Regarding the legal status and privileges and immunities of the Global Green Growth Institute

22.05.2021

Agreement

Between the Government of the Republic of Uzbekistan and the Global Green Growth Institute

The Government of the Republic of Uzbekistan and the Global Green Growth Institute, hereinafter referred to as “the Parties”,

whereas the Global Green Growth Institute (“GGGI”) was established as an international organization by the Agreement on the Establishment of the Global Green Growth Institute (the “Establishment Agreement”) at Rio de Janeiro on 20 June 2012;

whereas the Establishment Agreement entered into force on 18 October 2012;

whereas GGGIʼs primary objective is to promote sustainable development of developing and emerging countries, including the least developed countries;

whereas the Republic of Uzbekistan has acceded to the Establishment Agreement and is a member country of GGGI;

whereas in accordance with Article 15 of the Establishment Agreement, GGGI may seek privileges and immunities in its member states, as may be necessary and appropriate for the proper functioning of GGGI, in due consideration of such privileges and immunities as are customarily accorded to similar types of international organization, and such privileges and immunities may be specified in separate agreements concluded between GGGI and individual member countries;

whereas, GGGI has a physical presence and undertakes activities in the Republic of Uzbekistan;

whereas recognizing the need to regulate their relationship in relation to GGGIʼs physical presence and activities in the country, in accordance with international practice relating to the legal status and privileges and immunities of intergovernmental organizations;

whereas desiring to ensure that GGGI possesses the legal status and privileges and immunities to operate within its territory and internationally and to efficiently and properly exercise its functions, including in respect of its governing organs, its personnel and experts, and other persons associated with the organization;

Have agreed as follows:

Article 1 Definitions

Whenever used in this Agreement, the following terms have the following meanings:

“Agreement” shall mean this Agreement between the Government of the Republic of Uzbekistan and GGGI;

“Advisory Committee” shall mean the Advisory Committee of GGGI;

“appropriate authorities” shall mean such authorities in the Republic of Uzbekistan as may be appropriate in the context and in accordance with the laws and customs applicable in the Republic of Uzbekistan;

“archives of GGGI” shall mean all archives of GGGI, and includes all records, correspondence, documents, manuscripts, moving pictures, films, sound recordings and other materials belonging to GGGI, or held by or on behalf of GGGI;

“Assembly” shall mean the Assembly of GGGI;

“Council” shall mean the Council of GGGI;

“dependent children” shall mean children of Personnel of GGGI who are unmarried and under the age of 21 years old or who are disabled;

“Director-General” shall mean the Director-General of GGGI appointed by the Assembly;

“Expert” shall mean any individual providing short-term services to GGGI under contractual arrangements between the individual and GGGI or between an entity and GGGI;

“GGGI” Representative" means the senior official appointed by GGGI to be the head and in charge of the Office;

“Government” shall mean the Government of the Republic of Uzbekistan;

“laws of country” shall mean the constitution and laws of the Republic of Uzbekistan and includes, without limitation, statutes, decrees, ordinances, rules, regulations, orders and other instruments issued by or under the authority of the Government and its agencies;

“meetings convened by GGGI” shall mean meetings of GGGI, including any international conference or other gathering convened by GGGI, and any commission, committee or sub-group of any of such meetings;

“members of household staff” shall mean persons, other than nationals of the Republic of Uzbekistan, employed in the domestic staff of Personnel of GGGI;

“Office” shall mean an office of GGGI in the Republic of Uzbekistan, as further elaborated in Article 11 hereof;

“Officials of GGGI” shall mean the Director-General, the GGGI Representative, and all persons appointed or engaged to work full time or part time for GGGI, but does not include Experts;

“Personnel of GGGI” shall mean all members of the Assembly, the Council and the Advisory Committee, Officials of GGGI (both expatriates and nationals or permanent residents of the Republic of Uzbekistan) and Experts, but not locally recruited persons paid at an hourly rate;

“property of GGGI” shall mean all property and assets of GGGI, wheresoever located and by whomsoever held and includes funds, income and rights belonging to, or held or administered by, GGGI; and

“spouse” shall mean a partner of Personnel of GGGI if they have registered their relationship,

Article 2 Legal personality and capacities

1. The Government recognizes that GGGI is an international organization with international legal personality.

2. GGGI shall be accorded with juridical personality and the legal capacity to (i) to contract, (ii) to acquire and dispose of immovable and movable property and (iii) to institute legal proceedings.

3. GGGI shall have the independence and freedom of action belonging to an international organization.

Article 3 Property, funds and assets

1. GGGI and its property and assets, wherever located and by whomsoever held, shall enjoy immunity from every form of legal process, except in so far as in a particular case it has expressly waived its immunity. It is, however, understood that no waiver of immunity shall extend to any measure of execution, unless explicitly stated otherwise.

