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HEADQUARTERS AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE INTERNATIONAL VACCINE
INSTITUTE AND THE GOVERNMENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF KOREA
The International Vaccine Institute and the Government of
the Republic of Korea,
Having regard to Articles II and XVII of the Constitution
of the International Vaccine Institute,
Desiring to define the privileges and immunities required
for the exercise of the functions and fulfillment of the purposes
of the International Vaccine Institute,
Have agreed as follows:
Article I
DEFINITIONS
In this Agreement :
| (a) |
"Institute" means
the International Vaccine Institute. |
| (b) |
"Government" means the Government
of the Republic of Korea. |
(c)
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"appropriate Korean Authorities"
means such national or other authorities in the Republic
of Korea as may be appropriate in the context of and in
accordance with the laws and customs applicable in the
Republic of Korea. |
| (d) |
"headquarters seat" means |
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(i)
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any land or building owned, leased, loaned
or otherwise at the disposal of the Institute in the Republic
of Korea for the purpose of establishing its headquarters,
including support facilities; and |
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(ii)
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with the concurrence of the Government, and for the
duration of such use, any building in the Republic of
Korea which is temporarily used by the Institute. |
| (e) |
"Board" means the Board of Trustees
of the Institute. |
(f)
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"property of the Institute" means
all property, including funds, income and other assets,
leased, held or administered by the Institute under arrangements
of trust, endowment, bail, pledge, or otherwise in furtherance
of its constitutional aims. |
(g)
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"archives of the Institute" means
all correspondence, documents, computer data, manuscripts,
still and motion pictures, films and sound recordings,
belonging to or held by the Institute in furtherance of
its constitutional aims. |
(h)
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"staff of the Institute" means
the Director, senior members and other members of the
Institute appointed by or on behalf of the Director. |
Article II
INVIOLABILITY OF THE HEADQUARTERS SEAT
1. The headquarters seat shall be inviolable. No
person exercising any public authority within the Republic
of Korea shall enter the headquarters seat to perform any
duties except with the consent of the Director.
2. In the event of natural disaster, fire or any other emergency
constituting an immediate threat to human life, the consent
of the Director is presumed.
3. The headquarters seat shall not be used in any manner
incompatible with the Institute's functions.
Article III
PROTECTION OF THE HEADQUARTERS SEAT
The appropriate Korean Authorities shall take such measures
as may be practicable to ensure the security and tranquillity
of the headquarters seat.
Article IV
PUBLIC SERVICES AT THE HEADQUARTERS SEAT
To enable the Institute to carry out its function smoothly,
the Government shall take such measures as may be practicable
to ensure that the necessary public services are provided
at the headquarters seat.
Article V
THE INSTITUTE AND ITS PROPERTY
1. The Institute shall enjoy immunity from every form of legal
process except in so far as in any particular case the Director
shall have waived its immunity. Waiver of such immunity shall
not be held to imply waiver of immunity in respect of execution
of a judgment, for which a separate waiver shall be necessary.
In case the Institute initiates a legal process, waiver of
immunities in respect not only of that legal process but also
of the execution of a judgment thereof is presumed.
2. The property of the Institute and its archives, wherever
located and by whomsoever held, shall be immune from search,
attachment, requisition, confiscation, expropriation and any
other form of interference.
Article VI
JURIDICAL PERSONALITY
The Government recognizes that the Institute is an international
organization with international legal personality and capacity
to perform legal acts required for the performance of its
constitutional functions, in particular, to conclude treaties,
to contract, to acquire and dispose of movable and immovable
property, and to be a defendant party in judicial proceedings
when the Director has waived immunity.
Article VII
COMMUNICATIONS
1. All official communications directed to the Institute,
or to staff of the Institute at the headquarters seat, and
all outward official communications of the Institute, by whatever
means or in whatever form transmitted, shall not be subject
to censorship or any other form of interception or interference.
This exemption shall also extend, inter alia, to publications,
computer data, still and motion pictures, films and sound
recordings.
