REPUBLIKE SLOVENIJE
Dragutin Mate l.r.
REPUBLIKE HRVAŠKE
Marijan Mlinarić l.r.
The Government of the Republic of Slovenia and the Government of the Republic of Croatia (hereinafter referred to as the Contracting Parties),
desiring to cooperate further to ensure better implementation of the provisions on the movement of persons,
wishing to facilitate the readmission and transit of persons whose entry and residence are illegal,
in the spirit of cooperation and on the basis of reciprocity,
taking into account the Convention on the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms done in Rome on 4 November 1950 and the Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees done in Geneva on 28 July 1951, as amended by the Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees done in New York on 31 January 1967,
determined to fight against illegal migration,
have agreed as follows:
I. READMISSION OF THE NATIONALS
OF THE CONTRACTING PARTIES
Article 1
(1) Any Contracting Party shall, at the request of the other Contracting Party and without any formalities, readmit to its national territory any person who does not fulfil or who no longer fulfils the conditions for entry into or residence in the national territory of the requesting Contracting Party if it is proved or presumed that that person is a national of the requested Contracting Party.
(2) The nationality of the person shall be proved or presumed on the basis of the documents listed in the Protocol on the Implementation of this Agreement (hereinafter referred to as the Protocol).
(3) If the nationality of the person from the first paragraph cannot be proved or presumed on the basis of the documents submitted, the consular bodies of the requested Contracting Party shall interview that person within three working days after the day of receipt of the readmission application. This interview shall be organised as soon as possible by the requesting Contracting Party, after consultation with the consular body of the requested Contracting Party.
(4) If in the course of the interview from the preceding paragraph the nationality of the person in question is proved or presumed, the diplomatic mission or consular post shall without any delay issue an appropriate travel document that enables the person to return; this may under no circumstances be issued later than five working days after the day of receipt of the readmission application.
(5) The requesting Contracting Party shall under the same conditions readmit a person who is subsequently found not to have been a national of the requested Contracting Party at the time he/she was returned to the requested Contracting Party. This obligation shall not apply if the requested Contracting Party has deprived a person residing in the national territory of the requesting Contracting Party of nationality without them having obtained the nationality of a third country or having secured the nationality of the requesting Contracting Party.
II. READMISSION OF THIRD COUNTRY NATIONALS AND STATELESS PERSONS
Article 2
(1) Any Contracting Party shall at the request of the other Contracting Party readmit to its national territory a national of a third country or a stateless person who does not fulfil or who no longer fulfils the conditions for entry into or residence in the state of the requesting Contracting Party if it has been proved or presumed that this person entered the national territory of this Contracting Party directly after residence in or transit across the national territory of the requested Contracting Party.
(2) Any Contracting Party shall at the request of the other Contracting Party readmit a third country national or a stateless person who resides illegally on the national territory of the requesting Contracting Party if that person is in possession of a valid residence permit, a valid visa or any other document valid for entry into or residence issued by the requested Contracting Party.
(3) The competent authorities of the Contracting Parties shall readmit a third country national or a stateless person without any formalities (hereinafter referred to as summary procedure) if the requesting Contracting Party so requests no later than within 72 hours of the illegal crossing of the state border. The summary procedure shall be used only if the competent authority of the requesting Contracting Party provides information that allows it to be established that the person in question crossed the border between the Contracting Parties illegally. If a Contracting Party refuses to readmit a person using the summary procedure, readmission may be requested pursuant to the first or second paragraph of this Article.
(4) If the conditions for the return of a person using the summary procedure are met, the competent authority of the requesting Contracting Party shall notify the competent authority of the requested Contracting Party of the readmission orally or by telephone. A record shall be drawn up of the readmission; the contents of this record are laid down in the Protocol.
