The Argentine Republic and the Union of South American Nations,

Transcription

1 HEADQUARTERS AGREEMENT between the ARGENTINE REPUBLIC and the UNION OF SOUTH AMERICAN NATIONS for the CENTRE FOR STRATEGIC DEFENCE STUDIES OF THE SOUTH AMERICAN DEFENCE COUNCIL OF UNASUR The Argentine Republic and the Union of South American Nations, In compliance with the relevant provisions of the Treaty Establishing the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR), executed on 23 May 2008 and effective as of 11 March 2011; of the Statute of the South American Council of UNASUR, adopted by the Heads of State of the member states in Costa do Sauipe, Brazil, on the occasion of the UNASUR Extraordinary Summit in December 2008; and of the Statute of the Centre for Strategic Defence Studies of the South American Defence Council (CEED-CDS), adopted at the Meeting of Ministers of the South American Defence Council held in Guayaquil in May 2010; Considering that, as a result of the aforesaid provisions, the creation of the CEED-CDS was approved for the purpose of generating strategic thought at regional level that contributes to coordinating and harmonizing defence policies in South America; Taking into account that the Member States of the South American Defence Council have agreed that the Argentine Republic will provide physical space and facilities for the CEED-CDS in the City of Buenos Aires, and that matters related to the establishment of the CEED-CDS in Buenos Aires will be resolved through a Headquarters Agreement; Have agreed as follows: I

2 ARTICLE I DEFINITIONS For the purposes of this Agreement: a. "Parties" means the Argentine Republic and the Union of South American Nations; b. "Republic" means the Argentine Republic; c. "Territory of the Republic" means the territory of the Argentine Republic; d. "Government" means the Government of the Argentine Republic; e. "Council" means the South American Defence Council; f. "Relevant Authorities" means the federal, provincial or local authorities of the Argentine Republic pursuant to the laws of the Argentine Republic; g. "Member States" means the countries that are members of the South American Defence Council; h. "Delegates" means the delegates of the Member States of the South American Defence Council; i. "Centre" means the Centre for Strategic and Defence Studies; j. "Official Activities" means all activities carried out pursuant to the Statute; k. "Assets of the Centre" means all such assets as are needed for and directly related to the Official Activities of the Centre; I. "Archives" means all the correspondence, documents, manuscripts, photographs, computer data memories, footage, recordings and any other paper, electronic or other records owned by or under the control of the Secretariat; m. "Officials" means the Director, Assistant Director and Administrative Secretary of the Centre and the body of experts; n. "Expert" means a person appointed by each Member State of the Council to perform duties at the Centre in accordance with Article 12(a) of the Statute; o. "Administrative Technical Staff' means the staff that performs technical and administrative duties at the Centre pursuant to Article 12 of the Statute; p. "Local Staff' means an employee hired in the Republic by the Centre to carry out duties related to its activities, either on a permanent or temporary basis, and whose pay is financed out of its own budget; q. "Defence or Military Attaches" means the foreign Defence or Military Attaches and their respective alternates, who form part of the Embassies accredited to the Republic; r. "Staff of Defence or Military Attache Offices" means the foreign administrative officials of Defence or Military Attache Offices that form part of the Embassies accredited to the Republic; s. "Household Members" means cohabitants and children under the age of 18 or dependants older than 18; t. "Statute'; means the agreement establishing the Centre executed in Guayaquil in May 2010; 2

3 u. "Headquarters" means the premises, including any immovable property or part thereof, and the corresponding land on which the premises are situated, regardless of their ownership, occupied by the Centre for the conduct of its official activities. THE CENTRE ARTICLE II Capacity The Centre will have, in the territory of the Republic, legal capacity under domestic laws to carry out its duties. In particular, it is authorized to contract, acquire and dispose of real and personal property and to file and be made a party to legal actions, accept special contributions, inheritances, bequests and devises, and gifts, provided that these are consistent with its nature and purposes. ARTICLE Ill Inviolability 1. The headquarters of the Centre and its archives, wherever located, are inviolable. The Argentine Republic shall take all appropriate steps in order to protect the Headquarters against any intrusion or damage and prevent any attack against its dignity. 2. The assets of the Centre, wherever located, shall be exempted from seizure, expropriation and any other form of intervention, whether by enforcement proceedings or administrative, judicial or legislative action. ARTICLE IV Immunities 1. Within the scope of its official activities, the Centre and its property, premises and assets shall be immune from jurisdiction in judicial and administrative proceedings, except: a. to the extent that the Centre expressly waives such immunity; b. in the case of a contract for the supply of goods or services and any loan or other transaction for obtaining funding and any other security or guarantee on any of these transactions or any other financial obligation; c. in the case of a civil action filed by a third party on account of death, damage or physical injuries resulting from an accident caused by a motor 3

