AGREEMENTBETWEEN THE UNITED NATIONS OFFICE FOR PROJECT SERVICES AND THE GOVERNMENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF SERBIA CONCERNING THE ESTABLISHMENT OF AN OFFICE FOR THE UNITED NATIONS OFFICE FOR PROJECT SERVICES IN BELGRADE, REPUBLIC OF SERBIA("Off. Herald of RS - Treaties", No. 12/2017) |
This Agreement is entered between the Government of the Republic of Serbia and the United Nations Office for Project Services ("UNOPS") in order to define the status of the UNOPS Office in the Republic of Serbia ("Host Country");
WHEREAS UNOPS was established as a separate and identifiable entity by the United Nations General Assembly decision 48/501 of 19 September 1994 to provide, inter alia, management and other support services for the benefit of the Member States of the United Nations, impartially, efficiently and on a cost reimbursement basis;
Whereas UNOPS is an integral part of the United Nations, whose status, privileges and immunities are governed by the Convention on the Privileges and Immunities of the United Nations, adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations on 13 February 1946, to which the Republic of Serbia acceded on 12 March 2001, without reservation;
WHEREAS UNOPS expresses its wish to establish an office in Belgrade, Republic of Serbia;
WHEREAS the Host Country has agreed that UNOPS establishes its seat in Belgrade, Republic of Serbia, for the benefit of its people;
NOW, THEREFORE the Host Country and UNOPS have entered into this Agreement in a spirit of friendly co-operation:
Article I
1. For the purposes of this Agreement,
(a) "Archives" means all records, correspondence, documents, manuscripts, computer records, still and motion pictures, film and sound recordings, and any other records belonging to or held by the Office in furtherance of its functions;
(b) "Executive Director" means the Executive Director of UNOPS, who is responsible and accountable to the Secretary-General of the United Nations for all UNOPS functions, activities, and services;
(c) "Experts on mission" means persons, other than Officials of the Office, appointed by and accountable to UNOPS to perform missions at the request of or on behalf of the Office in accordance with Article VI and Section 26 of the Article VII of the General Convention;
(d) "General Convention" means the Convention on the Privileges and Immunities of the United Nations adopted by the General Assembly on 13 February 1946, to which the Republic of Serbia is a party;
(e) "Head of the Office" means the official appointed by the Executive Director of UNOPS as the Director in charge of the Office in the Host Country;
(f) "Host Country" means the Republic of Serbia;
(g) "Office" means the UNOPS Office in the Host Country;
(h) "Officials of the Office" means all of the UNOPS staff members assigned to the Office irrespective of their nationality, with the exception of those who are locally recruited and paid hourly rates, as provided for in United Nations General Assembly resolution 76(1) of 7 December 1946;
(i) "Party" means UNOPS or the Host Country, individually;
(j) "Parties" means UNOPS and the Host Country, collectively;
(k) "Premises of the Office" means the building or part of building occupied or used permanently or temporarily by the Office in accordance with this Agreement and with the approval of the Host Country, issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Serbia;
(l) "Property of the Office" means all property, including funds, income and other assets belonging to or held or administered by the Office in furtherance of its functions;
(m) "Secretary-General" means the Secretary-General of the United Nations;
(n) "Telecommunications" means any emission, transmission or reception of written or verbal information, images, sound or information of any nature by wire, radio, satellite, optical, fibre or any other electronic or electromagnetic means.
Article II
The seat of the Office shall be established in Belgrade, Republic of Serbia, to permit UNOPS to carry out its activities and services.
Article III
1. The Office shall possess juridical personality in the Republic of Serbia. It shall have the capacity:
(a) to contract;
(b) to acquire and dispose of immovable and movable property;
(c) to institute legal proceedings;
2. For the purposes of this agreement, the Office shall be represented by the Head of the Office.
Article IV
Purpose and Scope of the Agreement
1. (a) This Agreement regulates the status of the Office in the Host Country, in particular of its premises, officials and experts on mission.
(b) The modalities of assistance rendered by the Office to the Host Country shall be determined in separate project specific agreements between the Office and the Host Country.
Article V
Application of the General Convention
The General Convention shall be applicable to the Office, its archives, property, and telecommunications and to its officials and experts on mission assigned to the Office in the Host Country.
Article VI
1. The premises of the Office and its property, archives and telecommunications, wherever located and by whomsoever held, shall be inviolable and enjoy immunity from search, requisition, confiscation, expropriation and any other form of interference, whether by executive, administrative, judicial or legislative action except when in a particular case such immunity has been expressly waived in accordance with the General Convention. However, no waiver of immunity from legal process shall extend to any measure of execution.
