Art. 8 Protocol inzake de voorrechten en immuniteiten van de Internationale Zeebodemautoriteit

1. The Secretary-General will specify the categories of officials to which the provisions of paragraph 2 of this article shall apply. The Secretary-General shall submit these categories to the Assembly. Thereafter these categories shall be communicated to the Governments of all members of the Authority. The names of the officials included in these categories shall from time to time be made known to the Governments of members of the Authority. 2. Officials of the Authority, regardless of nationality, shall: be immune from legal process in respect of words spoken or written and all acts performed by them in their official capacity; be immune from personal arrest or detention in relation to acts performed by them in their official capacity; be exempt from tax in respect of salaries and emoluments paid or any other form of payment made by the Authority; be immune from national service obligations provided that, in relation to States of which they are national, such immunity shall be confined to officials of the Authority whose names have, by reason of their duties, been placed upon a list compiled by the Secretary-General and approved by the State concerned; should other officials of the Authority be called up for national service, the State concerned shall, at the request of the Secretary-General, grant such temporary deferments in the call-up of such officials as may be necessary to avoid interruption in the continuation of essential work; be exempt, together with their spouses and relatives dependent on them, from immigration restrictions and alien registration; be accorded the same privileges in respect of exchange facilities as are accorded to the officials of comparable ranks forming part of diplomatic missions to the Governments concerned; have the right to import free of duty their furniture and effects at the time of first taking up their post in the country in question; be exempt from inspection of personal baggage, unless there are serious grounds for believing that the baggage contains articles not for personal use or articles the import or export of which is prohibited by the law or controlled by the quarantine regulations of the Party concerned; and inspection in such a case shall be conducted in the presence of the official concerned, and in the case of official baggage, in the presence of the Secretary-General or his or her authorized representative; be given, together with their spouses and relatives dependent on them, the same repatriation facilities in time of international crises as are accorded to diplomatic agents. 3. In addition to the privileges and immunities specified in paragraph 2, the Secretary-General or any official acting on his behalf during his absence from duty and the Director-General of the Enterprise shall be accorded in respect of themselves, their spouses and minor children the privileges and immunities, exemptions and facilities accorded to diplomatic envoys, in accordance with international law. 4. Privileges and immunities are accorded to officials, not for the personal benefit of the individuals themselves, but in order to safeguard the independent exercise of their functions in connection with the Authority. The Secretary-General has the right and the duty to waive the immunity of any official where, in the opinion of the Secretary-General, the immunity would impede the course of justice, and it can be waived without prejudice to the interests of the Authority. In case of the Secretary-General, the Assembly shall have the right to waive immunity. 5. The Authority shall cooperate at all times with the appropriate authorities of members of the Authority to facilitate the proper administration of justice, secure the observance of police regulations and prevent the occurrence of any abuse in connection with the privileges, immunities and facilities referred to in this article. 6. Pursuant to the laws and regulations of the State concerned, the officials of the Authority shall be required to have insurance coverage against third-party risks in respect of vehicles owned or operated by them.

Rechtspraak bij dit artikel