Article 3
The readmission obligation pursuant to with Article 2 shall not apply in respect of:
a) third country nationals that have a joint state border with the requesting Contracting Party;
b) third country nationals or stateless persons who, when they entered, were in possession of a valid visa for entry or a residence permit issued by the requesting Contracting Party, or who acquired a residence permit in that country after entry;
c) third country nationals or stateless persons who, on the day of receipt of the request for readmission, have resided for more than 12 months on the national territory of the requesting Contracting Party, unless they are holders of a valid residence permit issued by the requested Contracting Party;
d) third country nationals or stateless persons who have been granted refugee status by the requesting Contracting Party with a final decision pursuant to the provisions of the Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees done in Geneva on 28 July 1951, as amended by the Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees done in New York on 31 January 1967, or stateless person status pursuant to the Convention Relating to the Legal Status of Stateless Persons done in New York on 28 September 1954;
e) third country nationals or stateless persons in relation to whom the requesting Contracting Party has commenced a procedure for the granting of refugee status, until the adoption of a final decision;
f) third country nationals or stateless persons who have left the national territory of the requested Contracting Party and arrived in the national territory of the requesting Contracting Party from the national territory of a third country to which the requesting Contracting Party may return that person pursuant to an international agreement on readmission.
Article 4
The requesting Contracting Party shall agree to readmit into its national territory those third country nationals or stateless persons in relation to whom the requested Contracting Party, using the proper verification procedures, has established that at the time they left the national territory of the requesting Contracting Party, the conditions from Articles 2 and 3 of this Agreement had not been met.
III. TRANSIT OF THIRD COUNTRY NATIONALS
Article 5
(1) Any Contracting Party shall at the request of the other Contracting Party allow the transit of nationals of third countries who do not meet or no longer meet the conditions for entry into or residence in the national territory of the requesting Contracting Party on condition that the requesting Contracting Party has ensured that that person will be admitted into the destination country or other transit country. In such cases the requested Contracting Party shall not require a transit visa or require that other conditions for transit be met.
(2) The contents of requests, information relevant to transit, the authorities competent to send requests and the procedure of handling requests are laid down in the Protocol.
(3) The requesting Contracting Party shall be responsible for the entire journey of the person to the destination country. It shall also readmit that person if the destination country or other transit country refuses to readmit him/her, or if the journey cannot be completed for any other reason.
(4) The requesting Contracting Party shall inform the other Contracting Party as to whether the person in transit requires an escort. The requested Contracting Party may decide:
a) to perform the transit of this person across its national territory, with the costs reimbursed by the requesting Contracting Party;
b) to perform the transit in cooperation with the requesting Contracting Party;
c) to authorise the requesting Contracting Party to perform the transit across its national territory.
(5) In the cases referred to in point b) or c) of the preceding paragraph of this Article, escorting by the requesting Contracting Party shall lie within the competence of the authorised authorities of the requested Contracting Party.
(6) If transit is performed using an escort, the requesting Contracting Party's officials who are performing the escort shall perform their tasks unarmed and, as a rule, in civilian clothes, while other coercive measures shall be determined in the transit permit.
(7) The requesting Contracting Party's officials who are performing the escort must have the transit permit with them.
Article 6
(1) Officials performing the escort shall be responsible for supervising the person being escorted and for ensuring that he/she boards the aircraft, with the assistance and under the competence of the requested Contracting Party.
(2) The requested Contracting Party may, if required and after consultation with the escort, assume responsibility for supervising the person being escorted and for ensuring that he/she boards the aircraft.
(3) The requesting Contracting Party must carry out all measures necessary for ensuring the speediest possible transit of the person being escorted through the requested Contracting Party's airport.
Article 7
If transit is performed without an escort, supervision and boarding of the person onto the aircraft shall be conducted by the officials of the requested Contracting Party.
Article 8
(1) If in the course of transit the person refuses to or cannot board, the requesting Contracting Party shall:
a) without delay readmit this person if he/she is without escort; or
b) request the requested Contracting Party to attempt to re-board the person onto the aircraft and to ensure the person’s supervision during this time. Refusal to board an aircraft in the country of transit shall have the same legal consequences that are defined in the legislation of the requesting Contracting Party in case of such refusal on its own national territory. If the requested Contracting Party does not board the person onto the aircraft, the requesting Contracting Party shall readmit the person without delay.
Article 9
The competent authorities of the Contracting Parties shall inform each other of all facts that have a bearing on the transit procedure.
Article 10
(1) The requested Contracting Party shall ensure the same protection and assistance in the course of the performance of tasks under this Agreement to the officials from the requesting Contracting Party as it would ensure its own officials.
