AGREEMENTBETWEEN THE GOVERNMENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF SERBIA AND THE NATO SUPPORT AND PROCUREMENT ORGANISATION (NSPO) ON LOGISTIC SUPPORT COOPERATION("Off. Herald of RS - Treaties", No. 3/2016) |
Whereas:
the Republic of Serbia is a nation participating in NATO’s Partnership for Peace Programme that has concluded an Agreement between the Government of the Republic of Serbia and the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation on the Security of Information and the Code of Conduct, signed in Brussels, on 1st October 2008, hereinafter referred to as "the Security Agreement";
the Ministry of Defence of the Republic of Serbia has expressed interest in the services offered by the NATO Support and Procurement Organisation and wishes to establish cooperation in certain areas of logistics, operational support and systems support,
the North Atlantic Council has delegated authority to the Agency Supervisory Board of the NATO Support and Procurement Organisation to conclude an agreement on support cooperation with the Republic of Serbia, on the understanding that entry into such agreement will under no circumstances confer on the Republic of Serbia the status of membership in the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation or entitle the Republic of Serbia to lay claim to such status,
the Agency Supervisory Board of the NATO Support Organisation has consented to provide the Republic of Serbia with support services (as hereinafter specified) and has authorized the NSPA General Manager to sign this Agreement;
Noting:
the Charter of the NATO Support and Procurement Organisation approved by the North Atlantic Council on 19 June 2012;
the Security Agreement,
that the present Agreement constitutes the legal basis for the establishment of the logistics relations as specified in the articles hereinafter between the Government of the Republic of Serbia and the NATO Support and Procurement Organisation,
The Government of the Republic of Serbia and the NATO Support and Procurement Organisation, hereinafter referred to as "the Parties", have agreed as follows:
ARTICLE 1
In the text of this Agreement and in that of any ensuing specific instruments:
- "NATO" signifies the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation;
- "NSPO" signifies the NATO Support and Procurement Organisation, which constitutes an integral part of NATO;
- "NSPA" signifies the NATO Support and Procurement Agency, which is the Executive Body of the NSPO and an integral part of the NSPO;
- "PfP" signifies the Partnership for Peace, established in NATO summit held in Brussels from 10th to 11th January 1994;
- "Support Partnership" refers to an entity established within the NATO Support and Procurement Organisation under precise terms and conditions agreed to by two or more NATO nations wishing to organize in common the support and services of activities within the scope of the NSPO’s mission.
- "Technical information" means recorded or documented information of a scientific or technical nature, whatever the format, documentary characteristics or medium of presentation. This information may include, but is not limited to, any of the following: experimental and test data, specifications, designs and design processes, information on or contained in inventions and discoveries whether patentable or not, technical descriptions and other works of a technical nature, semiconductor, topography/mask works, technical and manufacturing data packages, know-how and trade secrets and information relating to industrial techniques. It may be presented in the form of documents, pictorial reproductions, drawings and other graphic representations, disk and film recordings (optical, magnetic and laser), computer software both programmatic and data base, and computer memory printouts or data retained in computer memory, or any other form.
ARTICLE 2
This Agreement establishes the legal framework and foresees the basic principles for the support co-operation between the Government of the Republic of Serbia and NSPO in the specified areas including, but not restricted to, supply, maintenance, procurement of goods and services, transportation, configuration control, technical assistance and execution of Trust Fund Projects for which NSPA is the Executing Agent.
ARTICLE 3
3.1. Under this Agreement, specific written instruments may be drawn up for the implementation of the support co-operation, such as sales agreements or arrangements, Partnership agreements or others.
3.2. The Ministry of Defence of the Republic of Serbia and the NSPO shall be responsible for concluding the instruments under paragraph 3.1 of this Article,
3.3. The instruments referred to in paragraph 3.1 of this Article may require the prior approval of the Government of the Republic of Serbia, and will require the approval of the NSPO Agency Supervisory Board and will where applicable, require the approval of the country of origin of the weapon system or equipment involved.
ARTICLE 4
4.1. The Government of the Republic of Serbia shall bear the costs of support or services, requested from and rendered by NSPO, including costs incurred in the event of termination covered under Article 14 of the Agreement.
4.2. All risks inherent in the performance of support or services requested by the Government of the Republic of Serbia and provided by NSPO shall be borne by the Government of the Republic of Serbia.
4.3. The financial liabilities for costs arising from or related to any legal liabilities that might be incurred by NATO and/or NSPO, respectively NSPA, in the performance of activities and/or services requested by the Government of the Republic of Serbia shall also be borne by the Government of the Republic of Serbia. Under no circumstances shall this Agreement give rise to any liabilities for NSPO or NSPA.
