Commonwealth Numbered Regulations - Explanatory Statements Commonwealth Numbered Regulations - Explanatory Statements[Index] [Search] [Download] [Related Items] [Help]
PREPARATORY COMMISSION FOR THE COMPREHENSIVE NUCLEAR-TEST-BAN TREATY ORGANIZATION (PRIVILEGES AND IMMUNITIES) REGULATIONS 2000 2000 NO. 84
EXPLANATORY STATEMENTStatutory Rules 2000 No. 84
Issued by the Authority of the Minister for Foreign Affairs
International Organisations (Privileges and Immunities) Act 1963
Preparatory Commission for the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (Privileges and Immunities) Regulations 2000
Section 13 of the International Organisations Act provides that the Governor-General may make Regulations, not inconsistent with the Act, prescribing all matters required or permitted by the Act to be prescribed, or necessary or convenient to be prescribed for carrying out or giving effect to the Act.
Section 5 of the Act provides that the Regulations may declare an international organisation to be an international organisation to which the Act applies.
Section 6 provides that the Regulations may confer privileges and immunities on certain international organisations and persons connected therewith.
The Preparatory Commission for the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (the PrepCom) was established by a resolution of the United Nations General Assembly on 19 November 1996. Its task is to prepare for the operation of the Comprehensive NuclearTest-Ban Treaty (CTBT) and its verification regime when the treaty enters into force. A particular task of the PrepCom is to supervise and co-ordinate the establishment and provisional operation of the International Monitoring System (IMS) which will comprise 337 facilities worldwide for seismic, radionuclide, infrasound and hydroacoustic monitoring. Australia will host 21 IMS facilities.
To facilitate the Australian activities of the PrepCom's Provisional Technical Secretariat (PTS) and its contractors in establishing the IMS, Australia and the PrepCom signed a bilateral arrangement on 13 March 2000. The provisions of that arrangement require the conferral of certain privileges and immunities on the PrepCom, and on its high officers and technical personnel when visiting Australia.
The purposes of the Regulations are to:
(i) declare the PrepCom as an organisation to which the International Organisations Act
applies and to confer on it juridical personality and legal capacity; and
(ii) confer privileges and immunities that are necessary or desirable for the effective
conduct of activities in Australia by the PrepCom, its high officers, and PTS staff and
other persons performing technical missions.
As a consequence of the Regulations:
(i) the PrepCom enjoys inviolability for its communications', property, assets, premises and archives, and immunity from suit and other legal process. It is also exempt from
duties and restrictions on import or export of goods, and from any liability to collect or pay taxes;
(ii) officers of the PrepCom enjoy immunity from suit or other legal process in respect of
acts and things done in an official capacity, and exemption from taxation on salary
and emoluments received from the PrepCom;
(iii) high officers of the PrepCom enjoy certain diplomatic privileges and immunities additional to those enjoyed by other officers; and
(iv) technical experts performing missions on behalf of the PrepCom enjoy immunity from suit or other legal process in respect of acts and things done in performing the mission, and exemption from taxation on salary and emoluments received from the PrepCom. Protection is also afforded to the personal baggage, papers and documents belonging to any expert, and to any communications with the PrepCom.
Details of the Regulations are set out in the Attachment.
The Regulations commence on gazettal.
ATTACHMENT
DETAILS OF PREPARATORY COMMISSION FOR THE COMPREHENSIVE NUCLEAR-TEST-BAN TREATY ORGANIZATION (PRIVILEGES AND IMMUNITIES) REGULATIONS 2000
Regulation 1 - Name of Regulations
1 Regulation 1 provides for the Regulations to be cited as the Preparatory Commission for the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (Privileges and Immunities) Regulations 2000.
Regulation 2 - Commencement
2. Regulation 2 provides that the Regulations commence on gazettal.
Regulation 3 - Definitions
3. Regulation 3 provides definitions for terms used in the Regulations.
Regulation 4 - Act applies to PrepCom
4. In accordance with section 5 of the International Organisations (Privileges and Immunities) Act 1963 (the Act), Regulation 4 declares the PrepCom to be an international organisation to which the Act applies.
