JSCA Institutional Documents

AG/RES. 1 (XXVI-E/99) (Approved in the second plenary session held on November 15, 1999)

THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY, HAVING SEEN the report presented by the Chair of the Special Group Charges with Implementing the Recommendations of the Meetings of Ministers of Justice or Ministers or Attorneys General of the Americas during the meeting of the Permanent Council held on September 28, 1999 (CP/ACTA 1205/99);

CONSIDERING: That in the Plan of Action adopted at the Second Summit of the Americas held in Santiago de Chile in April 1998, the Heads of State and Government agreed to establish a Justice Studies Center of the Americas in order to facilitate the improvement of human resources, exchange of information and other forms of technical cooperation in the Hemisphere in accordance with the specific needs of each country; That on the occasion of the Second Meeting of Ministers of Justice or Ministers or Attorneys General of the Americas held in Lima, Peru in March 1999, a recommendation was made to establish a group of government experts open to all delegations so that, among other things, they could develop a draft statute of the Justice Studies Center of the Americas;

CONSIDERING: That in April 1999, the Permanent Council established the Special Group under the Presidency of Peru and Vice Presidency of Costa Rica and Trinidad and Tobago charged with carrying out the recommendations of the Meetings of Ministers of Justice or Ministers or Attorneys General of the Americas; That through AG/RES. 1615 (XXIX-O/99), the General Assembly supported and recognized the progress that the Special Group of the Permanent Council has made to facilitate the meetings of government experts on the establishment of the Justice Studies Center of the Americas; That the Special Group of Justice held four meetings of government experts to develop draft statutes of the Justice Studies Center of the Americas in order to implement the recommendations of the Second Meetings of Ministers of Justice or Ministers or Attorneys General of the Americas;

The Permanent Council, HAVING APPROVED the draft Statutes of the Justice Studies Center of the Americas in a session held on September 28, 1999; and


RECOGNIZING the work of the Special Group charged with carrying out the recommendations of the meetings of Ministers of Justice or Ministers or Attorneys General of the Americas to develop the draft Statutes of the Justice Studies Center of the Americas, which allowed the negotiations with which they were charged to be completed efficiently and within the established timeframe,

RESOLVES: To establish the Justice Studies Center for the Americas and to adopt the following:

Section I
Nature

Article 1
The Justice Studies Center of the Americas (hereinafter the “Center”) is an intergovernmental entity with technical and operational autonomy established by resolution of the General Assembly of the Organization of American States (hereinafter the “OAS”) in fulfillment of the mandates set forth in the Plan of Action of the Second Summit of the Americas (Santiago, April 1998) and the recommendations adopted at the Meetings of Ministers of Justice or Ministers or Attorneys General of the Americas (hereinafter “REMJAs”).


Article 2
The Center is governed by these Statutes and its Regulations.  Its activities shall be carried out in accordance with the policy guidelines reflected in the conclusions and recommendations of the REMJAs and, as appropriate, may consider the pertinent mandates of the Summit of the Americas and resolutions of the OAS General Assembly.

Section II
Objectives and Functions 

Article 3
The objectives of the Center are:

Article 4
The Center shall have the following functions, among others:

Article 5
In the performance of its functions, the Center shall consider the different legal systems in the Hemisphere and, to the extent possible, shall use modern information technology as technical support for its operations.  It shall also take into account the activities being developed in this field at the international, regional and subregional levels in order to promote cooperation and avoid duplication of efforts.

Article 6
In the event that REMJA does not meet in a particular year or period, the powers and functions assigned to REMJA by these Statutes will be performed through the OAS General Assembly.

Section III
Composition and Headquarters

Article 7
All of the member states of the OAS are members of the Center. 

 
Article 8
Any permanent observer to the OAS and any national or international, governmental or non-governmental organization specializing in the subject area may become an associate member of the Center under terms and conditions established in the Center’s Regulations. The associate members may participate in all Center activities.  They may also participate in meetings of the Board of Directors with voice but without vote. 

Article 9
The organizational structure of the Center shall consist of: a Board of Directors, the Executive Leadership and such advisory groups as may be established in accordance with these Statutes. 

