Communication from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs No. 226 / 1997 Coll.
Communication from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on the negotiation of the Agreement between the Czech Republic and Ireland on the promotion and mutual protection of investments
Valid
Effective from 01.08.1997
Text versions:
19.09.1997
226
COMMUNICATION
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs announces that the Agreement between the Czech Republic and Ireland on the promotion and mutual protection of investments was signed in Dublin on 28 June 1996.
The Parliament of the Czech Republic agreed to the Agreement and the President of the Republic ratified it.
The Agreement entered into force on 1 August 1997 pursuant to Article 13 (1) thereof.
The Czech version of the Agreement is hereby published at the same time.
AGREEMENT
between the Czech Republic and Ireland on the promotion and mutual protection of investment
the Czech Republic and Ireland (hereinafter referred to as the "Contracting Parties'),
wishing to create favourable conditions for greater investment by investors of one Contracting Party in the territory of the other Contracting Party,
Recognising that the promotion and mutual protection of such investment under the international agreement will contribute to encouraging individual business activities and enhance prosperity in both Parties,
agree on the following:
Definitions
For the purposes of this Agreement:
1. The term "investment" shall mean any asset value invested in the context of business activities by an investor of one Contracting Party in the territory of the other Contracting Party in accordance with the laws of the other Contracting Party and shall, in particular, not exclusively:
(a) movable and immovable property and any other property rights, such as mortgages, collateral or guarantees;
(b) shares, shares and unsecured bonds of companies and any other form of participation in companies;
(c) cash claims or claims on any performance of a contract having a financial value associated with the investment;
(d) intellectual property rights, including copyright, trademark rights, patents, industrial designs, technical procedures, know-how, business secrets, business names and goodwill, associated with investment;
(e) any rights arising from the law or contractual arrangement and any licence and licence under the law, including licences for exploration, extraction, cultivation or exploitation of natural resources.
Any change in the form in which values are invested will not affect their nature as investments.
2. The term "investor" shall mean any natural or legal person investing in the territory of the other Contracting Party.
(a) The term "natural person" shall mean any natural person who is a citizen of one of the Contracting Parties in accordance with its law.
(b) The term "legal person" means:
(i) in respect of the Czech Republic, any company registered or established in accordance with its law and recognised by it as a legal person having its registered office in the Czech Republic;
(ii) in respect of Ireland, any company registered or established in accordance with its law and recognised by it as a legal person having its central management and management in Ireland.
3. The term "income" shall mean the amounts resulting from the investment and shall include in particular, but not exclusively, profits, interest on loans, capital gains, dividends, royalties or other charges.
4. The term "territory" means:
(a) in the case of the Czech Republic, the territory of the Czech Republic over which the Czech Republic exercises sovereignty, sovereignty or jurisdiction in accordance with international law;
(b) in the case of Ireland, the territory in which the Government of Ireland exercises jurisdiction, including any area which, in accordance with international law, including the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, open for signature in Montego Bay on 10 December 1982 and New York on 1 July 1983, has been or may in the future be designated under the laws of Ireland relating to the continental shelf as an area in which Ireland may exercise its rights in relation to the seabed and subsoil and its natural resources.
Aid and investment protection
1. Each Party shall promote and create favourable conditions for investors of the other Party to invest in its territory and shall recognise such investments in accordance with its legislation.
2. Investment by investors of each Contracting Party shall at any time be granted proper and fair treatment and shall enjoy full protection and security in the territory of the other Contracting Party. None of the Contracting Parties shall in any way harm the investors of the other Contracting Party with unjustified or discriminatory arrangements for the management, maintenance, use, use or disposal of investments in its territory. Each Contracting Party shall fulfil the obligations it may have entered into in relation to the investors of the other Contracting Party.
National treatment and most favoured nation clause
1. Each Contracting Party shall grant on its territory investment and investors' returns to the other Contracting Party treatment which is sound and fair and is no less favourable than that which it provides for its own investors' investments and revenues or the investors' investments and returns of any third State, whichever is the more favourable.
2. Each Contracting Party shall, in its territory, provide investors of the other Contracting Party with treatment which is sound and fair and which is no less favourable than that accorded to its own investors or investors of any third State, whichever is the more favourable.
