Protocol betreffende de voorrechten en immuniteiten van de Europese Organisatie voor de exploitatie van meteorologische satellieten "EUMETSAT"

For the purposes of this Protocol:

• a)

  "Member State" means a State party to the Convention;

• b)

  "archives" means all records, including correspondence, documents, manuscripts, photographs, films, optical and magnetic recordings, data recordings and computer programmes, belonging to or held by EUMETSAT;

• c)

  "official activities" of EUMETSAT means all activities carried out by EUMETSAT in pursuance of its objectives as defined in Article 2 of the Convention and includes its administrative activities;

• d)

  "property" means anything that may be subject to a right of ownership as well as contractual rights;

• e)

  "representatives" of Member States means representatives and their advisers;

• f)

  "staff members" means the Director-General and all persons employed by EUMETSAT, holding permanent appointments and who are subject to its Staff Rules;

• g)

  "expert" means a person other than a staff member appointed to carry out a specific task on behalf of EUMETSAT and at its expense.

EUMETSAT shall have legal personality in accordance with Article 1 of the Convention. It shall in particular have the capacity to contract, to acquire and dispose of movable and immovable property, and to be a party to legal proceedings.

The archives of EUMETSAT shall be inviolable.

EUMETSAT may receive and hold any kind of funds, currency, cash and securities. It may dispose of them freely for any of its official activities and hold accounts in any currency to the extent required to meet its obligations.

The circulation of publications and other information material sent by or to EUMETSAT shall not be restricted in any way.

The staff members of EUMETSAT shall enjoy the following privileges and immunities:

• a)

  immunity from jurisdiction, even after they have left the service of EUMETSAT, in respect of acts, including words written and spoken, done by them in the exercise of their function; this immunity shall not apply, however, in the case of a traffic offence committed by a staff member, nor in the case of damage caused by a vehicle or other means of transport belonging to or driven by him;

• b)

  exemption from all obligations in respect of national service, including military service;

• c)

  inviolability for all their official papers and documents;

• d)

  together with members of their families forming part of their households, exemption from all measures restricting immigration and from aliens' registration formalities;

• e)

  together with members of their families forming part of their households, the same facilities as to repatriation, in time of international crisis, as are normally accorded to staff members of international organisations;

• f)

  the same treatment in respect of currency and exchange regulations as is normally accorded to staff members of international organisations;

• g)

  exemption from all national income tax on their salaries and emoluments paid to them by EUMETSAT, excluding pensions and other similar benefits paid by EUMETSAT, from the date upon which staff members have begun to be liable for a tax on their salaries by EUMETSAT for the latter's benefit. The Member States reserve the right to take those salaries and emoluments into account when assessing the amount of tax to be applied to income from other sources;

• h)

  the right to import free of custom duties and other import charges their furniture and personal effects, including a motor vehicle, at the time of taking up their post in the territory of a Member State, and the right to export them free of duty upon termination of their functions, subject to the conditions laid down by the laws and regulations of the Member State concerned.

Goods imported and exempted under this paragraph shall not be sold, hired out, lent or given away against payment or free of charge, except in accordance with the conditions laid down by the Member States which have granted the exemptions.

In addition to the privileges and immunities provided for staff members under Article 10, the Director-General shall enjoy:

• a)

  immunity from arrest and detention, except when found committing, attempting to commit or just having committed an offence;

• b)

  immunity from civil and administrative jurisdiction and execution enjoyed by diplomatic agents, except in the case of damage caused by a vehicle or other means of transport belonging to or driven by him;

• c)

  full immunity from criminal jurisdiction, except in the case of a traffic offence caused by a vehicle or other means of transport belonging to, or driven by him, subject to sub-paragraph a) above;

• d)

  the same customs facilities as regards his personal luggage as are accorded to diplomatic agents.

Provided that the staff members are covered by a social security scheme of EUMETSAT providing adequate benefits, EUMETSAT, and its staff members shall be exempt form all compulsory contributions to national social security schemes, subject to agreements to be concluded with Member States concerned in accordance with Article 19 or equivalent measures taken by the Member States or other relevant provisions in force in the Member States.

Experts other than the staff members shall enjoy the following privileges and immunities while performing their duties for EUMETSAT or carrying out missions on its behalf:

• a)

  immunity from jurisdiction, even after the termination of their mission, in respect of acts, including words spoken and written, done by them in the exercise of their functions; this immunity shall not apply, however, in the case of a traffic offence committed by an expert, nor in the case of damage caused by a vehicle or other means of transport belonging to or driven by him;

• b)

  inviolability for all their official papers and documents;

• c)

  exemption from all measures restricting immigration and from aliens' registration formalities;

• d)

  the same treatment in the matter of currency and exchange regulations as is accorded to the representatives of foreign governments on temporary official missions.

The Director-General of EUMETSAT shall at least once every year notify the Member States of the names and nationalities of the staff members and experts.

Member States shall take all appropriate measures to facilitate the entry into, stay in, or departure from their territories of representatives of Member States, staff members and experts.

The provisions of this Protocol shall not prejudice the right of each Member State to take all precautionary measures necessary in the interests of its security.

EUMETSAT shall co-operate at all times with the competent authorities of Member States in order to facilitate the proper administration of justice, to ensure the observance of the laws and regulations, and to prevent any abuse of the privileges, immunities and facilities provided for in this Protocol.

EUMETSAT may conclude with one or more Member States complementary agreements to give effect to the provisions of the Protocol as regards such State or States, and other arrangements to ensure the efficient functioning of EUMETSAT.

No Member State shall be obliged to accord the privileges and immunities referred to in Articles 9, 10 b), d), e), f) and h), 11 and 13 c) and d) to its own nationals or permanent residents.

When concluding written contracts, other than those concluded in accordance with the staff regulations, EUMETSAT shall provide for arbitration. The arbitration clause or the special arbitration agreement concluded to this end shall specify the law and procedure applicable, the composition of the tribunal, the procedure for the appointment of the arbitrators and the seat of the tribunal. The execution of the arbitration award shall be governed by the rules in force in the State on whose territory the award is to be executed.

Any Member State may submit to arbitration in accordance with the procedure provided for in Article 15 of the Convention any dispute.

• a)

  arising out of damage caused by EUMETSAT;

• b)

  involving any other non-contractual responsibility of EUMETSAT;

• c)

  involving a staff member or an expert and in which the person concerned can claim immunity from jurisdiction, if this immunity is not waived.

Any dispute between EUMETSAT and a Member State or between two or more Member States concerning the interpretation or application of this Protocol which is not settled by negotiations or through the Council shall, at the request of any party to the dispute, be submitted to arbitration in accordance with the procedure provided for in Article 15 of the Convention.