 
Article l0
The Center may enter into cooperation agreements with the member states of the OAS and other states, as well as with international or national, governmental or non-governmental organizations, among others.  Such agreements shall be approved by the Board of Directors and deposited with the OAS General Secretariat. They shall specify the conditions and forms of participation in the Center´s activities, as well as the rights and obligations of the parties. 

Section IV
The Board of Directors 

Article 11

The means and procedures used to ensure representation on the Board of Directors for the host institution of the Center and for the associate members shall be determined by REMJA on the basis of the recommendation of the Board of Directors.

Article 12
The functions of the Board of Directors are as follows:

Article 13

Section V
Executive Leadership

Article 14

Section VI

Advisory Groups

Article 15
The advisory groups established under Article 12 (g) may function at a site other than that of the Center. The requirements and terms of reference for their establishment shall be set forth in the Regulations.

Article 16
The findings and conclusions of the advisory groups with regard to the matters assigned to them shall be presented to the Board of Directors through the Executive Director.

Section VII
Budgetary and financial matters

The Center and its activities shall be financed by voluntary contributions provided by the OAS member states and by funds from other public and private sources. To that end, the Board of Directors shall authorize the establishment of specific and fiduciary funds that may be required, such as those provided for in Articles 68 and 69 of the General Standards to Govern the Operations of the General Secretariat of the Organizations of American States.

Section VIII
Entry into force

Article 18
These Statutes shall enter into force on the date of its adoption by the OAS General Assembly and may be amended only by that body.

TRANSITORY PROVISIONS

First. For its first phase, the Center shall develop topics related to criminal justice, seeking to take advantage of the experience by other organizations in the Hemisphere in this area.
Second. The headquarters of the Center shall be selected by the REMJA based on the results of the assessments and the recommendations presented by the Board of Directors regarding the proposals made by member states. To that end, the Board of Directors shall evaluate the site proposals of member states according to the following criteria, among other institutional affiliation, financial and/or in-kind support, staff support, and other contributions and facilities to be provided for the Center.  Until a site has been selected, the Center shall operate at OAS headquarters.
Third. For the first Board of Directors, three members will be elected for three years, two for a two-year term, and two for one year, the terms to be chosen by lot.

Section I
General Rules

Article 1
These Regulations govern the operation of the Justice Studies Center of the Americas (JSCA, henceforth “the Center”). The Center’s Statutes were approved by AG/RES. 1 (XXVI-E/99) of the General Assembly of the Organization of American States (henceforth OAS).

Article 2
If there is a conflict between the Center’s Statutes and these Regulations, the former shall prevail.

Article 3
Cases not addressed in these Regulations and not contained in the Center’s Statutes shall be resolved by the Board of Directors. 

Section II
Composition

Article 4
The Board of Directors is comprised of seven members selected individually by the OAS General Assembly from a list of candidates proposed by the member states.

Article 5
The members of the Board of Directors will serve for a three-year term and may not be elected for more than one consecutive period under any circumstances.

Article 6
The Board of Directors will be partially renewed in accordance with the provisions set out in the Statutes. 

Article 7
The terms of the members of the Board of Directors will begin on January 1 of the year following their election by the OAS General Assembly.

Article 8
No more than one person with the same nationality may be elected to the Board of Directors.

Article 9
Vacancies produced due to causes other than the normal expiration of the term of the members of the Board of Directors will be filled by the OAS General Assembly. In this case, the person chosen to fill the vacancy will begin their term immediately and will serve out the remainder of their predecessor’s term.

Article 10
In accordance with the Center’s Statutes, prior to each election, whether held to replace members due to the normal expiration of their terms or to fill vacancies produced for other reasons, the OAS Secretariat General will invite the member states’ governments to submit their respective candidates and their biographies. They will be given no less than 30 days’ notice and all of this will be communicated to the governments immediately.  The Secretariat General will then submit a list of candidates proposed by the countries and their biographies in alphabetical order to the General Assembly.

Section III
Presidency and Vice Presidency

Article 11
The President of the Board of Directors will be elected by an absolute majority of the members of said entity for a period of two years or for the amount of time required to complete their term as a Board member if this is shorter.

