Agreement on the privileges and immunities of the ITER International Fusion Energy Organization for the Joint Implementation of the ITER Project
Date: 2006-11-21
Institutions: China, European Atomic Energy Community, India, Japan, Russia, South Korea
Subjects: competence of the institution, international agreement, international organisation, legal status, nuclear fusion, nuclear research, operation of the Institutions

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on the privileges and immunities of the ITER International Fusion Energy Organization for the Joint
Implementation of the ITER Project

AGREEMENT

The European Atomic Energy Community (hereinafter ‘Euratom’), the Government of the People's Republic of China, the
Government of the Republic of India, the Government of Japan, the Government of the Republic of Korea and the
Government of the Russian Federation (hereinafter ‘the Parties’),

WHEREAS Article 12 of the Agreement on the Establishment of the ITER International Fusion Energy Organization for
the Joint Implementation of the ITER Project (hereinafter ‘the ITER Agreement’) requires the parties to that Agreement to
give effect to privileges and immunities;

WHEREAS it is the purpose of this Agreement to define for the Parties to this Agreement the content and scope of such
privileges and immunities in accordance with Article 12 of the ITER Agreement;

WHEREAS the Parties have confirmed their intention to conclude this Agreement on the occasion of the Ministerial
Meeting for ITER in Brussels on 24 May 2006,

HAVE AGREED AS FOLLOWS:

Article 1

(a) to the extent that it has expressly waived such immunity in

1.
In accordance with Article 5 of the ITER Agreement, the
ITER International Fusion Energy Organization (hereinafter ‘the
ITER Organization’) shall have international
legal personality,
including the capacity to conclude agreements with States
and/or international organizations.

The ITER Organization shall have legal personality and
in the territories of the Members, the legal capacity it

2.
enjoy,
requires, including to:

(a) conclude contracts;

(b) acquire, hold and dispose of property;

(c) obtain licenses; and

(d) institute legal proceedings.

Article 2

The buildings and premises of the ITER Organization shall be
inviolable.

a particular case;

(b) in respect of a civil action by a third party for damage
arising from an accident caused by a motor vehicle
belonging to, or operated on behalf of, the ITER Organi-
zation, or in respect of a motor traffic offence involving
such a vehicle;

(c) in respect of an enforcement of an arbitration award made

under Article 23; and

(d) in the event of an attachment of salary, enforced for a debt
of a staff member of the ITER Organization, provided that
such attachment results from a final and enforceable legal
decision in accordance with the rules in force on the
territory of enforcement.

The ITER Organization's property and assets, wherever
2.
situated, shall be immune from any form of requisition, confis-
cation, expropriation and sequestration except:

Article 3

(a) to the extent that it has expressly waived such immunity in

a particular case;

The archives and documents of the ITER Organization shall be
inviolable.

Article 4

(b) in respect of a civil action provided for in paragraph 1(b);

and

The ITER Organization shall enjoy immunity from juris-

1.
diction and execution except:

(c) in respect of the enforcement of an arbitration award made

under Article 23.

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The ITER Organization shall also be immune from any
3.
form of administrative or provisional judicial constraint, except
to the extent that it has expressly waived such immunity in a
particular case and insofar as may be necessary in connection
with or in respect of:

Article 8

No exemption shall be granted under Articles 5 or 6 in respect
of goods purchased or imported, or services provided for the
personal benefit of the staff of the ITER Organization.

(a) the prevention and investigation of accidents involving
motor vehicles belonging to, or operated on behalf of, the
ITER Organization; and

(b) the enforcement of an arbitration award made under

Article 23.

Article 9

Without prejudice to the laws, regulations and policies referred
to in Articles 14 and 20 of the ITER Agreement, the circulation
of publications and other information material sent by or to the
ITER Organization shall not be restricted in any way.

Article 5

1. Within the scope of its official activities, the ITER Orga-
nization, its property and income shall be exempt from direct
taxes.

2. When goods or services, strictly necessary for the exercise
of the official activities of the ITER Organization, are purchased
or used by or on behalf of the ITER Organization, and when the
price of such goods or services includes taxes or duties, appro-
priate measures shall, whenever possible, be taken by the Party
to grant exemption from such taxes or duties or to provide for
their reimbursement.

Article 10

The ITER Organization may receive and hold any kind of
1.
funds, currency, cash or securities; it may dispose of them freely
for any purpose provided for in the ITER Agreement and hold
accounts in any currency to the extent required to meet its
obligations.

2.
In exercising its rights referred to in paragraph 1, the ITER
Organization shall pay due regard to any representations by any
of its Members insofar as it is considered that effect can be
given to such representations without detriment
to the
interests of the ITER Organization.

Article 6

Article 11

1.
Goods imported or exported by the ITER Organization, or
on its behalf, for its official activities shall be exempt from all
duties and taxes. Goods imported or exported by the ITER
Organization for its official activities shall be exempt
from
prohibitions and restrictions on imports and exports except
where such prohibitions or restrictions are consistent with the
laws, regulations and policies referred to in Articles 14 and 20
of the ITER Agreement.

