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> A Universal Court with Global Support > Cooperation Agreements and Enforcement > Regional and International Organizations

Articles 87(6) and 54(3) (c) and (d) of the Rome Statute contemplate the ability of the Court and the Office of the Prosecutor respectively to enter into arrangements or agreements with intergovernmental organisations for assistance or cooperation, which may be agreed by such organisations in compliance with their mandate. Some examples of this include:

The ICC and the European Union
On 10 April 2006, the European Union signed the International Criminal Court Cooperation and Assistance Agreement. It is similar to the negotiated Relationship Agreement signed with the United Nations. The purpose of this agreement is to, inter-alia, facilitate cooperation, support, assistance, exchange of information, consultations in matters of mutual interest, and deal with issues pertaining to immunities of EU personnel and security of EU operations and activities.

The ICC and the African Union
In May 2005 a draft relationship agreement between the Court and the African Union was finalised. Since then the Court has been pressing for its signature. One of the main purposes of this agreement is to ensure regional participation in and cooperation with ongoing investigations. The importance of this agreement was highlighted in the Second Statement by the Prosecutor to the Security Council on 13 December 2005.

Cooperation between the OTP and Interpol
With a view of defining a cooperation framework, on 22 December 2004, an Agreement was signed between the Office of the Prosecutor and the International Criminal Police Organisation (Interpol). The agreement not only grants the OTP access to the Interpol telecommunications network and database but will also enable both institutions to exchange police information and criminal analysis, and to cooperate in the search for fugitives and suspects.

Inter-Tribunal Cooperation Projects
Structured through a network of Registrars of international jurisdictions, the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY), the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR), the Special Court for Sierra Leone (SCSL) and the ICC have engaged into inter-tribunal cooperation projects with a view of developing a coherent knowledge base and consistent practice within the system of international criminal justice.