on the establishment of the European Criminal Records Information System (ECRIS) in application of Article 11 of Framework Decision 2009/315/JHA
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,
Having regard to the Treaty on European Union, and in particular Articles 31 and 34(2)(c) thereof,
Having regard to the Council Framework Decision 2009/315/JHA of 26 February 2009 on the organisation and content of the exchange of information extracted from the criminal record between Member States (1), and in particular Article 11(4) thereof,
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,
Having regard to the opinion of the European Parliament (2),
Whereas:
(1)
Article 29 of the Treaty on European Union states that the Union's objective is to provide citizens with a high level of safety in the area of freedom, security and justice. This objective presupposes the systematic exchange between the competent authorities of the Member States of information extracted from criminal records in a way that would guarantee its common understanding and the efficiency of such exchange.
(2)
Information on convictions handed down against Member States' nationals by other Member States does not circulate efficiently on the current basis of the European Convention on Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters of 20 April 1959. Therefore, there is a need for more efficient and accessible procedures of exchange of such information at European Union level.
(3)
The need to improve the exchange of information on convictions was prioritised in the European Council Declaration on Combating Terrorism of 25 and 26 March 2004 and was subsequently reiterated in the Hague Programme (3) and in the Action Plan (4) on its implementation. Furthermore, the computerised interconnection of criminal records at European Union level was recognised as a political priority by the European Council in its Conclusions of 21 and 22 June 2007.
(4)
The computerised interconnection of criminal records is part of the E-Justice project, which was acknowledged as a priority by the European Council several times in 2007.
(5)
A pilot project is currently being developed with a view to interconnecting criminal records. Its achievements constitute a valuable basis for further work on computerised exchange of information at the European Union level.
(6)
This Decision aims to implement Framework Decision 2009/315/JHA in order to build and develop a computerised system of exchange of information on convictions between Member States. Such a system should be capable of communicating information on convictions in a form which is easily understandable. Therefore, a standardised format allowing information to be exchanged in a uniform, electronic and easily computer-translatable way as well as any other means of organising and facilitating electronic exchanges of information on convictions between central authorities of Member States should be set up.
(7)
This Decision is based on the principles established by Framework Decision 2009/315/JHA and applies and supplements those principles from a technical standpoint.
(8)
The categories of data to be entered into the system, the purposes for which the data is to be entered, the criteria for its entry, the authorities permitted to access the data, and some specific rules on protection of personal data are defined in the Framework Decision 2009/315/JHA.
(9)
Neither this Decision nor Framework Decision 2009/315/JHA establishes any obligation to exchange information about non-criminal rulings.
(10)
Since the objective of this Decision is not to harmonise national systems of criminal records there is no obligation for a convicting Member State to change its internal system of criminal records as regards the use of information for domestic purposes.
(11)
The European Criminal Records System (ECRIS) is a decentralised information technology system. The criminal records data should be stored solely in databases operated by Member States, and there should be no direct online access to criminal records databases of other Member States. Member States should bear the responsibility for the operation of national criminal records databases and for the efficient exchanges of information between themselves. The common communication infrastructure of ECRIS should be initially the Trans European Services for Telematics between Administrations (S-TESTA) network. All expenditure concerning the common communication infrastructure should be covered by the general budget of the European Union.
(12)
The reference tables of categories of offences and categories of penalties and measures provided for in this Decision should facilitate the automatic translation and should enable the mutual understanding of the information transmitted by using a system of codes. The content of the tables is the result of the analysis of the needs of all 27 Member States. That analysis took into account the pilot project categorisation and the results of the clustering exercise of various national offences and penalties and measures. Moreover, in case of the table of offences, it also took into consideration the existing harmonised common definitions on the European and international level as well as the Eurojust and Europol data models.
(13)
In order to ensure the mutual understanding and transparency of the common categorisation, each Member State should submit the list of national offences and penalties and measures falling in each category referred to in the respective table. Member States may provide a description of offences and penalties and measures and, given the usefulness of such description, they should be encouraged to do so. Such information should be made accessible to Member States.
(14)
The reference tables of categories of offences and categories of penalties and measures provided for in this Decision are not designed to set up legal equivalences between offences and penalties and measures existing at national level. They are a tool aimed at helping the recipient to gain better understanding of the fact(s) and type of penalty(ies) or measure(s) contained in the information transmitted. The accuracy of the codes mentioned cannot be fully guaranteed by the Member State supplying the information and it should not preclude the competent authorities in the receiving Member State from interpreting the information.
