facilitate activities of Eurojust, the Member Statesshould put in place or designate one or more national correspon-dents.
(15)Insofar as is necessary for the fulfilment of its tasks, it should bepossible for Eurojust to initiate cooperation withnon-Member
States and for agreements to be concluded to that effect,
primarily with the candidate countries for accession to the Unionand other countries with which arrangements have been agreed.
(16)Since the adoption of this Decision means that major new legis-lative measures must be approved in the Member States,
provision should be made for certain transitional provisions.
(17)Point 57 of the Laeken European Council conclusions of 14 and
15 December 2001 provided for Eurojust to be able to begin2002D0187 — EN — 01.10.2003 — 001.001 — 3
(1) OJ C 197, 12.7.2000, p. 3.
(2) OJ C 326, 26.11.2001, p. 2.
(3) OJ C 316, 27.11.1995, p. 1.
(4) OJ L 191, 7.7.1998, p. 4.
▼B
operations in The Hague, pending overall agreement on the seats
of certain agencies.
(18)This Decision respects the fundamental rights and observes theprinciples recognised by Article 6(2) of the Treaty and reflected
in the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union,
HAS DECIDED AS FOLLOWS:
Article 1
Establishmentandlegalpersonality
This Decision establishes a unit, referred to as ‘Eurojust’, as a body of
the Union.
Eurojust shall have legal personality.
Article 2
Composition
1. Eurojust shall be composed of one national member seconded by
eachMember State in accordance withits legal system, being a prose-cutor, judge or police officer of equivalent competence.
2. Eachnational member may be assisted by one person. If neces-
sary and with the agreement of the College referred to in Article 10,several persons may assist the national member. One of these assistantsmay replace the national member.
Article 3
Objectives
1. In the context of investigations and prosecutions, concerning two
or more Member States, of criminal behaviour referred to in Article 4
in relation to serious crime, particularly when it is organised, the objec-tives of Eurojust shall be:
(a) to stimulate and improve the coordination, between the competent
authorities of the Member States, of investigations and prosecutions
in the Member States, taking into account any request emanatingfrom a competent authority of a Member State and any informationprovided by any body competent by virtue of provisions adoptedwithin the framework of the Treaties;
(b) to improve cooperation between the competent authorities of the
Member States, in particular by facilitating the execution of inter-
national mutual legal assistance and the implementation of
extradition requests;
(c) to support otherwise the competent authorities of the Member
States in order to render their investigations and prosecutionsmore effective.
2. In accordance with the rules laid down by this Decision and at the
request of a Member State's competent authority, Eurojust may also
assist investigations and prosecutions concerning only that MemberState and a non-Member State where an agreement establishing coop-eration pursuant to Article 27(3) has been concluded with the said Stateor where in a specific case there is an essential interest in providingsuchassistance.
3. In accordance with the rules laid down by this Decision and at the
request either of a Member State's competent authority or of theCommission, Eurojust may also assist investigations and prosecutionsconcerning only that Member State and the Community.2002D0187 — EN — 01.10.2003 — 001.001 — 4
▼B
Article 4
Competences
1. The general competence of Eurojust shall cover:
(a) the types of crime and the offences in respect of which Europol is
at all times competent to act pursuant to Article 2 of the Europol
Convention of 26 July 1995;
(b) the following types of crime:
— computer crime,
— fraud and corruption and any criminal offence affecting the
European Community's financial interests,
— the laundering of the proceeds of crime,— environmental crime,— participation in a criminal organisation within the meaning of
Council Joint Action 98/733/JHA of 21 December 1998 onmaking it a criminal offence to participate in a criminal organi-sation in the Member States of the European Union (
1);
(c) other offences committed together with the types of crime and the
offences referred to in points (a) and (b).
2. For types of offences other than those referred to in paragraph 1,
Eurojust may in addition, in accordance withits objectives, assist ininvestigations and prosecutions at the request of a competent authority
of a Member State.
Article 5
TasksofEurojust
1. In order to accomplishits objectives, Eurojust sh all fulfil its
tasks:
(a) through one or more of the national members concerned in accor-
dance withArticle 6, or
(b) as a College in accordance withArticle 7:
(i) when so requested by one or more of the national members
concerned by a case dealt withby Eurojust, or
(ii) when the case involves investigations or prosecutions which
have repercussions at Union level or which might affect
Member States other than those directly concerned, or
(iii) when a general question relating to the achievement of its
objectives is involved, or
(iv) when otherwise provided for in this Decision.
2. When it fulfils its tasks, Eurojust shall indicate whether it is
acting through one or more of the national members within themeaning of Article 6 or as a College within the meaning of Article 7.
Article 6
TasksofEurojustactingthroughitsnationalmembers
When Eurojust acts through its national members concerned, it:
(a) may ask the competent authorities of the Member States concerned
to consider:
(i) undertaking an investigation or prosecution of specific acts;
(ii) accepting that one of them may be in a better position to
undertake an investigation or to prosecute specific acts;
(iii) coordinating between the competent authorities of the Member
States concerned;
(iv) setting up a joint investigation team in keeping withth e rele-
vant cooperation instruments;2002D0187 — EN — 01.10.2003 — 001.001 — 5
(1) OJ L 351, 29.12.1998, p. 1.
▼B
(v) providing it withany information th at is necessary for it to
carry out its tasks;
(b) shall ensure that the competent authorities of the Member States
concerned inform eachoth er on investigations and prosecutions of
which it has been informed;
(c) shall assist the competent authorities of the Member States, at their
request, in ensuring the best possible coordination of investigations
and prosecutions;
(d) shall give assistance in order to improve cooperation between the
competent national authorities;
(e) shall cooperate and consult with the European Judicial Network,
including making use of and contributing to the improvement ofits documentary database;
(f) shall, in the cases referred to Article 3(2) and (3) and with the
agreement of the College, assist investigations and prosecutionsconcerning the competent authorities of only one Member State;
(g) may, in accordance with its objectives and within the framework of
Article 4(1) in order to improve cooperation and coordinationbetween the competent authorities, forward requests for judicial
assistance when they:
(i) are made by the competent authority of a Member State;
(ii) concern an investigation or prosecution conducted by that
authority in a specific case, and
(iii) necessitate its intervention witha view to coordinated action.
