Council Decision 2008/901/CFSP of 2 December 2008 concerning an independent international fact-finding mission on the conflict in Georgia
Date: 2008-12-02
Institutions: Council of the European Union
Subjects: EU financing, Georgia, OSCE, common foreign and security policy, international conflict, settlement of disputes, the EU's international role

L 323/66

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

3.12.2008

COUNCIL DECISION 2008/901/CFSP

of 2 December 2008

concerning an independent international fact-finding mission on the conflict in Georgia

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty on European Union, and in
particular Article 13(3) and Article 23(1) thereof,

Whereas:

(1)

(2)

(3)

On 1 September 2008, the European Council stated that
the European Union is ready to commit itself to support
every effort to secure a peaceful and lasting solution to
the conflicts in Georgia, and that it is ready to support
confidence-building measures.

On 15 September 2008, the Council supported the idea
of an independent international inquiry into the conflict
in Georgia.

Ms Heidi TAGLIAVINI should be appointed as head of this
fact-finding mission,

HAS DECIDED AS FOLLOWS:

Article 1

Head of the independent international fact-finding mission
and terms of reference

is hereby appointed head of the
1. Ms Heidi TAGLIAVINI
independent international fact-finding mission on the conflict
in Georgia, hereinafter ‘the fact-finding mission’, for the period
from 2 December 2008 to 31 July 2009.

The aim of the fact-finding mission shall be to investigate
2.
the origins and the course of the conflict in Georgia, including
law (1), humanitarian law and
with regard to international
human rights, and the accusations made in that context (2).
The geographical scope and time span of
the investigation
will be sufficiently broad to determine all the possible causes
of the conflict. The results of the investigation will be presented
to the parties to the conflict, and to the Council, the Organis­
ation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and the
United Nations (UN), in the form of a report.

3.
The head of the fact-finding mission shall be responsible
for the implementation of the fact-finding mission. She shall
determine,
the procedures and
working methods of the fact-finding mission, and the content
of the report referred to in paragraph 2.

in complete independence,

Article 2

Financing

The financial reference amount

1.
intended to cover the
expenditure related to the implementation of the fact-finding

mission shall be EUR 1 600 000 for
2 December 2008 to 31 July 2009.

the period from

The expenditure financed by the amount stipulated in

2.
paragraph 1 shall be eligible as from 2 December 2008.

3.
The expenditure shall be managed in accordance with the
rules and procedures applicable to the general budget of the
European Communities. The management of the expenditure
shall be subject to a contract between the head of the fact-
finding mission and the Commission.

The head of the fact-finding mission shall be accountable

4.
to the Commission for all expenditure.

Article 3

Composition of the fact-finding mission

The composition of the fact-finding mission shall be decided by
the head of mission. It shall comprise recognised experts,
in
particular lawyers, historians, military staff and human rights
experts.

Article 4

Assessment

The implementation of this Decision shall be reviewed by the
Council before 31 July 2009.

Article 5

Entry into effect and expiry

This Decision shall take effect on the day of its adoption.

It shall expire on 31 July 2009.

Article 6

Publication
This Decision shall be published in the Official Journal of the
European Union.

Done at Brussels, 2 December 2008.

For the Council
The President

C. LAGARDE

(1) Including the Helsinki Final Act.
(2) Including allegations of war crimes.