AGREEMENT
BETWEEN THE GOVERNMENT OF THE FRENCH REPUBLIC
AND THE SOUTH PACIFIC COMMISSION
ON THE PRIVILEGES AND IMMUNITIES OF THE LATTER
An Agreement between
the French Government as represented by M. ANGAMMARRE, Governor of New Caledonia and Dependencies,
and
the South Pacific Commission as represented by its Secretary-General, Sir Brian FREESTON,
has been concluded as follows:
HEADING I - CAPACITY
ARTICLE 1. - The South Pacific Commission, (hereinafter referred to as "the Commission"), shall have the capacity to conclude contracts, to acquire and dispose of movable and immovable property and to institute legal proceedings.
The Secretary-General of the Commission shall be empowered, in the name of the Commission, to take all necessary steps to this effect, insofar as he has been authorised so to do by the Commission.
ARTICLE 2. - The Secretary-General shall co-operate at all times with the French authorities. He shall support any action necessary to the proper administration of justice and to the scrupulous observance of police regulations, and shall avoid the occurrence of any abuse in connection with the privileges, immunities, exemptions and facilities enumerated in the present Agreement.
HEADING II - ASSETS, INCOME AND OTHER PROPERTY.
ARTICLE 3. - The Commission, its property and assets shall enjoy legal immunity, except where it shall expressly renounce this immunity by contract or otherwise.
No waiver of immunity shall extend to measures of execution or detention of property.
ARTICLE 4. - The Commission premises shall be inviolable. Its property, movable and immovable, shall be immune from search, requisition, confiscation, expropriation or any other form of interference whether by administrative or judicial action, provided that the Commission shall not allow its premises to be used or to serve as a refuge for any person against whom legal process has been issued by the French authorities. [This article was apparently amended in 1995, but the text was never made public]
ARTICLE 5. - The archives of the Commission and, in general, all documents belonging to it or held by it, shall be inviolable.
ARTICLE 6. - Subject to any regulation by which the French Government may control the transfer of funds, gold or currency in respect of any territory under its jurisdiction:
a) The Commission may hold currency of any kind and operate accounts in any currency.
b) The Commission may freely transfer its funds outside French territories and convert any currency held by it into the currency of any other member country.
c) In exercising its rights under sub-paragraph (a) and (b) above, the Commission shall have regard to any representations made by the French Government, and shall give effect to such representations, insofar as it considers this can be done without detriment to the interests of the Commission.
ARTICLE 7. - The Commission, its assets, income and other property shall be exempt:
a) from all direct taxes; the Commission will not however, claim exemption from taxes which are no more than charges for public utility services;
b) from all customs duties, prohibitions and restrictions of import and export in respect of articles required by the Commission for its official use; articles imported under such exemption will not be sold in the country into which they are imported and shall not be given away, except under derogation approved by the French Government;
c) from all customs duties, prohibitions and restrictions of import and export in respect of its publications.
ARTICLE 8: - The Commission shall not claim exemption from any taxes on property movable and immovable, which form part of the price to be paid.
HEADING III - COMMUNICATIONS
ARTICLE 9. - For its official correspondence, the Commission shall enjoy treatment at least as favourable as that accorded by the French Government to the diplomatic missions accredited to it, in the matter of telegraphic, telephonic and postal franking, rates and taxes, correspondence priorities, and the use of mail bags and couriers.
HEADING IV - IMMUNITIES AND PRIVILEGES OF COMMISSIONERS
ARTICLE 10. - Commissioners shall, while exercising their functions and during journeys to and from the place of meeting, enjoy the following privileges and immunities:
a) immunity from personal arrest or detention and from seizure of their personal baggage, and, in respect of words spoken or written and all acts done by them in their official capacity, immunity from legal process;
b) inviolability of all documents and archives;
c) the right to use codes and to receive documents or correspondence by courier or in sealed bags;
d) exemption in respect of themselves, and their spouses from immigration restrictions, aliens' registration, or national service obligations in the French territories which they are visiting or through which they are passing in the exercise of their functions;
e) the same facilities as representatives of foreign governments on temporary official missions, with regard to restrictions on currencies and exchange;
f) the same courtesies as members of diplomatic missions of equal rank, as regards their personal luggage, and freedom to transport furniture to French territories;
g) exemption from consideration as residence, when residence involves the payment of taxes of any kind, of periods during which Commissioners to the main organisation and the branch organisations of the Commission and to conferences convened by the Commission are in a French territory for the discharge of their functions.
