Details of SIPA and MUP Agreements Revealed: Prosecutors to Decide on Joint Investigation Teams

Finalizing the content of the Agreement on Mutual Assistance and Operational Cooperation of Police Agencies in BiH took some time, and pressure for the signing of this agreement came particularly from the smaller BiH entity, and it has finally been signed, writes the Patria News Agency.

The Agreement with SIPA was signed on behalf of their institutions by the Director of the Police of Republika Srpska Gojko Vasić, the Director of the Federal Police Administration Dragan Lukač, the Head of the Brčko District BiH Police Goran Pisić, and the Director of SIPA Perica Stanić, and Patria exclusively brings you the details of the agreement.

Among other things, according to a source from SIPA, this Agreement states that its purpose is to establish more effective forms of assistance and cooperation in combating all forms of crime, joint police training, information exchange, and exchange of police experience.

The Agreement has 17 articles that very precisely define the cooperation between SIPA and the MUPs. And although there are laws that very clearly define the work of the police, the heads of the agencies believe that this agreement will have positive effects on their work.

Interestingly, the Agreement states that each signatory can terminate this Agreement in writing at any time, and upon the entry into force of this Agreement, the Framework Plan for Cooperation between the Criminal Investigation Department of SIPA and the Criminal Police Administration of the MUP of RS was repealed.

This means that there was no Agreement at the institutional level, but only at the level of some departments.

As for the details, the signatories of this agreement are obliged to exchange information, provide assistance in conducting operational and investigative actions, provide assistance in locating suspects, hold periodic meetings to coordinate activities, and enable joint training as agreed by the signatories.

When it comes to information exchange, the signatories of this agreement are obliged to forward collected information related to the preparation or commission of criminal offenses within the jurisdiction of one of the signatories of the Agreement, as well as about any measures and actions taken to prevent the commission or to locate and apprehend the perpetrators, to the competent signatory of the Agreement.

The exchange of information will be carried out with the aim of preventing, detecting, and investigating criminal offenses such as organized crime, terrorism, war crimes, human trafficking, and serious financial crime.

It is specified that the signatory party from which assistance is requested is obliged to act immediately in accordance with its competencies and to inform the signatory party requesting assistance about any inability to provide assistance.

The Agreement also regulates the formation of joint investigation teams, but the consent for this must be given by the acting prosecutor.

A joint investigation team can be formed if one signatory party needs to conduct a complex investigation related to investigations conducted by another signatory party, or if the signatory parties are conducting investigations that require coordinated and harmonized action by the signatory parties.

Also, the signatories of this Agreement, in accordance with the applicable regulations, provide all necessary assistance in locating suspects or convicted persons who evade criminal responsibility, as well as in locating items related to criminal offenses.