(2) During transit, officials performing the escort who are operating on the national territory of the other Contracting Party shall be deemed to be officials of this Contracting Party. They must operate according to the provisions of the domestic law of the Contracting Party on whose national territory they are operating.
Article 11
(1) If an official of the requesting Contracting Party who is conducting transit on the national territory of the other Contracting Party suffers damage in the implementation or during the period of implementation of his/her tasks, the requesting Contracting Party shall be responsible for the damage without requesting compensation from the requested Contracting Party.
(2) When officials of a Contracting Party are conducting transit in accordance with this Agreement on the national territory of the other Contracting Party, the requesting Contracting Party shall be responsible for any damage that these persons cause in the course of their work, in accordance with the domestic law of the Contracting Party on whose national territory they are operating.
(3) If a damaged party requests compensation from the requested Contracting Party in accordance with the second paragraph of this Article, the requested Contracting Party shall be responsible for such damage as if it had been caused by its officials, under the conditions applying to damage. A Contracting Party whose officials have caused damage to any person on the national territory of the other Contracting Party shall refund in full the sum paid by the other Contracting Party to the damaged party or to other persons entitled to the sum on their behalf.
(4) Without prejudice to the enforcement of its rights towards third parties and with the exception of the third paragraph of this Article, any Contracting Party shall waive, in cases from the second paragraph of this Article, a request for compensation for damage it has suffered on account of the other Contracting Party;
Article 12
Transit may be refused:
a) if the person in question is at risk of torture, inhuman or degrading treatment, punishment, death penalty or persecution on the basis of race, religion, nationality, membership of a certain social group or political conviction in the destination country or other transit country;
b) if the person in question is threatened with the institution of criminal proceedings or the enforcement of penal sanctions in the country of destination or other country of transit, unless these relate to illegal crossing of the state border;
c) if the measure of deportation from the national territory of the requested Contracting Party has been passed against the person in question.
IV. TIME LIMITS
Article 13
(1) The requested Contracting Party shall be obliged to reply without delay and in writing to a readmission request, and in all cases within 15 days from receiving the request. Each refusal to readmit must be explained in writing.
(2) The requested Contracting Party shall readmit a person for whom confirmation of readmission has been issued without delay, or no later than one month from the day of receipt of the confirmation.
(3) The requested Contracting Party must readmit persons who are being returned using the summary procedure immediately, and no later than 24 hours from the receipt of notification.
(4) The time limit from the second paragraph of this Article may be extended by the amount of time required for the removal of legal or practical obstacles.
(5) The Contracting Party to which a transit request has been made under the first paragraph of Article 5 shall reply to the transit request as soon as possible, and within no later than three working days of receipt of the request.
Article 14
The competent authority of the requested Contracting Party shall deliver its written consent to the readmission of a person to the competent authority of the requesting Contracting Party; this consent shall contain information on the identity of the person and on the time and place of readmission.
V. COSTS
Article 15
The requesting Contracting Party shall cover all costs relating to the readmission of persons to the border of the requested Contracting Party, and in the case of transit to the destination country.
VI. PERSONAL DATA PROTECTION
Article 16
(1) If personal data is transmitted for the purposes of implementation of this Agreement, this data must be collected, processed and protected in accordance with domestic and international law. The following criteria in particular must be taken into account:
a) the Contracting Party that receives the data may only use it for the purpose laid down in this Agreement and under conditions laid down by the Contracting Party that is communicating the data;
b) personal data may only be communicated to the competent authorities responsible for implementation of this Agreement and the only ones entitled to use it, and in such a way that unauthorised persons are prevented from accessing it. The Contracting Party that communicates the data must give its written consent before the data can be communicated to other authorities;
c) the Contracting Party that communicates the data shall ensure that the data is accurate and necessary and that it does not go beyond the requirements of the purposes for which it is being communicated. If the data is not accurate or if it was communicated unlawfully, the receiving Contracting Party shall be informed immediately so that it may amend or destroy the data;
d) every person is entitled to be informed at his/her request of the communication of data relating to him/her, and of their purpose;
e) communicated personal data shall be stored only for as long as is required for the purposes for which it was communicated. Each Contracting Party shall entrust an independent authority with the supervision of the processing and use of stored data;
f) each Contracting Party must protect communicated personal data against unauthorised access, alteration or disclosure.