ARTICLE 11. - In order to secure for the Commissioners complete freedom of speech and complete independence in the discharge of their duties, the immunity from legal process in respect of words spoken or written and all actions performed in the discharge of their duties, shall continue to be accorded, notwithstanding that the persons concerned are no longer engaged in the discharge of such duties.
ARTICLE 12. - Privileges and immunities are accorded to Commissioners, not for the personal benefit of the individuals themselves, but in order to safeguard the independent exercise of their functions in connection with the Commission. Consequently, the French government not only has the right, but is under a duty to waive the immunity of its Commissioners in any case where in the opinion of that Government, the immunity would impede the course of justice, and where it can be waived without prejudice to the purposes for which the immunity is accorded.
ARTICLE 13. -
a) The provisions of Articles 10, 11 and 12 shall not be applicable to French nationals.
b) In Articles 10, 11 and 12 above, the expression "commissioners" shall be deemed to include all commissioners and alternates, delegation advisers, technical experts and secretaries and members of the Research Council (other than permanent members), who shall enjoy, in the discharge of their functions and in their travels, the same privileges and immunities as Commissioners.
[EDITORS NOTE: Does the fact that Commissioners no longer exist mean that all of HEADING IV is redundant? Or are country delegates to SPC meetings now classed as "commissioners" for the purpose of this Agreement, since they fulfil pretty much the same functions?]
HEADING V - OFFICIALS OF THE COMMISSION
ARTICLE 14. - In addition to the privileges and immunities specified in Article 16 hereunder, the Secretary-General, Deputy Chairman of the Research Council and Deputy Secretary-General shall be accorded in respect of themselves, their spouses and minor children, the privileges and immunities, exemptions and facilities accorded to diplomatic envoys in conformity with international law.
ARTICLE 15.- The French Government and the Commission shall determine, by common accord, the holders of Commission posts to be considered officials of the Commission.
The holders, whose names shall be communicated regularly to the French Government by the Secretary-General, shall be subject to the provisions of Article 16 hereunder.
ARTICLE 16. - Officials of the Commission shall:
a) be immune from legal process in respect of words spoken or written and all acts performed by them in their official capacity, and within the limits of their authority;
b) be exempt from taxation on salaries and emoluments, unless the member States agree to a system whereby the salaries and emoluments in question would be taxed by the Organisation itself, and subject to the possibility of the French Government's taxing its own nationals;
c) be immune, together with their spouses and dependents, from immigration restrictions and aliens' registration formalities;
[EDITORS NOTE: This is particularly relevant for any spouse who travels separately and finds it difficult to get a visa on first entering New Caledonia, but can prove that they are married to an SPC official - which has happened]
d) enjoy the same privileges in respect of exchange facilities as are accorded to officials of comparable rank forming part of diplomatic missions to the French Government;
e) be given, together with their spouses and dependents the same repatriation facilities in times of international crisis as diplomatic envoys;
f) have the right to import their furniture and personal effects at the time of first taking up their post, without paying customs duties in the French territory where they are domiciled, in the discharge of their functions.
ARTICLE 17.- Privileges and immunities shall be granted to officials in the interests of the Commission and not for personal benefit of the individuals themselves. The Commission shall have the right and the duty to waive, by a majority decision of the members present, the immunity of any official in any case where, in its opinion, the immunity would impede the course of justice.
The Commission shall have the right to waive, under the same conditions, the immunity of the Secretary-General.
[EDITORS NOTE: Presumably the "Commission" in the sense of Article 17 means the Conference]
HEADING VI - "CARTES DE SERVICE"
ARTICLE 18. - The Commission may issue "cartes de service" to its officials. The "carte de service" in French, English and Dutch, when accompanied by a valid passport, shall be recognised and accepted by the authorities of the French government as a document of identification and recommendation.