2. The Institute shall have the right to use codes and to
dispatch and receive official communications by courier or
in sealed bags, which shall have the same privileges and immunities
as are accorded to diplomatic couriers and bags.
Article VIII
FINANCIAL FACILITIES
In order to achieve its constitutional aims, the Institute
may freely;
| (a) |
hold funds, gold or currency of any kind
and operate accounts in any currency; |
(b)
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transfer its funds, gold or currency to or from the
Republic of Korea or within the Republic of Korea and
convert any convertible currency held by it into any other
currency. |
Article IX
TRANSIT AND SOJOURN
1. The Government shall take necessary measures to facilitate
the entry into, sojourn in and departure from the Republic
of Korea of the Institute's staff, their families and members
of their household, participants in the Institute's programs
and persons visiting the headquarters seat on official business,
irrespective of their nationality. The Government shall not
impede the transit of such persons to and from the headquarters
seat. Any visas required by the persons referred to in this
Article shall be granted as promptly as possible.
2. The Director shall communicate the names of persons referred
to in paragraph 1 of this Article to the Government, to the
extent practicable, in advance.
Article X
EXEMPTION FROM TAXES
1. For the carrying out of its constitutional aims, the Institute
and its property, assets and income shall be:
| (a) |
exempt from all direct taxes except those
which are, in fact, no more than charges for public utility
services; |
(b)
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exempt from customs duties and prohibitions and restrictions
on imports and exports in respect of articles imported
or exported by the Institute for its official use. It
is understood, however, that articles imported under such
exemption will not be sold in the Republic of Korea except
under conditions agreed with the Government ; |
2. The Institute shall enjoy, with respect to indirect taxation,
the same exemptions and facilities as are granted to Special
Agencies of the United Nations in the Republic of Korea.
Article XI
STAFF OF THE INSTITUTE
1. The staff of the Institute who are not Korean nationals
shall enjoy, within and with respect to the Republic of Korea,
the following privileges and immunities:
(a)
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immunity from every form of legal process
in respect of acts done by them in the exercise of their
functions, including words spoken or written, and all
acts performed by them in their official capacity, it
being understood that such immunity shall continue notwithstanding
that the persons concerned may have ceased to be on the
staff of the Institute; |
| (b) |
immunity from inspection and from seizure of official
baggage ; |
| (c) |
exemption from direct taxes on salaries and emoluments
paid to them by the Institute ; |
(d)
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exemption for the staff and their family who are not
Korean nationals from all forms of immigration restriction
and alien registration; |
(e)
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the same rights with respect to the import and the purchase
of their furniture and effects, including motor vehicles,
as are accorded to officials of Specialized Agencies of
the United Nations in the Republic of Korea. |
2. The Institute shall communicate annually to the Government
a list of its staff and any changes thereto. And whenever
any staff member of the Institute begins or ends his/her service
with the Institute, the Institute shall without delay notify
the Government of the fact.
3. The Government shall issue to the staff of the Institute,
and to their spouses and dependents who are entitled to privileges
and immunities and facilities an identity card specifying
the holder's status.
4. In addition to the privileges and immunities specified
in paragraphs 1, 2, 3 of this Article, the Director who is
not a Korean national shall be accorded the privileges, immunities
and facilities equivalent to those granted to Ambassadors.
Article XII
MEMBERS OF THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF THE INSTITUTE
1. Members of the Institute's Board of Trustees who are not
Korean nationals, while exercising their functions, shall
enjoy the following privileges and immunities:
(a)
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personal inviolability, including immunity
from personal arrest or detention; |
(b)
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except as provided in paragraph 2 of this Article, immunity
from legal process of any kind with respect to words spoken
or written, and all acts done by them in the performance
of their official functions, it being understood that
such immunity shall continue notwithstanding that the
persons concerned may have ceased to perform such functions; |
| (c) |
inviolability of all papers and documents; |
| (d) |
exemption with respect to immigration restrictions,
alien registration and national service obligations; |
(e)
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the same facilities with respect to currency or exchange
restrictions as are accorded to representatives of foreign
governments on temporary official missions; |
(f)
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the same immunities and facilities with respect to their
personal and official baggage as are accorded to members
of comparable rank of diplomatic missions, pursuant to
security measures that the Republic of Korea might apply
according to international law. |
2. However, the immunity from legal process shall not apply
to the civil and administrative jurisdiction of the Republic
of Korea in relation to an action for damages arising from
an accident caused by a motor vehicle, vessel or aircraft,
used or owned by the persons concerned where those damages
are not recoverable from insurance.
