History

On 26 May 1999, twelve countries from Southeast Europe signed the Agreement on Cooperation to prevent and combat trans-border crime (SECI agreement). The countries that signed and ratified the SECI agreement were Republic of Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Republic of Bulgaria, Republic of Croatia, Greece, Hungary, The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Republic of Moldova, Romania, Republic of Slovenia, Serbia and Montenegro and Republic of Türkiye.

In response to the needs expressed by the SECI Center Management and other stakeholders consulted and, in furtherance of the findings of the SECI Center Assessment conducted by the European Commission in 2004, a new Draft Convention was produced in 2006.

In July 2009 the text of the Convention was finalized, being approved by the Joint Cooperation Council- the supreme decision making body of SECI Center.  JCC empowered the same Expert Working Group to continue the negotiations in order to finalize the text of the Protocol on Privileges and Immunities that accompanies the SELEC Convention.

On 9^th of December 2009, the Convention of the Southeast European Law Enforcement Center (SELEC) was signed by the representatives of the 13 Member States: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Hellenic Republic, Hungary, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Moldova, Montenegro, Romania, Serbia, Slovenia and Türkiye.

The negotiations on the text of the Protocol on Privileges and Immunities were finalized at the beginning of 2010. The final text was endorsed by the JCC and the member countries high officials signed the document in November 2010. The Protocol followed the same procedure like the SELEC Convention, being ratified by the countries.

SELEC celebrated its 25^th anniversary in 2024

There are many people who have contributed to each line of SELEC’s success story throughout the years. We would like to express our gratitude to each and every person who has been part of our organization from past to present.

The law enforcement agencies of the Member States and Operational Partners (Interpol, Italian Republic, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Slovak Republic, UK National Crime Agency (NCA), His Majesty’s Revenue & Customs of the United Kingdom and United States of America) have strengthened SELEC with their presence and active involvement in operational activities. By virtue of their determination and commitment to fight against transnational organized crime, SELEC has become one of the most significant international law enforcement organizations in Southeast Europe.

We will continue to move forward with the same enthusiasm and determination, and look forward to even greater success in the years ahead!