Article 7
TasksofEurojustactingasaCollege
When Eurojust acts as a College, it:
(a) may in relation to the types of crime and the offences referred to in
Article 4(1) ask the competent authorities of the Member Statesconcerned, giving its reasons:
(i) to undertake an investigation or prosecution of specific acts;
(ii) to accept that one of them may be in a better position to
undertake an investigation or to prosecute specific acts;
(iii) to coordinate between the competent authorities of the
Member States concerned;
(iv) to set up a joint investigation team in keeping withth e rele-
vant cooperation instruments;
(v) to provide it withany information th at is necessary for it to
carry out its tasks;
(b) shall ensure that the competent authorities of the Member States
inform each other of investigations and prosecutions of which ithas been informed and which have repercussions at Union level orwhich might affect Member States other than those directlyconcerned;
(c) shall assist the competent authorities of the Member States, at their
request, in ensuring the best possible coordination of investigations
and prosecutions;
(d) shall give assistance in order to improve cooperation between the
competent authorities of the Member States, in particular on the
basis of Europol's analysis;
(e) shall cooperate and consult with the European Judicial Network,
including making use of and contributing to the improvement ofits documentary database;
(f) may assist Europol, in particular by providing it withopinions
based on analyses carried out by Europol;
(g) may supply logistical support in the cases referred to in points (a),
(c) and (d) above. Suchlogistical support may include assistancefor translation, interpretation and the organisation of coordinationmeetings.2002D0187 — EN — 01.10.2003 — 001.001 — 6
▼B
Article 8
Reasons
If the competent authorities of the Member State concerned decide not
to comply with a request referred to in Article 7(a), they shall informEurojust of their decision and of the reasons for it unless, in the cases
referred to in Article 7(a)(i), (ii) and (v), they are unable to give their
reasons because:
(i) to do so would harm essential national security interests, or
(ii) to do so would jeopardise the success of investigations under way
or the safety of individuals.
Article 9
Nationalmembers
1. National members shall be subject to the national law of their
Member State as regards their status. The length of a national member'sterm of office shall be determined by the Member State of origin. Itshall be such as to allow Eurojust to operate properly.
2. All information exchanged between Eurojust and Member States,
including requests made within the framework of Article 6(a), shall be
directed through the national member.
3. Each Member State shall define the nature and extent of the judi-
cial powers it grants its national member within its own territory. It
shall also define the right for a national member to act in relation toforeign judicial authorities, in accordance with its international commit-ments. When appointing its national member and at any other time ifappropriate, the Member State shall notify Eurojust and the Council
General Secretariat of its decision so that the latter can inform the other
Member States. The latter shall undertake to accept and recognise theprerogatives thus conferred insofar as they are in conformity with inter-national commitments.
4. In order to meet Eurojust's objectives, the national member shall
have access to the information contained in the national criminalrecords or in any other register of his Member State in the same way
as stipulated by his national law in the case of a prosecutor, judge or
police officer of equivalent competence.
5. A national member may contact the competent authorities of his
Member State directly.
6. In the performance of his tasks a national member shall, where
appropriate, make it known whether he is acting in accordance withthe judicial powers granted to him under paragraph 3.
Article 10
College
1. The College shall consist of all the national members. Each
national member shall have one vote.
2. After consulting the joint supervisory body provided for in Article
23 as regards the provisions on the processing of personal data, theCouncil shall approve Eurojust's rules of procedure on a proposal
from the College which has previously been adopted unanimously by
the latter. The provisions of the rules of procedure which concern theprocessing of personal data may be made the subject of separateapproval by the Council.
3. When acting in accordance with Article 7(a), the College shall
take its decisions by a two-thirds majority. Other decisions of theCollege shall be taken in accordance with the rules of procedure.2002D0187 — EN — 01.10.2003 — 001.001 — 7
▼B
Article 11
RoleoftheCommission
1. The Commission shall be fully associated with the work of Euro-
just, in accordance with Article 36(2) of the Treaty. It shall participatein that work in the areas within its competence.
2. As regards work carried out by Eurojust on the coordination of
investigations and prosecutions, the Commission may be invited toprovide its expertise.
3. For the purpose of enhancing cooperation between Eurojust and
the Commission, Eurojust may agree on necessary practical arrange-ments withth e Commission.
Article 12
Nationalcorrespondents
1. EachMember State may put in place or appoint one or more
national correspondents. It shall be a matter of high priority to put in
place or appoint sucha correspondent for terrorism matters. Relationsbetween the national correspondent and the competent authorities ofthe Member States shall be governed by national law. A national corre-spondent shall have his place of work in the Member State whichappointed him.
2. Where a Member State appoints a national correspondent, he may
be a contact point of the European Judicial Network.
3. Relations between the national member and the national corre-
spondent shall not preclude direct relations between the nationalmember and his competent authorities.
Article 13
Exchanges of information with the Member States and between
nationalmembers
1. The competent authorities of the Member States may exchange
withEurojust any information necessary for th e performance of itstasks in accordance withArticle 5.
2. In accordance withArticle 9, th e national members of Eurojust
shall be empowered to exchange any information necessary for the
performance of its tasks, without prior authorisation, among themselvesor with their Member State's competent authorities.
