Communication from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs No. 185 / 1995 Coll.

Q: Is Communication from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs No. 185 / 1995 Coll. still valid?

Yes, Communication from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs No. 185 / 1995 Coll. is still valid and effective.

185

COMMUNICATION

Ministry of Foreign Affairs

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs states that on 27 October 1994 an Agreement was signed in Vilnius between the Government of the Czech Republic and the Government of the Republic of Lithuania on the promotion and mutual protection of investments.

The Agreement entered into force on 12 July 1995 pursuant to Article 13 (1) thereof.

The Czech version of the Agreement is hereby published at the same time. The English version, which is decisive for its interpretation, can be consulted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Finance.

AGREEMENT

between

by the Government of the Czech Republic and the Government of the Republic of Lithuania

on the promotion and mutual protection of investments

the Government of the Czech Republic and the Government of the Republic of Lithuania (hereinafter referred to as the "Contracting Parties'),

led by the desire to intensify economic cooperation to the mutual benefit of both States,

Desiring to create and maintain favourable conditions for investment by investors of one State in the territory of another State; and

Recognising that the promotion and mutual protection of investment in accordance with this Agreement encourages business initiatives in this field,

agree on the following:

Definitions

For the purposes of this Agreement:

1. The term "investment" refers to any asset value invested in connection with economic activities by an investor of one Contracting Party in the territory of the other Contracting Party in accordance with the law of the other Contracting Party and includes in particular, but not exclusively:

(a) movable and immovable property, as well as any other property rights such as mortgages, mortgages, guarantees and similar rights;

(b) shares, bonds and unsecured liabilities of companies or any other form of participation in companies;

(c) cash claims or claims on any activity having an economic value associated with the investment;

(d) intellectual property rights, including copyright, trade marks and service marks, patents, industrial designs, technical procedures, know-how, business secrets, business names and goodwill associated with the investment;

(e) rights arising from a law or contractual arrangement, licence or permit issued under the law, including concessions for exploration, extraction, cultivation or use of natural resources.

Any change in the form in which values are invested shall not affect their position as investments provided that such change is made in accordance with the law of the Contracting Party in whose territory the investment is made.

2. The term "investor" means, with regard to each Contracting Party:

(a) a natural person having the citizenship of that Contracting Party in accordance with its law;

(b) any company, firm, undertaking or association incorporated or constituted under the applicable law in the territory of that Contracting Party, having its registered office in its territory.

3. The term "income" shall mean the amounts resulting from the investment and shall include in particular, but not exclusively, profits, interest, capital gains, shares, dividends, royalties or other charges.

4. The term "territory" means the territory of the Czech Republic and the territory of the Republic of Lithuania, including territorial waters and any sea or underwater area over which the Republic of Lithuania may apply, in accordance with international law, sovereign rights for the purpose of exploring, exploiting and protecting the seabed, subsoil and natural resources.

Aid and investment protection

1. Each Contracting Party shall promote and create favourable conditions for investors from the other Contracting Party to invest in its territory and shall recognise such investment in accordance with its legal order.

2. The investment of investors of one or the other Contracting Party shall always have proper and fair treatment and shall enjoy full protection and security in the territory of the other Contracting Party.

National treatment and most favoured nation clause

1. Each Party shall grant on its territory investment and investors' returns to the other Party a treatment which is sound and fair and is no less favourable than that which it provides to its own investors or to the investors' investments or returns of any third State, if it is more favourable.

2. Each Contracting Party shall, on its territory, grant to investors of the other Contracting Party, treatment which is fair and fair and not less favourable than that which it provides to its own investors or to investors of any third State if it is more favourable.

3. The provisions of paragraphs 1 and 2 of this Article shall not be construed as obliging one Contracting Party to grant to investors of the other Contracting Party such treatment, benefits or privileges as may be granted by one Contracting Party under:

(a) the customs union or free trade zone or monetary union or similar international agreement leading to such Union or institutions or other forms of regional cooperation, the Contracting Party of which is or may become a member; or

(b) international agreements or arrangements relating wholly or principally to taxation.

