Chapter IV. Treaties concerning international law concluded under the auspices of the United Nations and related intergovernmental organizations

TREATIES CONCERNING INTERNATIONAL LAW CONCLUDED

UNDER THE AUSPICES OF THE UNITED NATIONS AND RELATED INTERGOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS

Treaties concerning international law concluded under the auspices of the United Nations

  1. PROTOCOL ON THE PRIVILEGES AND IMMUNITIES OF THE INTERNATIONAL SEABED AUTHORITY.1 DONE AT KINGSTON, JAMAICA, ON 27 MARCH 1998 2

    The States Parties to this Protocol,

    Considering that the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea establishes the International Seabed Authority,

    Recalling that article 176 of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea provides that the Authority shall have international legal personality and such legal capacity as may be necessary for the exercise of its functions and the fulf‌ilment of its purposes,

    Noting that article 177 of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea provides that the Authority shall enjoy in the territory of each State Party to the Convention the privileges and immunities set forth in section 4, subsection G of Part XI of the Convention and that the privileges and immunities of the Enterprise shall be those set forth in annex IV, article 13,

    Recognizing that certain additional privileges and immunities are necessary for the exercise of the functions of the International Seabed Authority,

    Have agreed as follows:

    Article 1

    USE OF TERMS

    For the purposes of this Protocol:

    (a) “Authority” means the International Seabed Authority;

    (b) “Convention” means the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea of 10 December 1982;

    (c) “Agreement” means the Agreement relating to the Implementation of Part XI of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea of 10 December 1982. In accordance with the Agreement, its provisions and Part XI of the Convention are to be interpreted and applied together as a single instrument; this Protocol and references in this Protocol to the Convention are to be interpreted and applied accordingly;

    (d) “Enterprise” means the organ of the Authority as provided for in the Convention;

    (e) “member of the Authority” means:

    (i) any State Party to the Convention; and

    (ii) any State or entity which is a member of the Authority on a provisional basis pursuant to paragraph 12 (a) of section 1 of the annex to the Agreement;

    (f) “representatives” means representatives, alternate representatives, advisers, technical experts and secretaries of the delegations;

    (g) “Secretary-General” means the Secretary-General of the International Seabed Authority.

    Article 2

    GENERAL PROVISION

    Without prejudice to the legal status, privileges and immunities accorded to the Authority and the Enterprise set forth in section 4, subsection G, of Part XI and Annex IV, article 13, of the Convention respectively, each State party to this Protocol shall accord to the Authority and its organs, the representatives of members of the Authority, off‌icials of the Authority and experts on mission for the Authority such privileges and immunities as are specif‌ied in this Protocol.

    Article 3

    LEGAL PERSONALITY OF THE AUTHORITY

  2. The Authority shall possess legal personality. It shall have the legal capacity:

    (a) To contract;

    (b) To acquire and dispose of immovable and movable property; (c) To be a party in legal proceedings.

    Article 4

    INVIOLABILITY OF THE PREMISES OF THE AUTHORITY

    The premises of the Authority shall be inviolable.

    Article 5

    FINANCIAL FACILITIES OF THE AUTHORITY

  3. Without being restricted by f‌inancial controls, regulations or moratoriums of any kind, the Authority may freely:

    (a) Purchase any currencies through authorized channels and hold and dispose of them;

    (b) Hold funds, securities, gold, precious metals or currency of any kind and operate accounts in any currency;

    (c) Transfer its funds, securities, gold or currency from one country to another or within any country and convert any currency held by it into any other currency.

  4. The Authority shall, in exercising its rights under paragraph 1 of this article, pay due regard to any representations made by the Government of any member

    of the Authority insofar as it is considered that effect can be given to such representations without detriment to the interests of the Authority.

    Article 6

    FLAG AND EMBLEM

    The Authority shall be entitled to display its f‌lag and emblem at its premises and on vehicles used for off‌icial purposes.

