Darbības ar dokumentu
The Government of the Republic of Latvia and the Government of the Republic of Lithuania, hereinafter referred to as "the Parties",
seeking to develop and strengthen the relations of friendship and mutual cooperation between the Republic of Latvia and the Republic of Lithuania;
having regard that organized crime poses a threat to the social structure, economic system, security and public order of both States;
convinced that cooperation between competent public authorities plays a crucial role in ensuring effective prevention of and fight against organized crime;
seeking to develop optimal principles, forms and methods of such cooperation;
appreciating the need to implement the provisions of the Schengen Agreement of 14 June 1985 between the Governments of the States of the Benelux Economic Union, the Federal Republic of Germany and the French Republic on the gradual abolition of checks at their common borders, and the Convention Implementing the Schengen Agreement of 14 June 1985 between the Governments of the States of the Benelux Economic Union, the Federal Republic of Germany and the French Republic on the gradual abolition of checks at their common borders signed at Schengen on19 June1990, hereinafter referred to as the Schengen Convention;
keeping in mind the provisions of the European Convention on Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters of 20 April 1959 and its protocols and the Convention established by the Council in accordance with Article 34 of the Treaty on European Union, on Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters between the Member States of the European Union of 29 May 2000;
keeping in mind the provisions of the Agreement between the Republic of Latvia, the Republic of Lithuania and the Republic of Estonia on Legal Assistance and Legal Relations of 11 November 1992;
guided by the principles of reciprocity, equality and mutual benefit;
respecting international law and their national legislation;
have agreed as follows:
Chapter I
General Provisions
Article 1
Areas of Cooperation
1. Acting pursuant to the present Agreement and their national legislation, the Parties undertake to enhance cooperation between their competent authorities in combating organized crime and other offences and in taking joint actions in their border regions.
2. The Parties shall in particular cooperate in combating:
1) offences against life or limb;
2) offences involving terrorism;
3) illicit manufacture of and trafficking in narcotic and psychotropic substances (hereinafter referred to as "narcotic substances") and other toxic substances and their precursors;
4) illegal crossing of state borders and illicit transportation of persons across state borders and other offences involving illegal crossing of state borders;
5) thefts and illicit production of, trafficking in and possession of arms, ammunition and explosives and chemical, biological, radioactive and other hazardous materials, as well as military equipment, dual-use technologies, services and goods;
6) trafficking in human beings, including illegal deprivation of liberty;
7) offences against property, including thefts of and illicit trafficking in vehicles and cultural valuables;
8) forgery of money and other means of payment, financial documents and securities as well as other documents, and putting them into circulation and using as genuine;
9) offences in the sphere of the economy (offences against the economy and business order), including illegal financial operations and legalization of income derived from criminal activity;
10) offences involving corruption;
11) offences related to the functioning of information systems and networks;
12) offences against the environment;
13) child pornography and sexual exploitation of children;
14) forced prostitution.
3. The Parties also undertake to cooperate in:
1) locating persons suspected of being involved in the commission of criminal offences or persons evading punishment;
2) locating missing persons and identifying unidentified persons and corpses;
3) locating objects related to committed criminal offences;
4) protecting persons who take part in operational activity or provide assistance to competent or border authorities of the Parties.
Article 2
Competent Authorities
1. For the purpose of implementing this Agreement, the competent authorities of the Parties and their designated experts shall cooperate directly. The competent authorities of the Parties are:
- In the Republic of Latvia:
Ministry of the Interior;
State Police;
Security Police;
State Border Guard;
State Revenue Service;
Corruption Preventing and Combating Bureau;
- In the Republic of Lithuania:
Ministry of the Interior;
Police Department under the Ministry of the Interior;
State Border Guard Service under the Ministry of the Interior;
Financial Crime Investigation Service under the Ministry of the Interior;
State Security Department;
Customs Department under the Ministry of Finance;
Special Investigation Service.