4 vehicle owned by or used on behalf of the Centre, to the extent that the respective compensation cannot be claimed from an insurance company; d. in the case of a traffic violation involving a motor vehicle owned by or used on behalf of the Centre; e. in the case of labour lawsuits brought by Argentine nationals or foreign residents in Argentina on the basis of contracts entered into with the Centre in the Republic or abroad and effective in Argentina; f. in the case of a counterclaim directly related to legal actions brought by the Centre; g. in the case of a claim related to real property located in the Argentine Republic; and h. in the case of legal actions conditional on the Centre being the heir or devisee of properties located in the Argentine Republic. 2. The property, premises and assets of the Centre will be immune from any form of restriction or control, including searches, seizures, expropriation or attachment. They will also be immune from any kind of administrative or judicial restriction, except for motor vehicles owned or operated by the Centre, which will not be immune from administrative or judicial restrictions when these are provisionally necessary for the prevention or investigation of accidents involving such vehicles. ARTICLEV Tax Exemptions 1. Within the scope of its official activities, the Centre, as well as its funds, moneys, income and property, will be exempt, in the territory of the Argentine Republic, from: a. Any direct tax; b. Fees, taxes, restrictions and prohibitions regarding the items it imports; and c. the Value Added Tax included in the acquisitions of goods and services for the construction, recycling or equipping of its premises. The Value Added Tax exemption will be granted through a reimbursement of the amount paid by the Centre for such tax. 2. Items acquired or imported under this regime may not be sold, given away, loaned, rented out or otherwise disposed of in the territory of the Republic, except as permitted by the Argentine laws in force. 3. Neither the Centre nor its assets will be exempt from the fees, rates or prices of public utility services actually provided. 4

5 ARTICLE VI Currency and exchange The Centre will be exempt from any currency or exchange restrictions, including those related to funds, cash and securities received, acquired, owned or transferred. Likewise, the Centre may operate bank and other accounts for its official purposes, without any restrictions, in any currency, and may freely transfer them within the Argentine Republic or to any other country. ARTICLE VII Facilities in respect of Communications 1. The Centre shall enjoy, for the purposes of its official communications, treatment not less favourable than that accorded by the Republic to permanent diplomatic missions in the matter of priorities, rates, fees and taxes applicable to mail, telegraph cables, radiograms, telephones, facsimiles, computer networks and other forms of communication, as well as in the matter of fees for the written, radio or television press. No censorship shall be applied to correspondence or other official communications of the Centre. 2. The provisions of this Article will not prevent either of the Parties from requesting the other to adopt appropriate security measures, to be agreed upon by both Parties whenever they deem fit. ARTICLE VIII Publications The importation and exportation of publications or other information materials of the Centre within the scope of its Official Activities will not be subject to any kind of restriction. CENTRE STAFF ARTICLE IX Visas 1. The officials, experts and technical and administrative staff of the Centre, as well as their relatives who are part of their household, who are not Argentine nationals or foreign residents in Argentina, will be entitled to 5

6 enter, remain in and abandon the Argentine Republic during the effective term of their accreditation before the Argentine Republic. 2. The Argentine Republic will take all necessary measures to facilitate the entry into, stay in and departure from the Argentine Republic of all persons, under the circumstances mentioned in paragraph 1 above. If required, the relevant visas will be granted without delays and at no cost, where a certificate showing that the applicant is a person covered by paragraph 1 above is submitted. ARTICLE X Notification of Appointments 1. The Council will notify the Argentine Republic of the appointment of the Director, Deputy Director and Administrative Secretary of the Centre and will inform about the date when they take office or leave their respective positions. 2. The Centre will notify the Argentine Republic whenever a member of the administrative technical staff takes office or resigns his position or whenever an expert begins or concludes a project or mission. 3. Twice a year, in March and September, the Centre will send the Argentine Republic a list of all the experts and members of staff, as well as their household members in the Argentine Republic. In each case, the Centre will indicate whether they are Argentine citizens or permanent residents of the Argentine Republic. ARTICLE XI Staff of the Centre 1. The Director, the Deputy Director and the Administrative Secretary of the Centre, as well as the experts performing their duties in the Argentine Republic, unless Argentine citizens or permanent residents of the Argentine Republic, will have the same privileges, immunities, exemptions and benefits as the foreign Defence or Military Attaches accredited to the Republic. Such privileges, immunities, exemptions and benefits will apply to their household members, unless they are Argentine citizens or permanent residents <if the Argentine Republic. 2. The privileges and immunities provided for in this Article will be granted notwithstanding the privileges and immunities to which the Centre's staff members may be entitled where, in addition to their tasks relating to the 6