3. The provisions of this Agreement relating to the granting of treatment not less favourable than that granted to investors of one of the Contracting Parties or of any third State may not be construed as obliging one Contracting Party to grant to investors of the other Contracting Party any treatment, benefit or privilege resulting from any existing or future customs union or free trade zone or economic and monetary union or similar international agreements leading to such Union or institutions or other forms of regional economic cooperation, of which one of the Contracting Parties is or may become a member.
Compensation for losses
1. Where an investment by investors of one or the other Contracting Party suffers losses as a result of war, armed conflict, exceptional condition, insurrection, rebellion, riot or other similar events within the territory of the other Contracting Party, that Contracting Party shall grant them treatment in respect of compensation, compensation, compensation or other settlement, not less favourable than that provided by that Contracting Party to its own investors or investors of any third State.
2. Notwithstanding paragraph 1 of this Article, investors of one Contracting Party who, in any of the events referred to in the preceding paragraph, suffer losses in the territory of the other Contracting Party shall be:
(a) the seizure of their property by the forces or official authorities of the other Contracting Party; or
(b) the destruction of their property by the forces or official authorities of the other Contracting Party, which was not caused by acts of war or was not caused by the necessity of the situation;
compensation or immediate, proportionate and effective compensation for losses suffered during occupation or as a result of destruction of property. The resulting payments shall be freely transferable in freely convertible currency without delay.
Expropriation
1. Investment by investors of either Contracting Party shall not be nationalised, expropriated or subject to measures having the same effect as the nationalisation or expropriation ("expropriation ') in the territory of the other Contracting Party, except in the public interest. Expropriation shall be carried out in accordance with the procedure laid down by law, on a non-discriminatory basis and shall be accompanied by payment of immediate, proportionate and effective compensation. Such compensation shall be equal to the market value of the expropriated investment established in accordance with the relevant laws of the Contracting Parties, shall include interest, shall be paid without delay, shall be effectively feasible and freely transferable in freely convertible currency.
2. The investor concerned shall have the right to an immediate assessment of his case and to evaluate his investment by judicial or other independent bodies of that Party in accordance with the principles set out in this Article.
Transfer of investment and revenues
1. The Contracting Parties shall ensure the free transfer of investment-related payments and revenues. Transfers shall be made in freely convertible currency without limitation and without undue delay. 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 earnings of natural persons in accordance with the laws of the Contracting Party where the investment was made.
2. For the purposes of this Agreement, the exchange rate shall be the prevailing market rate for current transactions used on the date of the transfer, unless otherwise agreed.
3. Transfers shall be deemed to have been made without "undue delay 'within the meaning of paragraph 1 of this Article if they have been made within the period normally necessary for such transfer to be carried out. Such a period shall under no circumstances exceed two months.
Transfer of rights
1. Where one Contracting Party or its authorised Agency ("the first Contracting Party ') makes a payment in respect of compensation granted in respect of an investment in the territory of the other Contracting Party (" the other Contracting Party'), the other Contracting Party shall recognise:
(a) the transfer of all rights and entitlements of the party to the compensation to the first Contracting Party under a law or legal arrangement; and
(b) that the first Contracting Party is entitled to exercise such rights and enforce such rights on the basis of the transfer of rights to the same extent as the compensated Party.
2. The first Contracting Party shall be entitled, in all circumstances, to the same treatment as regards:
(a) the rights and entitlements acquired by way of transfer of rights; and
(b) any payments received in the application of those rights and entitlements;
as it was entitled to receive compensation under this Agreement in respect of the investment in question and the income to which it relates, and to assume obligations relating to the investment.
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 subject to dispute negotiations between the Parties.
2. If any dispute between an investor of one Contracting Party and the other Contracting Party cannot thus be resolved within six months of the date of the written notification of the claim, the investor shall be entitled to present the dispute either:
(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;
or
(b) an arbitrator or an international arbitration panel set up on an ad hoc basis under the arbitration rules of the United Nations International Trade Law Commission (UNCITRAL). The Parties in the dispute may agree in writing to adapt these rules.
