On July 29, 2009, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and Foreign Minister Samuel Zbogar of Slovenia signed the Protocols of Exchange of Instruments of Ratification for 2005 Agreements concerning Extradition and Mutual Legal Assistance between Slovenia and the United States.
In 2003, the United States and the European Union signed agreements modernizing transatlantic law enforcement cooperation in the areas of extradition and mutual legal assistance (e.g., obtaining evidence for judicial proceedings). The United States subsequently signed bilateral instruments with all EU member states, including Slovenia in 2005, to put into effect the changes agreed with the EU itself. In the fall of 2008, the U.S. Senate gave advice and consent to, and the President ratified, the entire set of agreements. Slovenia has completed its domestic approval procedures, so an exchange of instruments of ratification – the final bilateral step in the process – now may take place. Actual entry into force of the agreements with Slovenia, however, can only happen after the umbrella agreements with the EU enter into force, a step expected to occur this fall.
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