Article 12
The Board of Directors will elect a Vice President by an absolute majority of the members of said entity for a period of two years or for the amount of time required to complete their term as a Board member if this is shorter.

Article 13
If the President takes a temporary leave of absence, they will be replaced by the Vice President. If the President takes a definitive leave of absence, they will be replaced by the Vice President for the remainder of their term and a new Vice President will be elected following the same order of replacement.

If both the President and Vice President take a definitive leave of absence, the Board will elect an Interim President by absolute majority of the Board’s members.

Article 14
The President and Vice President may not be reelected to a consecutive second term.

Article 15
The election of the President and Vice President will be completed separately and by secret vote. The Executive Leadership will give each member a ballot listing the names of all members of the Board of Directors. Each member will mark only one name with an X. The current President will immediately proclaim the member who has obtained at least four votes to be elected to the corresponding role.  If no member receives at least four votes in the first round of voting, a second round will be held between the two members who received the highest number of votes in the first round.  The person who receives the highest number of votes in that second round will be elected.

Article 16
The responsibilities of the President are as follows:

1. To convene Board meetings per the Center’s Statutes and these Regulations;
2. To call sessions to order, adjourn them, and oversee discussions;
3. To develop the agenda and submit the topics listed in it to the Board of Directors for consideration;
4. To give the floor to members in the order in which they request it;
5. To make decisions on matters of order that arise during the discussions of the Board of Directors;
6. To submit the issues discussed that require such action to a vote and announce the results in accordance with the provisions of the Center’s Statutes and these Regulations;
7. To make available to the other members the communications received from the Meetings of Ministers of Justice or Ministers or Attorneys General of the Americas (henceforth, REMJA), OAS agencies, the governments of the member states, the members of the Board of Directors or others when they believe such action is warranted;
8. To represent the Board of Directors before other organizations, agencies, institutions and entities;
9. To attend the sessions of the OAS General Assembly and REMJAs;
10. To serve as an intermediary between the members or between the members and officials when necessary;
11. To provide written or verbal information requested by other members;
12. To submit a report on the work of the Center over the course of a specific period of time to REMJA; and
13. The other duties set out in the Center’s Statutes, these Regulations and by the Board of Directors.

Article 17
At the beginning of each regular period of sessions, the President will submit a report to the Board of Directors on how they carried out the duties set out in these Regulations during the recess and will submit the order of precedence of the matters to be addressed for consideration by the Board of Directors. 

Section IV
Roles

Article 18
In order to carry out the work provided for in the Center’s Statutes, the Board of Directors may:

1. Establish general rules for the Executive Leadership’s actions and those it considers necessary for the fulfillment of the obligations conferred upon the Director in the Statutes.
2. List, as an annex to these Regulations, the causes for removal of the Executive Director.
3. Establish as necessary and as an annex to these Regulations the terms of reference, conditions and requirements for:

• Approving the cooperation agreements that the Center establishes with OAS member states and other states as well as international, national, governmental, non-governmental and other organizations.
• The establishment and operation of advisory groups.
• The incorporation of international, national, governmental, non-governmental and other organizations as associate members of the Center.

Section V
Periods of Sessions

Article 19
The Board of Directors will hold at least one regular period of sessions per year.

Article 20
The Board of Directors also will hold extraordinary periods of sessions when these are called by the OAS General Assembly or REMJA, or when the Board decides to do so based on the importance and urgency of the matter or matters to be examined. The President will issue the corresponding invitation through the Executive Leadership.

Article 21
When the Board of Directors is in recess and one of its members proposes that an extraordinary period of sessions be held, the President will ask with the other members if they agree. If at least four members agree, the President will issue the corresponding invitation through the Executive Leadership. 

Article 22
In the case provided for in the previous Article, the President must list the matters to be considered in the invitation. The Board of Directors will only consider the matters mentioned in the invitation.

Article 23
In special cases, the Board of Directors may hold its periods of sessions in a location other than the Center’s headquarters that has been chosen in a timely manner as long as at least four of its members vote in favor of such action. The approval of the respective member state must be secured through the Executive Leadership if necessary.

