MINISTER FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS
The Hague, 6 September 1990
Dear Mr President,
Referring to the conversations between the Netherlands authorities and the Secretary-General
of the Iran-United States Claims Tribunal concerning the privileges and immunities
with respect to the functioning of the Tribunal and to the wish expressed during these
conversations on behalf of the Tribunal to specify these privileges and immunities,
I have the honour hereby to propose to your Excellency the following:
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1 The premises of the Tribunal shall be inviolable. The Netherlands authorities may
not enter them, except with the consent of the President of the Tribunal or of his
designee. Such consent may, however, be assumed in case of fire or other disaster
requiring prompt protective action, and only in the event that it has not been possible
to obtain the express consent of the President or of his designee.
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3 The premises of the Tribunal, their furnishings and other property thereon shall be
immune from search, requisition, attachment or execution.
The archives of the Tribunal and any documents belonging to or held by it shall be
inviolable. They should, when necessary, bear visible external marks of identification.
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1 Subject to the provisions of Article 4 the Tribunal, within the scope of the performance
of its tasks, shall enjoy in the Netherlands immunity from jurisdiction and execution,
except:
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a. to the extent that the Tribunal shall have expressly waived such immunity in a particular
case;
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b. in the case of a civil action brought by a third party for damage resulting from an
accident caused by a motor vehicle belonging to, or operated on behalf of, the Tribunal,
or in respect of a motor traffic offence involving such a vehicle.
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3 The property and assets of the Tribunal shall also be immune from administrative or
provisional judicial constraint, except in so far 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 Tribunal.
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1 If the Tribunal institutes or intervenes in proceedings before a court in the Netherlands,
it submits, for the purpose of those proceedings, to the jurisdiction of the Netherlands
courts.
If the Tribunal appears before the courts in order to assert immunity, it shall not
thereby be deemed to have waived immunity.
The members of the Tribunal shall be inviolable. They shall not be liable to any form
of arrest or detention. The Netherlands authorities shall treat them with due respect
and shall take all appropriate steps to prevent any attack on their person, freedom
or dignity.
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2 The papers, correspondence and, except as provided for in paragraph 4 of Article 9,
the property of a member of the Tribunal shall likewise enjoy inviolability.
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4 No measures of execution may be taken in respect of a member of the Tribunal except
in the cases coming under sub-paragraphs (a), (b), (c) and (d) of paragraph 2 of this
Article, and provided that the measures concerned can be taken without infringing
the inviolability of his person or of his residence.
The members of the Tribunal shall be exempt in the Kingdom of the Netherlands from
all personal services, from all public services of any kind whatsoever, and from military
obligations such as those connected with requisitioning, military contributions and
billeting.
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2 The other staff-members of the Tribunal shall enjoy the privileges and immunities
specified in Articles 7 and 9 to 10, except that the immunity from criminal, civil
and administrative jurisdiction specified in Article 9 shall not extend to acts performed
outside the course of their duties.
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1 Except insofar as additional privileges and immunities may be granted by the Netherlands
Government, a member of the Tribunal or a staff-member of the Tribunal who is a Netherlands
national or permanently resident in the Netherlands shall enjoy only immunity from
jurisdiction, and inviolability, in respect of official acts performed in the exercise
of his function.
Members of the family of a member of the Tribunal and of the Secretary-General forming
part of his household shall, if they are not Netherlands nationals, enjoy the privileges
and immunities specified in Articles 7 to 10.
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2 The Tribunal may waive the immunity from jurisdiction of a member of the Tribunal
and of the Secretary-General or of any person enjoying immunity under Articles 11
to 13. Immunity shall be waived in any case where, in the opinion of the Tribunal,
the immunity would impede the course of justice and waiver would not prejudice the
purpose for which the immunity is accorded.