Article 14
Processing ofpersonaldata
1. Insofar as it is necessary to achieve its objectives, Eurojust may,
within the framework of its competence and in order to carry out its
tasks, process personal data, by automated means or in structuredmanual files.
2. Eurojust shall take the necessary measures to guarantee a level of
protection for personal data at least equivalent to that resulting fromthe application of the principles of the Council of Europe Convention
of 28 January 1981 and subsequent amendments thereto where they are
in force in the Member States.
3. Personal data processed by Eurojust shall be adequate, relevant
and not excessive in relation to the purpose of the processing, and,taking into account the information provided by the competent authori-
ties of the Member States or other partners in accordance with Articles
13 and 26, accurate and up-to-date. Personal data processed by Euro-just shall be processed fairly and lawfully.
4. In accordance with this Decision, Eurojust shall establish an index
of data relating to investigations and may establishtemporary workfiles which also contain personal data.2002D0187 — EN — 01.10.2003 — 001.001 — 8
▼B
Article 15
Restrictionsontheprocessingofpersonaldata
1. When processing data in accordance with Article 14(1), Eurojust
may process only the following personal data on persons who, underthe national legislation of the Member States concerned, are the subjectof a criminal investigation or prosecution for one or more of the typesof crime and the offences defined in Article 4:
(a) surname, maiden name, given names and any alias or assumed
names;
(b) date and place of birth;
(c) nationality;
(d) sex;
(e) place of residence, profession and whereabouts of the person
concerned;
(f) social security numbers, driving licences, identification documents
and passport data;
(g) information concerning legal persons if it includes information
relating to identified or identifiable individuals who are the subjectof a judicial investigation or prosecution;
(h) bank accounts and accounts with other financial institutions;
(i) description and nature of the alleged offences, the date on which
they were committed, the criminal category of the offences andthe progress of the investigations;
(j) the facts pointing to an international extension of the case;
(k) details relating to alleged membership of a criminal organisation.
2. When processing data in accordance with Article 14(1), Eurojust
may process only the following personal data on persons who, underthe national legislation of the Member States concerned, are regardedas witnesses or victims in a criminal investigation or prosecution
regarding one or more of the types of crime and the offences defined
in Article 4:
(a) surname, maiden name, given names and any alias or assumed
names;
(b) date and place of birth;
(c) nationality;
(d) sex;
(e) place of residence, profession and whereabouts of the person
concerned;
(f) the description and nature of the offences involving them, the date
on which they were committed, the criminal category of the
offences and the progress of the investigations.
3. However, in exceptional cases, Eurojust may also, for a limited
period of time, process other personal data relating to the circum-stances of an offence where they are immediately relevant to andincluded in ongoing investigations which Eurojust is helping to coordi-
nate, provided that the processing of such specific data is in accordance
withArticles 14 and 21.
The Data Protection Officer referred to in Article 17 shall be informed
immediately of recourse to this paragraph.
Where such other data refer to witnesses or victims within the meaning
of paragraph 2, the decision to process them shall be taken jointly by at
least two national members.
4. Personal data, processed by automated or other means, revealing
racial or ethnic origin, political opinions, religious or philosophicalbeliefs, trade union membership, and data concerning health or sexlife may be processed by Eurojust only when such data are necessary2002D0187 — EN — 01.10.2003 — 001.001 — 9
▼B
for the national investigations concerned as well as for coordination
within Eurojust.
The Data Protection Officer shall be informed immediately of recourse
to this paragraph.
Suchdata may not be processed in th e index referred to in Article
16(1).
Where such other data refer to witnesses or victims within the meaning
of paragraph 2, the decision to process them shall be taken by theCollege.
Article 16
Indexandtemporary workfiles
1. In order to achieve its objectives, Eurojust shall maintain an auto-
mated data file constituting an index of data relating to investigations
in which non-personal data and personal data referred to in Article
15(1)(a) to (i) and (k) and paragraph 2 may be stored. That index shallbe intended to:
(a) support the management and coordination of investigations and
prosecutions which Eurojust is assisting, in particular by the cross-referencing of information;
(b) facilitate access to information on ongoing investigations and
prosecutions;
(c) facilitate the monitoring of lawfulness and compliance with the
provisions of this Decision concerning the processing of personal
data.
2. The index shall contain references to temporary work files
processed within the framework of Eurojust.
3. In the performance of their duties under Articles 6 and 7, the
national members of Eurojust may process data on the individual caseson which they are working in a temporary work file. They shall allowthe Data Protection Officer and, if the College so decides, the other
national members and employees authorised to access files to have
access to the work file. Each new work file that contains personaldata shall be communicated to the Data Protection Officer.
Article 17
DataProtection Officer
1. Eurojust shall have a specially appointed Data Protection Officer,
who shall be a member of the staff. Within that framework, he shall beunder the direct authority of the College. In the performance of the
duties referred to in this Article, he shall take instructions from no-one.
2. The Data Protection Officer shall in particular have the following
tasks:
(a) ensuring, in an independent manner, lawfulness and compliance
with the provisions of this Decision concerning the processing ofpersonal data;
(b) ensuring that a written record of the transmission and receipt, for
the purposes of Article 19(3) in particular, of personal data is keptin accordance with the provisions to be laid down in the rules ofprocedure, under the security conditions laid down in Article 22;
(c) ensuring that data subjects are informed of their rights under this
Decision at their request.
3. In the performance of his tasks, the Officer shall have access to
all the data processed by Eurojust and to all Eurojust premises.
4. When he finds that in his view processing has not complied with
this Decision, the Officer shall:
(a) inform the College, which shall acknowledge receipt of the infor-
mation;2002D0187 — EN — 01.10.2003 — 001.001 — 10
▼B
(b) refer the matter to the joint supervisory body if the College has not
resolved the non-compliance of the processing within a reasonabletime.
