Andorra

Functions and missions

The Ministry of Social Affairs, Justice and Home Affairs, in accordance with the general objectives established by the Andorran Government, is the body responsible for the security of the citizens in Andorra. The Andorran Police Corps exercise the functions that the legal system attributes to it throughout the national territory, in order to protect the free exercise of rights and freedoms.

Mandate:

• Protect people’s rights and freedom;
• Ensure public safety;
• Protect persons and property.

Structure and organisation

The organisational structure of the national police consists of the Directorate of the Police, four divisions executing the various missions of the police, and various functional groups.

The Directorate of the Police directs police activities throughout the country. Its members are nominated by the Government based on proposals from the Ministry of Social Affairs, Justice and Interior.

There are four Divisions with the following responsibilities:

• Division I: Citizen Security and Specialized Groups is constituted of uniformed units which guarantee the security and immediate attention to the citizens of Andorra in all security aspects. The Division consists of two units:
  • Citizen Security Unit;
  • Specialized Units, including the Tedax-NRBQ Group (Technician Specialist in Deactivation of Explosive Artifacts), the Mountain Group, the Police Intervention Group, the Public Order Maintenance and Personal Protection Group and the K9-Groups, which specialize on tracking, avalanches and detecting explosives.
• Division II: Road Safety, Border Security and Foreigner Management is constituted of uniformed units, which guarantee road safety throughout the territory, control the Border points and work against illegal immigration. The Division consists of two units:
  • The Road Safety Unit: consists of the Traffic Accident Investigation Group, which is tasked with all judicial proceedings of traffic accidents, and the Motorized Traffic Group that oversees road safety.
  • The Borders and Aliens Unit: consists of the Border Group, whose mission is to supervise border checkpoints both with regard to the control of people and vehicles, as well as illicit merchandise, and the Alien Group which is in charge of the internal controls linked to illegal immigration and related security issues.
• Division III: Judicial Police and Criminal Investigation is a specifically formed unit carrying out investigations with a view of prevention and prosecution of crimes. The Division consists of one unit with two sub-units:
  • The General Criminal investigation Unit (divided into two specialized sub-units):
    • The first is responsible for Crimes against persons, Crimes against Heritage, Crimes against Public Health;
    • The second is responsible for money laundering, technological crimes, as well as specialized sections on drugs, juveniles, domestic violence, general affairs, organized crime and money laundering. It investigates crimes brought to its attention and is also responsible for cases of alpine accidents. 
• Division IV: Administration and Police Support consists of two units:
  • Unit 1 is made up of the Arms and Private Security Group the Police Data Processing Center, the Training Group, as well as Human Resources;
  • Unit 2 is made up of the Legal Services, the IT Group the Maintenance Section, the Sanctions Executions Sections, as well as the Public Relations Section.

Education/Training

The Training Group within the Technical Unit of the Police Corps is in charge of initial basic training, as well as the subsequent management of continuing and specialized training.

The training process of the student agents lasts between six and nine months and is carried out on the premises of the Headquarters of the National Police. The training curriculum includes: criminal and general legislation, professional ethics and police regulations, public order, circulation, intervention techniques, shooting techniques and weapons. Once this initial training has been passed, students are appointed as probationary staff for one year. Once this period is over, they are appointed as police officers.

Oversight

The National Ombudsman is competent to receive and address complaints against the police. The ombudsman is independent of the government. The ombudsman is elected by consensus of all political parties. The Ombudsman’s main function is to defend and oversee the fulfillment and application of constitutional rights and liberties and to ensure the public sector adheres to constitutional principles. An annual report is laid before parliament with recommendations based on the ombudsman’s operations throughout the year.

Any administration of justice issue outside of the ombudsman’s competence is passed to the Higher Council of Justice for investigation. Criminal cases against police officers are undertaken by the Public Prosecutor’s office.

Functions and missions

The Andorra Financial Intelligence Unit (UIFAND) is an independent body whose mission is to promote and coordinate measures to prevent the laundering and financing of terrorism and the financing of proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.

The UIFAND has the following functions: 