2. The property and assets of GGGI, wherever located and by whomsoever held, shall be immune from search, requisition, confiscation, expropriation or any other form of interference, whether by executive, administrative, judicial or legislative action.

3. The archives of GGGI shall be inviolable, wherever located.

4. Without being restricted by financial controls, regulations or moratoria of any kind, GGGI may hold funds or currency of any kind; operate accounts in any currency; and freely transfer any currencies it holds from one country to another and freely convert any currency held by it into any other currency.

Article 4 Exemption from taxation and customs duties

1. GGGI, its assets, income, and other property shall be:

a) exempt from all direct taxes except those which are, in fact, no more than charges for specific services rendered;

b) exempt from prohibitions and restrictions on imports and exports, except the cases, requiring special permission in accordance with the legislation of the Republic of Uzbekistan, in respect of articles imported or exported by GGGI for its official use and in the case of any publications of GGGI imported or exported by it; it is understood, however, that articles imported under such exemption will not be sold in the territory of the Republic of Uzbekistan except under conditions agreed to with the Government; and

c) exempt from customs duties on the importation of goods imported by or on behalf of GGGI for its official use, or on the importation of any publications of the organisation imported by it or on its behalf, subject to compliance with such conditions as the Government may prescribe.

2. GGGI may seek reimbursement of value added tax paid on the supply of any goods and services which are for the official use of GGGI in accordance with the tax laws of the Republic of Uzbekistan.

3. GGGI, its Officials and Experts shall not be subject to regulations on labor and social security in the Republic of Uzbekistan.

5-модда Алоқалар

1. Электрон почталар, оддий почта, кабеллар, телеграммалар, телекслар, радиограммалар, телефакс, телефон ва бошқа алоқа воситаларига ҳамда матбуот ва радиога бериладиган маълумот учун матбуот тўловлари бўйича устуворликлар, ставкалар ва устамалар масалаларида GGGIнинг расмий алоқалари учун Ўзбекистон Республикаси томонидан бериладиган режим Ҳукумат томонидан бошқа халқаро ташкилотларга ёки ҳукуматларга, шу жумладан мамлакатда жойлашган дипломатик ваколатхоналарга тақдим қилинадиган режимдан ноқулайроқ бўлиши мумкин эмас.

2. Ўзбекистон Республикаси ҳудудига, унинг ҳудудидан ва унинг ҳудуди орқали ҳар қандай усулларда ёки ҳар қандай шаклда етказиладиган барча хабарлар цензурадан ҳамда ҳар қандай шакллардаги қўлга киритилишлардан ёки уларнинг махфийлигига дахл қилинишидан иммунитетга эга. Бу Ҳукумат ва GGGI ўртасидаги маслаҳатлашувлардан сўнг белгиланадиган тегишли хавфсизлик чораларини кўришни истисно қилмайди.

3. GGGI shall have the right in the Republic of Uzbekistan to use codes and to dispatch and receive correspondence and other communications either by courier or in sealed bags which shall have immunities and privileges not less favorable than those accorded to diplomatic couriers and bags. The bags must bear visibly GGGI emblems and shall contain only documents or articles intended for official use, and the courier shall be provided with a courier certificate issued by GGGI.

Article 6 Freedom of assembly, meetings and conferences

1. In consultation with the Government, GGGI shall have the right to convene meetings in the Republic of Uzbekistan.

2. GGGI and its personnel shall enjoy full freedom of meeting, discussion and decision convened in accordance with paragraph 1 of present article. The Government shall take all necessary measures to ensure that no impediment is placed in the way of meetings convened by GGGI within the Republic of Uzbekistan.

3. All persons invited and accredited for a meeting or conference organized by GGGI, shall have the right of entry into and exit from the Republic of Uzbekistan, and no impediment shall be imposed on their transit to, and from, the premises of the meeting or conference. They shall be granted facilities for speedy travel. Visas and entry permits, where required, shall be granted free of charge in accordance with applicable law.

Article 7 Flag, Emblem and markings

GGGI shall have the right to display its flag and/or other identifiers on its premises and vehicles.

Article 8 Privileges and immunities of representatives of GGGI Members and other persons constituting the Assembly, Council, and Advisory Committee of GGGI

1. Representatives of GGGI Members and other persons constituting the Assembly, Council, and Advisory Committee shall, while exercising their functions and during their journeys to and from the place of meetings convened by GGGI, enjoy the following privileges and immunities:

a) immunity from personal arrest or detention and immunity from legal process in respect of words spoken or written and all acts done by them in their official capacity (this immunity from legal process shall not apply to the above persons in the case of motor traffic offences committed by them or in the case of damage caused by a motor vehicle belonging to or driven by them);

b) immunity, together with their spouses and dependent children, from immigration restrictions and alien registration requirements;

c) the same facilities in respect of currency and exchange restrictions as are accorded to representatives of foreign Governments on temporary official missions; and

d) where persons constituting the Assembly, Council, and Advisory Committee are required to travel to attend GGGI meetings then all applications for visas made by GGGI shall be dealt with by the Republic of Uzbekistan.

