Council Decision 2003/48/JHA of 19 December 2002 on the implementation of specific measures for police and judicial cooperation to combat terrorism in accordance with Article 4 of Common Position 2001/931/CFSP
Date: 2002-12-19
Institutions: Council of the European Union
Subjects: EU police cooperation, Eurojust, Europol, access to information, exchange of information, judicial cooperation in criminal matters in the EU, terrorism

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

COUNCIL DECISION 2003/48/JHA

of 19 December 2002

on the implementation of specific measures for police and judicial cooperation to combat
terrorism in accordance with Article 4 of Common Position 2001/931/CFSP

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

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

Having regard to the initiative of the Kingdom of Spain (1),

Having regard to the opinion of the European Parliament (2),

possible assistance in preventing and combating terrorist
acts. Such assistance shall be based on and fully exploit
the existing powers of the Member States in accordance
with acts of the European Union and other international
agreements, arrangements and conventions which are
binding upon Member States. Assistance will be
provided in conformity with the national
laws of the
Member States, in particular those with regard to confi-
dentiality of criminal investigations.

(6)

Common Position 2001/931/CFSP and the additional
measures contemplated in this Decision concern parti-
cular persons, groups and entities listed in the Annex to
that Common Position, which is
regularly being
updated.

(7) Whilst Common Position 2001/931/CFSP sets out
certain guarantees to ensure that persons, groups and
entities are listed only if there is sufficient cause to do
so, the Council shall draw the necessary consequences
from any final finding and enforceable interim orders to
the contrary by a court of the Member States.

the fundamental

This Decision respects
rights and
observes the principles recognised by Article 6 of the
Treaty on European Union. Nothing in this Decision
may be interpreted as allowing infringement of the legal
protection afforded under national law to the persons,
groups and entities listed in the Annex to Common Posi-
tion 2001/931/CFSP,

Whereas:

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

(5)

At its extraordinary meeting on 21 September 2001, the
European Council stated that terrorism is a real chal-
lenge to the world and to Europe and that the fight
against
the
European Union.

terrorism will be a priority objective of

On 28 September 2001 the United Nations Security
Council adopted Resolution 1373 (2001) laying down
wide-ranging strategies to combat terrorism and in parti-
cular for the fight against the financing of terrorism.

On 8 October 2001 the Council of the European Union
reaffirmed the determination of the European Union and
its Member States to play their full part, in a coordinated
manner, in the global coalition against terrorism, under
the aegis of the United Nations.

(8)

is determined to combat

On 19 October 2001 the European Council stated that
it
terrorism in every form
throughout the world and that it will continue its efforts
to strengthen the coalition of the international commu-
nity to combat terrorism in every shape and form, for
example by increased cooperation between the opera-
tional
responsible for combating terrorism:
Europol, Eurojust, the intelligence services, police forces
and judicial authorities.

services

HAS DECIDED AS FOLLOWS:

Article 4 of Council Common Position 2001/931/CFSP
of 27 December 2001 on the application of specific
measures to combat terrorism (3) provides that Member
States shall, through police and judicial cooperation in
criminal matters, within the framework of Title VI of the
Treaty on European Union, afford each other the widest

Article 1

For the purposes of this Decision:

(1) OJ C 126, 28.5.2002, p. 22.
(2) Opinion given on 24 September 2002 (not yet published in the

Official Journal).

(3) OJ L 344, 28.12.2001, p. 93.

(a) ‘the listed persons, groups or entities’ means the persons,
groups or entities listed in the Annex to Common Position
2001/931/CFSP;

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(b) ‘terrorist offences’ means the offences referred to in Articles
1 to 3 of Council Framework Decision 2002/475/JHA of
13 June 2002 on combating terrorism (1);

(c) ‘Europol Convention’ means the Convention of 26 July
1995 on the establishment of a European Police Office (2);

(d) ‘Eurojust Decision’ means Council Decision 2002/187/JHA
of 28 February 2002 setting up Eurojust with a view to
reinforcing the fight against serious crime (3);

(e) ‘Joint investigation teams’ shall be understood as in Council
Framework Decision 2002/465/JHA of 13 June 2002 on
joint investigation teams (4).

