Communication from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs No. 277 / 1997 Coll.
Communication from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on the negotiation of the Agreement between the Czech Republic and the Italian Republic on the promotion and protection of investment
Valid
International Treaty
Effective from 01.11.1997
Text versions:
17.11.1997
277
COMMUNICATION
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
The Ministry of Záanice notes that on 22 January 1996 the Agreement between the Czech Republic and the Italian Republic on the promotion and protection of investment was signed in Rome.
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 November 1997 pursuant to Article 12 (1) thereof.
The Czech version of the Agreement is hereby published at the same time. The English version of the Agreement, which is relevant for its interpretation, can be consulted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Finance.
AGREEMENT
between the Czech Republic and the Italian Republic on investment aid and protection
the Czech Republic and the Italian Republic ("the Contracting Parties'),
Wishing to further develop economic cooperation for the mutual benefit of both Parties,
to create and maintain favourable conditions for investment by investors of one Contracting Party in the territory of the other Contracting Party; and
Recognising that the promotion and protection of investment encourages entrepreneurship in this area,
agree on the following:
Definitions
For the purposes of this Agreement:
1. The term "investment" means 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, and any rights in rem such as mortgages, mortgages, guarantees and similar rights;
(b) shares, bonds, unsecured bonds or any other form of participation in companies, as well as government and other public securities;
(c) loans and claims on any performance having an economic value associated with the investment, as well as reinvested income and capital gains;
(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 a law or contractual arrangement and any licence and licence granted under the law, including concessions for the exploration, extraction, cultivation or use of natural resources;
(f) any additional increase in the capital of the original investment.
Any change in the form in which values are invested does not affect their character as investments.
2. The term "investor" shall mean any natural or legal person investing, directly or through his branch, in the territory of the other Contracting Party.
(a) The term "natural person" shall mean any natural person having citizenship of one of the Contracting Parties in accordance with its legal order.
(b) The term "legal person" means, in respect of each of the Contracting Parties, any company registered or established in accordance with its law and recognised by it as having its registered office in the territory of one of the Contracting Parties, such as public companies, associations, companies, foundations and associations, whether or not their liability is limited.
3. The term "income" shall mean the amounts resulting from the investment and shall include in particular, but not limited to, profits, interest, interest on loans, capital gains, shares, dividends, royalties or other charges as well as in kind.
4. The term "territory 'means, in addition to the territory within the mainland borders, any sea or underwater area over which the Contracting Party exercises, in accordance with international law, sovereignty, sovereign rights and / or jurisdiction.
5. The term "associated activities' shall include the organisation, management, operation, maintenance, representation, offices, plants and other facilities, as well as the import and installation of equipment necessary for the normal operation of the business; the conclusion, execution and enforcement of contracts; the acquisition, use and protection of property of all kinds, including intellectual property, and the treatment of it; access to, and access to, the financial market, in particular to cash credits, purchase, issue and sale of ordinary shares and other securities; purchase of foreign exchange funds for import purposes; the granting of authorisations and licensing rights and the provision of leasing services in or in relation to the territory of the Contracting Parties.
Aid and investment protection
1. Each Contracting Party shall promote, create and maintain favourable conditions for investors of the other Contracting Party to make investments in its territory and shall admit such investments in accordance with its legislation.
2. Each Contracting Party shall provide investment and associated activities carried out within its territory by investors of the other Contracting Party with due and fair treatment and shall refrain from taking unfair or discriminatory measures that could affect the management, maintenance, use, use, disposal, conversion or disposal of the investment as well as the procurement of the goods required for the investment and the sale of products on domestic and international markets.
3. Each Contracting Party or its authorised Agency may conclude, in accordance with its law, an investment agreement with the investor of the other Contracting Party on the terms of the investment project.
4. Each Contracting Party shall, in accordance with its own rules of law, authorise investors of the other Contracting Party who have made investments in its territory to employ senior management personnel irrespective of nationality.
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 grants to its own investors' investments and returns or to the investors' and returns of any third State.
2. Each Contracting Party shall, in its territory, provide investors of the other Party with treatment which is sound and fair and not less favourable than that accorded to its own investors or to investors of any third State as regards the management, maintenance, use, use or handling of their investment.
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 on the basis of:
(a) any 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 cooperation, the Contracting Party of which is or may become a member; or
(b) any international agreement or arrangement concerning wholly or principally taxation, in particular the avoidance of double taxation, or seeking to promote cross-border trade and cooperation.