7 Centre, they act as staff members of a Diplomatic Mission accredited to the Republic and they have been accredited in that capacity. ARTICLE XII Administrative Technical Staff 1. In the performance of their official activities in the Argentine Republic, the Centre's administrative technical staff, unless they are Argentine citizens or permanent residents of the Argentine Republic, will have the same privileges, immunities, exemptions and benefits as the administrative technical staff of the diplomatic missions accredited to the Republic. Such privileges, immunities, exemptions and benefits will apply to their household members, unless they are Argentine citizens or permanent residents of the Argentine Republic. 2. The privileges and immunities provided for in this Article Will be granted notwithstanding the privileges and immunities to which the Centre's staff members may be entitled where, in addition to their tasks relating to the Centre, they act as staff members of a Diplomatic Mission accredited to the Republic and they have been accredited in that capacity. ARTICLE XIII National Staff or Staff Permanently Residing in the Host State The above provisions will not bind the Argentine Republic to grant any of the prerogatives established therein to Centre officials who are either nationals or permanent residents of the Argentine Republic, except for the following benefits: a) immunity from criminal, civil and administrative prosecution with respect to written or oral statements and acts performed in the exercise of their functions; b) benefits with respect to monetary or foreign exchange restrictions, where they are necessary for the proper performance of their duties; and c) exemption from taxes on the wages and emoluments they receive from the Centre, in accordance with the laws and regulations in force passed by the relevant agencies. ARTICLE XIV Purpose of the Privileges and Immunities and Waiver Thereof 1. The privileges and immunities established in this Agreement are granted in order to ensure the free operation of the Centre, as well as the 7

8 full independence of the persons who have been granted those privileges and immunities. They are not granted for personal benefit. 2. The Council may waive the privileges and immunities granted under this Agreement. If the privileges or immunities in question hinder the proper administration of justice and they may be waived without defeating the purpose for which they were granted, then the Council should waive them. 3. With regard to the Delegates, the Member States they represent may waive their privileges and immunities in pursuance of this Agreement. ARTICLE XV Cooperation The Centre will cooperate fully and at all times with the relevant Authorities with a view to observing Argentine laws and preventing any abuse of the privileges, immunities and benefits provided for herein. Nothing in this Agreement prevents the application of the necessary laws ori health preservation or imposition of quarantines or, as regards the Secretariat and its officials, the laws relating to public order. The Argentine Republic reserves its sovereign right to take reasonable measures in order to preserve security. ARTICLE XVI Staff- Transitory Provision The administrative technical staff will be provided, at first and for as long as the budgetary and regulatory aspects of the Centre are fully applicable, by the Ministry of Defence of the Argentine Republic. Notwithstanding the foregoing, any Member State of the South American Defence Council may contribute national administrative technical staff, the costs of which will be borne by such Mernber State. FINAL PROVISIONS ARTICLE XVII Amendments This Agreement may be arnended by mutual agreement between the Parties. 8

9 ARTICLE XVIII Dispute Resolution All disputes relating to the interpretation or application of this Agreement will be resolved through consultations, negotiations or any other mutually acceptable method, including binding arbitration. ARTICLE XIX Entry into Force and Termination 1. This Agreement will enter into force on the date of receipt of the notice by which the Argentine Republic informs UNASUR of the fulfilment of the necessary domestic requirements for the Agreement to enter into force, following the approval of the Council of Foreign Ministers of UNASUR. 2. This Agreement will be for an indefinite term, as long as the Centre has its headquarters in the Argentine Republic, and may be terminated by mutual agreement or denounced at any time by either Party by giving written notice to the other through diplomatic channels. Any such denunciation will come into force six months after the date of receipt of the abovementioned notice. However, the provisions hereof will continue to apply for as long as the assets and archives of the Centre are not liquidated or moved. DONE in Buenos Aires, on 2ih May 2011, in two originals, in the Spanish, English, Portuguese and Dutch languages, both being equally authentic. For the Argentine Republic For the South American Defence Council. JL~. /...,,?r Jl..."-=--~ uro Puricelli M' ister of Defence J'ls.H;,~ Secretary-Generat~NASUR 9