Compensation for damage

1. If an investment by investors of one or other Contracting Party suffers damage as a result of war, armed conflict, exceptional situation, riot, insurrection, mutiny or other similar events within the territory of the other Contracting Party, that Contracting Party shall provide them with treatment in respect of restitution, compensation, compensation or other settlement, not less favourable than that provided by that Contracting Party to its own investors or investors of a third State.

2. Notwithstanding paragraph 1 of this Article, investors of one Contracting Party who, at the events referred to in the preceding paragraph, have suffered damage within the territory of the other Contracting Party consisting of:

(a) the seizure of their property by the armed forces or by the official authorities of the other Contracting Party;

(b) destruction of their property by the armed forces or by the official authorities of the other Contracting Party, which was not caused by combat actions or was not caused by the necessity of the situation;

a fair and reasonable compensation shall be granted for damage suffered during the occupation or destruction of the property. The resulting payments shall be freely transferable in freely convertible currency without delay.

Expropriation

1. Investment by investors of one or the other Contracting Party shall not be nationalised, expropriated or subject to measures having a similar effect to that of nationalisation or expropriation ("expropriation ') in the territory of the other Contracting Party, with the exception of the public interest. Expropriation will be carried out under the law on a non-discriminatory basis and accompanied by measures to pay immediate, proportionate and effective compensation. Such compensation shall be equal to the market value of the expropriated investment immediately before the expropriation or before the intended expropriation has become known to the public, including interest from the date of expropriation, calculated on the basis of the corresponding commercial interest rate, shall be effected without delay, shall be immediately feasible and freely transferable in a freely convertible currency.

2. The investor concerned shall have the right to request urgent review of his case and to evaluate his investment by a judicial or other independent body of the Contracting Party in accordance with the principles contained in this Article.

3. The provisions of paragraph 1 of this Article shall also apply in cases where a contracting party earns the assets of a company which has been registered or established in accordance with the applicable legal order in any part of its own territory and in which the investors of the other Contracting Party own shares.

Transfers

1. The Contracting Parties shall ensure the transfer of investment-related payments or revenues. Transfers in freely convertible currency shall be made without limitation and without undue delay after all tax obligations have been met. Such transfers shall include in particular, but not exclusively:

(a) capital and additional amounts to maintain or increase the investment;

(b) profits, interest, dividends and other current income;

(c) the amounts to be recovered;

(d) royalties or other charges;

(e) proceeds from the sale or liquidation of the investment;

(f) the income of natural persons;

(g) the refunds provided for in Articles 4 and 5 of this Agreement.

2. Any transfer referred to in this Agreement shall take place at the rate in force on the date on which the transfer takes place.

Transfer of rights

1. Where one Contracting Party or its authorised Agency makes payment to its own investor on the grounds of a guarantee it has provided in relation to an investment in the territory of the other Contracting Party, the other Contracting Party shall recognise:

(a) the transfer of any right or right of an investor to a Contracting Party or to an agency authorised by it, whether by law or by legal arrangement in that country, and

(b) that the contracting party or the agency authorised by it is entitled, by way of transfer of rights, to exercise the rights and rights of the investor and to assume the obligations relating to the investment.

2. The transferred rights or entitlements shall not exceed the degree of original rights or rights of the investor.

Settlement of investment disputes between a Party and an investor of the other Party

1. Any dispute which may arise between an investor of one Contracting Party and the other Contracting Party in connection with an investment in the territory of that other Contracting Party shall be the subject of a dispute between the Parties.

2. If a dispute between an investor of one Contracting Party and the other Contracting Party is not settled in such a manner within a period of six months, the dispute shall be submitted either by agreement between both Parties:

(a) the International Investment Dispute Settlement Centre (ICSID), taking into account the applicable provisions of the Investment Dispute Settlement Convention between States and citizens of other States, open for signature in Washington, D. C. 18 March 1965, where both Parties are Parties to this Convention; or

(b) an arbitrator or an ad hoc international arbitration panel established under the arbitration rules of the United Nations International Trade Law Commission (UNCITRAL). The Parties in the dispute may agree in writing to amend these rules. The arbitration panel shall be final and binding on both parties in the dispute.