ARTICLE 5
Liability, Warranty and Insurance
5.1. The Government of the Republic of Serbia, when receiving materiel or services under this Agreement shall waive all claims for injury (including injury resulting in death), loss or damage, when such injury, loss or damage arises from the normal use and/or operation of such materiel or services.
5.2. The Parties will afford each other mutual protection against any claim or action of whatever nature brought by any third party against one of the Parties. The Government of the Republic of Serbia shall indemnify NSPO against all claims of whatever nature made by third parties.
5.3. Each instrument of the type referred to in Article 3.1 of this Agreement will, as appropriate, detail the commercial warranty covering the materiel or services to which it pertains, for each sector of activity and tasking involved. Neither Party is in a position to offer any warranty on goods or services, nor to warrant that goods or services delivered are free of any defects.
5.4. Shipments arranged by NSPO under instruments referred to in Article 3 paragraph 3.1 of this Agreement will not normally be insured unless specifically requested by the Government of the Republic of Serbia. In that case, the Government of the Republic of Serbia will reimburse NSPO for all the costs of insurance requested.
ARTICLE 6
6.1. Points of contact of both Parties are indicated in Annex 1 to this Agreement.
6.2. For the follow-on instruments referred to in Article 3 paragraph 3.1 of this Agreement the Parties may designate specific points of contact.
ARTICLE 7
7.1. The Parties shall develop and implement a co-ordinated programme for industrial security based on the NATO Security Policy (C-M(2002)49 and C-M(2002i)50) and its Supporting Directives.
7.2. The Parties will notify each other of the security classification laid down by the originating Party with respect to any information or data to be supplied to the other Party under the terms of an instrument referred to in Article 3 paragraph 3.1.of this Agreement.
7.3. Any exchange of classified information, including contracts involving such information, must comply with the provisions set out in the Security Agreement and with the security requirements set out in the NATO Security Policy (С-М(2002)49 and (C-М(2002)50) and its Supporting Directives.
7.4. Security certification shall be subject to the instruments referred to under paragraph 3.1. of this Agreement.
ARTICLE 8
Exchange of Technical Information subject to Property Rights
8.1. Data and information to be transferred, released or otherwise exchanged under an instrument referred to in Article 3 paragraph 3.1 of this Agreement and which are clearly identified by one or other of the Parties, by means of an appropriate stamp, legend or other written indication, as being covered by property rights, will be subject to the following provisions.
8.2. Each Party undertakes:
8.2.1. to use information belonging to the other Party only for the purposes of the instruments referred to in Article 3 paragraph 3.1 of this Agreement;
8.2.2. to fully safeguard the confidentiality of information belonging to the other Party and to refrain from disclosing, transferring or otherwise making available such information to any third party;
8.2.3. to treat information belonging to the other Party as classified information and to safeguard same by exercising the same care and applying the same controls with respect thereto as the recipient Party normally exercises and applies to protect its proprietary information, in order to avoid inadvertent disclosure, publication, dissemination or transfer, and to take all necessary actions to ensure that only those employees of the recipient Party having a specific "need to know" will have access to information belonging to the other Party.
8.3. Information will not be deemed to be subject to property rights - and will give rise to no obligation on the part of the recipient Party - when that information:
8.3.1. is within or enters the public domain due to no malicious or illicit act on the part of the recipient Party;
8.3.2. has been supplied in a legitimate manner by a third party, without similar restrictions and without infringement of this Agreement;
8.3.3. is approved for release or use by written authorization of the ceding Party.
8.3.4. Unless specifically agreed by the Parties, nothing contained in the instruments referred to in Article 3 paragraph 3.1.of this Agreement will be deemed to grant any right or license in respect of any patents, inventions or data at any time owned by either of the Parties.
ARTICLE 9
NSPO, its assets, income and other property shall be exempt:
9.1. from all taxes and other duties, except for duties and fees in connection with public utility services;
9.2. from all customs duties and quantitative restrictions on imports and exports in respect of articles imported or exported by NSPO for its official use; articles imported under such exemption shall not be disposed of, by way either of sale or gift, in the Republic of Serbia into which they are imported, except under conditions approved by the Government of the Republic of Serbia.
9.3. from all customs duties and quantitative restrictions on imports and exports in respect of its publications.
ARTICLE 10
For the purpose of the present Article, NSPA personnel include all military and civilian personnel assigned or attached to or employed by NSPA and performing duties in the Republic of Serbia, in furtherance of this Agreement and its implementation.
10.1. NSPA personnel shall be integrated with the personnel of the NATO Military Liaison Office (MLO) in Belgrade. NSPA personnel shall enjoy all the immunities and privileges as MLO personnel, pursuant to the Letter of Intent between the Government of the Republic of Serbia and NATO on the MLO establishment, exchanged in December 2006.
Notwithstanding the above, tax exemption privileges (exemption from paying taxes) that are granted to natural persons will not exceed the level established by the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations signed in Vienna on 18 April 1961.
