The Government of the Kingdom of the Netherlands and the International Tea Promotion
Association,
Having regard to Article 15 of the International Tea Promotion Association Agreement;
Desiring to define the status, privileges and immunities referred to in the said Article
15;
The Association shall have legal personality. It shall in particular have the capacity
to contract, to acquire and dispose of movable and immovable property and to institute
legal proceedings.
The archives of the Association shall be inviolable. The term “archives” includes
all records, correspondence, documents, manuscripts, photographs, films and recordings
belonging to or held by the Association.
The premises of the Association shall be inviolable subject to the provisions of Article
20 of this Agreement. Any person authorized to enter any place under any legal provision
or on the strength of the law as described in the said Article 20 shall not exercise
that authority in respect of the premises of the Association unless permission to
do so has been given by or on behalf, of the Executive Director. Such permission shall
be assumed in case of fire or other disaster requiring prompt protective action. In
the other cases the Executive Director or the person acting on his behalf shall give
permission if it is possible to do so without prejudicing the interests of the Association.
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2) The Association's property and assets wherever situated shall be immune from any form
of requisition, confiscation, expropriation and sequestration.
They shall also be immune from any form of administrative or provisional judicial
constraint, except insofar as may be temporarily necessary in connection with the
prevention of, and investigation into, accidents involving motor vehicles belonging
to, or operated on behalf of, the Association.
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(1) Within the scope of its official activities, the Association and its property shall
be exempt from all direct taxes. Direct taxes include income tax, capital tax, corporation
tax and direct taxes levied by local authorities.
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(3) The Association shall be accorded a refund of car tax and value added tax paid on
the purchase of new motor cars, and value added tax paid on the supply of goods or
services of substantial value, necessary for the official activities of the Association.
In this connection it is envisaged that claims for refund will be made only in respect
of goods or services supplied on a recurring basis or involving considerable expenditure
such as the furnishing of the premises of the Association.
The Association shall be accorded a refund of the excise duty element included in
the price of spirits and hydrocarbons such as fuel oils and motor fuels purchased
by the Association and necessary for its official activities.
Goods whose import or export by the Association is necessary for the exercise of its
official activities shall be exempt from all customs duties and other charges (except
mere payments for services) and from all prohibitions and restrictions on import or
export.
The Association may receive and hold any kind of funds, currency, cash or securities;
it may dispose of them freely for any purpose provided for in the Agreement 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 the Association
shall not be restricted in any way.
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2) Privileges and immunities are accorded to representatives not for their personal advantage
but in order to ensure complete independence in the exercise of their functions in
connection with the Association. Consequently, a Member of the International Tea Promotion
Association Agreement has the duty to waive the immunity of a representative where
retaining it would impede the course of justice and it can be waived without prejudicing
the purposes for which it was accorded.
In addition to the privileges and immunities provided for in Article 14 of this Agreement,
the Executive Director and, in the absence or incapacitation of the Executive Director,
the staff member designated to act in his place, unless in either case he is a Netherlands
national or a permanent resident of the Netherlands, shall enjoy the privileges and
immunities to which a diplomatic agent is entitled.
The staff members of the Association:
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a) shall have (even after they have left the service of the Association) immunity from
jurisdiction in respect of acts done by them in the exercise of their functions, including
words written or spoken; this immunity shall not, however, apply in the case of a
motor traffic offence committed by a staff member of the Association nor in the case
of damage caused by a motor vehicle belonging to or driven by a staff member;
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b) shall enjoy inviolability for all their official papers and documents;
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c) shall enjoy exemption from all measures restricting immigration, from charges for
visas and from aliens' registration formalities; and members of their families forming
part of their households shall enjoy the same facilities;
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d) shall enjoy the same facilities as to repatriation as diplomatic agents in time of
international crisis; and members of their family forming part of their households
shall enjoy the same facilities;
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e) unless they are Netherlands nationals, shall have the right to import duty-free their
furniture and personal effects at the time of first taking up their post in the Netherlands
and the right on the termination of their functions in the Netherlands to export free
of duty their furniture and personal effects, subject, in both cases, to the conditions
agreed with the Government.