(2) Personal data communicated in connection with the return, readmission and transit of persons may only concern the following:
a) data on the person to be returned and, if necessary, on his/her family members (surname, maiden name, first name, previous name, nickname and similar, and date and place of birth, sex, current and previous nationality);
b) passport, identity card or any other personal or travel documents;
c) other data necessary for the identification of the person to be returned (e.g. fingerprints);
d) itineraries and stopping places;
e) residence permits or visas.
VII. TRANSITIONAL AND FINAL PROVISIONS
Article 17
(1) The provisions of this Agreement shall not affect the obligations of the Contracting Parties in relation to the readmission of persons arising from other international agreements.
(2) The provisions of this Agreement shall not affect the application of the provisions of the Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees done in Geneva on 28 July 1951, as amended by the Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees done in New York on 31 January 1967, the Convention Relating to the Legal Status of Stateless Persons done in New York on 28 September 1954, and the Convention on the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms done in Rome on 4 November 1950.
(3) The provisions of this Agreement shall not be applied in cases of legal aid in connection with the extradition of persons in criminal cases.
Article 18
(1) The competent authorities for the implementation of this Agreement are:
in the Republic of Slovenia: Ministry of the Interior, the Police, and
in the Republic of Croatia: Ministry of the Interior, the General Police Directorate.
(2) The Ministries of the Interior of the Contracting Parties shall sign a Protocol on the Implementation of this Agreement.
(3) The Protocol from the second paragraph of this Article shall lay down:
a) the authorities competent to send and handle return, readmission or transit requests, and the method of communication between them;
b) the documents on whose basis nationality is proved or presumed;
c) the documents and information on whose basis the residence of third country nationals or travel across the national territory of a Contracting Party are proved or presumed;
d) the contents of return, readmission or transit requests;
e) the methods of proving illegal crossing of the border;
f) the border crossings for the return and readmission of persons;
g) the method of settling costs relating to return, readmission or transit.
(4) The competent authorities from the first paragraph of this Article shall inform each other of all circumstances that affect the implementation of this Agreement.
Article 19
(1) The Contracting Parties shall assist each other in the application and interpretation of this Agreement.
(2) The competent authorities from the first paragraph of the preceding Article may propose that meetings be held between experts from both Contracting Parties in order to resolve any problems relating to the implementation of this Agreement.
(3) The competent authorities shall inform each other on a continuous basis of the conditions applying to the entry and residence of aliens.
(4) The Contracting Parties shall inform each other without delay and through diplomatic channels of any changes relating to the authorities competent to implement this Agreement and their addresses. Any disputes shall be resolved through diplomatic channels.
Article 20
(1) With the exception of cases from Article 1, each Contracting Party may suspend, in whole or in part, the implementation of this Agreement by a written notification to the other Contracting Party, for important reasons; these shall be, in particular, reasons of national security, public order or public health. The Contracting Parties shall notify each other, without delay and through diplomatic channels of the cancellation of any such measures.
(2) This Agreement is concluded for an indefinite period of time.
(3) This Agreement shall enter into force on the first day of the month following the day of the receipt of the last written notification by which the Contracting Parties inform each other through diplomatic channels of the fulfilment of all internal legal requirements necessary for its entry into force.
(4) With the entry into force of this Agreement, the Agreement between the Government of the Republic of Slovenia and the Government of the Republic of Croatia on the Readmission of Persons on the Joint State Border and the Protocol on Implementation of the Agreement between the Government of the Republic of Slovenia and the Government of the Republic of Croatia on the Readmission of Persons on the Joint State Border, signed in Zagreb on 4 June 1993, shall cease to have effect.
(5) Each of the Contracting Parties may denounce this Agreement by a written notification through diplomatic channels to the other Contracting Party. Denunciation shall become effective on the 30th day after the day of receipt of this notification.
Done at Brioni on 10 June 2005 in two originals in the Slovenian, Croatian and English languages, all texts being equally authentic. In case of divergence in the interpretation of this Agreement, the English text shall prevail.
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