Regulation 5 - Juridical personality and legal capacity of PrepCom
5. In accordance with section 6 of the Act, Regulation 5 confers on the PrepCom juridical personality and such legal capacities as are necessary for the performance of its functions in supervising and co-ordinating the establishment of the IMS. These include the capacity to enter into contracts, to hold and dispose of real and personal property, to sue and be sued, and to begin and maintain other legal process.
Regulation 6 - Privileges and immunities of PrepCom
6. Pursuant to section 6 of the Act, Regulation 6 confers on the PrepCom certain privileges and immunities specified in the First Schedule of the Act.
7. The Regulation confers inviolability for the communications, property, assets, premises and archives of the PrepCom, and immunity from suit and other legal process. It also exempts the PrepCom from duties on import or export of goods, and from any liability to collect or pay taxes. Specific exclusions are made however such that:
(a) immunity does not extend to recovery of damages for any loss, injury or death
arising from a motor vehicle accident;
(b) PrepCom property and assets are not immune or inviolable from any
Commonwealth, State or Territory Law if abandoned for more than 12 months,
or in case of an emergency risking harm to persons, property or the
environment; and
(c) the PrepCom is not immune from any Commonwealth, State or Territory law
that imposes a fee for service, where the amount of the fee does not exceed the
cost of providing the service
Regulations 7 and 8 - Privileges and immunities of PrepCom High Officers and former High Officers
8. Regulation 7 defines a high officer of the PrepCom as an officer at or above the level of Director. It confers privileges and immunities on a high officer visiting Australia that are additional to the privileges and immunities the person enjoys as an officer of the PrepCom under Regulations 9 and 10. The high officer has immunity from personal arrest and detention, and inviolability of personal baggage.
9. Regulation 8 provides that a former high officer of the PrepCom has immunity from suit and other legal process in respect of acts and things done in an official capacity. Such immunity does not extend however to matters in respect of recovery of damages for any loss, injury or death arising from a motor vehicle accident.
Regulations 9 and 10 - Privileges and Immunities of PrepCom Officers and former Officers
10. Regulation 9 provides that officers of the PrepCom visiting Australia enjoy immunity from suit or other legal process in respect of acts and things done in an official capacity (except for officers who are an Australian citizen), and exemption from taxation on salary and emoluments received from the PrepCom. Officers are also exempt from immigration and alien registration laws, and from any national service obligation. PrepCom officers who are not Australian citizens also enjoy exemption from certain currency and exchange restrictions and a right to repatriation in time of international crisis.
11. Regulation 10 provides that a former PrepCom Officer has immunity from suit and other legal process in respect of acts and things done in an official capacity.
12. The immunity from suit and other legal process conferred by Regulations 9 and 10 does not extend to matters in respect of recovery of damages for any loss, injury or death arising from a motor vehicle accident.
Regulations 11 and 12 - Privileges and Immunities of persons performing PrepCom missions and persons who have performed PrepCom missions
13. Regulation 11 provides that persons performing missions on behalf of the PrepCom in Australia (such as technical experts) enjoy immunity from suit or other legal process in respect of acts and things done in performing the mission, and exemption from taxation on salary and emoluments received from the PrepCom. Protection is also afforded to the personal baggage, papers and documents belonging to any expert, and to any communications with the PrepCom. Such persons who are not Australian citizens also enjoy immunity from personal arrest and detention and from certain currency and exchange restrictions.
14. Regulation 12 provides that a person who has performed PrepCom missions in Australia has immunity from suit and other legal process in respect of acts and things done in an official capacity.
15. The immunity from suit and other legal process conferred by Regulations 11 and 12 does not extend to matters in respect of recovery of damages for any loss, injury or death arising from a motor vehicle accident.
Regulation 13 - Waiver of Privileges and immunities
16. Regulation 13 provides that the Executive Secretary of the PrepCom may waive a privilege or immunity conferred by these Regulations.
Regulation 14 - Privileges and immunities subject to quarantine laws etc
17. Regulation 14 provides that the privileges and immunities conferred by these Regulations do not affect the operation of any law relating to quarantine.