2. The competent authorities of the Parties may, within their competence, exchange liaison officers, conclude agreements on the implementation of this Agreement to specify conditions and procedures of the cooperation, establish joint contact points and, where necessary, hold consultations.
Article 3
Forms of Cooperation
1. For the purpose of implementing this Agreement, the competent authorities of the Parties shall:
1) exchange information relevant to this Agreement;
2) at the request of the competent authorities of the other Party, take appropriate actions and implement jointly agreed actions, including joint antiterrorist operations, and delegate representatives to joint groups;
3) at the request of the competent authorities of the other Party, cooperate in conducting forensic expert examinations;
4) plan and implement joint crime prevention programmes.
2. For the purpose of cooperation under this Agreement, the competent authorities of the Parties may delegate their officers, according to their competence without authority to direct, to perform tasks in the territory of the State of the other Party under control of the competent authority of the latter.
Article 4
Cooperation in Combating Terrorism
Seeking to combat terrorism, the competent authorities of the Parties shall exchange information on acts of terror and other crimes, related to terrorism planned or committed, on methods employed in committing such acts and on terrorist groups, and shall jointly take other actions justified by the need to prevent and combat terrorism.
Article 5
Cooperation in Combating Illicit Trafficking in Narcotic Substances and Other Toxic Substances and Their Precursors
Seeking to combat illegal manufacture of and trafficking in narcotic substances and other toxic substances and their precursors, the competent authorities of the Parties shall:
1) exchange information on:
a) trafficking in narcotic substances and other toxic substances and their precursors;
b) methods and locations of manufacture and storage of narcotic substances and other toxic substances and their precursors;
c) points of destination, routes and methods of transportation of narcotic substances and other toxic substances and their precursors;
2) provide each other with samples of new narcotic substances and other toxic substances and their precursors.
Article 6
Cooperation in Combating Illegal Migration
Seeking to combat illegal crossing of state borders and illicit transportation of persons across state borders, the competent authorities of the Parties shall exchange:
1) information on:
a) organizers and other persons involved in committing such offences;
b) activity, composition, methods and forms of operation of organized groups and criminal associations involved in organizing illegal migration;
c) means of transportation and routes of illegal migration;
d) manufacture and use of documents forged or falsified or obtained by false pretences, authorizing the crossing of the state border;
e) scale of illegal migration;
2) experience in controlling migration and applying national legislation governing the entry and residence of aliens;
3) specimen of documents authorizing the crossing of the state border, visas, their symbols and stamps used in such documents.
Article 7
Cooperation in Combating Illegal Manufacture of and Trafficking in Arms, Hazardous Materials and Dual-Use Items
Seeking to combat illegal manufacture of, trafficking in, thefts and possession of arms, ammunition, explosives and chemical, biological, radioactive and other hazardous substances, as well as military equipment and dual-use technologies, services and goods, the competent authorities of the Parties shall exchange necessary information in order to prevent and combat such offences, particularly information on the organizers of such offences, specimen documents authorizing the possession of such items, and samples of explosives and other hazardous substances.
Article 8
Scientific, Technical and Training Cooperation
1. For the purpose of scientific, technical and training cooperation, the competent authorities of the Parties shall:
1) exchange:
a) experience and information, particularly on new forms of criminal activity and new methods and measures for combating crime;
b) results of forensic and criminological tests;
c) professional literature and other material relevant to this Agreement;
2) provide each other with special technical equipment and technical and scientific assistance;
3) organize joint exercise and training.
2. With the view to perfecting their expertise, the competent authorities of the Parties shall exchange experts, particularly in the area of forensic technology and methods of combating crime, and seek to improve their command of the other Party's official language.
3. As part of cooperation, the competent authorities of the Parties shall take actions to:
1) implement the agreed telecommunications equipment and devices;
2) set separate radio frequencies for joint use;
3) exchange telecommunications equipment;
4) install special international communication lines.
4. The competent authorities of the Parties shall exchange legal acts relevant to this Agreement as well as experience in the development and application of such legal acts.