2. The provisions of Article 8(1) are not applicable in relation to representatives and nationals of the Republic of Uzbekistan.

3. GGGI shall regularly make known to the Government the names of the officials to whom the provisions of this Article apply.

Article 9 Privileges and immunities of Officials of GGGI

1. Officials of GGGI shall:

a) be immune from personal arrest or detention and from legal process of every kind in respect of words spoken or written and all acts done by them in their official capacity, which shall continue to apply after they are no longer Officials of GGGI (this immunity from legal process shall not apply to the above persons in the case of motor traffic offences committed by them or in the case of damage caused by a motor vehicle belonging to or driven by them);

b) be exempt from all forms of taxation on or in respect of salaries, allowances, and emoluments paid to them by GGGI;

c) not be subject to regulations on social security;

d) be immune, together with their spouses and dependent children, except the nationals of the Republic of Uzbekistan, from immigration restrictions and alien registration;

e) be accorded the same privileges in respect of exchange facilities as are accorded to officials of comparable rank of diplomatic missions;

f) be given, together with their spouses and dependent children, except the nationals of the Republic of Uzbekistan, the same repatriation facilities in time of international crises as officials of comparable rank of diplomatic missions;

g) have the right to import free of duty their furniture, household goods, and effects at the time of first taking up their official post in the Office in the Republic of Uzbekistan; and

h) have the right to import free of duty a vehicle for their personal use at the time of taking up their official post in the Office in the Republic of Uzbekistan, subject to compliance with such conditions as the Government may prescribe.

2. The Officials of GGGI shall be exempt from national service obligations, provided that, in relation to Officials that are nationals or permanent residents of the Republic of Uzbekistan, such exemption shall be confined to Officials of GGGI whose names have, by reason of their duties, been placed upon a list compiled by the Director-General of GGGI and approved by the Government. Should other Officials of GGGI be called up for national service, the Government shall, at the request of GGGI, grant such temporary deferments in the call-up of such Officials as may be necessary to avoid interruption in the continuation of essential work.

3. GGGI shall co-operate with the appropriate authorities of the Government to facilitate the proper administration of justice and prevent the occurrence of any abuses in connection with the privileges, immunities, and facilities mentioned in this Article.

Article 10 Privileges and immunities of experts

1. Experts for GGGI shall be accorded the following privileges and immunities as are necessary for the effective exercise of their functions, including during journeys made in connection with their service:

a) immunity from personal arrest or detention and immunity from legal process in respect of words spoken or written or acts done by them in the performance of their official functions, such immunity to continue notwithstanding that the persons concerned are no longer under contractual arrangement with GGGI (this immunity from legal process shall not apply to the above persons in the case of motor traffic offences committed by them or in the case of damage caused by a motor vehicle belonging to or driven by them);

b) the same facilities in respect of currency and exchange restrictions as are accorded to representatives of foreign Governments on temporary official missions; and

c) immunity, together with their spouses and dependent children, except the nationals of the Republic of Uzbekistan, from immigration restrictions and alien registration.

Article 11 Office premises

1. With the agreement of the Government, GGGI may establish an office in the Republic of Uzbekistan (the “Office”).

2. The Office shall be staffed with such Officials of GGGI and Experts as may be assigned thereto.

3. Except as otherwise provided in this Agreement, the laws of the Republic of Uzbekistan shall apply within the Office, and the courts of the Republic of Uzbekistan shall have jurisdiction over acts done in the Office.

4. The Office premises shall be inviolable and shall be under the control and authority of GGGI. No authorities of the Republic of Uzbekistan shall enter the Office premises to perform any duties therein without the consent of, and under conditions agreed to by GGGI. GGGI and the Government shall agree under what circumstances and in what manner the authorities of the Republic of Uzbekistan may enter the Office premises without prior consent of GGGI in connection with fire prevention, sanitary regulations or emergencies.

5. GGGI shall have the right to install and operate in of the Republic of Uzbekistan point-to-point telecommunication facilities and other communication and transmission facilities as may be necessary to facilitate communications with the Office both from within and outside of the Republic of Uzbekistan.

6. GGGI shall have the power to make rules and regulations operative within the Office premises for the full and independent exercise of its operations and performance of its functions.

7. GGGI shall have the right to convene meetings within the Office premises.

8. The Office premises shall be used in a manner compatible with GGGIʼs purposes and functions. GGGI shall prevent the Office premises form becoming a refuge for fugitives from justice, or for persons subject to extradition, or persons avoiding service of legal process or a judicial proceeding.

