IMPLEMENTING PROTOCOL

BETWEEN THE GOVERNMENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF ARMENIA AND THE GOVERNMENT OF THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF GERMANY TO THE AGREEMENT OF 19 APRIL 2013 BETWEEN THE EUROPEAN UNION AND THE REPUBLIC OF ARMENIA ON THE READMISSION OF PERSONS RESIDING WITHOUT AUTHORISATION

The Government of the Republic of Armenia and the Government of the Federal Republic of Germany, hereinafter referred to as the “Contracting Parties”,

striving, pursuant to Article 20 of the Agreement of 19 April 2013 between the European Union and the Republic of Armenia on the readmission of persons residing without authorisation, hereinafter referred to as the “Agreement”, to ensure the necessary conditions for the effective implementation of the Agreement,

have agreed as follows:

Article 1

Competent authorities

(1) The competent authorities of the Contracting Parties (hereinafter referred to as the “competent authorities”) entrusted with implementing the Agreement and this Implementing Protocol are:

1. for the Government of the Republic of Armenia:

the Migration Service of the Ministry of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure of the Republic of Armenia.

2. for the Government of the Federal Republic of Germany:

a) the Federal Ministry of the Interior, Building and Community,

b) the Federal Foreign Office,

c) the Federal Police Headquarters and

d) the foreigners authorities of the Lander of the Federal Republic of Germany.

(2) The Contracting Parties shall immediately inform each other through diplomatic channels of any changes to the list of their competent authorities.

(3) For the purpose of carrying out this Implementing Protocol, the competent authorities referred to in paragraph 1 shall notify each other of their contact information in writing within 30 calendar days of the entry into force of this Implementing Protocol.

(4) The competent authorities shall immediately inform each other in writing of any changes to their contact information.

(5) The competent authorities responsible for submitting and examining readmission and transit applications shall work directly with each other.

Article 2

Submitting and replying to readmission applications

(1) A readmission application completed using the form provided in Annex 5 of the Agreement shall, in accordance with Article 8 (4) of the Agreement, be submitted by the competent authority of the requesting Contracting Party via fax, the electronic Readmission Case Management system or e-mail within the time limit set in Article 11 (1) of the Agreement to the competent authority of the requested Contracting Party. The relevant transmission report shall suffice as confirmation of receipt of the readmission application and of the date on which the time limit begins to run.

(2) The competent authority of the requested Contracting Party shall reply to the readmission application by fax, the electronic Readmission Case Management system or e-mail to the competent authority of the requesting Contracting Party within the time limit specified in Article 11 (2) of the Agreement.

Article 3

Additional documents

(1) If the competent authority of the requesting Contracting Party believes that documents or pieces of evidence other than those listed in Annexes 1 to 4 of the Agreement are significant for determining the nationality of the person to be readmitted or for confirming reasons for the readmission of third-country nationals or stateless persons, such documents or pieces of evidence may be submitted to the competent authority of the requested Contracting Party together with the readmission application.

(2) It shall be up to the competent authority of the requested Contracting Party to decide, when examining the readmission application, whether to consider the documents referred to in paragraph 1. If these documents are not considered, the competent authority of the requested Contracting Party shall inform the competent authority of the requesting Contracting Party of the reasons for this decision.

(3) The Contracting Parties shall deem the nationality of the requested Contracting Party to be established if the examination of the document referred to in paragraph 1 and considered by the competent authority of the requested Contracting Party in accordance with paragraph 2 shows that the person is registered as a national of the state of the requested Contracting Party and the requested Contracting Party cannot prove anything to the contrary.

Article 4

Procedure for interviews to establish nationality

Pursuant to Article 9 (3) of the Agreement, the Contracting Parties agree on the following procedure for conducting interviews to establish the nationality of own nationals:

1. If the competent authority of the requesting Contracting Party cannot produce any of the documents listed in Annexes 1 and 2 of the Agreement, staff of the competent diplomatic or consular representation of the state of the requested Contracting Party shall be obligated, at the request of the competent authority, to conduct an interview of the person to be readmitted in order to establish whether he or she is a national of the requested Contracting Party. A representative of the competent authority of the requesting Contracting Party may take part in the interview to establish nationality.