Article 9
Requests for Cooperation
1. Cooperation between the competent or border authorities of the Parties shall be on a request basis. Requests shall be forwarded to the competent or border authorities of the Parties according to their competence.
2. Requests for cooperation shall be made officially in writing and delivered through any technical means. In urgencies, requests may be delivered orally, to be immediately followed by an official written confirmation.
3. Requests for cooperation shall bear the name of the requesting authority, the subject of the request and justification. Requests for cooperation may be accompanied by other documents pertaining to the subject matter of the request.
4. Where a competent or border authority of one Party is unable to respond to a request, it shall forward the request to another competent or border authority of that Party and inform the requesting authority thereabout.
Article 10
Providing Information on Own Initiative
As part of implementation of this Agreement, the competent and border authorities of the Parties may deliver information on their own initiative.
Chapter II
Special Forms of Cooperation
Article 11
Hot Pursuit
1. Pursuant to Article 41 of the Schengen Convention, officers of one Party who are pursuing in the territory of the State of that Party an individual for an offence coverable by the European Arrest Warrant shall be authorized to continue hot pursuit in the territory of the State of the other Party. The same shall apply where the person being pursued has escaped from provisional custody or while serving a sentence involving deprivation of liberty.
2. The State Police in the Republic of Latvia or the Lithuanian Police (the Police Department under the Ministry of the Interior and local police authorities) in the Republic of Lithuania in the territory of the State whereof the hot pursuit is to be continued shall be notified immediately, no later than when the pursuing officers cross the state border, on the place and time of such crossing and on the weapons and special means as well as particular means of communication carried by the pursuing officers.
3. The State Police in the Republic of Latvia or the Police Department under the Ministry of the Interior in the Republic of Lithuania shall immediately make a decision to authorize or to prohibit the hot pursuit.
4. The hot pursuit may be continued in the territory of the State of the other Party no longer than one hour from the moment of crossing its state border.
5. Upon receipt of the notification of the hot pursuit, the police authorities of the Party in the territory of the State whereof the hot pursuit is continued shall immediately take measures to take over the hot pursuit.
6. The officers continuing the hot pursuit must:
1) be easily identifiable as officials, either by their uniform, by means of an armband or by accessories fitted to their vehicles or other means of identification;
2) carry documents certifying that they are acting in an official capacity and produce them every time at the request of officers of the competent authorities of the Party in the territory of the State whereof the hot pursuit is continued;
3) not use service weapons, except in the case of threat to a person's life;
4) comply with the provisions of this Agreement and with the national legislation of the Party in the territory of the State whereof they are operating and must obey the instructions of the competent authorities of that Party;
5) not enter into private homes and places not accessible to the public nor perform any other actions that are contrary to the provisions of the Schengen Convention.
7. The person being pursued shall be detained by the police officers of the Party in the territory of the State whereof the hot pursuit is continued; if such officers are unable to intervene quickly enough, the officers continuing the hot pursuit may challenge the person pursued, until police officers of the Party in the territory of the State whereof the hot pursuit is taking place are able to detain the person pursued.
8. The hot pursuit shall be ceased immediately at the request of the authorities of the Party in the territory of the State whereof the hot pursuit is continued, which shall be the State Police in the Republic of Latvia and the Police Department under the Ministry of the Interior in the Republic of Lithuania. An oral request to cease the hot pursuit shall immediately be followed by a written confirmation.
9. Once the hot pursuit has been ceased or completed, the officers who continued the hot pursuit shall report, in writing, of all circumstances of the hot pursuit to the relevant police authority in the territory of the State whereof the hot pursuit was continued.
10. The officers referred to in this Article shall be officers of the State Police and the State Border Guard in the Republic of Latvia and of the Lithuanian Police and the State Border Guard Service in the Republic of Lithuania.