9. The appropriate authorities of the Republic of Uzbekistan shall exercise due diligence to ensure that the tranquility of the Office premises is not disturbed by any person attempting unauthorized entry or creating disturbances in the immediate vicinity of the Office premises.

10. If so requested by GGGI, the appropriate authorities of the Republic of Uzbekistan shall provide a sufficient number of police for the preservation of law and order in the Office premises and for the removal therefrom of offenders.

Article 12 Transit and residence

1. The Government shall take all measures required to facilitate the entry into, departure from and freedom of movement in the Republic of Uzbekistan and, with regard to persons assigned to the Office, residence in the Republic of Uzbekistan, of the following persons without any restriction and irrespective of nationality:

a) Representatives of GGGI members and other persons constituting the Assembly, the Council and Advisory Committee, except the nationals of the Republic of Uzbekistan, while exercising their functions and during their journeys to and from the place of meetings convened by GGGI;

b) Officials of GGGI, except the nationals of the Republic of Uzbekistan;

(c) Experts, except the nationals of the Republic of Uzbekistan; and

(d) the spouse and dependent children of all the above.

2. The Government shall issue to its embassies, legations, consulates and any other offices representing the interests of the Republic of Uzbekistan general instructions to grant, if necessary, visas to any persons referred to in this Article 12 without payment of any charges, and without ordinarily requiring their personal presence.

Article 13 Waiver of privileges and immunities

1. The privileges and immunities granted by this Agreement to persons are conferred in the interest of GGGI and not for the personal benefit of the individuals themselves. The following authorities have the right and the duty to waive immunities of the following persons in a particular case where, in their opinion, the immunity would impede the course of justice and can be waived without prejudice to the interests of GGGI:

a) the Members of GGGI, with respect to their representatives on the Assembly and Council;

b) the Assembly, with respect to the Director-General of GGGI;

c) the Council, with respect to the experts or non-state actors who serve as members of the Council or Advisory Committee; and

d) the Director-General of GGGI, with respect to Officials of GGGI (other than him/herself), Experts and GGGI itself.

2. In all cases a waiver must be expressly made in writing.

3. All persons enjoying privileges and immunities in accordance with this Agreement shall, without prejudice to their privileges and immunities, respect the legislation of the Republic of Uzbekistan.

Article 14 Accreditation

GGGI office and its personnel, that are not nationals of the Republic of Uzbekistan, are accredited in accordance with the established procedures in the Republic of Uzbekistan, under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Uzbekistan.

Article 15 Settlement of differences on the interpretation or application of the present Agreement

1. All differences arising out of the interpretation or application of this Agreement shall be settled by consultation, negotiation or other agreed mode of settlement.

2. If the difference is not settled in accordance with Article 15(1) within three months following a written request by one of the parties, then either party may request that the difference be referred for decision by an arbitral tribunal according to the procedure set forth in Article 15(3) to (5).

3. The arbitral tribunal shall be composed of three arbitrators: one to be chosen by each party and the third, who shall be the chairman of the tribunal, to be chosen by the other two arbitrators. Should a party not have chosen its arbitrator within three months following the appointment by the other party of its arbitrator, then the second arbitrator shall be appointed by the President of the International Court of Justice. Should the first two arbitrators fail to agree upon the third within three months of the latest date on which an arbitrator was appointed, then the third arbitrator shall be appointed by the President of the International Court of Justice at the request of either party.

4. Unless the parties otherwise agree, the arbitral tribunal shall determine its own procedure and the expenses shall be borne by the parties as assessed by the tribunal. The language to be used in the arbitral proceedings shall be English.

5. The arbitral tribunal, which shall decide by a majority of votes, shall reach a decision on the difference on the basis of the provisions of the present Agreement and the applicable rules of international law. The decision of the arbitral tribunal shall be final and binding on the parties to the difference.

Article 16 General provisions

1. The provisions of this Agreement shall in no way be construed to limit or prejudice the privileges, immunities, exemptions, or various types of supports or contributions for GGGI, which have been, or may hereafter be, agreed between the Government and GGGI in any separate agreement.

2. This Agreement shall not be construed so as to abrogate, or derogate from, any provisions of the Establishment Agreement or any rights or obligations which GGGI may otherwise have, acquire, or assume.

3. The Government and GGGI may enter into such supplementary agreements as may be necessary within the scope of this Agreement.

Article 17 Entry into force

This Agreement shall enter into force upon the date of signing by the Parties.

This Agreement is concluded for an indefinite period and shall be valid prior to the expiry of six months from the date of receipt by one of the Parties of written notification from the other Party of its intention to terminate this Agreement.

Done at Tashkent on May 22, 2021, and at Seoul on May 25, 2021, in two originals, each in the Uzbek and English languages, all texts being equally authentic. In case of disagreement in the interpretation of the provisions of this Agreement, the English text shall prevail.

(signatures)