2. A request for an interview to establish nationality shall be submitted via fax or e-mail to the diplomatic or consular representation of the state of the requested Contracting Party. The interview shall be conducted without delay and within five working days of receiving the request.

3. The competent diplomatic or consular representation of the state of the requested Contracting Party shall, as a rule, conduct the interview pursuant to Article 9 (3) of the Agreement on its premises. The interview may be conducted elsewhere by mutual agreement between the competent authorities.

4. The request for an interview to establish nationality shall include the necessary personal data of the person to be readmitted. The authority providing the information shall take the state-of-the-art technical and organizational measures necessary to ensure the availability, integrity, authenticity and confidentiality of the data to be submitted.

5. The competent diplomatic or consular representation of the state of the requested Contracting Party shall report the result of the interview to the competent authority of the requesting Contracting Party without delay and within three working days of the interview. If the interview cannot confirm that the person to be readmitted is a national of the state of the requested Contracting Party, the requested Contracting Party shall declare its willingness to send an expert delegation, at the request of the requesting Contracting Party, to conduct a further interview within three months.

6. If an interview as referred to in Article 9 (3) of the Agreement and in Article 4 of this Implementing Protocol confirms that the person to be readmitted is a national of the state of the requested Contracting Party, the Contracting Parties shall recognize this result as prima facie evidence of nationality, and the diplomatic or consular representation of the state of the requested Contracting Party shall, in accordance with Article 3 (4) of the Agreement, issue the travel document for this person within ten working days of a request to do so.

Article 5

Submitting and replying to transit applications

(1) When conducting transit operations, the Contracting Parties shall respect the principles listed in Article 14 of the Agreement. A transit application completed using the form provided in Annex 6 of the Agreement shall, in accordance with Article 15 of the Agreement, be submitted by the competent authority of the requesting Contracting Party via fax or e-mail without delay and no later than 14 calendar days before the planned transit operation, or, in case of transit operations by air, no later than three working days before the planned transit operation to the competent authority of the requested Contracting Party. In urgent cases and by mutual agreement, the transit application may under special circumstances be submitted later than the time limits given.

(2) The transit application shall contain the following information in addition to the information listed in Article 15 (1) of the Agreement:

1. information concerning special requirements for surveillance or care, and

2. information on any security or protective measures that might be necessary.

This information shall be entered under C of the form in Annex 6 of the Agreement.

(3) The competent authority of the requested Contracting Party shall reply to the transit application by fax or e-mail to the competent authority of the requesting Contracting Party within the time limit specified in Article 15 (2) of the Agreement. In case of transit operations by air, the reply shall be sent immediately.

(4) In accordance with Article 15 (4) of the Agreement, when replying to a transit application for third-country nationals or stateless persons, the competent authority of the requested Contracting Party shall inform the competent authority of the requesting Contracting Party whether these persons will require an escort.

(5) In case of transit operations by air, the competent authority of the requested Contracting Party shall provide the requesting Contracting Party with the necessary support.

Article 6

Readmission and transit

(1) As u rule the Contracting Parties shall conduct readmission and transit operations by air.

(2) In doing so, the Contracting Parties shall use the border-crossing points at their international airports.

(3) The competent authorities of the Contracting Parties may, in individual cases, agree to use other border-crossing points for readmission or transit.

(4) The date, time, border-crossing point and type of transfer of the person to be readmitted and the readmission modalities shall be agreed on a case-by-case basis between the competent authorities of the Contracting Parties by fax or electronic means at least three days before the planned date of transfer.

(5) After receiving a positive reply in writing from the competent authority of the requested Contracting Party to an application for readmission of a third-country national or stateless person who does not have the necessary documents which would allow him or her to enter the territory of the state of the requested Contracting Party, the competent authority of the requesting Contracting Party shall issue a travel document recognized by the competent authority of the requested Contracting Party (Annexes 7 and 8 of the Agreement).

(6) Two copies of a written transfer protocol for an escorted transit operation shall be prepared in the English language, one for each competent authority. A sample protocol shall be provided in the annex as an integral part of this Implementing Protocol.

Article 7

Data protection

Personal data shall be communicated and processed during readmission and transit by the competent authorities of the Contracting Parties in compliance with the provisions of Article 17 of the Agreement. The participating bodies shall exchange encryption certificates before communicating personal data via e-mail. All communication via e-mail shall be in encrypted form.

Article 8

Escorts

(1) If the need for escorted transit arises, the competent authority of the requesting Contracting Party shall enter the number of escorts deployed under F of the readmission application and under C of the transit application, completed according to Annexes 5 and 6 of the Agreement.

(2) If the number of escorts deployed as referred to in paragraph (1) of this Article changes, the competent authority of the requesting Contracting Party shall immediately inform the competent authority of the requested Contracting Party in writing of the changes, by fax or electronic means.

(3) During their stay in the territory of the state of the requested Contracting Party, escorting officers shall be obligated to abide by the law of that state.

(4) Escorting officers shall be required to appear in civilian clothes and carry valid passports as well as documents confirming the agreement on readmission or transit and the authorization to escort.

(5) Escorting officers shall not carry any weapons. Each Contracting Party shall inform the other in writing within 30 days of the entry into force of this Implementing Protocol which means shall be allowed to restrain a person under escort, and shall assure that escorting officers may carry these means with them.

(6) The competent authorities of the Contracting Parties shall cooperate on all matters relating to the stay of escorting officers within the territory of the state of the requested Contracting Party. If necessary, the competent authorities of the requested Contracting Party shall assist the escorts; in particular, they shall take measures pursuant to Article 15 (4) of the Agreement to prevent the person to be readmitted or in transit from leaving the airport transit zone and entering an aircraft without supervision, and they shall assist the escorts of the requesting Contracting Party with the transit operation as far as possible.

(7) Escorting officers shall be responsible for handing over to the representatives of the competent authorities of the state of final destination the documents and other information on the person to be readmitted or in transit.

Article 9

Costs

(1) In accordance with Article 16 of the Agreement, all costs incurred by the requested Contracting Party associated with readmission or transit as far as the border of the state of final destination shall be borne by the requesting Contracting Party and reimbursed within 60 working days of receiving proof of expenditure in euros. The receipt of proof of expenditure from the requested Contracting Party shall be confirmed in writing by the requesting Contracting Party.

(2) In case of an interview conducted by an expert delegation, the requesting Contracting Party shall pay for the delegation’s airfare, hotel accommodation and transfer between the airport and the interview site.

(3) The amount to be reimbursed shall be determined by the law of the requested Contracting Party and shall be based on the proof of actual expenditure.

(4) The Contracting Parties shall notify each other via diplomatic channels of their relevant banking details.

Article 10

Dispute resolution

(1) If there are doubts concerning readmission or transit applications submitted, the competent authorities of the Contracting Parties may conduct consultations using electronic means of communication; these consultations shall not suspend the time limits provided for in the Agreement.

(2) All disputes arising from the interpretation or implementation of the Agreement and this Implementing Protocol shall be resolved through consultations between the competent authorities of the Contracting Parties. If such disputes cannot be resolved directly, they shall be referred to the Joint Readmission Committee.

Article 11

Language

The Contracting Parties shall communicate with one another in the English language.

Article 12

Entry into force, duration, termination and amendment

(1) This Implementing Protocol shall be concluded for an indefinite period of time.

(2) The Contracting Parties shall notify one another through diplomatic channels as soon as they meet the requirements at the national level for this Implementing Protocol to take effect. The Contracting Party which is notified last pursuant to the first sentence shall notify the Joint Readmission Committee of this Implementing Protocol pursuant to Article 20 (2) of the Agreement and shall inform the other Contracting Party at the same time that this notification has been sent.

(3) This Implementing Protocol shall enter into force on the first day of the second month following notification to the Joint Readmission Committee.

(4) This Implementing Protocol may be amended by mutual written consent of the Contracting Parties. Amendments shall form an integral part of this Implementing Protocol and enter into force pursuant to paragraph (3).

(5) Each Contracting Party may terminate this Implementing Protocol at any time by notifying the other Contracting Party via diplomatic channels. This Implementing Protocol shall cease to apply three months after the receipt of such notification. The receipt of the notification shall be confirmed in writing.

(6) Should the Agreement cease to apply, this Implementing Protocol shall also cease to apply.

Done at Berlin, on September 10, 2019, in duplicate in the Armenian, German and English languages, all three texts being authentic. In case of divergent interpretations of the Armenian and German texts, the English text shall prevail.

Annex

Transfer Protocol

This Protocol was drawn up in duplicate in the English language.