Council Decision of 22 December 2004 on the putting into effect of parts of the Schengen acquis by the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (2004/926/EC)

POSTBOXING ARRANGEMENTS U.K.

Agreed Arrangements relating to Gibraltar Authorities in the Context of EU and EC Instruments and Related Treaties

1. Taking account of the responsibility of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland as the Member State responsible for Gibraltar, including its external relations, under the terms of Article 299.4 of the Treaty establishing the European Community, when in an instrument or treaty of the type specified in paragraph 5 a provision is included whereby a body, authority or service of one Member State of the European Union may communicate directly with those of another EU Member State or may take decisions with some effect in another EU Member State, such a provision will be implemented, in respect of a body, authority or service of Gibraltar (hereinafter referred to as ‘Gibraltar authorities’, in accordance with the procedure in paragraph 2, and in the cases specified therein, through the authority of the United Kingdom specified in paragraph 3. The obligations of an EU Member State under the relevant instrument or treaty remain those of the United Kingdom. U.K.

2. In order to implement such a provision, formal communications and decisions to be notified which are taken by or addressed to the Gibraltar authorities will be conveyed by the authority specified in paragraph 3 under cover of a note in the form attached for illustrative purposes in Annex 1. The authority specified in paragraph 3 will also ensure an appropriate response to any related enquiries. Where decisions are to be directly enforced by a court or other enforcement authority in another EU Member State without such notification, the documents containing those decisions by the Gibraltar authority will be certified as authentic by the authority specified in paragraph 3. To this effect the Gibraltar authority will make the necessary request to the authority specified in paragraph 3. The certification will take the form of a note based in Annex 1. U.K.

3. The authority of the United Kingdom mentioned in paragraphs 1 and 2 will be The United Kingdom Government/Gibraltar Liaison Unit for EU Affairs of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office based in London or any United Kingdom body based in London which the Government of the United Kingdom may decide to designate. U.K.

4. The designation by the United Kingdom of a Gibraltar authority in application of any instrument or treaty specified in paragraph 5 that includes a provision such as that mentioned in paragraph 1 will also contain a reference to the authority specified in paragraph 3 in the terms of Annex 2. U.K.

5. These arrangements will apply as between EU Member States to: U.K.

a)

Any present or future European Union or Community instrument or any present or future treaty concluded within the framework of the European Union or European Community;

b)

Any present or future treaty related to the European Union or European Community to which all or a number of EU Member States or all or a number of EU and EFTA/EEA states are the only signatories or contracting parties;

c)

The Council of Europe Conventions mentioned in the Convention of 19 June 1990 implementing the Schengen Agreement;

d)

The following treaties related to instruments of the European Union:

• The convention on the Service Abroad of Judicial and Extrajudicial Documents in Civil or Commercial Matters done at the Hague on 15 November 1965.

• The Convention on the Taking of Evidence Abroad in Civil or Commercial Matters done at the Hague on 18 March 1970

• The Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction done at the Hague on 25 October 1980 (when extended to Gibraltar).

e)

Other treaties to which both sides agree that these arrangements should apply. Where there is no such agreement, the two sides will nevertheless seek to avoid and to resolve any problems, which may arise.

In respect of the treaties specified in sub-paragraphs (a) and (b) these arrangements will also apply as between all the contracting parties to those treaties. Paragraphs 1 and 2 of these arrangements will be constructed accordingly.

6. The spirit of these arrangements will be respected to resolve questions that may arise in the application of any provisions of the kind described in paragraph 1, bearing in mind the desire of both sides to avoid problems concerning the designation of Gibraltar authorities. U.K.

7. These arrangements or any activity or measure taken for their implementation or as a result of them do not imply on the side of the Kingdom of Spain or on the side of the United Kingdom any change in their respective positions on the question of Gibraltar or on the limits of that territory. U.K.

8. These arrangements will be notified to the EU institutions and Member States for their information and for the purposes indicated in them. U.K.