Chapter II. Treaty provisions concerning the legal status of the United Nations and related intergovernmental organizations

TREATY PROVISIONS CONCERNING THE LEGAL STATUS OF THE UNITED NATIONS AND RELATED INTERGOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS

1. Treaty provisions concerning the legal status of the United Nations

   1. CONVENTION ON THE PRIVILEGES AND IMMUNITIES OF THE

      UNITED NATIONS.1 APPROVED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE UNITED NATIONS ON 13 FEBRUARY 1946

      The following State acceded to the Convention in 1984:2

      Daw ol receipt at

      Slaw nninnnail of accession

      Uruguay 16 February 1984

      This brought to 120 the number of States parties to the Convention;3

   2. AGREEMENTS RELATING TO INSTALLATIONS AND MEETINGS

      (a) Agreement between the United Nations and Mali for the implementation of the government personnel management component of the project to provide assistance for training and the strengthening of economic management funded by the International Development Association (Credit 1307-MLI).4 Signed at Bamako on 30 December 1983.5

      Article 6

      The Government shall settle any claims which third parties may make against DTCD, its personnel or other persons providing services on its behalf, and shall exonerate them from claims arising from operations carried out in pursuance of this Agreement, except in cases where DTCD and the Government have agreed to acknowledge that such claims or complaints result from serious negligence or intentional misconduct of such persons.

      Article 7

      In all matters related to the assistance provided under this Agreement, the Government shall apply to DTCD, its property, its staff and any personnel designated by it to provide a service under the terms of this Agreement, the provisions of the Convention on the Privileges and Immunities of the United Nations.

      (b) Agreement between the United Nations University and Finland regarding the World Institute for Development Economics Research.6 Signed at Tokyo on 4 February 1984

      Article II

      LEGAL STATUS

      The Institute shall have the legal status necessary for the realization of its purposes and activities. It shall, in particular, have the capacity to enter into agreements, contracts and arrangements, to acquire and dispose of immovable and movable property, and institute legal proceedings.

      Article V

      PREMISES

   3. (a) The premises of the Institute shall be inviolable. No officer or official of Finland or other person exercising any public authority within Finland shall enter the premises of the Institute to perform any official duties therein except with the express consent of, and under conditions approved by the Director, or at his request. The service of legal process, including the seizure of private property, shall not take place within the premises except with the express consent of, and under conditions approved by, the Director.

      (b) The Institute shall not permit its premises to become a refuge from justice for persons who are avoiding arrest or service of legal process or against whom an order of extradition or deportation has been issued by the appropriate authorities.

      (c) Nothing in this Agreement shall prevent the reasonable application by the appropriate authorities of measures for the protection of the premises against fire or other emergency requiring prompt protective action.

      Article VII

      COMMUNICATIONS AND PUBLICATIONS

   1. (a) All official communications directed to the Institute, or to any of its personnel, and all outward official communications of the Institute, by whatever means or in whatever form transmitted, shall be immune from censorship and from any other form of interception or interference with their privacy. However, the Institute may install and use a wireless transmitter only with the consent of the appropriate authorities.

      (b) The Institute shall have the right to use codes and to dispatch and receive official correspondence and other official communications by courier or in sealed bags, which shall have the same privileges and immunities as diplomatic couriers and bags.

   2. (a) The Government recognizes the right of the Institute freely to publish within Finland, in the fulfilment of its purposes.

      (b) It is, however, understood that the Institute shall respect the laws and regulations of Finland and the international conventions to which Finland is a party, relating to intellectual property.

      Article VIII

      FREEDOM FROM TAXATION

   1. The Institute, its assets, income and other property shall be:

      (a) exempt from all direct taxes; it is understood, however, that the Institute will not claim exemption from taxes which are, in fact, no more than charges for public utility services;

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      (b) exempt from customs duties and prohibitions and restrictions on imports and exports in respect of articles imported or exported by the Institute for its official use. It is understood, however, that articles imported under such exemption will not be sold in Finland except under conditions agreed with the Government;

      (c) exempt from customs duties and prohibitions and restrictions on imports and exports in respect of its publications.

