On 6 December 120 years ago, legal cooperation between Serbia and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (UK) was established. In the upcoming period, this cooperation will be of great importance in all aspects, particularly the support to Serbia in accepting the acquis communautaire.
The oldest legal cooperation agreement between the two countries — which is still in force — is the Agreement on Mutual Extradition of Convicted Persons between Serbia and Great Britain, signed on 6 December 1900. The only two other predating bilateral treaties which Serbia has in place are with Switzerland and the Netherlands, both signed at the end of 19th century. The Convention on Surrendering of Offenders between Serbia and Switzerland dates back to November 1887, whereas the Agreement on Surrendering of Offenders between Serbia and the Netherlands dates back to March 1896.
Although these treaties have not been abolished, in modern times legal cooperation in cases of extradition of offenders and convicted persons with each of these countries is being conducted on the basis of the European Convention on Extradition, signed on 13 December 1957 in Paris, and the Additional Protocols to the European Convention on Extradition to which these countries have acceded.