1999/235/JHA: Joint Position of 29 March 1999 defined by the Council on the basis of Article K.3 of the Treaty on European Union, on the proposed United Nations convention against organised crime
Date: 1999-03-29
Institutions: Council of the European Union
Subjects: Mafia, UN convention, fight against crime, international convention, international cooperation, organised crime

31. 3. 1999

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

L 87/1

(Acts adopted pursuant to Title VI of the Treaty on European Union)

JOINT POSITION

of 29 March 1999

defined by the Council on the basis of Article K.3 of the Treaty on European
Union, on the proposed United Nations convention against organised crime

(1999/235/JHA)

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty on European Union, and in
particular Articles K.3(2) and K.5 thereof,

Recognising the importance of judicial cooperation in
criminal matters and of police cooperation for
the
purposes of preventing and combating all serious forms of
international crime, as provided for in Article K.1 of the
Treaty,

Whereas it is desired to contribute as fully as possible to
the negotiation of the proposed convention and to avoid
incompatibility between the proposed convention and
instruments drawn up in the Union,

HAS DEFINED THIS JOINT POSITION:

Whereas the Member States regard the combating of
organised crime as a matter of common interest;

Article 1

Whereas the European Council meeting in Amsterdam in
June 1997 approved the Action Plan of the High-Level
Group on Organised Crime which contains extensive
proposals for strengthening the fight against organised
crime;

Whereas account must be taken of the measures that have
already been adopted by the European Union or are in
the course of preparation or adoption for the purpose of
implementing that Action Plan and, in particular, Joint
Action 98/733/JHA of 21 December 1998 on making it a
criminal offence to participate in a criminal organisation
in the Member States of the European Union (1);

Whereas arrangements have been made for the develop-
ment and negotiation of a United Nations convention to
combat organised crime;

Whereas the Council in its Conclusions of 5 October
1998 requested the Presidency to propose one or several
Joint Positions, in accordance with Article K.3 of the
Treaty on European Union, in relation to the draft United
Nations convention and its protocols;

(1) OJ L 351, 29. 12. 1998, p. 1.

1. Member States shall support the drawing up of the
proposed United Nations convention against organised
crime and any possible protocols. Member States shall
advocate the inclusion in the draft convention of provi-
sions which will
facilitate to the maximum extent
possible the effective prevention, prosecution and invest-
igation of organised crime.

2. Member States shall ensure that the provisions of
the draft convention relating to the obligation to crim-
inalise particular activities are consistent in particular with
Articles 1 and 2 of Joint Action 98/733/JHA.

3.
Insofar as the other provisions of the draft conven-
tion are concerned, it should apply as broadly as possible
to the activities of criminal organisations and to inter-
national cooperation for combating such organisations. In
principle, the relevant provisions of the draft convention
should encompass the activities of persons, acting in
concert with a view to committing serious crime, involved
in any criminal organisation which has a structure and is,
or has been, established for a certain period of time. They
should not be limited to groups with a highly developed
structure or enduring nature, such as mafia type organ-
isations; and the organisations need not necessarily have
formally defined roles for their participants or continuity
of membership.

L 87/2

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

31. 3. 1999

The provisions to be included in the draft conven-
4.
tion on international cooperation should provide appro-
priate safeguards for the protection of human rights and
facilitate such cooperation. They should apply in a situa-
tion where, due to the fact that an investigation is at a
preliminary stage, it is not possible for a requested state to
establish with certainty that a particular offence is
connected to organised crime. It might also be useful if
certain criteria were to be specified for the purpose of
indicating links with organised crime.

5.
Insofar as measures to combat money laundering are
concerned, the convention should extend to a broad range
of offences and, in particular, should be consistent with
the 40 recommendations of the Financial Action Task
Force.

6.
Any provisions in the draft convention which deal
with criminal assets should not be inconsistent with, and
should take account of, Joint Action 98/699/JHA of 3
December 1998 on money laundering, the identification,
tracing, freezing, seizing and confiscation of instrumental-
ities and the proceeds from crime (1).

The relevant provisions of

7.
the draft convention
could, as appropriate, be modelled on the 1998 United
Nations Convention against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic
Drugs and Psychotropic Substances. In addition they
should take full account of the 1990 Council of Europe
Convention on Laundering, Search, Seizure and Confisca-
tion of the Proceeds from Crime.

Article 2

In the negotiations on the proposed United Nations
convention and any possible protocols, Member States
shall, as far as is practicable, coordinate their positions, at

the Presidency’s initiative, and seek to arrive at common
standpoints on all issues which have significant implica-
tions for the interests of the Union. The Commission
shall be fully associated with this work. When necessary,
in the light of the manner in which the negotiations
develop, consideration shall be given to which further
steps need to be taken.

Article 3

Member States shall ensure that the provisions of the
proposed United Nations convention and any possible
protocols are not inconsistent with instruments drawn up
between them.

Article 4

The Council shall endeavour to achieve further Joint
Positions, as necessary, in relation to the draft convention
and particularly in connection with any possible proto-
cols.

Article 5

This Joint Position shall be published in the Official
Journal.

Done at Brussels, 29 March 1999.

For the Council

The President

F. M(cid:154)NTEFERING

(1) OJ L 333, 9. 12. 1998, p. 1.