· persons wanted for arrest and extradition and since 1 January 2004 also for transfer in the context of the European Arrest Warrant (Article 95 Schengen Convention);
· third-country nationals with refused entry into the Schengen territory (Article 96);
· missing persons (minors and adults) to locate their whereabouts (Article 97);
· witnesses and persons required to appear before the judicial authorities to locate their whereabouts (Article 98);
· persons or vehicles to be put under surveillance or for specific checks (Article 99);
· certain categories of objects (e.g. identity documents; vehicles; firearms; bank notes) stolen, misappropriated or lost (Art. 100).
SIS consists of a national system (N.SIS) in each Schengen Member State and a central system (C.SIS). All national systems are connected on-line with the central system via a secured communication network.
Alerts for persons can be made in SIS in the following cases:
· if the person is wanted for arrest for extradition or surrender (the Schengen Convention, Article 95);
· to be refused a permission to enter through the external Schengen border or with the aim of expelling from the country if the person is at the Schengen territory (Article 96);
· as a part of a search activity in relation to missing persons (Article 97), particularly for minors;
· to establish the whereabouts of the person at the request of a judicial authority (Article 98);
· with the aim of a discreet surveillance or specific checks (Article 99).
Alerts on property to be seized or presented as evidence in criminal proceedings can be created in the SIS in the following categories:motor vehicles, firearms, issued or blank identity documents, travel documents, vehicle registration documents, vehicle number plates, banknotes.
The version of the system currently used is called SIS 1+, as the system has, since its inception in 1995, been developed and extended to accommodate more countries and functionalities. At the last extension of the SIS to the Member States which joined the EU in 2004 and to Switzerland, in 2007 and 2008 respectively, the SISone4ALL application was used as the basis for their N.SIS. The European Commission is currently developing the second generation of the Schengen Information System – the SIS II –with new functionalities and features.
The center of the SIS is located in Strasbourg, France. In SIS the information is stored according to the local legislation of the country that gives information. The system has data on more than 1 million people and they may include: personal name, surname, first letter of second forename, nickname, special features, date of birth, place of birth, sex, nationality, whether the person was armed, whether the person uses violence, the cause of the signal (such signals may be for a missing person, an arrest warrant, refusal of entry into the Schengen zone, etc.), what action (measure) should be undertaken in respect of that person .