Article 12
Surveillance
1. Pursuant to Article 40 of the Schengen Convention, officers of the State Police in the Republic of Latvia or police officers of the Republic of Lithuania who are keeping under surveillance in the territory of their State a person for an offence coverable by the European Arrest Warrant or a person who, when there is a serious reason to believe so, can assist in identifying or tracing the person mentioned first, shall be authorized to continue the surveillance in the territory of the State of the other Party, subject to authorization by a relevant authority of that other Party, which shall be the State Police in the Republic of Latvia and the Police Department under the Ministry of the Interior in the Republic of Lithuania. The authorization to continue surveillance shall be issued in response to a request from the authority mentioned in this paragraph of the requesting Party and may be subject to certain conditions being met.
2. The surveillance shall be authorized only provided that the following conditions are met:
1) the officers continuing the surveillance must comply with the provisions of this Agreement and with the national legislation of the Party in the territory of the State whereof the surveillance is continued and must obey the legitimate orders of the relevant local authorities of that Party;
2) in the situation referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article, the officers continuing the surveillance shall carry a document certifying that authorization referred to in paragraph 1 has been granted;
3) the officers continuing the surveillance shall carry official identification cards and communication means;
4) entry by the officers continuing the surveillance into private homes and places not accessible to the public shall be prohibited;
5) the officers continuing the surveillance may neither detain nor arrest the person under surveillance;
6) the use of service weapons is prohibited, except in the case of threat to a person's life.
3. Where, in particular urgencies, the authorization referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article cannot be requested in advance, officers shall be authorized to continue the surveillance in the territory of the State of the other Party subject to the following conditions:
1) the surveillance is being carried out for any of the offences listed in paragraph 7 of Article 40 of the Schengen Convention;
2) the authorities referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article and border authorities of the Party, in the territory of the State whereof the surveillance is continued, must be notified immediately, already during the surveillance, that the state border has been crossed, indicating the time and place of such crossing;
3) a request referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article must be sent immediately, outlining the grounds for crossing the state border without prior authorization; surveillance shall be ceased as soon as the authorities, of the Party in the territory of the State whereof it is being continued referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article so request or, where authorization has not been obtained, five hours after the state border has been crossed.
4. Having ceased or completed the surveillance, the officers who continued the surveillance shall report all circumstances of the surveillance to a competent authority of the Party in the territory of the State whereof the surveillance was continued.
Article 13
Covert Investigations
1. The competent authorities of one Party shall, at the request of the competent authorities of the other Party, assist officers of the requesting Party to conduct covert investigations in the territory of the State of the requested Party into offences coverable by the European Arrest Warrant. Such investigations may be conducted only provided that an authorization has been obtained from the competent authority of the Party in the territory of the State whereof the investigation is to be conducted. Such authorization may be subject to certain conditions being met. The officers conducting such investigations may operate under covert identity. Disclosure of the true identity of the officer is not required.
2. Actions specified in paragraph 1 of this Article shall be performed by the principles of close coordination by the competent authorities of the participating Parties. Such actions shall be directed by an officer of the Party in the territory of the State whereof the investigation is being conducted and shall consist in separate actions of a limited duration. At the request of the competent authorities of the requested Party, the officers of the requesting Party specified in paragraph 1 of this Article shall be obliged to cease such actions.
3. The authorization to perform actions specified in paragraph 1 of this Article shall be given and the conditions under which they must be performed shall be determined by the Party in the territory of the State whereof such actions are to be performed, in accordance with its national legislation.
4. Where, in particular urgencies, the authorization referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article cannot be requested in advance, officers shall be authorized, in exceptional circumstances, to continue the actions in the territory of the State of the other Party if:
1) there is a risk of disclosure of the identity of the officer specified in paragraph 1 of this Article;
2) such actions are limited to the protection of the covert identity of the officer specified in paragraph 1 of this Article.
5. Actions performed in the territory of the State of the other Party under paragraph 4 of this Article shall be immediately but no later than within twenty-four hours from the crossing of the state border notified to a competent authority of that Party, such notification to be immediately followed by a request outlining the grounds for performing such actions without prior authorization. The provision contained in the third sentence of paragraph 2 of this Article shall apply accordingly.