10.2. For the purpose of carrying out their duties pursuant to this Agreement, NSPA personnel shall enjoy, together with their vehicles, the necessary free passage and access throughout the Republic of Serbia. Access to restricted security zones shall be coordinated with the responsible authorities of the Republic of Serbia.
10.3. NSPA personnel shall be exempt from taxation by the Republic of Serbia on their salaries and emoluments received from NSPA and on any income received from outside the Republic of Serbia.
10.4. NSPA personnel and their tangible movable property (including also vehicles) imported into, acquired in or exported from the Republic of Serbia shall be exempt from all duties, taxes, VAT and other charges and customs duties.
10.5. NSPA shall be allowed to contract directly for the acquisition of goods, services and construction from any source within and outside the Republic of Serbia. Such contracts, goods, services, and construction shall not be subject to the payment of duties taxes, VAT or other charges.
10.6. Locally hired personnel performing administrative and technical functions who are nationals or permanent residents of the Republic of Serbia employed by the NSPA shall be subject to the laws and regulations of the Republic of Serbia. For the purpose of carrying out their duties pursuant to this Agreement, locally hired personnel will be notified to the Serbian Ministry of Defence (MoD) and will be granted access to Serbian MoD facilities as required.
10.7. NSPA will timely notify the Government of the Republic of Serbia, i.e. its competent bodies, on appointment or nomination of new members of NSPA personnel planned for integration with the NATO MLO, as well as their family members.
ARTICLE 11
11.1. Representatives of the Parties will, on request, be granted access to governmental or private facilities where work, including tests and trials, is being carried out under instruments concluded under Article 3 paragraph 3.1. of this Agreement subject to need-to-know of these representatives.
11.2. The organisation of visits will comply with the Security Regulations laid down in Enclosure G to С-М(2002)49 under the heading "International Visits". All visitors will also comply with any additional security and safety regulations laid down by the host party. Trade secrets and other technical information communicated to visitors will be treated as if they had been made available to the Party sponsoring the visitors.
ARTICLE 12
All official documents exchanged under this Agreement shall be produced in English and/or French language.
ARTICLE 13
This Agreement may be amended by written consent of the Parties. The amendments shall come into force according to the provision of Article 16 of this Agreement.
ARTICLE 14
14.1. If one of the Parties wishes to terminate this Agreement or one of the follow-on instruments referred to in Article 3 paragraph 3.1 of this Agreement, that Party may only do so in writing, the termination of the Agreement or follow-on instrument shall come into effect, at earliest, on the first of January of any following year and that Party will notify the other Party at least six months in advance of the date of termination of the Agreement or instrument.
14.2. In the event of termination by one of the Parties of this Agreement or of one of the follow-on instruments referred to in Article 3 paragraph 3.1 of this Agreement, the Parties will consult with one another in a timely manner as to the most satisfactory termination arrangements.
14.3. If required by the notice of termination of the present Agreement, the Parties will negotiate, for each instrument of the kind referred to in Article 3 paragraph 3.1 of the Agreement, the earliest possible termination date and the settlement of financial issues with respect to the ongoing support and services. The Party terminating will meet in full its commitments up to the effective date of termination.
14.4. If the Parties decide jointly to terminate this Agreement, they will jointly meet any termination costs.
14.5. Notwithstanding the termination of this Agreement or any follow-on instrument of the kind referred to in Article 3.1 of this Agreement, the Parties shall fulfil all the rights and responsibilities stemming from them.
ARTICLE 15
Any differences arising between the Parties relating to the interpretation or application of the present Agreement will be settled by negotiation between them without recourse to any national or international court or tribunal or other third party for settlement.
ARTICLE 16
This Agreement will come into effect on the date of the receipt of the last written notification through diplomatic channels by which the Parties confirm that they have completed all internal procedures necessary for this Agreement to come into effect.
ARTICLE 17
This Agreement is concluded in two original copies of which, each drawn up in the English and French languages, both language versions being deemed equally valid.
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For the Government Bratislav Gašić Minister of Defence Place: Belgrade, Serbia Date: 14. September 2015. |
For the NATO Support Michael J. Lyden General Manager NATO Support Place: Capellen, Luxembourg Date: 7. September 2015. |
ANNEX A
The points of contact for all matters concerning the provisions of this Agreement are as follows:
- for the Ministry of Defence of the Republic of Serbia:
Partnership for Peace Group
International Military Cooperation Department
Ministry of Defence
The Republic of Serbia
Tel: +381 11 3203 465
Fax: +381 11 3203 241
And
Legal Advisor
Department for International Military Cooperation
Ministry of Defence of the Republic of Serbia
Tel +381 113203 - 438
for NSPO:
The Legal Advisor
L-8302 Capellen,
Luxembourg
Tel. int. (+352) 30 63 6554
Fax: int. (+352) 3063 6986