SUCCESSION AGREEMENT

The Agreement on Succession Issues of the Former SFRY, signed in Vienna on June 29, 2001, entered into force on June 2, 2004, after being ratified by all successor states.

An integral part of the Agreement is Annex D, which regulates matters related to the succession of archival material.

Annex D

Archives

Article 1

(a) For the purposes of this Annex, the term “State archives of the SFRY” refers to all documents, regardless of their date, type, or current location, which were created in the SFRY or received by the SFRY (or by any previous constituent entity of the Yugoslav state since December 1, 1918) in the course of performing its functions, and which, as of June 30, 1991, belonged to the SFRY in accordance with its internal legislation and the Federal Law on Archival Material, or were held by or under the control of the SFRY for any purpose.

(b) For the purposes of this Annex, the term “Republic or other archival material” refers to archival material belonging to any state in its former capacity as a constituent republic of the SFRY, or to its territorial or administrative units. It includes all documents, regardless of their date, type, or location, which were created or received by any of these republics or territorial and administrative units in the course of performing their functions and which, as of June 30, 1991, belonged to them in accordance with applicable legislation and the archival laws of each republic, or were held by or under their control for any purpose.

(c) The term “documents” referred to in the preceding paragraphs includes films, audio and video recordings, and other forms of recorded material, as well as any computerized records, including documents that constitute cultural heritage.

Article 2

If the archival material of a Republic or other archival material is transferred from the Republic to which it belongs, or if the State archives material of the SFRY is transferred from its actual location, it shall, based on the provisions of this Annex and the international principles of provenance, be restored as soon as possible to its actual location by the state that currently has control over it.

Article 3

Part of the State archives material of the SFRY (administrative, registry, and archival documents), required for the normal administration of the territory of one or more states, shall be handed over, in accordance with the principle of functional pertinence, to the respective states, regardless of where the archival material is currently kept.

Article 4

(a) Part of the State archives material which:

1. directly relates to the territory of one or more states;
2. originated or was brought into the territory of one or more states; or
3. consists of state agreements kept in the SFRY and relates only to matters concerning the territory or institutions based in those territories, shall be handed over to those states, regardless of where that archival material is currently kept.

(b) Pending the division of the State archives material in accordance with this Article:

1. The Republic of Macedonia shall be handed the original of the Agreement on Water Economy Problems between the SFRY and Greece, signed in 1959 (Official Gazette of the SFRY No. 20, June 4, 1960), and the Agreement on Preservation and Restoration of Border Markings on the Yugoslav-Greek Border in order to Protect, Prevent and Resolve Border Incidents (Official Gazette of the SFRY No. 20, February 26, 1959).
2. The original text or certified copies of the 1975 Osimo Agreement and the Osimo Treaty, together with all related agreements, archival material, and preparatory material concerning their negotiations and implementation, shall be made available to Croatia and Slovenia in order to enable them, with full control over that material, to negotiate with Italy concerning the consequences which these treaties have for their countries.

Article 5

If, in accordance with Article 3 or Article 4, the archival material belongs to more than one state, those states shall agree on which of them shall receive the original and shall allow the others to make copies.

Article 6

(a) With regard to the State archives of the SFRY that are not subject to consideration under Articles 3 and 4, the States shall, by an agreement to be reached within six months from the date of entry into force of this Agreement, determine their appropriate distribution among them or their retention as a common heritage of the States, which shall have free and unrestricted access to them. If no such agreement is reached, the archives shall become a common heritage. In both cases, each State may make copies of the relevant archives, and the costs shall be shared in a fair manner.

(b) The agreement referred to in paragraph (a) shall take into account all relevant circumstances, including the effort to respect, as far as possible, the principle of the integrity of the State archives of the SFRY, in order to facilitate their full availability and archival research. Respect for the integrity of archival fonds does not prejudge the question of where a particular archival fonds should be kept. The ministries or departments responsible for archives in each State shall, within 24 months from the entry into force of this Agreement, identify the fonds and exchange lists of the archival fonds to which this principle applies, and shall, within the following three months, agree on a single such list. They shall also, within 24 months from the entry into force of this Agreement, establish and exchange lists of archival material to which Articles 3 and 4 may apply.

Article 7

Pending the implementation of this Agreement, free and unrestricted access shall be provided to representatives of the interested parties to the State archives of the SFRY dated June 30, 1991 or earlier. This provision shall also apply to Republic and other archival material (excluding current archival material) kept in the respective States.

Article 8

Republic and other archival material shall remain the property of the respective State and shall not be subject to the provisions of this Annex, except for Articles 1, 2, and 7.

Article 9

Private archives shall not be subject to the provisions of this Annex. Those removed from their owners after December 1, 1918, shall be returned in accordance with the international principles of provenance, according to the place of origin or the owners, without any compensation or other conditions.

Article 10

Where bilateral state agreements were concluded by the SFRY as of June 30, 1991, and those agreements have not yet been implemented, the States interested in the relevant archival material shall be prepared to assume the rights and obligations previously belonging to the SFRY with regard to the implementation of those agreements.

Article 11

(a) The current holder of original archival material to be transferred in accordance with this Annex may make copies thereof.

(b) The costs of making copies in accordance with Articles 5 and 11 shall be subject to further agreement by the States concerned.

(c) The costs of transporting archival material carried out pursuant to this Article shall be borne by the recipient.

(d) The current holder of archival material to be transported or copied in accordance with this Annex shall contribute to reducing such costs as much as possible.

(e) The State making the archives available for copying shall provide the best available documents for copying and shall grant free and equal access to all States wishing to make copies.

(f) The State possessing original documents that form part of the State archives of the SFRY shall provide any interested user with access to those documents for the purpose of making certified copies required as evidence, if a copy available in another State cannot be used for the user's legitimate purposes.

Article 12

Within three months from the date of entry into force of this Agreement, representatives of the ministries or departments responsible for archives in the respective States shall meet and proceed with the implementation of this Annex as soon as possible.

The Joint Committee established in accordance with Article 4 of this Agreement shall organize such a meeting and carry out an initial general review of the implementation of this Annex.