Article 18
Authorisedaccesstopersonaldata
Only national members and their assistants referred to in Article 2(2)
and authorised Eurojust staff may, for the purpose of achieving Euro-just's objectives, have access to personal data processed by Eurojust.
Article 19
Rightofaccesstopersonaldata
1. Every individual shall be entitled to have access to personal data
concerning him processed by Eurojust under the conditions laid downin this Article.
2. Any individual wishing to exercise his right to have access to
data concerning him which are stored at Eurojust, or to have themchecked in accordance with Article 20, may make a request to that
effect free of charge in the Member State of his choice, to the authority
appointed for that purpose in that Member State, and that authorityshall refer it to Eurojust without delay.
3. The right of any individual to have access to personal data
concerning him or to have them checked shall be exercised in accor-dance with the laws and procedures of the Member State in which theindividual has made his request. If, however, Eurojust can ascertainwhich authority in a State transmitted the data in question, that
authority may require that the right of access be exercised in accor-
dance with the rules of the law of that Member State.
4. Access to personal data shall be denied if:
(a) suchaccess may jeopardise one of Eurojust's activities;
(b) suchaccess may jeopardise any national investigation wh ichEuro-
just is assisting;
(c) such access may jeopardise the rights and freedoms of third parties.
5. The decision to grant this right of access shall take due account of
the status, with regard to the data stored by Eurojust, of those indivi-duals submitting the request.
6. The national members concerned by the request shall deal with it
and reach a decision on Eurojust's behalf. The request shall be dealtwith in full within three months of receipt. Where the members arenot in agreement, they shall refer the matter to the College, which shalltake its decision on the request by a two-thirds majority.
7. If access is denied or if no personal data concerning the applicant
are processed by Eurojust, the latter shall notify the applicant that ithas carried out checks, without giving any information which could
reveal whether or not the applicant is known.
8. If the applicant is not satisfied with the reply given to his request,
he may appeal against that decision before the joint supervisory body.
The joint supervisory body shall examine whether or not the decisiontaken by Eurojust is in conformity withth is Decision.
9. The competent law enforcement authorities of the Member States
shall be consulted by Eurojust before a decision is taken. They shallsubsequently be notified of its contents through the national membersconcerned.
Article 20
Correction anddeletionofpersonaldata
1. In accordance withArticle 19(3), every individual sh all be
entitled to ask Eurojust to correct, block or delete data concerning2002D0187 — EN — 01.10.2003 — 001.001 — 11
▼B
him if they are incorrect or incomplete or if their input or storage
contravenes this Decision.
2. Eurojust shall notify the applicant if it corrects, blocks or deletes
the data concerning him. If the applicant is not satisfied with Eurojust'sreply, he may refer the matter to the Joint Supervisory Body withinthirty days of receiving Eurojust's decision.
3. At the request of a Member State's competent authorities, national
member or national correspondent, if any, and under their responsi-bility, Eurojust shall, in accordance with its rules of procedure, corrector delete personal data being processed by Eurojust which were trans-mitted or entered by that Member State, its national member or its
national correspondent. The Member States' competent authorities and
Eurojust, including the national member or national correspondent, ifany, shall in this context ensure that the principles laid down in Article14(2) and (3) and in Article 15(4) are complied with.
4. If it emerges that personal data processed by Eurojust are incor-
rect or incomplete or that their input or storage contravenes the
provisions of this Decision, Eurojust shall block, correct or deletesuchdata.
5. In the cases referred to in paragraphs 3 and 4, all the suppliers
and addressees of suchdata sh all be notified immediately. In accor-
dance with the rules applicable to them, the addressees, shall thencorrect, block or delete those data in their own systems.
Article 21
Timelimitsforthestorageofpersonaldata
1. Personal data processed by Eurojust shall be stored by Eurojust
for only as long as is necessary for the achievement of its objectives.
2. The personal data referred to in Article 14(1) which have been
processed by Eurojust may not be stored beyond:
(a) the date on which prosecution is barred under the statute of limita-
tions of all the Member States concerned by the investigation andprosecutions;
(b) the date on which the judicial decision of the last of the Member
States concerned by the investigation or prosecutions which justi-
fied coordination by Eurojust became final;
(c) the date on which Eurojust and the Member States concerned
mutually established or agreed that it was no longer necessary for
Eurojust to coordinate the investigation and prosecutions.
3. (a) Observance of the storage periods referred to in paragraph 2
shall be reviewed constantly by appropriate automated proces-
sing. Nevertheless, a review of the need to store the data shall
be carried out every three years after they were entered.
(b) When one of the storage deadlines referred to in paragraph 2 has
expired, Eurojust shall review the need to store the data longer
in order to enable it to achieve its objectives and it may decideby way of derogation to store those data until the followingreview.
(c) Where data has been stored by way of derogation pursuant to
point (b) a review of the need to store those data shall take placeevery three years.
4. Where a file exists containing non-automated and unstructured
data, once the deadline for storage of the last item of automated datafrom the file has elapsed all the documents in the file shall be returnedto the authority which supplied them and any copies shall be destroyed.
5. Where Eurojust has coordinated an investigation or prosecutions,
the national members concerned shall inform Eurojust and the otherMember States concerned of all the judicial decisions relating to thecase which have become final in order, inter alia , that paragraph 2(b)
may be applied.2002D0187 — EN — 01.10.2003 — 001.001 — 12
▼B
Article 22
Datasecurity
1. Eurojust and, insofar as it is concerned by data transmitted from
Eurojust, each Member State, shall, as regards the processing of
personal data within the framework of this Decision, protect personaldata against accidental or unlawful destruction, accidental loss orunauthorised disclosure, alteration and access or any other unauthorisedform of processing.