Article 24
When periods of sessions of the Board of Directors are held at a location other than the Center’s headquarters, the Board will ask the government and the public and private entities of the host country to provide the support and services necessary to successfully hold the meetings The host institution will support the coordination of the tasks completed to that end.

Article 25
When the Board of Directors decides to meet at a location other than the Center’s headquarters, hold extraordinary periods of sessions or engage in any other activity that involves costs, the Executive Leadership will be asked to take the steps necessary to provide the respective funding.

Article 26
Prior to ending each ordinary period of sessions, the Board of Directors will set the start date of the next period. If this cannot be done during the meeting, a note will be made of that fact in the respective agreements.

Article 27
During its recess, and at the request of any of its members, the Board of Directors may decide, by a majority of five votes based on the request that the President makes for that purpose and through any means of communication, to change the date of an ordinary or extraordinary session that had been established in a timely manner.

Article 28
Delaying an ordinary period of sessions beyond the originally established date will require a vote of at least five Board members.

Section VI
Meetings

Article 29
The Board of Directors will approve the agenda at the beginning of an ordinary period of sessions. The topics to be addressed may come from agreements adopted during the previous meeting or at the respective REMJA. New matters may be added to the agenda with the support of at least two Board members.

Article 30
All OAS member states and associate members and the Center’s Executive Director will have the right to participate in meetings of the Board of Directors but without the right to speak or vote.

Article 31
The Board of Directors may invite the advisory groups identified in Article 15 of the Center’s Statutes and organizations connected to justice reform processes in the region and ask them to give presentations on the topics that they address. 

Article 32
Agencies, entities or institutions that are not included in the previous dispositions but that have expertise in the areas addressed by the Board may attend its meetings if they secure special authorization from the Board President in advance.

Such a request must be submitted to the Board at least 15 days before the meeting that they wish to attend is held. The rejection of this request must be well-founded and communicated to the requesting party, and it must be mentioned at the beginning of the respective session.

Article 33
The meetings of the Board of Directors will be recorded in summarized minutes listing the date and time, the names of the members in attendance as well as any other attendees, the matters addressed, decisions made, and the statements expressly made to be included in the same.

Article 34
The final reports of the meetings held by the advisory groups will include a summary of the information listed in the previous paragraph. 

Section VII
Quorum and Voting

Article 35
The quorum required to hold a meeting of the Board of Directors is an absolute majority of its members.

Article 36
The Board of Directors may hold preparatory sessions with the presence of three of its members. Preparatory sessions will be only deliberative.

Article 37
Each member of the Board of Directors will have one vote. Decisions will be made by a vote of the majority of the members present at the meeting in question unless other arrangements are specifically made. 

Article 38
Members shall vote by raising their hands, but any member of the Board of Directors may request a nominal mote that will be made in order to precedence. Secret votes will be held in the cases and forms set out in these Regulations. The President may use another means to hold votes as long as the Board agrees.

Article 39
No member of the Board of Directors may interrupt a vote unless there is a question of order regarding how that vote is being conducted.

Article 40
If it is announced at the time the vote is taking place, the members of the Board of Directors will have the right to include a reasoned favorable or dissenting vote following the approved matters of substance. Their text will be submitted within ten days.

Section VII
Temporary Provisions

Article 41
These Regulations will go into effect on the date of their approval by the Board of Directors and may be changed by an affirmative vote of the absolute majority of its members.

Annex to the Regulations
On Associate Members

Article 42
All of the entities listed in Article 8 of the Statutes may be Associate Members of the Center without any limitations other than those set out in these Regulations and those that the regulation itself imposes.

Article 43
In order to become an Associate Member of the Center, the entity must submit a request to the Executive Director, setting out at least the following:

1. The institutional information of the applicant entity, listing its Main and Alternate Representatives, if applicable; Board of Directors; legal status; Statutes or Regulations; and functional, financial or organic links to any other type of organization.
2. The reasons it is interested in creating a relationship with the Center and the contributions that the entity proposes to make. Said contributions may consist of voluntary contributions, the exchange of information, professional services or any other benefit to the Center’s work.

