(2004/579/CE)Decisión del Consejo, de 29 de abril de 2004, relativa a la celebración, en nombre de la Comunidad Europea, de la Convención de las Naciones Unidas contra la Delincuencia Organizada Transnacional
| Section | Decision |
| Issuing Organization | Consejo de la Unión Europea |
DECISIÓN DEL CONSEJO
de 29 de abril de 2004
relativa a la celebración, en nombre de la Comunidad Europea, de la Convención de las Naciones Unidas contra la Delincuencia Organizada Transnacional
(2004/579/CE)
EL CONSEJO DE LA UNIÓN EUROPEA, Visto el Tratado constitutivo de la Comunidad Europea, y en particular sus artículos 47, 55, 95 y 179, en relación con la primera frase del apartado 2 y el párrafo primero del apartado 3 de su artículo 300, Vista la propuesta de la Comisión, Visto el dictamen del Parlamento Europeo (1), Considerando lo siguiente:
(1) Tras haber sido autorizada por el Consejo, la Comisión ha negociado, en nombre de la Comunidad, los elementos de la Convención que son de competencia comunitaria.
(2) El Consejo ha dado instrucciones a la Comisión para que negocie la adhesión de la Comunidad a dicha Convención.
(3) Las negociaciones concluyeron con éxito y el instrumento resultante fue firmado por la Comunidad el 12 de diciembre de 2000 de conformidad con la Decisión 2001/87/CE (2).
(4) Algunos Estados miembros son Partes en la Convención mientras que el proceso de ratificación está en curso en otros.
(5) Se han cumplido las condiciones para que la Comunidad deposite el instrumento de aprobación conforme al apartado 3 del artículo 36 de la Convención.
(6) La Convención debe ser aprobada para que la Comunidad pueda llegar a ser Parte en la misma dentro de los límites de su competencia.
(7) Al depositar el instrumento de aprobación, la Comunidad debe depositar también una declaración sobre el alcance de la competencia de la Comunidad con respecto a las cuestiones regidas por la Convención, en virtud de lo dispuesto en el apartado 3de su artículo 36.
DECIDE:
Queda aprobada, en nombre de la Comunidad, la Convención de las Naciones Unidas contra la Delincuencia Organizada Transnacional.
El texto de la Convención figura en el anexo I (*).
Se autoriza al Presidente del Consejo para que designe a la persona facultada para depositar el instrumento de confirmación formal de la Comunidad con el fin de vincular a la Comunidad. El instrumento de confirmación formal de la Comunidad comprenderá ladeclaración de competencia que consta en el anexo II, de conformidad con el apartado 3 del artículo 36 de la Convención. Incluirá asimismo la declaración que figura en el anexo III.
La presente Decisión se publicará en el Diario Oficial de la Unión Europea.
Hecho en Luxemburgo, el 29 de abril de 2004.
Por el Consejo
El Presidente
M. McDOWELL
(1) Dictamen emitido el 13 de enero de 2004 (aún no publicado en el Diario Oficial).
(2) DO L 30 de 1.2.2001, p. 44. (*) El texto de la Convención sólo existe en español, francés e inglés.
UNITED NATIONS CONVENTION AGAINST TRANSNATIONAL ORGANISED CRIME
Statement of purpose
The purpose of thisConvention is to promote cooperation to prevent and combat transnational organised crime more effectively.