Application for visas, where required, from the holders of a Commission "carte de service", when accompanied by a certificate testifying that they are travelling on the business of the Commission, shall be dealt with as speedily as possible. In addition, such persons shall be granted every facility for speedy travel.
The Secretary-General of the Commission shall notify the French Government of the names and particulars of the persons to whom "cartes de service" are issued.
[EDITOR'S NOTE: Presumably the need for Dutch wording in "cartes de service" has been repealed. Also, it is comforting to know that the immigration service will deal with visas as quickly as possible.]
HEADING VII - ABUSE OF PRIVILEGES
ARTICLE 19. - If the French Government shall consider that there has been an abuse, by the Commission or by any person belonging to it or depending on it, of a privilege or an immunity conferred by this agreement, the French Government and the other member Governments shall consult, in order to determine whether or not there has been an abuse, and, if so, shall take appropriate measures to prevent its repetition. In the event of the results of these consultations being unsatisfactory to any one of the Governments concerned, the question as to whether there has or has not been an abuse of privilege shall be submitted to the President of the International Court of Justice, in accordance with the provisions of Article 21.
In the event of the President's deciding that there has been an abuse, the French Government shall have the right, after notifying the Commission, to withdraw from the latter the benefit of the privilege or immunity which has been abused, in order to prevent repetition of the abuse.
The Secretary-General of the Commission, in the exercise of his functions and in the course of his travel in the Commission's area of activity and the officials who come within the provisions of Article 15, cannot be obliged by the territorial authorities to leave the country in which they exercise their functions, by reason of acts committed by them in their official capacity and within the limits of their authority.
However, in the event of such an official on duty in that country abusing his privileges of residence, he may be requested to leave by the French Government.
a) The Secretary-General of the Commission can be obliged to leave the territory only in accordance with the diplomatic procedure applicable to the diplomatic envoys accredited to France.
b) When an order to leave the territory has been issued to an official, the Secretary-General of the Commission shall be notified. He shall be able to address to the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of the French Republic, through the French Government's Commissioner, all the information which he may deem appropriate to justify, if necessary, a revision of the decision made.
HEADING VIII - PRECAUTIONARY MEASURES
ARTICLE 20. - The French Government may take, in the territories under its administration, all precautionary measures essential for national security, for the maintenance of public order, the prevention and repression of all infringements of the law or hostile or inimical activities, on the understanding that such measures will not encroach on the independence of the Commission.
HEADING IX - FINAL PROVISIONS
ARTICLE 21. - Any difference of opinion on the interpretation or the application of the present Agreement which cannot be settled by common accord shall be submitted to a single arbitrator chosen by the member Governments of the Commission; or, in the event of the latter being unable to agree to this effect, by the President of the International Court of Justice, whose decision shall be regarded as final.
ARTICLE 22. - Ratification of the present Agreement by the French Government shall be effected by deposit with the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of the French Republic of an Instrument of Ratification.
ARTICLE 23. - The Ministry for Foreign Affairs of the French Republic shall inform the Commission of the deposit of the Instrument of Ratification.
ARTICLE 24. - The present Agreement shall come into force as soon as the Instrument of Ratification has been deposited in conformity with Article 22.
It may be terminated by both parties and, in this event, shall cease to be operative six months after such termination.
ARTICLE 25. - By common accord, the French Government and the Commission may conclude supplementary agreements modifying the provisions of this Agreement.
ARTICLE 26. - The privileges and immunities contained in this Agreement shall be accorded in French territories within the territorial scope of the Commission, and on French metropolitan territory. At the discretion of the French Government, they may be accorded in non-metropolitan, dependent, associated or trust territories outside the territorial scope of the Commission.
ARTICLE 27. - The present Agreement shall be drafted in the French, English and Dutch languages, the French text alone being authentic.
Done in duplicate, in Noumea
the 20th February, 1953.For the South Pacific Commission,
sgd. L. BRIAN FREESTONFor the French Government,
sgd. R. ANGAMMARRE