Goods which have benefited from the exemption provided
2.
for in Article 5 or imported under paragraph 1 shall not be sold
or given away except in accordance with conditions laid down
by the Parties which have granted exemptions.

Article 7

the ITER Organization shall
including its operations

For the purposes of Articles 5 and 6, the official activities
1.
include its administrative
of
activities,
in connection with any
social security scheme it establishes, and activities undertaken
in pursuance of
the ITER Organization as
defined in the ITER Agreement.

the purpose of

1.
For its official communications and the transfer of all its
documents, the ITER Organization shall enjoy treatment no less
favourable than that accorded by each Party to other interna-
tional organizations.

No censorship shall be applied to official communications
2.
of the ITER Organization by whatever means of communi-
cation.

Article 12

Parties shall take all appropriate measures to facilitate the entry
into, stay in, or departure from their territories of staff of the
ITER Organization.

Article 13

1.
Representatives of the Parties shall, while exercising their
functions as a representative and in the course of their journeys
to and from the place of meeting convened by the ITER Orga-
nization, enjoy the following privileges and immunities:

2.
The provisions of Articles 5 and 6 shall not apply to taxes
and duties that are no more than charges for public utility
services.

(a) immunity from arrest and detention, and from seizure of

their personal luggage;

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in respect of acts,

(b) immunity from jurisdiction, even after the termination of
including words spoken
their mission,
their
and written, done by them in the exercise of
functions; this immunity shall not apply, however,
in the
case of a motor traffic offence committed by a Represen-
tative of a Party, nor in the case of damage caused by a
motor vehicle belonging to or driven by him;

(d) the same facilities as regards exemption from measures
restricting immigration and governing aliens' registration
as are normally accorded to staff members of international
organizations, and members of their families forming part
of their households shall enjoy the same facilities;

(c) inviolability for all their official papers and documents;

(e) the same privileges

in respect of exchange regulations
comparably to those accorded to staff of international orga-
nizations;

(d) the right to receive documents or correspondence by special

(f)

courier or sealed bag;

in time of international crisis, the same facilities as to repa-
their
triation as diplomatic agents, and the members of
families forming part of their households shall enjoy the
same facilities;

(e) exemption for themselves and their spouses from measures
restricting immigration and from aliens' registration for-
malities;

(f)

the same facilities in the matter of currency and exchange
control as are accorded to the representatives of foreign
governments on temporary official missions;

first

the time of

taking up their post

(g) the right to import duty-free furniture and personal effects
at
in the State
concerned, and the right on the termination of
their
functions
free of duty their
to
furniture and personal effects, subject,
in both cases,
the conditions considered necessary by the State on whose
territory the right is exercised.

in that State to export

(g) the same customs facilities as regards their personal luggage

as are accorded to diplomatic agents.

Article 15

complete

independence

in connection with the

Privileges and immunities are accorded to Representatives
2.
of a Party not for their personal advantage, but in order to
their
ensure
functions
In
accordance with Article 12 of the ITER Agreement, each Party
shall waive the immunity of its Representatives in any case
where it considers that retaining it would impede the course
of justice and that it can be waived without prejudicing the
purposes for which it was accorded.

ITER Organization.

exercise of

in the

Article 14

The staff of the ITER Organization shall enjoy the following
privileges and immunities:

the ITER Organization,

(a) immunity from jurisdiction, even after they have left the
in respect of acts,
service of
including words spoken and written, done by them in the
exercise of their functions; this immunity shall not apply,
however, in the case of a motor traffic offence committed
by a staff member of the ITER Organization, nor in the case
of damage caused by a motor vehicle belonging to or driven
by him;

(b) exemption in respect of all obligations in respect of military

service;

(c) inviolability for all their official papers and documents;

the Director-General of

In addition to the privileges and immunities provided for in
Article 14,
the ITER Organization
and, when the office is vacant, the person appointed to act in
his place, shall enjoy the privileges and immunities to which
diplomatic agents of comparable rank are entitled.

Article 16

Experts, in the exercise of their functions in connection with the
ITER Organization or in carrying out missions for the ITER
Organization, shall enjoy the following privileges and immu-
nities, to the extent that these are necessary for the exercise
of
including during journeys made in the
exercise of their functions and in the course of such missions:

functions,

their

(a) immunity from jurisdiction, even after they have ceased to
exercise their function of expert for the ITER Organization,
in respect of acts, including words spoken and written, done
by them in the exercise of their functions, this immunity
in the case of a motor traffic
shall not apply, however,
offence committed by an expert, nor
in the case of
damage caused by a motor vehicle belonging to or driven
by him;

(b) inviolability for all their official papers and documents;

(c) the same facilities as regards monetary and exchange regu-
lations and as regards their personal luggage as are accorded
to the officials of foreign governments on temporary official
missions.

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Article 17

Article 22

1.
The salaries and emoluments paid by the ITER Organi-
zation shall be exempt from income tax to the extent that they
are subject to a tax for the benefit of the ITER Organization.
to take these salaries and
The Parties shall retain the right
emoluments into account
for the purpose of assessing the
amount of taxation to be applied to income from other sources.