3. Any dispute brought before the arbitration panel on an ad hoc basis in accordance with paragraph 2 (b) above shall be decided on the basis of the provisions of this Agreement and, if this Agreement does not regulate the matter, on the basis of generally accepted principles of international law.
4. The arbitration panel shall be final and binding on both parties in the dispute.
Dispute settlement between Contracting Parties
1. Disputes between the Parties concerning the interpretation or application of this Agreement should, where possible, be resolved by negotiations and consultations.
2. If the dispute between the Contracting Parties cannot be resolved within a period of six months, it shall be submitted to the arbitration panel at the request of either Contracting Party.
3. Such an arbitration panel shall be established on a case-by-case basis as follows: Within two months of receipt of the request for arbitration, each Party shall appoint one member of the arbitration panel. These two members shall then select a citizen of a third State who will be appointed President of the Court with the agreement of the two Parties. The President shall be appointed within two months of the date of appointment of the other two members.
4. If the necessary appointments have not been made within the time limits referred to in paragraph 3 of this Article, any Contracting Party, if there is no other agreement, may request the President of the International Court of Justice to make any necessary appointments. If the President is a citizen of a Contracting Party or is unable to carry out this act for another reason, the Vice-President shall be asked to make the necessary appointments. 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 a Contracting Party shall be requested to make the necessary appointments.
5. Any dispute between the Parties shall be decided on the basis of the provisions of this Agreement and, if the Agreement does not regulate the matter, on the basis of generally accepted principles of international law. The arbitration panel shall take its decision by a majority vote. Such a decision shall be binding on both Parties.
6. Each Contracting Party shall bear the costs of its own member of the arbitration panel and of its participation in the arbitration procedure; the costs of the Chair and other expenditure shall be borne equally by the Parties. However, the arbitration panel may, in its decision, order that one of the two parties bear a larger proportion of the costs and that finding shall be binding on both Parties. The arbitration panel shall determine its own rules of procedure.
Application of other provisions and specific commitments
1. Where a question is addressed at the same time by this Agreement and another international agreement existing at present or concluded in the future by both Parties, nothing in this Agreement shall prevent any Contracting Party or any investor of that Party from making use of any provisions which are more favourable to it.
2. If the treatment to be granted by one Contracting Party to investors of the other Contracting Party in accordance with its laws or other specific contractual provisions is more favourable than that provided for in this Agreement, such favourable treatment shall be granted.
3. The persons to whom this Agreement applies shall not be exempt from the provisions of the Irish legislation governing entry, residence and departure from the territory of Ireland.
Taxation
1. Nothing in this Agreement shall be:
(a) affect the right of any Contracting Party to impose taxes in accordance with its tax laws; or
(b) oblige any Contracting Party to grant to the investors of the other Contracting Party any treatment, advantage or privilege arising from any international agreement or arrangement relating to wholly or principally taxation, of which the other Contracting Party is not a party.
2. Notwithstanding the provisions of Articles 8 and 9 of this Agreement, any dispute relating to taxation shall be decided only in accordance with the domestic legal order of the Contracting Parties and with any existing or future bilateral or multilateral agreement governing arbitration or ruling of tax disputes to which both Parties are or will be parties.
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 at the date of entry into force of this Agreement.
Entry into force, duration and termination
1. Each Contracting Party shall notify the other Contracting Party of the completion of the procedures required by its laws 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. It shall then continue to apply until 12 months after the date on which one Contracting Party receives from the other Party a diplomatic notification of its intention to terminate the Agreement.
3. 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.
Done in duplicate in Dublin on 28 June 1996 in the Czech and English languages, both texts equally valid.
For the Czech Republic:
Ing. Ivan Kočárník CSc. v. r.
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance
For Ireland:
Enda Kenny v. r.
Minister for Tourism and Trade
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Regulation Information
| Citation | Communication from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs No. 226 / 1997 Coll., on the negotiation of the Agreement between the Czech Republic and Ireland on the promotion and mutual protection of investments |
|---|---|
| Regulation Type | - |
| Author | - |
| Collection | Code of Laws |
| Date of Promulgation | 19.09.1997 |
|---|---|
| Effective from | 01.08.1997 |
| Effective until | - |
| Status | Valid |
The regulation text is for informational purposes only.
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