Dispute settlement between Contracting Parties

1. Disputes between Contracting Parties concerning the interpretation or application of this Agreement shall, where possible, be resolved by consultations or negotiations.

2. If the dispute cannot be resolved within six months, it shall be submitted to the arbitration panel at the request of one of the Contracting Parties in accordance with the provisions of this Article.

3. The arbitration panel shall be established in the following manner for each individual case. Each Contracting Party shall designate one arbitrator within two months of receipt of the request for arbitration. The two arbitrators shall then select a citizen of a third State who, with the agreement of the two Parties, will be appointed President of the Court (hereinafter referred to as "the President '). The President shall be appointed within three months of the date of the appointment of the two arbitrators.

4. If the necessary appointment has not been carried out within one of the time limits referred to in paragraph 3 of this Article, the President of the International Court of Justice may be asked to carry out the appointment. If the President is a citizen of a Contracting Party or for any other reason is unable to carry out this act, the Vice-President shall be requested to be appointed. If the Vice-President is also a citizen of a Contracting Party or is unable to carry out this act, the oldest member of the International Court of Justice who is not a citizen of any Contracting Party shall be requested to make the necessary appointment.

5. The arbitration panel shall take its decisions by a majority vote. Such a decision is binding. Each Party shall pay only the costs of its arbitrator and its participation in the arbitration procedure; the costs of the Chair and the other costs shall be borne equally by the Parties. The arbitration panel shall determine its own rules of procedure.

Application of other provisions and specific commitments

1. In the event that a question is addressed simultaneously by this Agreement and another international agreement to which both Parties are parties, nothing in this Agreement shall prevent any Contracting Party or any of its investors having investments in the territory of the other Contracting Party from making use of any provisions which are more favourable to it.

2. If the treatment granted by one Contracting Party to the investors of the other Contracting Party in accordance with its legal order or other specific contractual provisions is more favourable than that provided for by this Agreement, such favourable treatment shall be used.

Consultation and exchange of information

At the request of any Contracting Party, the other Contracting Party shall agree without delay to consult on the interpretation and application of this Agreement. At the request of any Contracting Party, information on the impact that may have on investments provided for in this Agreement by laws, regulations, decisions, administrative practices or procedures or political principles shall be exchanged.

Application of this Agreement

The provisions of this Agreement shall apply to future investments made by investors of one Contracting Party in the territory of the other Contracting Party and also to investments existing in accordance with the laws of the Contracting Parties on the date on which this Agreement enters into force.

Entry into force, duration and termination

1. Each Contracting Party shall notify the other Contracting Party of the fulfilment of the constitutional requirements for the entry into force of this Agreement. This Agreement shall enter into force on the date of the second notification.

2. This Agreement shall remain in force for a period of 10 years and shall continue to apply unless one year before the end of the initial period or any subsequent period, one Contracting Party notifies the other Contracting Party in writing of its intention to terminate the Agreement.

3. This Agreement may be supplemented at any time as may be agreed by written notification between the Parties. Such supplements shall enter into force when the Contracting Parties have notified each other that all necessary legal formalities for entry into force have been completed.

4. For investments made before the expiry of this Agreement, the provisions of this Agreement shall remain effective for a period of 10 years from the date of expiry.

In order to prove the signature below, duly authorised, they signed this agreement.

Dane in Vilnius 27 October 1994 in duplicate in Czech, Lithuanian and English, all texts being equally authentic. In case of discrepancies in the interpretation, the English text will be decisive.

For the Government of the Czech Republic:

Ivan Kočárník v. r.

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance

For the Government of the Republic of Lithuania:

Povilas Gylys v. r.

Minister for Foreign Affairs

Citation	Communication from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs No. 185 / 1995 Coll., on the negotiation of the Agreement between the Government of the Czech Republic and the Government of the Republic of Lithuania on the promotion and mutual protection of investments
Regulation Type	International Treaty
Author	-
Collection	Code of Laws

Date of Promulgation	31.08.1995
Effective from	12.07.1995
Effective until	-
Status	Valid

Communication from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on the negotiation of the Agreement between the Government of the Czech Republic and the Government of the Republic of Lithuania on the promotion and mutual protection of investments

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