1. directs and promotes the activities for the detection, prevention of and fight against the use of the entities of the financial system of the country or those of some other nature for money laundering, terrorist financing or the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. To this effect, the UIFAND may issue technical communiqués, which are made available to the general public through its website, in order to develop this Law and the regulations developing it, which are of compulsory compliance, and the recommendations and guidelines which it deems appropriate. Likewise, the UIFAND provides to parties under obligation with appropriate information about the formalities required to submit a suspicious transaction report in the terms established in this Law. In this regard, the UIFAND shall approve a model report and guidelines about its use.  
2. requests any information or documents from the parties under obligation in the exercise of its functions, and it verifies compliance with this Law and the regulations developing it; 
3. carries out on-site inspections to verify compliance with this Law and the regulations developing it and, in particular, analyses the specific dossiers and files which UIFAND may determine; 
4. requests from and sends to the judicial authorities, the Department of Police, the Customs Service or any other body of the Administration, any information that is essential for the exercise of its functions; 
5. gathers, assembles and analyses the reports of the parties under obligation, and all the written or oral communications received, and it makes an assessment of the facts; 
6. conducts operational analysis which focuses on individual cases and specific targets or on appropriate selected information, depending on the type and volume of the disclosures received and the expected use of the information after dissemination; 
7. conducts strategic analysis addressing money laundering and terrorist financing trends and patterns; 
8. orders the suspension of the transactions which it deems appropriate when it considers that, in the light of the investigations carried out in the exercise of its functions, there are indicia of an act of money laundering or of terrorist financing; 
9. cooperates with other equivalent foreign bodies; 
10. sanctions the minor administrative infringements established by this Law; 
11. sends to the Government the instructed dossiers in which facts appear that may constitute a serious or very serious administrative infringement, accompanied by a proposal of sanction; 
12. sends and receives any information to or from the Andorran National Institute of Finance and other bodies of the Administration, within the framework of a relationship of mutual cooperation, which is essential for the exercise of its functions; 
13. submits to the Public Prosecutor’s Office the cases in which reasonable suspicions of the commission of a criminal infringement appear; 
14. shelves the remaining cases and keeps the dossiers for at least ten years; 
15. submits to the Government legislative or regulatory proposals related to the detection, prevention of and fight against money laundering, terrorist financing and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, and gives advice to the Government in these matters; 
16. prepares and publishes annual reports and statistics to assess the effectiveness of the prevention of and fight against money laundering, the financing of terrorist and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction; 
17. designates the self-regulating body or the professional association of the activity concerned as the body to which the non-financial parties under obligation shall report in first instance; 
18. exercises any other function that may be assigned to it by Law. 

Functions and missions

The Permanent Committee for the Prevention and Fight against Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing (hereinafter, “CPP”) is a technical and advisory body of the Government in charge of coordination the Andorran competent authorities in the field of the detection, prevention and fight against money laundering and terrorist financing.

The CPP has the following functions:

1. participates in the analysis of the situation of money laundering in the Principality of Andorra, providing the available information, both statistical and observable in the performance of its functions;
2. participates in the assessment of the measures and actions carried out in the field of money laundering and terrorist financing;
3. offers advice on legislative changes;
4. attends international meetings;
5. provides advice on the drafting of reports addressed to international bodies;
6. compiling and requesting, from any administration or party under obligation, directly or through their members, all information necessary to reasonably identify persons who meet the criteria to be included on the list set out by the United Nations Security Council from any relevant administration or party under obligation, either directly or through its members, and to identify persons and entities that could reasonably be suspected of or believed to be involved in terrorism, terrorist financing, or of having an affiliation with organisations engaged in these activities;
7. compiling and amending the list of persons associated with the activities described above, and adopting restrictive measures in accordance with the relevant provisions of this Law.

Structure and organisation

The CPP is formed by the following members:

1. the head of the UIFAND, who chairs it, and three members of this unit appointed by their head, belonging each one to the different areas of expertise;
2. the State Public prosecutor;
3. the director of the Police Department and the head of the unit of the Police Department responsible for the investigation of the cases of money laundering and terrorist financing;
4. the Director General of the Tax and Customs Department, or the deputy director to whom he may delegate;
5. a representative of the Andorran National Institute of Finance (INAF) appointed by its Director General;
6. a representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs appointed by the Minister;
7. a representative of companies, associations and foundations registries;
8. occasionally, representatives of other bodies, departments, services, areas, advisers and representatives of professional bodies, Chamber of notaries or other entities which represent parties under obligation under this Law, may be called to deal with concrete items of the agenda.

Functions and missions

The Special Intervention Unit (UEI) is Andorra's main counter-terrorism unit. Although it is the closest in style to an active military force, it is part of the Police Corps and not the army. 

Structure and organisation

The Intervention Unit is part of Division I of the Police Corps of Andorra, and therefore subject to their Directorate. The UEI is organised in different teams and cells, including:

• Intervention Cell - carries out most of the operational missions;
• Technical Studies and Validation of Operating Protocols - This unit prepares the plans for the specific missions of the UEI;
• Formation Cell - is concerned with preparatory works regarding the specific missions;
• Material Cell - provides equipment and systems, which are required from other cells;
• Negotiation Unit - specially trained negotiation personnel for hostage situations;
• Bomb Disposal Unit;
• Sniper Team;

Each of the teams and cells has a responsible person in charge of the training of the members and the monitoring of their capacities.

Education/Training

Members of the Andorran UEI receive education and regular training via their partner units in Spain (Grupo Especial de Operaciones, GEO; Unidad Escpecial de Intervención, UEI), as well as respective agencies in France (Recherche, Assistance, Intervention, Dissuasion, RAID; Groupes d'intervention de la Police nationale, GIPN).

Oversight

As a sub-unit of the Police Corps of Andorra, the UEI is subject to the same internal and external control mechanism than the National Police.