(15)
The reference tables of categories of offences and categories of penalties and measures should be revised and updated in accordance with the procedure for the adoption of implementing measures for decisions provided for in the Treaty on European Union.
(16)
Members States and the Commission should inform and consult one another within the Council in accordance with the modalities set out in the Treaty on European Union, with a view to drawing up a non-binding manual for practitioners which should address the procedures governing the exchange of information, in particular modalities of identification of offenders, common understanding of the categories of offences and penalties and measures, and explanation of problematic national offences and penalties and measures, and ensuring the coordination necessary for the development and operation of ECRIS.
(17)
In order to accelerate the development of ECRIS, the Commission should adopt a number of technical measures to assist Member States in preparing the technical infrastructure for interconnecting their criminal records databases. The Commission may provide reference implementation software, namely appropriate software enabling Member States to make this interconnection, which they may choose to apply instead of their own interconnection software implementing a common set of protocols enabling the exchange of information between criminal records databases.
(18)
Council Framework Decision 2008/977/JHA of 27 November 2008 on the protection of personal data processed in the framework of police and judicial cooperation in criminal matters (5) should apply in the context of computerised exchange of information extracted from criminal records of Member States, providing for an adequate level of data protection when information is exchanged between Member States, whilst allowing for Member States to require higher standards of protection to national data processing.
(19)
Since the objective of this Decision, namely the development of a computerised system for the exchange of information on convictions between Member States, cannot be adequately achieved by the Member States unilaterally, and can therefore, by reason of the necessity for coordinated action in the European Union, be better achieved at the level of the European Union, the Council may adopt measures, in accordance with the principle of subsidiarity referred to in Article 2 of the Treaty on European Union and set out in Article 5 of the Treaty establishing the European Community. In accordance with the principle of proportionality, as set out in the Article 5 of the Treaty establishing the European Community, this Decision does not go beyond what is necessary in order to achieve that objective.
(20)
This Decision respects fundamental rights and observes the principles recognised in particular by Article 6 of the Treaty on European Union and reflected by the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union,
This Decision establishes the European Criminal Records Information System (ECRIS).
This Decision also establishes the elements of a standardised format for the electronic exchange of information extracted from criminal records between the Member States, in particular as regards information on the offence giving rise to the conviction and information on the content of the conviction, as well as other general and technical implementation means related to organising and facilitating the exchange of information.
Article 2 -
Definitions
For the purposes of this Decision, the definitions laid down in Framework Decision 2009/315/JHA shall apply.
Article 3 -
European Criminal Records Information System (ECRIS)
1. ECRIS is a decentralised information technology system based on the criminal records databases in each Member State. It is composed of the following elements:
(a)
an interconnection software built in compliance with a common set of protocols enabling the exchange of information between Member States' criminal records databases;
(b)
a common communication infrastructure that provides an encrypted network.
2. This Decision is not aimed at establishing any centralised criminal records database. All criminal records data shall be stored solely in databases operated by the Member States.
3. Central authorities of the Member States referred to in Article 3 of Framework Decision 2009/315/JHA shall not have direct online access to criminal records databases of other Member States. The best available techniques identified together by Member States with the support of the Commission shall be employed to ensure the confidentiality and integrity of criminal records information transmitted to other Member States.
4. The interconnection software and databases storing, sending and receiving information extracted from criminal records shall operate under the responsibility of the Member State concerned.
5. The common communication infrastructure shall be the S-TESTA communications network. Any further developments thereof or any alternative secure network shall ensure that the common communication infrastructure in place continues to meet the conditions set out in paragraph 6.
6. The common communication infrastructure shall be operated under the responsibility of the Commission, and shall fulfil the security requirements and thoroughly respond to the needs of ECRIS.
7. In order to ensure the efficient operation of ECRIS, the Commission shall provide general support and technical assistance, including the collection and drawing up of statistics referred to in Article 6(2)(b)(i) and the reference implementation software.
8. Notwithstanding the possibility of using the European Union financial programmes in accordance with the applicable rules, each Member State shall bear its own costs arising from the implementation, administration, use and maintenance of its criminal records database and the interconnection software referred to in paragraph 1.
The Commission shall bear the costs arising from the implementation, administration, use, maintenance and future developments of the common communication infrastructure of ECRIS, as well as the implementation and future developments of the reference implementation software.