2.
The provisions of paragraph 1 above shall not apply to
annuities and pensions paid by the ITER Organization to its
former Directors General and staff.

the ITER Agreement

The ITER Organization shall cooperate at all times with the
the Parties and the Host State as
competent authorities of
defined in Article 1(2) of
in order to
to ensure the
facilitate the proper administration of
observance of police regulations and regulations concerning
licensing, environmental protection,
public health and safety,
labour inspection or other similar national
legislation, and to
prevent any abuse of the privileges and immunities provided for
in this Agreement. The procedure for the cooperation referred
to in this Article may be laid down in the Headquarters and the
Field Team agreements or supplementary agreements.

justice,

Article 18

Article 23

Articles 14 and 17 shall apply to all categories of staff to which
the Staff Regulations of
the ITER Organization apply. The
the ITER Organization (hereinafter ‘the Council’)
Council of
shall decide the categories of experts to which Article 16
shall apply. The names, titles and addresses of the staff and
experts referred to in this Article shall be communicated from
time to time to the Members of the ITER Organization.

Article 19

In the event that it establishes its own social security scheme,
its Director-General and staff shall be
the ITER Organization,
exempt from all compulsory contributions to national social
security bodies, subject
to agreements concluded with the
Parties and/or the Host State.

Article 20

No Party shall be obliged to accord the privileges and immu-
nities referred to in Articles 13, 14b, d, e, f and g, 15, 16c and
19 to its own nationals or persons who, at the moment of
taking up their posts as staff of the ITER Organization in that
Party, are permanent residents thereof.

Article 21

The privileges and immunities provided for

in this
1.
Agreement are not granted to the Director-General, staff and
experts of the ITER Organization for their personal advantage.
in all circumstances, the
They are provided solely to ensure,
the ITER Organization and the
unimpeded functioning of
the persons to whom they are
complete independence of
accorded.

than those
1. When concluding written contracts, other
concluded in accordance with the Staff Regulations, the ITER
Organization may provide for arbitration. The arbitration clause
or the special arbitration agreement concluded to this end shall
specify the law applicable and the State where the arbitrators sit.

The enforcement of

the arbitration award shall be
2.
governed by the rules in force in the State on whose territory
the award is to be executed.

Article 24

In accordance with that Treaty and other

this
In accordance with the Treaty establishing Euratom,
shall apply to the territories covered by that
Agreement
relevant
Treaty.
agreements,
it shall also apply to the Republic of Bulgaria,
Romania and the Swiss Confederation, participating in the
Euratom fusion programme as fully associated third States.

Article 25

1.
This Agreement is subject to ratification, acceptance or
approval in accordance with the procedures of each Signatory.

2.
This Agreement shall enter into force thirty days after the
deposit of instruments of ratification, acceptance or approval of
this Agreement by the People's Republic of China, Euratom, the
Republic of India, Japan, the Republic of Korea and the Russian
Federation.

2.
In accordance with Article 12 of the ITER Agreement, the
Council shall waive any relevant immunity in any case where
the Council considers that retaining it would impede the course
of justice and that such a waiver would not be contrary to the
interests of the ITER Organization and its Members.

If this Agreement has not entered into force within one
3.
year after signature, a meeting of
the Signatories shall be
convened by the Depositary to decide what course of action
shall be undertaken to facilitate its entering into force.

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Article 26

1.
Once the Council has adopted a decision in accordance
with Article 23(1) of the ITER Agreement, the State or interna-
tional organization concerned may accede to and become a
Party to this Agreement.

Accession shall take effect on the date of deposit of the

2.
instrument of accession with the Depositary.

Article 27

This Agreement shall have the same duration as the ITER
Agreement. The expiry of this Agreement shall not affect the
immunity provided for in Article 13(1)(b), Article 14(a) and
Article 16(a).

Article 28

Any issue arising among the Parties or between one or more
Parties and the ITER Organization out of or in connection with
this Agreement shall be settled by consultation, mediation or
other procedures to be agreed, such as arbitration. The parties

concerned shall meet to discuss the nature of any such issue
with a view to an early resolution.

Article 29

The Director General of the IAEA shall be the Depositary

1.
of this Agreement.

The original of this Agreement shall be deposited with the
2.
Depositary, who shall send certified copies thereof to the Signa-
tories, and to the Secretary General of the United Nations for
registration and publication pursuant
the
Charter of the United Nations.

to Article 102 of

The Depositary shall notify all Signatory and acceding

3.
States and international organizations of:

(a) the date of deposit of each instrument of

ratification,

acceptance, approval or accession; and

(b) the date of entry into force of this Agreement.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the undersigned, being duly authorized thereto, have signed this Agreement.

Done at Paris on 21 November 2006, in a single original, in the English language.

for the European Atomic Energy Community

for the Government of the People's Republic of China

for the Government of the Republic of India

for the Government of Japan

for the Government of the Republic of Korea

for the Government of the Russian Federation