Canadian Treaty Series

E101907 - CTS 1993 No. 16

HEADQUARTERS AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE GOVERNMENT OF CANADA AND THE NORTH PACIFIC ANADROMOUS FISH COMMISSION

The Government of Canada and the North Pacific Anadromous Fish Commission, wishing to conclude an agreement respecting the establishment in Canada of the headquarters of the Commission in accordance with the provisions of paragraphs 4 and 5 of Article VIII of the Convention for the Conservation of Anadromous Stocks in the North Pacific Ocean, done at Ottawa on September 20, 1991, have agreed as follows:

ARTICLE 1

The North Pacific Anadromous Fish Commission (hereinafter referred to as the Commission) shall have in Canada the legal capacities of a body corporate, including the capacity to contract, to acquire and dispose of property, and to institute legal proceedings.

ARTICLE 2

The Commission, its property and its assets, wherever located and by whomsoever held, shall enjoy immunity from every form of judicial process except in so far as in any particular case the Executive Director of the Secretariat of the Commission has expressly waived its immunity. Such waiver shall be understood not to extend to any measure of execution, save with the express consent of the Executive Director of the Secretariat of the Commission. The Commission shall establish guidelines as to the circumstances in which the Executive Director may waive any immunity of the Commission, and as to the method in which any such waiver shall be made.

ARTICLE 3

The property and assets of the Commission, wherever located and by whomsoever held, shall be immune from search, requisition, confiscation, expropriation and any other form of interference, whether by executive, administrative, judicial, or legislative action, except with the consent of and under the conditions agreed to by the Executive Director of the Secretariat of the Commission. This Article shall not prevent the reasonable application of fire protection regulations.

ARTICLE 4

The archives and documents of the Commission shall be inviolable at any time wherever they may be.

ARTICLE 5

The Commission, its assets, income, and other property shall be:

(a) exempt from all direct taxes except for charges for public utility services;

(b) exempt from customs duties and taxes in respect of articles imported or exported by the Commission in the furtherance of its function; articles imported under such exemption shall not be sold or disposed of in Canada except under conditions agreed to by the Government of Canada.

(c) exempt from any prohibition or restriction on import, export or sale of its publications, and exempt from customs duties and excise taxes in respect thereof.

ARTICLE 6

All representatives of Member States of the Commission shall, while exercising their functions and during their journeys to and from the place of meeting, enjoy in Canada the privileges and immunities necessary for the independent performance of their function, and in particular immunity from personal arrest or detention and from seizure of their personal baggage, inviolability of all papers and documents, and, in respect of words spoken or written and all acts done by them in their capacity as representatives, immunity from legal process of every kind. The immunity from legal process in respect of words spoken or written and all acts done by them in discharging their duties as representatives shall continue to be accorded, notwithstanding that the persons concerned have ceased to be representatives of Member States. Such immunity may be waived only by the Government of the Member State. For the purpose of this Agreement, representatives shall include alternate representatives, experts and advisers to representatives.

ARTICLE 12

The Commission shall cooperate at all times with the appropriate Canadian authorities to facilitate the proper administration of justice, secure the observance of Canadian laws and regulations, and prevent the occurrence of any abuse in connection with the privileges, immunities, and facilities mentioned in this Agreement.

ARTICLE 13

Any dispute between the Commission and the Government of Canada concerning the interpretation or application of this Agreement or any supplementary agreement, which is not settled by negotiation or other agreed mode of settlement, shall be referred to a tribunal of three arbitrators for final decision. One arbitrator shall be designated by the President of the Commission, and another by the Secretary of State for External Affairs of Canada. The two arbitrators shall appoint a third arbitrator.

ARTICLE 14

1. This Agreement will enter into force on the date of its signature.

2. This Agreement may be revised at the request of either Party. To do so, the two Parties shall consult on the modifications in question. In the event that their negotiations should fail to produce an agreement within the period of one year, this Agreement may be renounced by either Party, upon giving notice of two years.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF the undersigned, duly authorized by the Government of Canada and the North Pacific Anadromous Fish Commission, have signed this Agreement.

DONE at Ottawa, Ont., on October 29, 1993 and at Vancouver on November 3, 1993, in duplicate, in the English and French languages, each version being equally authentic.

Victor Rabinovitch

FOR THE GOVERNMENT OF CANADA

Masahiro Ishikawa

FOR THE NORTH PACIFIC ANADROMOUS FISH COMMISSION