6. The provisions of paragraphs 1 to 4 of this Article shall apply accordingly, where the request comes from a competent authority of the Party in the territory of the State whereof the actions specified in paragraph 1 of this Article are to be performed.
7. The identity of the officer referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article shall be protected even after the actions have been completed.
Article 14
Controlled Deliveries
1. The competent authorities of one Party may address the competent authorities of the other Party with a request regarding controlled deliveries related to an offence coverable by the European Arrest Warrant. The competent authority of the requested Party may refuse to issue the authorization or may limit controlled deliveries, where these might pose a risk to the persons involved, the public or the environment.
2. To ensure an uninterrupted control of the deliveries, the competent authorities of the requested Party shall take over the control of the deliveries at the state border crossing places or another agreed location. The competent authorities of the requested Party shall ensure the uninterrupted control of the deliveries in such a way that the deliveries may be intercepted and that the organizer of such offences and other persons involved may be detained at any point of time. Where appropriate, the competent authorities of the Parties may agree on joint control to be carried out by officers of the competent authorities of both Parties. In such case, officers of the competent authorities of the requesting Party shall be obliged to comply with the requirements of the national legislation and the instructions of officers of the requested Party.
Chapter III
Joint Actions in Border Regions
Article 15
Border Regions
For the purpose of this Agreement, border regions shall mean territories in which border authorities listed in paragraph 1 of Article 16 operate within their competence.
Article 16
Border Authorities
1. The border authorities are:
- In the Republic of Latvia:
Aizkraukle Regional Police Board;
Bauska Regional Police Board;
Daugavpils Regional Police Board.
Dobele Regional Police Board;
Jēkabpils Regional Police Board;
Jelgava Regional Police Board;
Liepāja Regional Police Board;
Saldus Regional Police Board;
Daugavpils Regional Board of the State Border Guard;
Jelgava Regional Board of the State Border Guard;
Liepāja Regional Board of the State Border Guard;
Sēlija Regional Board of the State Border Guard;
Ventspils Regional Board of the State Border Guard;
- In the Republic of Lithuania:
Klaipėda Chief Police Commissariat;
Panevėžys Chief Police Commissariat;
Šiauliai Chief Police Commissariat;
Telšiai Police Commissariat;
Utena Police Commissariat;
Ignalina Frontier District of the State Border Guard Service under the Ministry of the Interior;
Coast Guard District of the State Border Guard Service under the Ministry of the Interior;
Šiauliai Frontier District of the State Border Guard Service under the Ministry of the Interior.
2. Seeking to ensure efficiency of cooperation under this Agreement, the border authorities shall, where appropriate, keep direct contacts with each other, within their competence.
Article 17
Joint Performance of Official Duties
1. Border authorities of one Party may, within their competence, delegate their officers to perform their official duties jointly with officers of border authorities of the other Party in border regions, in accordance with the national legislation of the Party in the territory of the State whereof such duties are to be performed.
2. Joint performance of official duties shall mean joint patrol and service in joint contact points. The competent authorities of the Parties may agree on other forms of joint performance of official duties.
Article 18
Joint Patrol
1. Border authorities of the Parties may set up, for a limited period of time and for the performance of specific tasks, joint patrol consisting of at least one officer from each Party.
2. Officers on joint patrol shall be subordinate to an officer of the border authority of the Party in the territory of the State whereof they are on patrol.
Article 19
Joint Contact Points
1. To maintain contacts between the competent and border authorities of the Parties, permanent joint contacts points or, where appropriate, joint contact points of a limited duration may be established in border regions.
2. The officers who are on service at joint contact points shall be subordinate to their authority and shall not have the power to direct and carry out operational actions on their own.
3. Each Party shall be responsible for the costs incurred by its officers at joint contact points. The remaining costs shall be distributed proportionally, unless otherwise agreed by the competent authorities of the Parties.