2. The rules of procedure shall contain the technical measures and
the organisational arrangements needed to implement this Decisionwithregard to data security and in particular measures designed to:
(a) deny unauthorised persons access to data processing equipment
used for processing personal data;
(b) prevent the unauthorised reading, copying, modification or removal
of data media;
(c) prevent the unauthorised input of data and the unauthorised inspec-
tion, modification or deletion of stored personal data;
(d) prevent the use of automated data processing systems by
unauthorised persons using data communication equipment;
(e) ensure that persons authorised to use an automated data processing
system only have access to the data covered by their access author-isation;
(f) ensure that it is possible to verify and establish to which bodies
personal data are transmitted when data are communicated;
(g) ensure that it is subsequently possible to verify and establish which
personal data have been input into automated data processing
systems and when and by whom the data were input;
(h) prevent unauthorised reading, copying, modification or deletion of
personal data during transfers of personal data or during transporta-tion of data media.
Article 23
JointSupervisoryBody
1. An independent joint supervisory body shall be established to
monitor collectively the Eurojust activities referred to in Articles 14to 22 in order to ensure that the processing of personal data is carriedout in accordance with this Decision. In order to fulfil these tasks, theJoint Supervisory Body shall be entitled to have full access to all files
where such personal data are processed. Eurojust shall provide the Joint
Supervisory Body withall information from suchfiles th at it requestsand shall assist that body in its tasks by every other means.
The Joint Supervisory Body shall meet at least once in each half year.
It shall also meet within the three months following the lodging of anappeal and may be convened by its chairman when at least twoMember States so request.
In order to set up the Joint Supervisory Body, each Member State,
acting in accordance with its legal system, shall appoint a judge whois not a member of Eurojust, or, if its constitutional or national systemso requires a person holding an office giving him sufficient indepen-
dence, for inclusion on the list of judges who may sit on the Joint
Supervisory Body as members or ad hoc judges. No such appointmentshall be for less than eighteen months. Revocation of the appointmentshall be governed by the principles for removal applicable under thenational law of the Member State of origin. Appointment and removalshall be communicated to both the Council General Secretariat and
Eurojust.
2. The Joint Supervisory Body shall be composed of three perma-
nent members and, as provided for in paragraph4, ad h oc judges.2002D0187 — EN — 01.10.2003 — 001.001 — 13
▼B
3. A judge appointed by a Member State shall become a permanent
member one year before his Member State assumes the Presidency ofthe Council and shall remain a permanent member for eighteen months.
The judge appointed by the Member State holding the Presidency of
the Council shall chair the Joint Supervisory Body.
4. One or more ad hoc judges shall also have seats, but only for the
duration of the examination of an appeal concerning personal data from
the Member State which has appointed them.
5. The composition of the Joint Supervisory Body shall remain the
same for the duration of an appeals procedure even if the permanentmembers have reached the end of their term of office pursuant to para-
graph3.
6. Each member and ad hoc judge shall be entitled to one vote. In
the event of a tied vote, the chairman shall have the casting vote.
7. The Joint Supervisory Body shall examine appeals submitted to it
in accordance withArticle 19(8) and Article 20(2) and carry out
controls in accordance with paragraph 1, first subparagraph, of thisArticle. If the Joint Supervisory Body considers that a decision takenby Eurojust or the processing of data by it is not compatible with thisDecision, the matter shall be referred to Eurojust, which shall acceptthe decision of the Joint Supervisory Body.
8. Decisions of the Joint Supervisory Body shall be final and
binding on Eurojust.
9. The persons appointed by the Member States in accordance with
paragraph 1, third subparagraph, presided over by the chairman of the
Joint Supervisory Body, shall adopt internal rules of procedure which,
for the purpose of the examination of appeals, lay down objectivecriteria for the appointment of the Body's members.
10. Secretariat costs shall be borne by the Eurojust budget. The
secretariat of the Joint Supervisory Body shall enjoy independence in
the discharge of its function within the Eurojust secretariat.
11. The members of the Joint Supervisory Body shall be subject to
the obligation of confidentiality laid down in Article 25.
12. The Joint Supervisory Body shall submit an annual report to the
Council.
Article 24
Liability forunauthorisedorincorrect processingofdata
1. Eurojust shall be liable, in accordance with the national law of
the Member State where its headquarters are situated, for any damagecaused to an individual which results from unauthorised or incorrectprocessing of data carried out by it.
2. Complaints against Eurojust pursuant to the liability referred to in
paragraph 1 shall be heard by the courts of the Member State where its
headquarters are situated.
3. EachMember State sh all be liable, in accordance withits national
law, for any damage caused to an individual which results fromunauthorised or incorrect processing carried out by it of data which
were communicated to Eurojust.
Article 25
Confidentiality
1. The national members and their assistants referred to in Article
2(2), Eurojust staff and national correspondents, if any, and the Data
Protection Officer shall be bound by an obligation of confidentiality,without prejudice to Article 9(1).
2. The obligation of confidentiality shall apply to all persons and to
all bodies called upon to work withEurojust.2002D0187 — EN — 01.10.2003 — 001.001 — 14
▼B
3. The obligation of confidentiality shall also apply after leaving
office or employment or after the termination of the activities of thepersons referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2.
4. Without prejudice to Article 9(1), the obligation of confidentiality
shall apply to all information received by Eurojust.
Article 26
Relationswithpartners
1. Eurojust shall establish and maintain close cooperation with
Europol, in so far as is relevant for the performance of the tasks ofEurojust and for achieving its objectives, taking account of the need
to avoid duplication of effort. The essential elements of such coopera-
tion shall be determined by an agreement to be approved by theCouncil, after consultation of the Joint Supervisory Body concerningthe provisions on data protection.