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1 Every person entitled to privileges and immunities shall enjoy them from the moment
he enters Netherlands territory for the purpose of performing his functions with the
Tribunal or, if he is already in its territory, from the moment when his appointment
is notified to the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
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2 When the functions of a person enjoying privileges and immunities have come to an
end, such privileges and immunities shall normally cease at the moment when he leaves
Netherlands territory, or on expiry of a reasonable period in which to do so, but
shall subsist until that time, even in case of armed conflict. However in respect
of acts performed by such a person in the exercise of his function, immunity shall
continue to subsist.
In the event of the death of a member of the Tribunal or of a staff-member of the
Tribunal, or of a member of his family forming part of his household, if the deceased
was not a Netherlands national nor permanently resident in the Netherlands, the Kingdom
of the Netherlands shall permit the withdrawal of the movable property of the deceased,
with the exception of any property acquired in the country the export of which was
prohibited at the time of his death.
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2 The staff-members of the Tribunal referred to in paragraph 2 of Article 11, not being
Netherlands nationals or permanently resident in the Netherlands, and the members
of the families referred to in Article 13 shall not, when they practise a professional
or commercial activity for personal profit, enjoy immunity from criminal jurisdiction
in respect of acts performed in the course of or in connection with the practice of
such activity. However, the immunity with regard to the execution of the judgement
will stand unless waived in accordance with Article 14.
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1 Members of the family forming part of the households of the Members, the Secretary-General,
and the Staff of the Tribunal shall be authorised to engage in gainful employment
in the Netherlands for the duration of the term of office of the Member concerned,
the Secretary-General, or the Staff member concerned.
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3 Members of the family forming part of the households of the Members and of the Secretary-General,
in accordance with paragraph 2 of this Article, who obtain gainful employment, shall,
in accordance with Article 9, paragraph 2, subparagraph (c) and the first sentence
of Article 17, paragraph 2, respectively, have no immunity from civil, administrative,
or criminal jurisdiction with respect to matters arising in the course of or in connection
with such employment. Measures of execution in respect of members of the family forming
part of the households of the Members and of the Secretary-General in matters arising
in the course of or in connection with their gainful employment can only be taken
if those measures do not infringe the inviolability of their person or of their residence,
in as far as they are entitled to such inviolability.
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4 In case of the insolvency of a person aged under 18 with respect to a claim arising
out of gainful employment of that person under this Article, the immunity of the Member,
the Secretary-General, or Staff member of the Tribunal of whose family the person
concerned is a member shall be waived by the Tribunal for the purpose of settlement
of the claim, in accordance with Article 14.
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5 Employment referred to in paragraph 1 shall be in accordance with Netherlands legislation,
including fiscal and social security legislation, unless any other applicable international
legal instrument provides otherwise.
The Kingdom of the Netherlands shall, even in case of armed conflict, grant facilities
to enable members of the Tribunal and staff-membres of the Tribunal, other than Netherlands
nationals, and members of the families of such persons irrespective of their nationality,
to leave at the earliest possible moment. In particular it must, in case of need,
place at their disposal the necessary means of transport for themselves and their
property.
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1 The claimants and respondents or their representatives, counsel and advocates, as
well as witnesses and experts and other persons who take part in the proceedings of
the Tribunal, shall enjoy immunity from legal process in respect of oral or written
statements made, or documents or other evidence submitted by them before or to the
Tribunal.
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2 In the event that the Tribunal shall have established its own social security system
offering coverage comparable to the coverage under Netherlands legislation, the Tribunal
and its employees shall be exempt from social security provisions in force in the
Netherlands, with retroactive effect to 18 May 1981.
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3 The provisions of par. 1 and 2 shall apply mutatis mutandis to members of the family
forming part of the households of the persons mentioned in those paragraphs, unless
they are employed or selfemployed in the Netherlands or receive Netherlands social
security benefits.
If the foregoing meets with the approval of Your Excellency I have the honour further
to propose that this letter and your letter in reply shall constitute an agreement
between the Kingdom of the Netherlands and the Iran-United States Claims Tribunal
which will enter into force on the date of receipt by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
of your Excellency's letter accepting the above.
Sincerely Yours,
(sd.) H. VAN DEN BROEK
His Excellency
Dr. Robert Briner
President of the
Iran-United States Claims Tribunal
at The Hague