Chapter IV
Other Provisions
Article 20
Legal status of the Officers
For the purpose of investigations into criminal activity committed against or by officers of the competent and border authorities of one Party who are on service in the territory of the State of the other Party, such officers shall, during the performance of the tasks related to the implementation of this Agreement, be treated as if they were officers of the other Party.
Article 21
Rights of the Officers
1. Officers of the competent and border authorities of one Party who are on service in the territory of the State of the other Party shall have the right, during the performance of the tasks related to the implementation of this Agreement, to wear their official uniform or carry visible official marks, use communication means, technical surveillance equipment, official cars as well as other technical equipment. They may also carry an official weapon to be used solely in the case of threat to a person's life, as well as other special means to be used in accordance with the national legislation of the Party in the territory of the State whereof they are on service. The competent authorities of the Parties shall inform each other of the types of authorized official weapons and other special means.
2. During the performance of the tasks covered in Articles 11, 12 and 17 to 19 of this Agreement, officers of the competent and border authorities of one Party who are on service in the territory of the State of the other Party shall be authorized to cross the state border with their official identification cards at any place along the state border.
Article 22
Refusal of Cooperation
Should a competent authority of one Party deem that cooperation under this Agreement might compromise the sovereignty of its State, its security or other essential interests or be contrary to its legislation, it may refuse, in part or in full, to cooperate or make the cooperation conditional on certain requirements.
Article 23
Protection of Classified Information
Parties shall protect the secrecy of information classified by any of the Parties and received under this Agreement in accordance with the national legislation of the Parties and under the Agreement between the Government of the Republic of Latvia and the Government of the Republic of Lithuania on Mutual Protection of Classified Information of 26 May 2000.
Article 24
Protection of Personal Data
1. The competent and border authorities of the Parties shall ensure protection of personal data exchanged between them under this Agreement, in accordance with the Convention for the Protection of Individuals with regard to Automatic Processing of Personal Data (ETS No 108) done at Strasbourg on 28 January 1981, Additional Protocol to the Convention for the Protection of Individuals with regard to Automatic Processing of Personal Data, regarding Supervisory Authorities and Transborder Data Flows (ETS No 181) done at Strasbourg on 8 November 2001, and Recommendation No R (87) 15 of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe regulating the use of personal data in the police sector.
2. Subject to paragraph 1 of this Article, the competent and border authorities of the Parties shall ensure the protection of personal data transmitted under this Agreement, in accordance with the following principles:
1) the receiving authority shall use the personal data transmitted to it solely for the purposes and under the conditions determined by the transmitting authority;
2) at the request of the transmitting authority, the receiving authority shall provide information about the actual use of the personal data transmitted and the results thus achieved;
3) personal data may be transmitted to other than the competent or border authorities of the Parties only with a prior written authorization of the transmitting authority and only for the purposes specified in this Agreement;
4) the transmitting authority shall be responsible for the correctness of the personal data transmitted and shall ensure that they are transmitted only to the extent necessary for the purposes of this Agreement; should the personal data transmitted prove to be incorrect or incomplete or where personal data should not have been transmitted at all, the transmitting authority shall immediately notify of this fact the receiving authority and the latter shall rectify or destroy them;
5) the person whose personal data have been transmitted, at his request and in accordance with the national legislation of the relevant Party, must be given information on the data and their intended use; in the interests of national security and public order, such information may be refused;
6) the transmitting authority shall set a period at the expiry whereof the personal data transmitted shall be destroyed; this notwithstanding, the personal data transmitted shall be destroyed when they are no longer necessary for the purposes for which they have been transmitted; the transmitting authority shall be immediately notified of all instances and reasons of such destruction of personal data;
7) the transmitting and receiving authorities shall keep records of the transmission, receipt and destruction of personal data;
8) the authorities transmitting and receiving personal data shall properly safeguard them from unauthorized access, alteration without authorization of the transmitting authority, accidental or unauthorized destruction, or unauthorized disclosure.
3. The principles laid down in paragraph 2 of this Article shall also apply with respect to personal data received by officers of the competent or border authorities of one Party who take part in the actions specified in this Agreement, in the territory of the State of the other Party.