Article 44
Once this request is formalized, the Executive Director will analyze it, and may ask for clarifications or additional information if anything has been left out.  The Executive Director may also request references for the entity from other institutions or ask it to submit a letter with said information issued by a third party institution known to the Center. Once this process is complete, the Executive Director will draft a report to be submitted to the Board of Directors with the request in order for said body to rule on the proposed membership.

Article 45
The Board will determine whether to admit, reject or request more information from the applicant entity.

The resolutions that the Board issues for this purpose will be governed by Section VII of these Regulations and may not be appealed.

Article 46
The resolution containing the Board’s decision will be reported to the Executive Director, who will notify the applicant entity of their acceptance, rejection or the status of their request. The resolution will outline the methods used to make the contributions proposed by the institution.

An entity will be understood to be an Associate Member of the Center once they receive an authentic copy certified by the Director of the resolution notifying them of their admission.

The Executive Director must keep an open record of these resolutions to be updated annually and disseminated through the various channels that ensure that it is made known to the Center’s member states.

The Executive Director must ensure that the contributions that the organization committed to making are made in a timely manner and as promised. 

Article 47
The Executive Director may delegate one or more of the actions listed in this Section to the Center’s Executive Secretary.

Article 48
The terms set out in Article 30 of the Regulations will govern Associate Member participation in Board meetings.

Furthermore, Associate Members may submit documents, studies, papers, proposals or observations in writing for consideration by the Board as long as they are submitted to the Executive Secretary at least 30 days prior to the meeting of the Board of Directors if they wish to be included in the respective agenda. 

The inclusion of any of these documents in the Board meetings will be determined by the Executive Director in consultation with the Secretary considering the timeliness and alignment of the material it is based on. The Secretary must provide justified notice to the Associate Member of the result of their request and must provide a report at the beginning of the Board meeting on all of the documents submitted, expressly noting those that will be addressed during the session except for the exception allowed under Article 22 of the Regulations.

For the purposes of signing cooperation agreements, the Associate Members will be governed by Article 10 of the Center’s Statutes.

Article 49
An Associate Member may resign if they provide the Executive Director with written notice.

For the purposes of ceasing to exercise rights and meet obligations, an Associate Member is understood to cease being one 60 days after the written notification listed in paragraph 2 is received by the Executive Director at the Center’s headquarters.

Once the resignation is received, the Executive Director will annul the respective registration in the Registry of Associate Members and will report this to the Board of Directors at their next meeting.

Furthermore, Associate Members may be terminated as such if they fail to make the contributions offered. Such circumstances must be certified by the Executive Director and decided by the Board of Directors.

On Advisory Groups
Article 50
An Advisory Group is understood as any public or private, national or international or joint organization of individuals organized specifically for that purpose that is linked to the Center for a specific amount of time regarding a specific topic determined by the Board of Directors at the request of the Executive Director.

Article 51
The Executive Director’s proposal will specify the purpose and timeframe for the creation of the Advisory Board and will include a list of the institutions or associations that may join it. This list must be accompanied by at least the following information:

1. The institutional and organic definition of the entity, clearly identifying their main representative, the documents that support its creation and their legal status, if applicable.
2. The mission, objectives and context in which its activities are performed.
3. A summary of a plan of action linking their current work to the Center’s specific functions.
4. The background of members with special knowledge and experience in the case of individuals.

Article 52
In order to formalize the constitution of an Advisory Board, the Executive Director, by mandate of the Board, will sign a participation agreement with the Board members. It will contain:

1. The main reason for creating it;
2. The specific actions that the Group will take and the timeframe granted.
3. The way in which the outcomes will be verified.

This agreement will be exempt from the procedures listed in Article 10 of the Statutes, though the Advisory Board may sign a cooperation agreement on a specific matter other than that which led to its creation.

Article 53
During the meetings of the Board, the Advisory Groups will have the same rights as associate members in accordance with the terms set forth in Section V and Article 48 of these Regulations.

The results and conclusions of the work that it is charged with performing will be submitted to the Board of Directors through the Executive Leadership.

Article 54
The permanence of the Advisory Board will be subject to the completion of the work that it was created to perform or the timeframe set out for this purpose with results that the Board deems to be insufficient and not worthy of an extension of the same.