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2) The staff members of the Association and non-Netherlands members of their families
forming part of their households shall hold a personal identity card issued by the
Association stating names, date and place of birth, nationality, number of passport
(aliens only), and bearing photograph and signature. The identity cards shall be authenticated
by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
Experts (other than the staff members referred to in Article 14 of this Agreement)
in the exercise of their functions in connection with the Association or in carrying
out missions for the Association shall enjoy the following privileges and immunities
to the extent that they are necessary for the carrying out of their functions, including
during journeys made in carrying out their functions and in the course of such missions:
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a) immunity from jurisdiction in respect of acts done by them in the exercise of their
functions, including words written or spoken, except in the case of a motor traffic
offence committed by an expert or in the case of damage caused by a motor vehicle
belonging to or driven by him; experts shall continue to enjoy this immunity after
they have ceased to be employed by the Association;
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b) inviolability for all their official papers and documents;
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c) the same customs facilities as regards their personal luggage as are accorded to the
officials of foreign Governments on temporary official missions.
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(1) Subject to the conditions and following the procedure laid down by the Governing Board
and agreed with the. Government, the Executive Director and the staff members shall
be subject to a tax, for the benefit of the Association, on salaries and emoluments
paid by the Association. From the date on which this tax is applied such salaries
and emoluments shall be exempt from Netherlands income tax. The Government shall retain
the right to take these salaries and emoluments into account when assessing the amount
of tax to be applied to income from other sources.
In the event of the Association establishing its own social security scheme or adhering
to a social security scheme, the Association, the Executive Director and the other
staff members shall be exempt from all compulsory contributions to the Netherlands
social security organisations. Consequently, they shall not be covered against the
risks described in the Netherlands social security regulations.
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2) The Executive Director has the right and the duty to waive such immunities (other
than his own) when he considers that such immunities are preventing the carrying out
of justice and when it is possible to dispense with the immunities without prejudicing
the interests of the Association. In respect of the Executive Director, the Governing
Board of the International Tea Promotion Association may waive his immunities.
The Association shall co-operate at all times with the appropriate authorities in
order to facilitate the proper administration of justice, to ensure the observance
of police regulations and regulations concerning the handling of inflammable material,
public health, labour inspection and other similar national legislation, and to prevent
any abuse of the privileges and immunities and facilities provided for in this Agreement,
but the right of the Government to take all precautionary measures in the interests
of its security shall not be prejudiced by any provision in this Agreement.
Where the Association enters into contracts (other than contracts concluded in accordance
with staff regulations) the Association shall include an arbitration clause whereby
any disputes arising out of the interpretation or execution of the contract may at
the request of either party be submitted to private arbitration.
The Association shall, at the instance of the Government, submit to an international
arbitration tribunal any dispute (other than a dispute concerning the interpretation
or application of the International Tea Promotion Association Agreement, or any succeeding
agreement):
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a) arising out of damage caused by the Association;
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b) involving any other non-contractual responsibility of the Association; or
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c) involving the Executive Director, a staff member or expert of the Association, and
in which the person concerned can claim immunity from jurisdiction under this Agreement,
if this immunity is not waived.
The Association shall from time to time send to the Government a list of all staff
members indicating in each case whether or not the individual is a Netherlands national
or permanently resident in the Netherlands. The Association may inform the Government
of the appointment of staff members individually for addition to the list.
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2) The tribunal shall consist of three arbitrators. One arbitrator shall be appointed
by the Government, one by the Association and a third arbitrator, who shall be the
Chairman, shall be appointed by the said two arbitrators.
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3) If within two months from the date of appointment of the second arbitrator the two
arbitrators are unable to agree on the appointment of the third arbitrator, the President
of the International Court of Justice shall, at the request of either Party, be invited
to appoint the third arbitrator.
Any amendment of this Agreement shall be decided upon in writing between the two Parties
and shall take effect immediately.
This Agreement shall enter into force on the day of its signature.
As regards the Kingdom of the Netherlands, the Agreement shall apply only to the
Kingdom in Europe.
This Agreement is concluded for an undetermined period. Each of the two Parties has
the right to denounce the Agreement taking into account a term of notice of six months.