2. Eurojust shall maintain privileged relations with the European
Judicial Network based on consultation and complementarity, espe-cially between the national member, the contact points of the same
Member State and the national correspondent, if any. In order to ensure
efficient cooperation the following measures shall be taken:
(a) Eurojust shall have access to centralised information from the
European Judicial Network in accordance withArticle 8 of JointAction 98/428/JHA and to the telecommunication network set upunder Article 10 of the said Joint Action;
(b) by way of derogation from Article 9(3) of Joint Action 98/428/
JHA, the secretariat of the European Judicial Network shall form
part of the Eurojust secretariat. It shall function as a separate andautonomous unit. It shall be able to draw on the resources of Euro-just which are necessary for the performance of the EuropeanJudicial Network's tasks. The rules applying to Eurojust staff shallapply to the staff of the European Judicial Network's secretariat
where this is not incompatible with the operational autonomy of
the European Judicial Network's secretariat;
(c) The national members of Eurojust may attend meetings of the
European Judicial Network at the invitation of the latter. EuropeanJudicial Network contact points may be invited on a case-by-case
basis to attend Eurojust meetings.
3. Eurojust shall establish and maintain close cooperation with
OLAF. To that end, OLAF may contribute to Eurojust's work to coor-dinate investigations and prosecution procedures regarding theprotection of the financial interests of the Communities, either on theinitiative of Eurojust or at the request of OLAF where the competentnational authorities concerned do not oppose such participation.
4. For purposes of the receipt and transmission of information
between Eurojust and OLAF, and without prejudice to Article 9,
Member States shall ensure that the national members of Eurojust shall
be regarded as competent authorities of the Member States solely forthe purposes of Regulation (EC) No 1073/1999 and Council Regulation(Euratom) No 1074/1999 of 25 May 1999 concerning investigationsconducted by the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF)(
1). The
exchange of information between OLAF and national members shall
be without prejudice to the information which must be given to othercompetent authorities under these regulations.
5. Eurojust may, in order to accomplishits objectives, establish
contacts and exchange experiences of a non-operational nature withother bodies, in particular international organisations.
6. Eurojust may, on a case-by-case basis, cooperate withliaison
magistrates of the Member States, within the meaning of Council JointAction 96/277/JHA of 22 April 1996 concerning a framework for the2002D0187 — EN — 01.10.2003 — 001.001 — 15
(1) OJ L 136, 31.5.1999, p. 8.
▼B
exchange of liaison magistrates to improve judicial cooperation
between the Member States of the European Union (1).
Article 27
Exchangesofinformationwithpartners
1. In accordance with this Decision, Eurojust may exchange any
information necessary for the performance of its tasks with:
(a) bodies competent by virtue of provisions adopted within the frame-
work of the Treaties;
(b) international organisations and bodies;
(c) authorities of third States which are competent for investigations
and prosecutions.
2. Before Eurojust exchanges any information with the entities
referred to in paragraph 1(b) and (c), the national member of the
Member State which submitted the information shall give his consentto the transfer of that information. In appropriate cases the nationalmember shall consult the competent authorities of the Member States.
3. Eurojust may conclude cooperation agreements, approved by the
Council, with third States and the entities referred to in paragraph 1.Suchagreements may, in particular, contain provisions concerning
arrangements for the secondment of liaison officers or liaison magis-
trates to Eurojust. They may also contain provisions concerning theexchange of personal data. In that event the Joint Supervisory Bodyshall be consulted by Eurojust.
To resolve urgent matters, Eurojust may also cooperate withth e enti-
ties referred to in paragraph1(b) and (c) with out concluding anagreement with them provided that such cooperation does not involve
the transmission of personal data to them by Eurojust.
4. Without prejudice to paragraph 3, the transmission of personal
data by Eurojust to the entities referred to in paragraph 1(b) and to
the authorities referred to in paragraph 1(c) of third States which arenot subject to the Council of Europe Convention of 28 January 1981may be effected only when an adequate level of data protection isensured.
5. Any subsequent failure, or substantial likelihood of failure, on the
part of the third States or entities referred to in paragraph 1(b) and (c)to meet the conditions referred to in paragraph 4 shall immediately be
communicated by Eurojust to the Joint Supervisory Body and the
Member States concerned. The Joint Supervisory Body may preventthe further exchange of personal data with the relevant entities until itis satisfied that adequate remedies have been provided.
6. However, even if the conditions referred to in paragraphs 3 and 4
are not fulfilled, a national member may, acting in his national capa-city, by way of exception and withth e sole aim of taking urgent
measures to counter imminent serious danger threatening a person or
public security, carry out an exchange of information involvingpersonal data. The national member shall be responsible for the legalityof authorising the communication. The national member shall keep arecord of communications of data and of the grounds for such commu-nications. The communication of data shall be authorised only if the
recipient gives an undertaking that the data will be used only for the
purpose for which it was communicated.
Article 28
Organisationandoperation
1. The College shall be responsible for the organisation and opera-
tion of Eurojust.2002D0187 — EN — 01.10.2003 — 001.001 — 16
(1) OJ L 105, 27.4.1996, p. 1.
▼B
2. The College shall elect a President from among the national
members and may, if it considers it necessary, elect at most two Vice-Presidents. The result of the election shall be submitted to the Council
for its approval.
3. The President shall exercise his duties on behalf of the College
and under its authority, direct its work and monitor the daily manage-
ment ensured by the Administrative Director. The rules of procedure
shall specify the cases in which his decisions or actions shall requireprior authorisation or a report to the College.
4. The term of office of the President shall be three years. He may
be re-elected once. The term of office of any Vice-President(s) shall begoverned by the rules of procedure.
5. Eurojust shall be assisted by a secretariat headed by an Adminis-
trative Director.
6. Eurojust shall exercise over its staff the powers devolved to the
Appointing Authority. The College shall adopt appropriate rules for
the implementation of this paragraph in accordance with the rules ofprocedure.