Article 4 -
Format of transmission of information
1. When transmitting information in accordance with Article 4(2) and (3) and Article 7 of Framework Decision 2009/315/JHA relating to the name or legal classification of the offence and to the applicable legal provisions, Member States shall refer to the corresponding code for each of the offences referred to in the transmission, as provided for in the table of offences in Annex A. By way of exception, where the offence does not correspond to any specific sub-category, the ‘open category’ code of the relevant or closest category of offences or, in the absence of the latter, an ‘other offences’ code, shall be used for that particular offence.
Member States may also provide available information relating to the level of completion and the level of participation in the offence and, where applicable, to the existence of total or partial exemption from criminal responsibility or to recidivism.
2. When transmitting information in accordance with Article 4(2) and (3) and Article 7 of Framework Decision 2009/315/JHA relating to the contents of the conviction, notably the sentence as well as any supplementary penalties, security measures and subsequent decisions modifying the enforcement of the sentence, Member States shall refer to the corresponding code for each of the penalties and measures referred to in the transmission, as provided for in the table of penalties and measures in Annex B. By way of exception, where the penalty or measure does not correspond to any specific sub-category, the ‘open category’ code of the relevant or closest category of penalties and measures or, in the absence of the latter, an ‘other penalties and measures’ code, shall be used for that particular penalty or measure.
Member States shall also provide, where applicable, available information relating to the nature and/or conditions of execution of the penalty or measure imposed as provided for in the parameters of Annex B. The parameter ‘non-criminal ruling’ shall be indicated only in cases where information on such a ruling is provided on a voluntary basis by the Member State of nationality of the person concerned, when replying to a request for information on convictions.
Article 5 -
Information on national offences and penalties and measures
1. The following information shall be provided by the Member States to the General Secretariat of the Council, with a view in particular to drawing up the non-binding manual for practitioners referred to in Article 6(2)(a):
(a)
the list of national offences in each of the categories referred to in the table of offences in Annex A. The list shall include the name or legal classification of the offence and reference to the applicable legal provisions. It may also include a short description of the constitutive elements of the offence;
(b)
the list of types of sentences, possible supplementary penalties and security measures and possible subsequent decisions modifying the enforcement of the sentence as defined in national law, in each of the categories referred to in the table of penalties and measures in Annex B. It may also include a short description of the specific penalty or measure.
2. The lists and descriptions referred to in paragraph 1 shall be regularly updated by Member States. Updated information shall be sent to the General Secretariat of the Council.
3. The General Secretariat of the Council shall communicate to the Member States and to the Commission the information received pursuant to this Article.
Article 6 -
Implementing measures
1. The Council, acting by a qualified majority and after consulting the European Parliament, shall adopt any modifications of Annexes A and B as may be necessary.
2. The representatives of the relevant departments of the administrations of the Member States and the Commission shall inform and consult one another within the Council with a view to:
(a)
drawing up a non-binding manual for practitioners setting out the procedure for the exchange of information through ECRIS, addressing in particular the modalities of identification of offenders, as well as recording the common understanding of the categories of offences and penalties and measures listed respectively in Annexes A and B;
(b)
coordinating their action for the development and operation of ECRIS, concerning in particular:
(i)
the establishment of logging systems and procedures making it possible to monitor the functioning of ECRIS and the establishment of non-personal statistics relating to the exchange through ECRIS of information extracted from criminal records;
(ii)
the adoption of technical specifications of the exchange, including security requirements, in particular the common set of protocols;
(iii)
the establishment of procedures verifying the conformity of the national software applications with the technical specifications.
Article 7 -
Report
The Commission services shall regularly publish a report concerning the exchange, through ECRIS, of information extracted from the criminal record based in particular on the statistics referred to in Article 6(2)(b)(i). This report shall be published for the first time one year after submitting the report referred to in Article 13(3) of Framework Decision 2009/315/JHA.
Article 8 -
Implementation and time limits
1. Member States shall take the necessary measures to comply with the provisions of this Decision by 7 April 2012.
2. Member States shall use the format specified in Article 4 and comply with the means of organising and facilitating exchanges of information laid down in this Decision from the date notified in accordance with Article 11(6) of Framework Decision 2009/315/JHA.
Article 9 -
Taking of effect
This Decision shall take effect on the day of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.
