2001/419/JHA: Council Decision of 28 May 2001 on the transmission of samples of controlled substances
Date: 2001-05-28
Institutions: Council of the European Union
Subjects: drug traffic, exchange of information, fight against crime, international cooperation, judicial cooperation in criminal matters in the EU, new product

6.6.2001

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

L 150/1

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

COUNCIL DECISION

of 28 May 2001

on the transmission of samples of controlled substances

(2001/419/JHA)

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty on European Union, and in partic-
ular Articles 30, 31 and 34(2)(c) thereof,

Having regard to the initiative of the Kingdom of Sweden,

Having regard to the opinion of the European Parliament (1),

Whereas:

(1)

(2)

(3)

The fight against the illicit production and trafficking of
drugs is a matter of common concern for law enforce-
ment and justice authorities in the Member States.

The possibility of legally transmitting samples of seized
the
controlled substances between the authorities of
Member States for the purposes of detection,
invest-
igation and prosecution of criminal offences or for the
forensic analysis of samples would increase the effective-
ness of the fight against the illicit production and traf-
ficking of drugs.

At present no legally binding rules exist regulating the
transmission of seized controlled narcotic substance
samples between the authorities of the Member States. A
system should therefore be created at European Union
level to allow for the legal transmission of such samples.
Such system should apply to all forms of transmission
of samples of seized controlled substances between
Member States. Transmission should be based on agree-
ment between the sending and the receiving Member
State.

(4)

Transmission should take place in a manner that is
secure and guarantees that
the transported samples
cannot be abused,

HAS DECIDED AS FOLLOWS:

Article 1

2.
Transmission of samples of controlled substances (herein-
after referred to as ‘samples’) shall be considered lawful in all
Member States when it is conducted in accordance with this
Decision.

Article 2

Definitions

For the purposes of this Decision, controlled substances means:

(a) any substance, natural or synthetic, mentioned in Schedules
I or II of the United Nations Single Convention on Narcotic
Drugs 1961, and that Convention as amended by the 1972
Protocol;

(b) any substance mentioned in the revised Schedules I, II, III
and IV of the United Nations Convention on Psychotropic
Substances 1971;

(c) any substance that is subject to control measures taken
pursuant to Article 5(1) of Joint Action 97/396/JHA of 16
June 1997 concerning the information exchange,
risk
assessment and the control of new synthetic drugs (2).

Article 3

National contact points

Each Member State shall designate a national contact

1.
point for the purposes of implementing this Decision.

2.
Information concerning the designated national contact
points, including subsequent modifications, shall be transmitted
to the General Secretariat of the Council which shall publish
the information in the Official Journal.

Establishment of a system for the transmission of samples

1.
This Decision establishes a system for the transmission
between Member States of samples of controlled substances.

3.
The national contact points shall, if appropriate in asso-
ciation with other relevant national bodies, be the sole bodies
competent for authorising the transmission of samples under
this Decision, notwithstanding relevant provisions on mutual
legal assistance in criminal matters.

(1) Opinion delivered 4 May 2001 (not yet published in the Official

Journal).

(2) OJ L 167, 25.6.1997, p. 1.

L 150/2

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Official Journal of the European Communities

6.6.2001

Article 4

Agreement to transmit samples and acknowledgement of
receipt

1.
The national contact point of the Member State intending
to send a sample and the national contact point of the Member
State intended to receive a sample shall agree on the transport
before the transmission takes place. For this purpose they shall
make use of the Sample Transmission Form set out in the
Annex.

2. Where transmission of a sample involves transportation
through the territory of another Member State (hereinafter
referred as ‘transit Member State’), the national contact point of
such a transit Member State shall subsequently be informed of
the planned transport by the national contact point of the
sending Member State. To that end, each transit Member State
shall receive a copy of the duly completed Sample Transmis-
sion Form before the transmission begins.

The receiving Member State shall acknowledge to the

3.
sending Member State the receipt of the sample.

Article 5

Means of transport

1.

Transport of samples shall take place in a secure way.

The following means of transport shall be regarded as

2.
secure:

(a) transport by an official of the sending or receiving Member

State;

(b) transport by courier;

(c) transport by diplomatic bag;

(d) transport by registered (express) mail.

3.
The duly completed Sample Transmission Form referred
to in Article 4 shall accompany the sample during the entire
transport.

4.
The authorities of the Member States involved shall not
hinder or detain any transport accompanied by a duly
completed Sample Transmission Form unless they have doubts
as to whether the transport is carried out lawfully. In case of
doubts as to the legal status of the Sample Transmission Form,
the national contact point of the Member State detaining the
transport shall, without delay, contact the national contact
points of the Member States responsible for the completion of
the Sample Transmission Form in order to clarify the issue.

If

the means of

transport chosen is transport by an
5.
official of the sending or receiving Member State, that official
shall not be permitted to wear a uniform. Further, he or she
shall not carry out any operational tasks in connection with the
transport unless this would be compatible with the applicable
national legislation and agreed upon by the sending, transit or
receiving Member States. When travelling by aircraft, only
airline companies registered in one of the Member States shall
be used.

Article 6

Quantity of the sample and its use

A sample shall not exceed the quantity deemed necessary
1.
for law enforcement and judicial purposes or for the analysis of
samples.

2.
The use of the sample within the receiving Member State
shall be agreed between the sending and receiving Member
States, it being understood that samples can be used for detec-
tion, investigation and prosecution of criminal offences or for
the forensic analysis of samples.

Article 7

Evaluation

1.
This Decision shall be subject to evaluation within the
Council after at least two and no more than five years after its
entry into force.

2.
For the purpose of the evaluation the national contact
point of each sending Member State shall hold in its archives a
copy of every Sample Transmission Form issued during at least
the previous five years.

Article 8

Entry into force

This Decision shall take effect on 1 July 2001.

Done at Brussels, 28 May 2001.

For the Council

The President

T. BODSTRÖM

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Official Journal of the European Communities

L 150/3

ANNEX

SAMPLE TRANSMISSION FORM

A. Reference number: (Two-letter country code/year/consecutive number)

B. National contact point responsible for sending the sample

B.1. Name:

B.2. Address:

B.3. Stamp:

B.4. Signature and date:

C. Sending authority, receiving authority and intended use of sample in receiving Member State

C.1. The sample originates from:

C.1.1. Name:

C.1.2. Address:

C.2. The sample is intended for:

C.2.1. Name:

C.2.2. Address:

C3. The sample is intended to be used for:

(a) detection of criminal offences,

(b) investigation of criminal offences,

(c) prosecution of criminal offences,

(d) forensic analysis,

(e) other use.

D. Nature and quantity of sample

D.1. The sample is of the following nature (indicate composition):

D.2. The sample is of the following quantity (indicate exact quantity, i.e. grams, number of pills, etc.):

E. Means of transport and route to be used

E.1. The following means of transport will be used:

(a) transport by an official of the sending or receiving Member State,

(b) transport by courier,

(c) transport by diplomatic bag,

(d) transport by registered (express) mail,

E.2. The following route will be used (indicate starting point, destination and general route to be used between those two

points):

E.3. Where transport is to be by an official of the sending or receiving Member State, indicate the intended means of

transport (train, car, etc.):

E.4. National contact points of Member States to be informed pursuant to Article 4(2):

F. National contact point receiving the sample

F.1. Name:

F.2. Address:

F.3. Stamp:

F.4. Signature and date: