NARCOTIC DRUGS Suppression

TREATIES AND OTHER INTERNATIONAL ACTS SERIES 98-310NARCOTIC DRUGSSuppressionAgreement betweenthe UNITED STATES OF AMERICAand JAMAICASigned at Kingston May 6, 1997andProtocol Amending the AgreementSigned at Kingston February 6, 2004

NOTE BY THE DEPARTMENT OF STATEPursuant to Public Law 89—497, approved July 8, 1966(80 Stat. 271; 1 U.S.C. 113)—“. . .the Treaties and Other International Acts Series issuedunder the authority of the Secretary of State shall be competentevidence . . . of the treaties, international agreements other thantreaties, and proclamations by the President of such treaties andinternational agreements other than treaties, as the case may be,therein contained, in all the courts of law and equity and of maritimejurisdiction, and in all the tribunals and public offices of theUnited States, and of the several States, without any further proofor authentication thereof.”

JAMAICANarcotic Drugs: SuppressionAgreement signed at Kingston May 6, 1997;Entered into force March 10, 1998.And protocol amending the agreement.Signed at Kingston February 6, 2004;Entered into force February 6, 2004.

AGREEMENT BETWEENTHE GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICAANDTHE GOVERNMENT OF JAMAICACONCERNING COOPERATION IN SUPPRESSINGILLICIT MARITIME DRUG TRAFFICKINGThe Government of the United States of America andGovernment of Jamaica (hereinafter, "the Parties");theBearing in mind the special nature of the problem of illicitmaritime drug traffic;Having regard to the urgent need for international cooperationin suppressing illicit maritime drug traffic, which is recognized inthe 1961 Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs and its 1972 Protocol,in the 1971 Convention on Psychotropic Substances, and in the 1988United Nations Convention Against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugsand Psychotropic Substances (hereinafter, the "1988 Convention"),and in the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea;Recalling the Treaty Between the Government of the UnitedStates of America and the Government of Jamaica on Mutual LegalAssistance in Criminal Matters, which entered into force on July 25,1995;Recalling further that paragraph 9 of Article 17 of the 1988Convention requires the Parties to consider entering into bilateralarrangements to carry out, or to enhance the effectiveness of, theprovisions of Article 17; andDesirin g to promote greater cooperation between the Parties incombatting illicit maritime drug traffic on the basis of mutual respectfor the sovereign equality and territorial integrity of States;Have agreed as follows:Nature and Scope of AgreementArticleObjectiveThe Parties shall, in accordance with this Agreement, cooperatein combatting illicit lIlaritime drug traffic to the fullest extentpossible, consistent with available law enforcement resources andrelated priorities.

- 2 -Article 2DefinitionsIn this Agreement, unless the context otherwise requires:a."Illicit traffic· has the same meaningdefined in the 1988 Convention.as that term isb."Jamaica· has the same meaning as in the JamaicaIndependence Act and includes the Islands known as the MorantCays and the Pedro Cays and other areas under the sovereignty ofJamaica.c."Jamaican waters· means those waters under thesovereignty of Jamaica as described in the Maritime Areas Act, 1996,including the internal waters, archipelagic waters and territorial seaof Jamaica.d. "Jamaican airspace· means the airspace over Jamaica andJamaican waters.c. "United States· means the areas under the sovereignty oflhe United States.f."United States waters· means those waters under thesovereignty of the United States, including the internal waters andterritorial sea of the United States.g."United States airspace· means the airspace overUnited States and United States waters.theh. "Law enforcement vessels· are ships clearly marked andidentifiable as being on government non-commercial service, used forlaw enforcement purposes and authorized to that effect, includingany boat and aircraft embarked on such ships, aboard which lawenforcement officials are embarked.i. "Law enforcement officials· means, for Jamaica, uniformedmembers of the Jamaican Constabulary Force and the JamaicanDefence Force; and for the United States of America, uniformedmembers of the United States Coast Guard.j."Law enforcement authorities· means, for Jamaica, theJamaican Conslabulary Force and the Jamaican Defence Force, andfur the United States of America, the United States Coast Guard.

-3 -Operations Seaward of the Territorial SeaArticle 3S hip boarding1. Whenever the law enforcement officials of one Party (the"first Party") encounter a vessel described in Article 15, flying theflag of, or claiming to be registered in, the other Party, locatedseaward of any nation's territorial sea, and have reasonable groundsto suspect that the vessel is engaged in illicit traffic, the firstParty may request, in accordance with Article 14 of this Agreement,the Party which is the claimed flag State to verify the claim ofregistry and if verified, to authorize the boarding and search of thesuspect vessel, cargo and persons found on board by the lawenforcement officials of the first Party. Any such request shall besupported by the basis on which it is claimed that the reasonablegrounds for suspicion exist.2.Where permission to board and search the vessel isgranted and evidence is found of illicit traffic, the flag State shallbe promptly informed of the results of the search, including thenames and claimed nationality, if any, of the persons on board, andrequested to give directions as to the disposition of the vessel,cargo and persons on board.Such requests shall be answeredexpeditiously.Pending receipt of such instructions, the vessel,cargo and persons on board may be detained.3.Boardings and searches conducted pursuant to thisAgreement shall be carried out by law enforcement officials from lawen forcemen t vessels.4. When conducting a boarding and search, law enforcementofficials shall take due account of the need not to endanger thesafety of life at sea, the security of the suspect vessel and itscargo, or to prejudice the commercial and legal interests of the flagState or any other interested State. Such officials shall also bearin mind lhe need to observe norms of courtesy, respect andconsideration for the persons on board the suspect vessel.5. Where a vessel of one Party is detained seaward of anySlate's territorial sea, that Party shall have the right to exercisejurisdiction over the vessel, its cargo and persons on board, butthat Party may, subject to its Constitution and laws, waive its rightto exercise jurisdiction and authorize the other Party to enforce itslaws against the vessel, its cargo and persons on board. Nothing inthis Agreement shall be construed as a waiver by a Party of itsright to exercise jurisdiction over its nationals.

--I -6. When conducting boardings and searches in accordancewith this Agreement, law enforcement officials shall avoid the use offorce in any way, including the use of firearms, except in thefollowin g cases:a.the exercise of the right of self-defence;b. to compel the suspect vessel to stop when the vesselhas ignored the respective Party's standard Warnings to stop; andc. to maintain order on board the suspect vessel duringthe boarding and search or while the vessel is detained, when thecrew or persons on board resist, impede the boarding and search ortry to destroy evidence of illicit traffic or the vessel, or when thevessel attempts to flee during the boarding and search or while thevessel is detained.7.Law enforcement officials of the Party authorized toconduct the boarding and search may carry standard small arms andshall only discharge them when it is not possible to apply lessextreme measures. In all cases where the discharge of firearms isrequired, it shall be necessary to have the previous authorization ofthe flag State except when warning shots are required as a signalfor a vessel to stop, or in the exercise of the right of self-defence.8. Whenever force is used, including the use of firearms, atall times it shall be the minimum reasonably necessary dndproportional under the circumstances.Article 4Other Boardings Under International LawExcept as expressly provided herein, this Agreement does notapply to or limit boardings of vessels, conducted in accordance withinternational law of the sea by officials of either Party.Maritime Law Enforcement Programme in and over theWaters of a PartyArticle 5ResponsibilityOperations to suppress illicit traffic in the territory, watersand airspace of a Party are the responsibility of, and subject to theauthority of, that Party.Article 6Cooperation in Areas of OperationsI.The Parties shall establish a programme of cooperationbetween their respective law enforcement authorities.Each PartylIlay designate a coordinator to organize its programme activities andto identify the vessels and officials involved in the programme tothe other Party.

- 5 -)A Party (the "first Party·) may ret/uest the other Partyto provide assistance by making available a law enforcement vesselto enable the first Party effectively to patrol and conductsurveillance with a view to the prevention and detection of illicittraffic.3.When responding favorably to a requestparagraph2,the otherPartyshallprovidecommunications channels:pursuant toviasecurea.vessel;the name and description of the law enforcementb.the elate at which, and the period for which, it willc.the name of the Commanding Officer of the vessel;d.any other relevant information.be available;andArticle 7Jamaican Law Enforcement Officials on U.S. Law EnforcementVessels1. The Government of Jamaica may designate law enforcementofficials who, subject to Jamaican law, may for the conduct of lawenforcement operations for prevention, detection and suppression ofillicit traffic by vessels in Jamaican waters, embark on United Stateslaw enforcement vessels. While so embarked and for the aforesaidpurposes, such Jamaican law enforcement officials may:a. enforce the laws of Jamaica in Jamaican waters andseaward therefrom, in the exercise of the right of hot pursuit orotherwise in accordance with international law; andb.authorize the entry of the vessel into and itsnavigation within Jamaican waters.2.All activities, including boardings, searches, seizures,detentions and enforcement of Jamaican law under this Articlerelating to suspect vessels shall be the responsibility of theJamaican law enforcement officials and carried out by them. Suchoperations shall be conducted in accordance with Jamaican law. Inorder to carry out their responsibilities, the Jamaican lawenforcement officials may request the Commanding Officer of the u.s.law enforcement vessel to take navigational measures or allow theJamaican law enforcement officials to use the vessel's systems tocommunicate with the suspect vessel.Jamaican law enforcementufficials may also request or authorize the Commanding Officer of theu.s. law enforcement vessel to use its equipment and availablecapabilities in order to provide information for the detection,identification and location of vessels and aircraft engaged in illicittraffic.