Article 29
AdministrativeDirector
1. The Administrative Director of Eurojust shall be appointed unan-
imously by the College. The College shall set up a selection boardwhich, following a call for applications, shall establish a list of candi-dates from among whom the College shall choose the AdministrativeDirector.
2. The term of office of the Administrative Director shall be five
years. It shall be renewable.
3. The Administrative Director shall be subject to the rules and
regulations applicable to officials and other servants of the EuropeanCommunities.
4. The Administrative Director shall work under the authority of the
College and its President, acting in accordance withArticle 28(3). Hemay be removed from office by the College by a two-thirds majority.
5. The Administrative Director shall be responsible, under the super-
vision of the President, for the day-to-day administration of Eurojustand for staff management.
Article 30
Staff
1. Eurojust staff shall be subject to the rules and regulations applic-
able to the officials and other servants of the European Communities,particularly as regards their recruitment and status.
2. Eurojust staff shall consist of staff recruited according to the rules
and regulations referred to in paragraph1, taking into account all th ecriteria referred to in Article 27 of the Staff Regulations of Officialsof the European Communities laid down by Regulation (EEC,
Euratom, ECSC) No 259/68 (
1), including their geographical distribu-
tion. They shall have the status of permanent staff, temporary staff orlocal staff. At the request of the Administrative Director, and in agree-ment with the President on behalf of the College, Community officialsmay be seconded to Eurojust by the Community institutions as
temporary staff. Member States may second national experts to Euro-
just. For this last case, the College shall adopt the necessaryimplementing arrangements.2002D0187 — EN — 01.10.2003 — 001.001 — 17
(1) OJ L 56, 4.3.1968. Regulation as last amended by Regulation (EC, ECSC,
Euratom) No 2581/2001 (OJ L 345, 29.12.2001, p. 1).
▼B
3. Under the authority of the College, the staff shall carry out its
tasks bearing in mind the objectives and mandate of Eurojust, withoutseeking or accepting instructions from any government, authority, orga-
nisation or person extraneous to Eurojust.
Article 31
Assistancewithinterpretingandtranslation
1. The official linguistic arrangements of the Union shall apply to
Eurojust proceedings.
2. The annual report to the Council, referred to in the second
subparagraph of Article 32(1), shall be drawn up in the officiallanguages of the Union institutions.
Article 32
InformationtotheEuropeanParliament andtheCouncil
1. The President, on behalf of the College, shall report to the
Council in writing every year on the activities and management,including budgetary management, of Eurojust.
To that end, the College shall prepare an annual report on the activities
of Eurojust and on any criminal policy problems within the Unionhighlighted as a result of Eurojust's activities. In that report, Eurojustmay also make proposals for the improvement of judicial cooperation
in criminal matters.
The President shall also submit any report or any other information on
the operation of Eurojust which may be required of him by theCouncil.
2. Each year the Presidency of the Council shall forward a report to
the European Parliament on the work carried out by Eurojust and onthe activities of the Joint Supervisory Body.
Article 33
Finance
1. The salaries and emoluments of the national members and assis-
tants referred to in Article 2(2) shall be borne by their Member State oforigin.
2. Where national members act within the framework of Eurojust's
tasks, the relevant expenditure shall be regarded as operational expen-
diture within the meaning of Article 41(3) of the Treaty.
Article 34
Budget
1. Forecasts shall be made of all Eurojust revenue and expenditure
for each financial year, which shall be the same as the calendar year.
Revenue and expenditure shall be entered in the budget, which shallinclude the establishment plan which shall be submitted to the budgetauthority competent for the general budget of the European Union. Theestablishment plan shall consist of posts of a permanent or temporarynature and a reference to national experts seconded, and shall state the
number, grade and category of the staff employed by Eurojust for the
financial year in question.
2. Revenue and expenditure shall be balanced in the Eurojust
budget.
3. Without prejudice to other resources, Eurojust revenue may
include a subsidy entered in the general budget of the European Union.
4. Eurojust expenditure shall include inter alia expenditure relating
to interpreters and translators, expenditure on security, administrativeand infrastructure expenditure, operational and rental costs, travel2002D0187 — EN — 01.10.2003 — 001.001 — 18
▼B
expenses of members of Eurojust and its staff and costs arising from
contracts withth ird parties.
Article 35
Drawingupofthebudget
1. Each year the College, on the basis of a draft drawn up by the
Administrative Director, shall produce an estimate of revenue andexpenditure for Eurojust for the following financial year. This estimate,
which shall include a draft establishment plan, shall be forwarded by
the College to the Commission by 31 March at the latest.
2. On the basis of the estimate, the Commission shall propose in the
preliminary draft general budget of the European Union the amount ofthe annual subsidy as well as the posts of a permanent or temporary
nature and submit this proposal to the budgetary authority in accor-
dance withArticle 272 of th e Treaty.
3. The budgetary authority shall authorise the appropriations for the
subsidy to Eurojust and determine the posts of a permanent ortemporary nature within the framework of the Staff Regulations of offi-cials and other Servants of the European Communities.
4. Before the beginning of the financial year, the College of Euro-
just shall adopt the budget, including the establishment plan referredto in Article 34(1), third sentence, on the basis of the annual subsidyand posts authorised by the budgetary authority in accordance withparagraph 3 of this Article, adjusting it to the various contributions
granted to Eurojust and the funds from other sources.
Article 36
Implementationofthebudgetanddischarge
1. The Administrative Director shall, as authorising officer, imple-
ment the Eurojust budget. He shall report to the College on theimplementation of the budget.
2. By 1 March at the latest following each financial year, the
accounting officer of Eurojust shall communicate the provisional
accounts to the Commission's accounting officer together with a reporton the budgetary and financial management for that financial year. TheCommission's accounting officer shall consolidate the provisionalaccounts of the institutions and decentralised bodies in accordance
withArticle 128 of th e general Financial Regulation.