2. No officer or official of the Host Country or person exercising any public authority within the Host Country, shall enter the premises of the Office to perform any duties therein except with the consent of, and under the conditions approved by the Head of the Office. In case of a fire or other emergency requiring prompt protection action, the consent of the Head of the Office to any necessary entry into the premises shall be presumed if he or she cannot be reached in time.
3. The premises of the Office can be used for meetings, seminars, exhibitions and other related purposes which are organized by the Office or other United Nations entities.
Article VII
The competent authorities shall ensure the security and protection of the premises of the Office and exercise due diligence to ensure that the tranquility of the Office premises is not disturbed by the unauthorized entry of persons or groups of persons from outside or by disturbances in its immediate vicinity.
Article VIII
1. The Office shall enjoy, for its official communications, treatment not less favorable than that accorded by the Host Country to any other accredited diplomatic mission in the Host Country, in the matter of priorities, rates and taxes on mails, cables, telegrams, radiograms, telephotos, telephone and other communication and press rates for information to the press and radio.
2. The Host Country shall secure the inviolability of the official communications of the Office, whatever the means of the communications employed, and shall not apply any censorship to such communications.
3. The Office shall have the right to operate communication equipment, including satellite facilities and to use codes and to dispatch and receive correspondence by couriers and bags. The bags must bear visibly the emblem of the United Nations, UNOPS or any other United Nations entity and may contain only documents or articles intended for official use, and the courier shall be provided with a courier certificate issued by the United Nations, UNOPS or any other United Nations entity.
Article IX
Funds, Assets and Other Property
1. The Office, its funds, assets and other property, wherever located and by whomsoever held, shall enjoy immunity from every form of legal process except when in a particular case such immunity has expressly been waived in accordance with General Convention. It is understood, however, that no waiver of immunity shall extend to any measure of execution.
2. The property and assets of the Office shall be exempt from restrictions, regulations, controls and moratoria of any nature.
3. Without being restricted by financial controls, regulations or moratoria of any kind, the Office:
(a) may hold and use funds, currency or negotiable instruments of any kind and maintain and operate accounts in any currency and convert any currency held by it into any other currency;
(b) shall be free to transfer its funds or currency from the Host Country to another country, or within the Host Country, to the United Nations or any other agency; and
(c) shall enjoy the most favorable, legally available rate of exchange for its financial transactions.
Article X
Exemption from Taxes, Duties, Import or Export Restrictions
The Office, its assets, funds and other property shall enjoy:
(a) Exemption from all direct taxes and levies, fees, tolls and duties, with the exception of charges for the usage of public utilities;
(b) Exemption from customs duties, charges and all other levies, as well as from restrictions on the import or export of materials imported or exported by the Office for its official use;
(c) Exemption from all restrictions on the import or export of publications, still and moving pictures, films, tapes, diskettes and sound recordings imported, exported or published by the Office within the framework of its official activities.
Article XI
1. Officials shall be granted the privileges, immunities and facilities specified in Articles V and VII of the General Convention.
2. In accordance with the provisions of Section 17 of the General Convention, the Host Country shall be periodically informed of the names of the Officials assigned to the Office.
Article XII
1. The Head of Office shall be the principal channel of communication with the Host Country on all UNOPS matters. Further to the identification of the Head of Office by the Executive Director to the Government, the Head of Office shall have full responsibility and ultimate authority for the UNOPS activities and services in all its aspect in the Host Country. The Head of Office shall maintain liaison on behalf of UNOPS with the appropriate organs of the Host Country, and shall inform it of the policies, criteria and procedures of UNOPS. The Head of Office shall assist the Host Country, as may be required, in the preparation of requests for UNOPS assistance.
2. Without prejudice to the provisions of the above Article, the Head of the Office shall enjoy during his or her residence in the Host Country the privileges, immunities and facilities granted to heads of accredited foreign missions to the Host Country.
3. The privileges, immunities and facilities referred to above shall also be accorded to a spouse and dependent members of the family of the Head of Office.
Article XIII
Experts on mission who are appointed by and accountable to UNOPS to perform missions for the Office shall be granted the privileges, immunities and facilities specified in Article VI and Section 26 of the Article VII of the General Convention.