Use of terms
For the purposes of this Convention:
(a) 'organised criminal group' shall mean a structured group of three or more persons, existing for a period of time and acting in concert with the aim of committing one or more serious crimes or offences established in accordance with this Convention, in order to obtain, directly or indirectly, a financial or other material benefit;
(b) 'serious crime' shall mean conduct constituting an offence punishable by a maximum deprivation of liberty of at least four years or a more serious penalty;
(c) 'structured group' shall mean a group that is not randomly formed for the immediate commission of an offence and that does not need to have formally defined roles for its members, continuity of its membership or a developed structure;
(d) 'property' shall mean assets of every kind, whether corporeal or incorporeal, movable or immovable, tangible or intangible, and legal documents or instruments evidencing title to, or interest in, such assets;
(e) 'proceeds of crime' shall mean any property derived from or obtained, directly or indirectly, through the commission of an offence;
(f) 'freezing' or 'seizure' shall mean temporarily prohibiting the transfer, conversion, disposition or movement of property or temporarily assuming custody or control of property on the basis of an order issued by a court or other competent authority;
(g) 'confiscation', which includes forfeiture where applicable, shall mean the permanent deprivation of property by order of a court or other competent authority;
(h) 'predicate offence' shall mean any offence as a result of which proceeds have been generated that may become the subject of an offence as defined in article 6 of this Convention;
(i) 'controlled delivery' shall mean the technique of allowing illicit or suspect consignments to pass out of, through orinto the territory of one or more States, with the knowledge and under the supervision of their competent authorities, with a view to the investigation of an offence and the identification of persons involved in the commission of the offence;
(j) 'regional economic integration organisation' shall mean an organisation constituted by sovereign States of a given region, to which its member States have transferred competence in respect of matters governed by this Convention and which has been duly authorised, in accordance with its internal procedures, to sign, ratify, accept, approve or accede to it; references to 'States Parties' under this Convention shall apply to such organisations within the limits of their competence.
Scope of application.
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This Convention shall apply, except as otherwise stated herein, to the prevention, investigation and prosecution of:
(a) the offences established in accordance with Articles 5, 6, 8 and 23 of this Convention; and
(b) serious crime as defined in article 2 of this Convention;
where the offence is transnational in nature and involves an organised criminal group.
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For the purpose of paragraph 1 of this Article, an offence is transnational in nature if:(a) it is committed in more than one State;
(b) it is committed in one State but a substantial part of its preparation, planning, direction or control takes place in another State;
(c) it is committed in one State but involves an organised criminal group that engages in criminal activities in more than one State; or
(d) it is committed in one State but has substantial effects in another State.
Protection of sovereignty
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States Parties shall carry out their obligations under this Convention in a manner consistent with the principles of sovereign equality and territorial integrity of States and that of nonintervention in the domestic affairs of other States.
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Nothing in this Convention entitles a State Party to undertake in the territory of another State the exercise of jurisdiction and performance of functions that are reserved exclusively for the authorities of that other State by its domestic law.
Criminalisation of participation in an organised criminal group
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Each State Party shall adopt such legislative and other measures as may be necessary to establish as criminal offences, when committed intentionally:
(a) either or both of the following as criminaloffences distinct from those involving the attempt or completion of the criminal activity:
(i) agreeing with one or more other persons to commit a serious crime for a purpose relating directly or indirectly to the obtaining of a financial or othermaterial benefit and, where required by domestic law, involving an act undertaken by one of the participants in furtherance of the agreement or involving an organised criminal group;
(ii) conduct by a person who, with knowledge of either the aim and general criminal activity of an organised criminal group or its intention to commit the crimes in question, takes an active part in:
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criminal activities of the organised criminal group;
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other activities of the organised criminal group inthe knowledge that his or her participation will contribute to the achievement of the abovedescribed criminal aim;
(b) organising, directing, aiding, abetting, facilitating or counselling the commission of serious crime involving an organised criminal group.
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The knowledge, intent, aim, purpose or agreement referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article may be inferred from objective factual circumstances.
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States Parties whose domestic law requires involvement of an organised criminal group for purposes of the offences established in accordance with paragraph 1(a)(i) of this article shall ensure that their domestic law covers all serious crimes involving organised criminal groups. Such States Parties, as well as States Parties whose domestic law requires an act in furtherance of the agreement for purposes of the offences established in accordance with paragraph 1(a) (i) of this article, shall so inform the Secretary-General of the United Nations at the time of their signature or of deposit of their instrument of ratification, acceptance or approval of or accession to this Convention.
Criminalisation of the laundering of proceeds of crime
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Each State Party shall adopt, in accordance with fundamental principles of its domestic law, such legislative and other measures as may be necessary to establish as criminal offences, when committed intentionally:
(a) (i) the conversion or transfer of property, knowing that such property is the proceeds of crime, for the purpose of concealing or disguising the illicit origin of the property or of helping any person who is involved in the commission of the predicate offence to evade the legal consequences of his or her action;
(ii) the concealment or disguise of the true nature, source, location, disposition, movement or ownership of or rights with respect to property, knowing that such property is the proceeds...
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