   2. While the Institute will not, as a general rule, claim exemption from excise duties and from taxes on the sale of movable and immovable property which form part of the price to be paid, nevertheless when the Institute is making important purchases for official use of property on which such duties and taxes have been charged or are chargeable, the Government will, whenever possible, make appropriate administrative arrangements for the remission or return of the amount of duty or tax.

      Article X

      SOCIAL SECURITY

   1. The Institute shall be exempt from all compulsory contributions to, and the personnel of the Institute shall not be required by the Government to participate in, any social security scheme of Finland.

      Article XIII

      MEMBERS OF THE BOARD, PERSONNEL AND EXPERTS

   1. Members of the Board at meetings convened by the Institute shall, while exercising their functions and during their journeys to and from the place of meeting, enjoy such privileges and immunities as are provided for mutatis mutandis by article IV of the Convention, with respect to representatives of members, subject to the terms specified in that article.

   2. (a) All personnel of the Institute, irrespective of nationality, shall be accorded the following privileges and immunities in Finland:

      i) immunity from legal process in respect of words spoken or written and all acts performed by them in their official capacity;

      ii) exemption from taxation on the salaries and emoluments paid to them by the Institute.

      (b) In addition, personnel who are not of Finnish nationality shall:

      i) be immune from national service obligations;

      ii) be immune, together with their spouses and relatives dependent on them, from immigration restrictions and alien registration;

      iii) be accorded the same privileges in respect of exchange facilities as are accorded to officials of comparable rank forming part of diplomatic missions in Finland;

      iv) be given, together with their spouses and relatives dependent on them, the same repatriation facilities in time of international crisis as diplomatic envoys;

      v) have the right to import free of duty their furniture and effects at the time of first taking up their post;

      vi) be accorded the same right to import free of duty and other taxes a motor vehicle, as is accorded to officials of comparable rank of foreign diplomatic missions in Finland.

   3. In addition to the privileges and immunities specified in paragraph 2, the Director, if he is not a national of Finland, shall be accorded in respect of himself, his spouse and minor children, the privileges and immunities, exemptions and facilities accorded to diplomatic envoys in accordance with international law.

   4. Experts at the Institute shall enjoy such privileges and immunities as are provided for mutatis mutandis by article VI of the Convention, with respect to experts on mission for the United Nations, subject to the terms specified in that article.

   5. Privileges and immunities are granted by this Agreement in the interests of the Institute and not for the personal benefit of the individuals themselves. The Director on behalf of the Rector shall have the right and the duty to waive the immunity of any individual in any case where, in his opinion, the immunity would impede the course of justice and can be waived without prejudice to the interests of the Institute. In the case of the Director, the Rector shall have a similar right and duty.

      Article XV

      GENERAL PROVISIONS

   1. Without prejudice to the privileges and immunities accorded by this Agreement, it is the duty of the University and the Institute and of all persons enjoying such privileges and immunities to observe the laws and regulations of Finland. They also have a duty not to interfere in the internal affairs of Finland.

   2. (a) The Director shall take every precaution to ensure that no abuse of a privilege or immunity conferred by this Agreement shall occur, and for this purpose shall establish such rules and regulations as may be deemed necessary and expedient for the personnel of the Institute and for such other persons as may be appropriate.

      (b) Should the Government consider that an abuse of a privilege or immunity conferred by this Agreement has occurred, the Director shall, upon request, consult with the appropriate authorities to determine whether any such abuse has occurred. If such consultations fail to achieve a result satisfactory to the Government and to the Director, the matter shall be determined in accordance with the procedure set out in article XIV, paragraph 2.

   3. This Agreement shall apply to any person within its scope irrespective of whether the Government maintains or does not maintain diplomatic relations with the State to which such person belongs, and irrespective of whether the State to which such person belongs grants a similar privilege or immunity to diplomatic envoys or nationals of Finland.

   4. The provisions of this Agreement shall be complementary to the provisions of the Convention. In so far as any provision of this Agreement and any...