CONTEXT: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Tuesday said that it had taken up, with the Commission for Control of Interpol’s Files (CCF), the serious shortcomings and mistakes committed in reaching the “unfounded and perfunctory” decision to remove the Red Notice against fugitive Mehul Choksi. It has initiated measures to get the Interpol notice restored.
About Commission for Control of Interpol’s
The CCF is an independent body that ensures that all personal data processed through INTERPOL’s channels conforms to the rules of the Organization. It is not under the control of the Interpol Secretariat.
Role of the CCF
The Commission has three functions, as defined in Interpol’s Constitution
A supervisory role – under which it monitors the application of the Organization’s data protection rules to personal data processed by Interpol
An Advisory role – under it advises the Organization with regard to any operations or projects concerning the processing of personal information
A Processing role – It processes requests for access and deletion to files and applications for revision.
Structure
The CCF comprises seven members appointed for a five-year term, renewable once for an additional term of three years.
Members are appointed because of their expertise, and in such a way as to allow the CCF to carry out its mission completely independently. They are generally lawyers with experience and/or expertise in the following fields:
- Data-protection;
- International police matters, in particular international police cooperation;
- International criminal law;
- Human rights;
- Senior judicial or prosecutorial role, preferably in international judicial cooperation.
To perform its functions, the Commission directly consults the INTERPOL General Secretariat, National Central Bureaus and other relevant entities.
What are the main principles in INTERPOL’s rules that are applicable to the CCF?
The main principles set out in INTERPOL’s rules are the following:
- Respect of fundamental human rights.
- Neutrality.
- National sovereignty.
- Respect of data protection principles – primarily lawfulness and fairness, purpose, accuracy, access, proportionality, security, supervision and sanction, and non-discrimination.
About INTERPOL
Interpol stands for International Criminal Police Organization, an inter-governmental organization. It has 194 member countries and helps police in all of them to work together to make the world a safer place.
- In each country, an INTERPOL National Central Bureau (NCB) provides a central point of contact for General Secretariat and other NCBs. An NCB is run by national police officials and usually sits in the government ministry responsible for policing.
- Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is designated as the National Central Bureau of India. INTERPOL Notices are international requests for cooperation or alerts allowing police in member countries to share critical crime-related information.
- Notices are published by the General Secretariat at the request of a National Central Bureau and are made available to all our member countries.
- Headquarters – LYON, FRANCE
Decision Making: General Assembly takes decisions. Each member country represented has one vote. Decision-making process is made by either a simple or two-thirds majority, depending on the subject matter.
Funding :
There are two main sources of income:
- Statutory contributions from our membership: Each of our member countries pays a statutory contribution to INTERPOL each year; it is an obligatory payment. This contribution is based on economic weight.
- Voluntary funding for our activities: Most of the voluntary funding comes from government agencies, notably those responsible for policing, but there were also smaller contributions from international and non- governmental organizations, foundations and private entities.
Global Complex for Innovation
Based in Singapore since 2015, the INTERPOL Global Complex for Innovation is the centre of our activities in cybercrime, research and development, and capacity building. It also provides an Asian base for the Organization in several crime areas.
Interpol Metaverse
Interpol has developed its own virtual reality space to help users train and attend virtual meetings. This new virtual reality space can be only accessed through secure servers. It helps police officers to experience Metaverse, offering them an idea of what crimes could take place and how they could be handled in future.