Article XIV
Privileges and immunities referred to in this Agreement are granted in the interest of the United Nations and not for the personal benefit of the persons to which such privileges and immunities are being granted. The right and the duty to waive the immunity of these persons, in any case where it can be waived without prejudice to the interests of the United Nations shall lie with the Secretary-General of the United Nations.
Article XV
Entry into, exit from, movement and sojourn within
the Host Country
All persons referred to in this Agreement shall have the right of unimpeded entry into, exit from, sojourn and free movement within the Host Country. Visas, entry permits or licenses, where required, shall be granted as promptly as possible and free of charge.
Article XVI
United Nations Laissez-Passer, Certificates and Visas
1. The Host Country shall recognize and accept the United Nations laissez-passer issued to Officials of the Office and any other United Nations entity as a valid travel document.
2. In accordance with the provisions of Section 26 of the General Convention, the Host Country shall recognize and accept the United Nations certificate issued to Experts on Mission and other persons travelling on business for UNOPS or any other person travelling on the business of the United Nations.
3. All persons referred to in this Agreement shall be granted facilities for speedy travel. Visas, entry permits or licenses, where required, shall be granted free of charge and as promptly as possible to the persons referred to in this Agreement, their dependents and other persons invited to the Office in connection with the official work and activities of the Office.
Article XVII
1. Once notified by the Head of the Office, the Host Country shall issue identification cards to all persons referred to in this Agreement, certifying their status under this Agreement.
2. Upon the demand of an authorized official of the Host Country, persons referred to in this Agreement shall be required to present, without having to surrender, their identification cards.
Article XVIII
The Office shall be entitled to display the United Nations flag, logo, emblem and markings in the Office premises and on vehicles used for official purposes.
Article XIX
Cooperation with the Host Country
1. Without prejudice to the privileges and immunities accorded by this Agreement, it is the duty of all persons enjoying such privileges and immunities to respect the laws and regulations of the Host Country, and not to interfere in the internal affairs of the Host Country.
2. Without prejudice to the privileges and immunities referred to in this Agreement, the Office shall cooperate at all times with the Host Country to facilitate the proper administration of justice, secure the observance of police regulations and prevent the occurrence of any abuse in connection with the facilities, privileges and immunities accorded to persons referred to in the present Agreement.
Article XX
1. Arrangements of an administrative and financial nature concerning the Office may be made by supplemental agreements, as appropriate.
2. The Parties may enter into any other supplemental agreements as the Parties may deem appropriate.
Article XXI
Any dispute between the Office and the Host Country arising out of, or relating to this Agreement which is not settled by negotiation or another agreed mode of settlement, shall, at the request of either Party, be submitted to an arbitral tribunal of three arbitrators. Each Party shall appoint one arbitrator, and the two arbitrators so appointed shall appoint a third, who shall be the chairperson of the Tribunal. If, within sixty (60) days of the request for arbitration, a Party has not appointed an arbitrator, or if, within thirty (30) days of the appointment of two arbitrators, the third arbitrator has not been appointed, either Party may request the President of the International Court of Justice to appoint the arbitrator referred to. The Tribunal shall determine its own procedures. The fees and expenses of the Tribunal shall be borne by the Parties as assessed by the Tribunal. The arbitral award shall contain a statement of the reasons on which it is based and shall be final and binding on the Parties.
Article XXII
1. This Agreement may be modified by written agreement between the Parties hereto.
2. This Agreement may be terminated by either Party by written notice to the other and shall terminate three months after receipt of such notice. Notwithstanding any such notice of termination, this Agreement shall remain in force to allow the completion of the Office’s operations of in the Host Country, the liquidation of its properties, to settle all pending matters relating to the implementation of this Agreement and the resolution of any dispute between the Parties in relation to this Agreement.
3. The obligations assumed by the Host Country shall survive the termination of this Agreement, to the extent necessary to permit orderly withdrawal of the property and archives, of the Office and of its officials, expert on missions and other relevant persons under this Agreement.
4. This agreement shall be signed in English and Serbian languages. The English version shall prevail in the event of any inconsistences.
5. This Agreement shall be subject to the signature of both Parties. It shall enter into force after UNOPS receives the notification from the Host Country confirming that it has been ratified in accordance with its internal procedures.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the undersigned, duly appointed representatives of the Parties, have signed the present Agreement between the Government of the Republic of Serbia and the United Nations Office for Project Services on this 30 day of May 2017 in Belgrade, and on this 13 day of 2017 in Copenhagen, in four originals, two copies in English and two copies in Serbian language.
|
For the United Nations Office |
For the Government |