    Article 7

    REPRESENTATIVES OF MEMBERS OF THE AUTHORITY

  5. Representatives of members of the Authority attending meetings convened by the Authority shall, while exercising their functions and during their journey to and from the place of meeting, enjoy the following privileges and immunities:

    (a) Immunity from legal process in respect of words spoken or written, and all acts performed by them in the exercise of their functions, except to the extent that the member which they represent expressly waives this immunity in a particular case;

    (b) Immunity from personal arrest or detention and the same immunities and facilities in respect of their personal baggage as are accorded to diplomatic envoys;

    (c) Inviolability for all papers and documents;

    (d) The right to use codes and to receive papers or correspondence by courier or in sealed bags;

    (e) Exemption in respect of themselves and their spouses from immigration restrictions, alien registration or national service obligations in the State they are visiting or through which they are passing in the exercise of their functions;

    (f) The same facilities as regards exchange restrictions as are accorded to representatives of foreign Governments of comparable rank on temporary off‌icial missions.

  6. In order to secure, for the representatives of members of the Authority, complete freedom of speech and independence in the discharge of their duties, the immunity from legal process in respect of all acts done by them in discharging their functions shall continue to be accorded, notwithstanding that the persons concerned are no longer representatives of members of the Authority.

  7. Where the incidence of any form of taxation depends upon residence, periods during which the representatives of members of the Authority attending the meetings of the Authority are present in the territory of a member of the Authority for the discharge of their duties shall not be considered as periods of residence.

  8. Privileges and immunities are accorded to the representatives of members of the Authority, not for the personal benef‌it of the individuals themselves, but in order to safeguard the independent exercise of their functions in connection with the Authority. Consequently, a member of the Authority has the right and the duty to waive the immunity of its representative in any case where in the opinion of the member of the Authority the immunity would impede the course of justice, and it can be waived without prejudice to the purpose for which the immunity is accorded.

  9. Representatives of members of the Authority shall have insurance coverage against third-party risks in respect of vehicles owned or operated by them, as required by the laws and regulations of the State in which the vehicle is operated.

  10. The provisions of paragraphs 1, 2 and 3 are not applicable as between a representative and the authorities of the member of the Authority of which he is a national or of which he or she is or has been a representative.

    Article 8

    OFFICIALS

  11. The Secretary-General will specify the categories of off‌icials to which the provisions of paragraph 2 of this article shall apply. The Secretary-General shall submit these categories to the Assembly. Thereafter these categories shall be communicated to the Governments of all members of the Authority. The names of the off‌icials included in these categories shall from time to time be made known to the Governments of members of the Authority.

  12. Off‌icials of the Authority, regardless of nationality, shall:

    (a) Be immune from legal process in respect of words spoken or written and all acts performed by them in their off‌icial capacity;

    (b) Be immune from personal arrest or detention in relation to acts performed by them in their off‌icial capacity;

    (c) Be exempt from tax in respect of salaries and emoluments paid or any other form of payment made by the Authority;

    (d) Be immune from national service obligations provided that, in relation to States of which they are national, such immunity shall be conf‌ined to off‌icials of the Authority whose names have, by reason of their duties, been placed upon a list compiled by the Secretary-General and approved by the State concerned; should other off‌icials of the Authority be called up for national service, the State concerned shall, at the request of the Secretary-General, grant such temporary deferments in the call-up of such off‌icials as may be necessary to avoid interruption in the continuation of essential work;

    (e) Be exempt, together with their spouses and relatives dependent on them, from immigration restrictions and alien registration;

    (f) Be accorded the same privileges in respect of exchange facilities as are accorded to the off‌icials of comparable ranks forming part of diplomatic missions to the Governments concerned;

    (g) Have the right to import free of duty their furniture and effects at the time of f‌irst taking up their post in the country in question;

    (h) Be exempt from inspection of personal baggage, unless there are serious grounds for believing that the baggage contains articles not for personal use or articles the import or export of which is prohibited by the law or controlled by the quarantine regulations of the Party concerned; and inspection in such a case shall be conducted in the presence of the off‌icial concerned, and in the case of off‌icial baggage, in the presence of the Secretary-General or his or her authorized representative;

    (i) Be given, together with their spouses and relatives dependent on them, the same repatriation facilities in time of international crises as are accorded to diplomatic agents.

  13. In...

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