The foregoing notwithstanding, the Board may renew the participation agreement as long as new actions that fall within the main objective of its constitution are proposed and these align with the Center’s new needs.

CONSIDERING:
That in the Plan of Action adopted during the Second Americas Summit, held in Santiago, Chile, in April 1998, the Heads of State and Government agreed to establish a Justice Studies Center of the Americas to promote the training of human resources, the exchange of information, and other forms of technical cooperation within the Americas, in accordance with the specific requirements of each country.

That in April 1999, the Permanent Council of the OAS established a Special Group charged with carrying out the Recommendations of the Annual Meeting of Justice Ministers and Ministers or Attorneys General of the Americas ( hereinafter referred to as REMJA), whose Report was presented  to the Permanent Council session of September 28, 1999, which concluded with the approval of the Draft Statutes of the Justice Studies Center of the Americas;

BEARING IN MIND
The Resolution of the General Assembly of the Organization of American States pronounced during its Twenty-sixth Special Session, held November 15, 1999, which established the Justice Studies Center of the Americas and adopted its Statutes;

The request of the Government of Chile to be the headquarters of the said Center.

That the III REMJA, in accordance with the authorities assigned to it in the Statutes of the Center, and bearing in mind the recommendation of the Board of Directors, decided that the headquarters of the Justice Studies Center of the Americas be established in Santiago, Chile.

THEREFORE,
The Government of Chile and the Justice Studies Center of the Americas have agreed upon the following:

Article I Definitions
For the purposes of the present Agreement, the following terms are  defined as follows:

1. “Government”, the Government of the Republic of Chile;
2. “OAS”, the Organization of American States;
3. “Center”, the Justice Studies Center of the Americas;
4. “Program”, the set of activities undertaken by the Center in compliance with its objectives;
5. “Competent Authorities”, the Authorities of the Republic of Chile in accordance with its laws;
6. “The Center’s Headquarters”, the sites and/or premises occupied by the Center, regardless of the property owner;
7. “Goods”, the furnishings, vehicles, rights, funds in any currency, assets, income, other resources and anything that may constitute the patrimony of the Center;
8. “Records”, the documents of any nature or in any form, whether paper or electronic, that are the property of or in the possession of the Center
9. “Board of Directors”, the highest body of the Center, comprised of seven members appointed by the General Assembly of the OAS;
10. “Executive Director”, the person responsible for the general operations of the Center, appointed by the Board of Directors.
11. “Local Personnel”, the persons hired locally by the Executive Director for professional, administrative or service duties;
12. “International Personnel”, non-local persons hired by the Executive Director.  This group is further defined as:
13. “Permanent International Personnel”, any non-Chilean personnel who regularly works for the Center for a period superior than one year
14. “Non-Permanent International Personnel”, any non-Chilean person who works for the Center in Chile for a period of less than one year.

Article II Objectives of the Center
The objectives of the Center are to promote the training of human resources, the exchange of information, the support of the processes of reform and modernization of the justice systems in the region and other forms of technical cooperation in the area of justice within the Hemisphere, in accordance with the specific requirements of each country.
The Center may not be utilized in any manner that is incompatible with its objectives and duties.

Article III
Legal Capacity
The Center shall have legal personality within the territory of the Republic of Chile and shall have full authority to:

1. Enter into contracts;
2. Acquire and dispose of moveable property and real property , and
3. Initiate legal and administrative actions

The Center’s legal representation shall be exercised by the Executive Director or by a duly-appointed representative appointed by the Board of Directors

Article IV Immunities and Privileges of the Center
The Government shall grant to the Center, its personnel, goods, funds and assets, the privileges and immunities contemplated in the Agreement.

Article V Financial Facilities
The Center may:

1. Have in Chile funds and currency of any type and open and maintain accounts in any currency
2. Freely transfer its funds or currency within or outside the territory of the Republic of Chile.

Article VI Exemption of Taxes and Other Charges
The Center, its goods, and assets are exempt from:

1. All direct taxes. However, it must pay for the public services it uses
2. Customs charges and prohibitions or restrictions on the importation or exportation of articles, publications, and goods intended for official use, which may not be marketed without authorization from the Government
3. The payment of certain mandatory charges, such as contributions to the national social security system required of the employer, and of the registration of the Executive Director and of the permanent international personnel in said system.