3. By 31 March at the latest following each financial year, the
Commission's accounting officer shall forward Eurojust's provisionalaccounts to the Court of Auditors, together with a report on thebudgetary and financial management for that financial year. The reporton the budgetary and financial management for the financial year shall
also be forwarded to the European Parliament and the Council.
4. On receipt of the Court of Auditors' observations on Eurojust's
provisional accounts, pursuant to Article 129 of the general FinancialRegulation, the Administrative Director shall draw up Eurojust's finalaccounts under his own responsibility and submit them to the College
of Eurojust for an opinion.
5. The College of Eurojust shall deliver an opinion on Eurojust's
final accounts.
6. The Administrative Director shall, by 1 July at the latest
following each financial year, forward the final accounts to theEuropean Parliament, the Council, the Commission and the Court of
Auditors, together with the College of Eurojust's opinion.
7. The final accounts shall be published.8. The Administrative Director shall send the Court of Auditors a
reply to its observations by 30 September at the latest. He shall alsosend this reply to the College of Eurojust.2002D0187 — EN — 01.10.2003 — 001.001 — 19
▼M1
▼M1
9. The Administrative Director, acting under the authority of the
College of Eurojust and its President, shall submit to the EuropeanParliament at the latter's request any information required for the
smooth application of the discharge procedure for the financial year in
question, as laid down in Article 146(3) of the general Financial Regu-lation.
10. The European Parliament, on a recommendation from the
Council acting by a qualified majority, shall, before 30 April of year
N + 2, give a discharge to the Administrative Director in respect ofthe implementation of the budget for year N.
Article 37
Financialregulationapplicabletothebudget
1. The financial rules applicable to Eurojust's budget shall be
adopted unanimously by the College after the Commission has beenconsulted. They may not depart from Commission Regulation (EC,
Euratom) No 2343/2002 of 19 November 2002 on the framework
Financial Regulation for the bodies referred to in Article 185 ofCouncil Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1605/2002 on the FinancialRegulation applicable to the general budget of the European Commu-nities (
1) unless specifically required for Eurojust's operation and with
the Commission's prior consent.
Article 38
Audit
1. The responsibility for putting in place internal control systems
and procedures suitable for carrying out his tasks shall lie with theauthorising officer.
2. The College shall appoint an internal auditor who shall be respon-
sible in particular for providing, in accordance withth e relevantinternational standards, an assurance regarding the proper functioning
of the systems and procedures for implementing the budget. The
internal auditor may not be either the authorising officer or the accoun-tant. The College may ask the Commission's internal auditor to carryout these duties.
3. The auditor shall report his findings and recommendations to
Eurojust and submit a copy of the report to the Commission. Eurojustshall, in the light of the auditor's reports, take the necessary measuresin response to these recommendations.
4. The rules laid down by Regulation (EC) No 1073/1999 shall
apply to Eurojust. The College shall adopt the necessary implementingmeasures.
Article 39
Accesstodocuments
On the basis of a proposal by the Administrative Director, the College
shall adopt rules for access to Eurojust documents, taking account ofthe principles and limits stated in Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 of
the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 May 2001 regarding
public access to European Parliament, Council and Commission docu-ments (
2).2002D0187 — EN — 01.10.2003 — 001.001 — 20
(1) OJ L 357, 31.12.2002, p. 72 withCorrigendum in OJ L 2, 7.1.2003, p. 39.
(2) OJ L 145, 31.5.2001, p. 43.▼B
▼M1
▼B
▼B
Article 40
Territorial application
This Decision shall apply to Gibraltar, which shall be represented by
the national member for the United Kingdom.
Article 41
Transitionalprovisions
1. The national members of the Provisional Judicial Cooperation
Unit appointed by the Member States under the Council Decision
2000/799/JHA of 14 December 2000 setting up a Provisional Judicial
Cooperation Unit (1) shall take on the role of national member of Euro-
just under Article 2 of this Decision until the national member of theMember State concerned is definitively appointed but not after the endof the second month after the entry into force of this Decision, onwhich date their functions shall cease.
As such, the national members of the Provisional Unit shall enjoy all
the powers of national members under this Decision.
The definitive appointment of a national member shall take effect on
the day designated by the Member State for that purpose when noti-fying the General Secretariat of the Council by official post.
2. During the three months following the entry into force of this
Decision, a Member State may declare that until the date laid down inArticle 42 it will not apply to certain Articles, in particular Articles 9
and 13, on the grounds that such application is not compatible with its
national law. The General Secretariat of the Council shall inform theMember States and the Commission of any such declaration.
3. As long as the Council has not approved Eurojust's rules of proce-
dure the College shall take all its decisions by a two-thirds majoritysave where this Decision provides for a unanimous decision.
4. The Member States shall ensure that until the definitive establish-
ment of Eurojust all measures necessary are taken to guarantee that all
cases dealt withby th e Provisional Judicial Cooperation Unit, in parti-cular in connection withth e coordination of investigations andprosecutions, can continue to be dealt witheffectively by nationalmembers. National members shall pursue at least the same objectivesand perform the same functions as the Provisional Judicial Cooperation
Unit.
Article 42
Transposition
If necessary the Member States shall bring their national law into
conformity with this Decision at the earliest opportunity and in anycase no later than 6 September 2003.
Article 43
Entryintoforce
This Decision shall enter into force on the day of its publication in the
Official Journal of the European Communities without prejudice to
Article 41. On that date the Provisional Judicial Cooperation Unit shallcease to exist.2002D0187 — EN — 01.10.2003 — 001.001 — 21
(1) OJ L 324, 21.12.2000, p. 2.