Article 2

is communicated to Eurojust,

in accor-
competent authority,
dance with national law, and insofar as permitted by, the provi-
sions of the Eurojust Decision, in order to enable it to carry out
its tasks:

(a) data which identify the person, group or entity;

(b) acts under investigation or prosecution and their specific

circumstances;

(c) links with other relevant cases of terrorist offences;

(d) the existence of mutual legal assistance requests, including
letters rogatory, which may have been made by or to
another Member State, as well as the results of these.

1.
Each Member State shall designate a specialised service
within its police services, which, in accordance with national
law, will have access to and collect all relevant information
concerning
investigations
conducted by its law enforcement authorities with respect to
terrorist offences involving any of the listed persons, groups or
entities.

from criminal

resulting

and

Each Member State shall

2.
take necessary measures to
ensure that at least the following information collected by the
is communicated to Europol, through the
specialised service,
national unit of that Member State, in accordance with national
law and insofar as permitted by the provisions of the Europol
Convention, with a view to its processing pursuant to Article
10, and particularly Article 10(6), of that Convention:

(a) data which identify the person, group or entity;

(b) acts under investigation and their specific circumstances;

(c) links with other relevant cases of terrorist offences;

(d) the use of communications technologies;

Article 4

Member States shall, where appropriate,
take the necessary
measures to set up joint investigation teams in order to carry
out criminal investigations into terrorist offences involving any
of the listed persons, groups or entities.

Article 5

Member States shall ensure that all relevant data that they
communicate to Europol and Eurojust, pursuant to Articles 2
and 3, and that relate to any of the listed persons, groups or
entities or to offences that they are deemed to have committed
or are about to commit, can be exchanged between Europol
and Eurojust insofar as provided by the agreement on coopera-
tion to be signed between these two bodies, in accordance with
the Europol Convention and the Eurojust Decision.

(e) the threat posed by the possession of weapons of mass

destruction.

Article 6

Article 3

1.
Each Member State shall designate a Eurojust national
correspondent for terrorism matters under Article 12 of the
Eurojust Decision or a appropriate judicial or other competent
authority or, where its legal system so provides, more than one
authority, and shall, in accordance with national law, ensure
that this correspondent or appropriate judicial or other compe-
tent authority has access to and can collect all relevant informa-
tion concerning and resulting from criminal proceedings
conducted under the responsibility of its judicial authorities,
with regard to terrorist offences involving any of the listed
persons, groups or entities.

Each Member State shall

2.
take necessary measures to
ensure that at least the following information, collected by the
national correspondent or by the appropriate judicial or other

(1) OJ L 164, 22.6.2002, p. 3.
(2) OJ C 316, 27.11.1995, p. 2.
(3) OJ L 63, 6.3.2002, p. 1.
(4) OJ L 162, 20.6.2002, p. 1.

Each Member State shall take the necessary measures to ensure
that requests from other Member States for mutual legal assis-
judgements in
tance and recognition and enforcement of
connection with terrorist offences involving any of the listed
persons, groups or entities, are dealt with as a matter of
urgency and shall be given priority.

Article 7

Each Member State shall take the necessary measures to ensure
that any relevant information included in document, file, item
of information, object or other means of evidence, seized or
confiscated in the course of criminal investigations or criminal
proceedings in connection with terrorist offences against any of
the listed persons, groups or entities, can be made accessible or
available immediately to the authorities of other interested
Member States in accordance with national law and relevant
international
instruments where investigations against
those listed persons, groups or entities are being carried out in
connection with terrorist offences or might be initiated.

legal

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This Decision shall take effect on the day following that of its publication in the Official Journal.

Article 8

Done at Brussels, 19 December 2002.

For the Council

The President

L. ESPERSEN