The previous notwithstanding,, all local personnel shall be subject to labor legislation and social security of the Republic of Chile.  The Center must make the provisional contributions corresponding to said personnel.

Article VII Premisesand Records of the Center
The headquarters, premises, and records, as well as all documents in general that belong to or are in the possession of the Center shall be inviolable. The previous notwithstanding, the Center shall not provide political asylum.

Article VIII Communications
The Center shall have, within the territory of the Republic of Chile, for its official communications, both national and international:

1. A treatment no less favorable than that granted by the Government of Chile to any international organization, in terms of tariffs and applicable rates for correspondence, cable grams, telegrams, telephonic communications, and others, and
2. The right to send and receive its correspondence by mail or in special pouches with the same immunities and privileges granted to the mail and diplomatic pouches

None of the provisions of this Article may be interpreted as prohibitive of the adoption of appropriate security measures for purposes of public order

Article IX Immunities and Privileges

1. The Executive Director and the permanent international staff:
2. Shall have immunity of jurisdiction in the exclusive exercise of their official duties;
3. Shall be exempt from income taxes based on salaries, remunerations and compensations paid by the Center
4. Shall have the right to import, free of customs duties and other taxes, prohibitions or restrictions on importation, household goods, including an automobile, at the moment of assuming their positions in Chile.  The same privilege shall be applied for importing an automobile for the use of the Center.  For the effects of the transference of the automobile, the general regulations established for the resident Diplomatic Corps shall be applied.
5. The immunities and privileges extended in this Agreement are conferred in the interest of the Center to safeguard the independent execution of its operations.  The Center and its personnel shall cooperate with the Chilean authorities to promote justice, ensure the observation of the police regulations and refrain from any and all abuse of the immunities and privileges recognized under this Agreement.
6. In no case will the immunity of jurisdiction established in  section 1 a) of this article be extended to acts that constitute an infraction or breach of the traffic regulations or labor laws in effect in Chile.
7. The provisions made in  section 1 b) of this article shall be extended to the transitory international personnel.
8. The members of the Board of Directors who are not host country nationals will have immunity of jurisdiction for the opinions they emit in the exclusive execution of their duties while within Chilean territory.

Article X Settlement of Disputes
Any difference relative to the interpretation or application of this Agreement shall be resolved by the Parties through the pertinent consultations.  If the difference is not resolved through these channels within six months of their initiation, either Party may request arbitration.  Such decision shall be communicated to the other party in writing.
The arbitration board must convene within 30 days after the designations referred to in the following paragraph are made.  Within the said period, the Parties shall establish the jurisdiction of the board and establish the procedure to be followed.
Each Party shall name an arbiter of their choice and the two duly-named arbitrators will select a third, who will preside over the board.
In the event that one of the Parties fail to name an arbitrator within a period of 30 days from the date of the communication referred to in the first paragraph of this article, the other Party may request that the President of the International Court of Justice appoint that arbitrator.
The costs will be the responsibility of each Party.
Article XI Final provisions, enactment, and amendments

1.  
2. This Agreement shall become effective on the thirtieth working day from the day that the Executive Director of the Center receives written notification from the Government of Chile indicating the completion of the necessary Chilean constitutional procedures.
3. Either of the Parties may request a consultation to amend the present Agreement.  All amendments shall be made by the mutual consent of the Parties and shall become effective in the same manner stipulated in the previous paragraph.
4. This Agreement shall be effective indefinitely, and may be terminated by either Party via written notification of the other Party, with a minimum of six months anticipation of the intention to terminate said Agreement.

Without prejudice to the preceding provisions, the projects and programs in effect shall continue until their conclusion.  With respect to the disposal of the Center’s property, the parties shall agree upon a term not to exceed one year for the completion of its liquidation.  In both cases, the regulations stipulated in this Agreement shall continue in effect.

Signed in Santiago, Chile, on the twenty-second day of the month of January of the year two thousand one in four copies in Spanish and in English, all being equally authentic.