Article XIII
PURPOSE OF PRIVILEGES AND IMMUNITIES AND COOPERATION WITH
APPROPRIATE KOREAN AUTHORITIES
1. The privileges and immunities provided for in Articles
X through XII are conferred in the interest of the Institute
and not for the personal benefit of the individuals themselves.
The authorities specified in paragraph 2 of this Article shall
have the right and the duty to waive immunity whenever it
would impede the course of justice. Such waiver of immunity
shall be without prejudice to the interests of the Institute.
2. The authorities referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article
shall be:
(a)
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the Chairperson of the Board with respect
to Board Members and the Director, |
(b)
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the Director with respect to senior members and other
members of the Institute, official visitors to the Institute
and the Institute itself. |
3. The Institute and its staff shall cooperate with the appropriate
Korean Authorities to facilitate the proper administration
of justice, to secure the observance of police regulations
and to prevent the occurrence of any abuse in connection with
the privileges and immunities provided for in this Agreement.
4. Without prejudice to the privileges and immunities conferred
by this Agreement, it is the duty of all persons enjoying
such privileges and immunities to observe the laws and regulations
of the Republic of Korea. Such persons also have a duty not
to interfere in the internal affairs of the Republic of Korea.
Article XIV
SECURITY MEASURES
The provisions of the present Agreement do not constitute
impediments to the enforcement of security measures or controls
as may be required by the appropriate Korean Authorities.
Article XV
SETTLEMENT OF DISPUTES
Any dispute between the Institute and the Government concerning
the interpretation or application of this Agreement or any
question affecting the headquarters seat or the relationship
between the Institute and the Government, which is not settled
by negotiation or other agreed mode of settlement, shall be
referred to arbitration, by a tribunal composed of three arbitrators:
one to be appointed by the Director, one to be appointed by
the Government, and the third, who shall be the chairperson
of the tribunal, to be appointed by the first two arbitrators.
Should the first two arbitrators fail to agree upon the third
within six months of the date on which both of them had been
appointed, such third arbitrator shall be appointed by the
President of the International Court of Justice at the request
of either party. A majority vote of the arbitrators shall
be sufficient to reach a decision, including decisions on
procedural matters, which shall be final and binding on the
parties.
Article XVI
ARBITRATION
The Institute shall establish appropriate procedures for the
settlement of disputes with all its staff. The Institute shall
insert clauses in contracts with all other persons, whether
physical or corporate, providing for the settlement of disputes
by arbitration in a manner complying with generally accepted
legal principles as regards impartiality and such matters
as the right to the parties to state their cases. In addition,
the Institute shall maintain adequate insurance or take other
such measures to enable it to meet claims of a non-contractual
nature.
Article XVII
FINAL PROVISIONS
1. This Agreement shall enter into force, provided that all
conditions contained in Article VIII of the Agreement on the
Establishment of the International Vaccine Institute have
been met, on the day of notification that internal procedures
have been completed by the Institute and the Government .
2. Consultations with respect to amendment of this Agreement
will be held at the request of the Institute or the Government.
3. This Agreement shall remain in force for such time as
the Institute maintains its headquarters seat in the Republic
of Korea unless it is terminated previously by mutual consent.
4. Without prejudice to this Agreement, laws, regulations
and administrative procedures enacted by the appropriate Korean
Authorities to govern administrative affairs of Specialized
Agencies of the United Nations in the Republic of Korea shall
apply to the Institute.
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