Article 25
Compensations
1. Neither Party shall claim compensation from the other Party for a loss of or damage to property, where the loss or damage was done in the course of the performance by the officers of the competent or border authorities of the other Party of the tasks related to this Agreement.
2. Neither Party shall claim compensation from the other Party for injury or death of an officer of a competent or border authority, where the injury or death has occurred in the course of the performance of the tasks related to this Agreement. This provision shall apply without prejudice to the right of the officer of a competent or border authority concerned or, in the case of death, of other authorized persons to claim compensation in accordance with the national legislation of the Parties.
3. The provisions of paragraphs 1 and 2 of this Article shall not apply where the damage was intentional or the result of gross negligence.
4. If, in the course of the performance of the tasks related to this Agreement, an officer of a competent or border authority of one Party causes damage to a third person, the damage shall be compensated for by the Party in the territory of the State whereof it was caused, in accordance with the same provisions that would be applicable if the damage had been caused by an officer of a competent or border authority of that Party.
5. The Party whose officer of a competent or border authority caused the damage as referred to in paragraph 4 of this Article shall reimburse the other Party the full amount of the compensation paid to the injured person or to the person entitled to compensation after his death.
6. The provisions of paragraph 5 of this Article shall not apply, where the officer of a competent or border authority, who caused the damage was acting under direct control of an officer of a competent or border authority of the other Party, unless the damage was intentional or the result of gross negligence.
7. The competent and border authorities of the Parties shall cooperate closely with each other seeking to facilitate the settlement of claims for compensations. They shall, inter alia, exchange any available information on the damage covered in this Article.
Chapter V
Final Provisions
Article 26
Communications
1. The Parties shall communicate to each other any changes in the competence and names of the authorities specified in Articles 2, 11, 12 and 16 of this Agreement, through diplomatic channels.
2. Once this Agreement enters into force, the competent authorities of the Parties shall immediately exchange specimen of their official identification cards and their contact information, through diplomatic channels.
Article 27
Costs
The competent and border authorities of the Parties shall be liable for the costs of their own actions related to the implementation of this Agreement. Other procedure for covering the costs may be agreed by the competent or border authorities of the Parties on a case-by-case basis.
Article 28
Languages for Cooperation
In dealing with any issues related to the implementation of this Agreement, the competent and border authorities of the Parties shall use their official languages or any other agreed language.
Article 29
Dispute Settlement
1. Any dispute concerning the interpretation and application of this Agreement shall be settled by way of direct negotiations or consultations between the competent authorities of the Parties according to their competence.
2. Should no agreement be reached by way of negotiations or consultations as referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article, the dispute shall be settled through diplomatic channels without recourse to any third party.
Article 30
Relation with other Agreements
This Agreement shall be without prejudice to any international agreements on legal assistance in criminal matters or rights and obligations of the Parties arising out of international multilateral or bilateral agreements.
Article 31
Amendments and Supplements
This Agreement may be amended and supplemented by mutual agreement of the Parties in the form of separate protocols, which shall become an integral part of this Agreement. The amendments and supplements shall enter into force in accordance with the procedures provided for in Article 32 of this Agreement.
Article 32
Entry into Force
1. This Agreement is made for an unlimited period of time and shall enter into force thirty days after the date of receipt of the last notification whereby the Parties have notified each other of the fulfillment of the internal legal procedures necessary for the entry into force of this Agreement.
2. The provisions of paragraph 1 of this Article shall not apply to Articles 11 and 12 of this Agreement, which shall enter into force on the date of abolition of border controls at the common state border of the Parties.
3. Either Party may terminate this Agreement by a notification. In such case, the termination shall take effect six months after the date of receipt by the other Party of the notification on the termination of this Agreement.
DONE at Vilnius, on June 7, 2006 in two original copies in the Latvian, Lithuanian and English languages, all texts being equally authentic. In case of divergence in interpretation of the texts of this Agreement, the English text shall prevail.
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