Compensation for damages and losses
1. Where investment by investors of one or the other Contracting Party suffers damage or loss 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 no less favourable than that accorded to its own investors or to investors of any third State as regards compensation, compensation, compensation, compensation or other settlement.
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 damage or loss within the territory of the other Contracting Party shall be:
(a) 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 proportionate compensation for damage or loss suffered during the period of occupation or as a result of destruction of the property.
3. Compensation resulting from the events referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2 of this Article shall be freely transferable in freely convertible currency without undue delay.
Nationalisation and expropriation
1. Investment by investors of each Party, including the relevant revenues, shall not be de jure or de facto expropriated or subject to measures having the same effect as nationalisation or expropriation ("expropriation ') in the territory of the other Party, with the exception of public or national interest.
Expropriation shall be carried out on the basis of law, on a non-discriminatory basis and shall be accompanied by payment of immediate, proportionate and effective compensation. Such compensation will be equal to the market value of the expropriated investment immediately before the expropriation decision was notified.
The refund shall include interest calculated on the basis of the LIBOR rate from the date of expropriation to the date of payment, shall be effected without undue delay and in any event within two months, shall be effectively feasible and freely transferable in the convertible currency.
2. The provisions of this Article shall also apply where a Contracting Party expropriates the assets of a company registered or constituted under the law in force in its territory whose shares are owned by the investors of the other Contracting Party.
Where the object of the expropriation is a joint venture established in the territory of one of the Contracting Parties, the compensation to be paid to the investor of the other Contracting Party shall be determined on the basis of the share of that investor in the joint venture in accordance with its founding documents.
3. An investor of each of the Contracting Parties who claims that his or her entire investment or part of it has been affected by the expropriation shall have the right to an immediate review by the competent judicial or administrative authorities of the other Contracting Party in order to determine whether the expropriation has actually taken place and, if so, whether such expropriation and compensation resulting therefrom comply with the provisions of this Agreement and the principles of international law and to decide on all other matters relevant to the matter.
4. The compensation shall be deemed to be realistic if it has been paid in the same currency as the foreign investor made the investment if such a currency is, or remains, convertible or in any other currency accepted by the investor. The replacement will be freely transferable.
Transfer of rights
1. Where a Contracting Party or its authorised agency makes a payment to its own investors on the grounds of a guarantee it has provided in relation to non-commercial risks arising from an investment in the territory of the other Contracting Party, the other Contracting Party shall recognise:
(a) the transfer of any right or claim of an investor to a Contracting Party or to a Agency, 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 provisions of Article 7 of this Agreement shall apply to transfers of payments to or authorised by the Contracting Party or by the Agency in respect of the transfer of rights.
Transfers
1. The Parties shall ensure the transfer of investment-related payments and the transfer of revenue. Transfers shall be made in freely convertible currency without limitation and without undue delay, after all tax obligations have been fulfilled. 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) licensing or other fees, assistance payments and technical services;
(e) the proceeds from the total or partial sale or liquidation of the investment;
(f) remuneration and fees paid to natural persons of one Contracting Party for work and services rendered in connection with an investment carried out in the territory of the other Contracting Party in accordance with the legislation of that other Contracting Party;
(g) compensation for nationalisation or expropriation.
2. All transfers referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article shall be made at the exchange rate prevailing at the date on which the investor applied for the transfer, unless otherwise agreed.
3. Transfers pursuant to Articles 4, 5, 6 and paragraph 1 of this Article shall be deemed to have been made "without undue delay 'if they have been made within the time limit normally necessary for such transfer to be carried out. Such a period shall under no circumstances exceed two months.
Settlement of investment disputes between a Party and an investor of the other Party
1. Any dispute which may arise between one of the Contracting Parties and the investor of the other Contracting Party in connection with the investment, including disputes concerning the amount of compensation, shall be handled as amicably as possible.
2. In the event that such a dispute cannot be settled amicably within six months of the date of the written request for its resolution, the investor may, at his choice, submit a dispute to resolve:
(a) the competent court or arbitration tribunal of the Contracting Party in whose territory the investment was made;
(b) to 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;
(c) an ad hoc arbitration panel established under the arbitration rules of the United Nations International Trade Law Commission (UNCITRAL);
(d) any other international arbitration body agreed upon by the parties to the dispute.
3. Where the dispute is to be brought before an arbitration panel pursuant to paragraph 2 (b), the arbitration panel shall, in accordance with the procedure laid down in paragraph 2, take the necessary measures to ensure that the arbitration panel is informed of the matter. (c) the following provisions shall apply:
- the arbitration panel shall be composed of three arbitrators;
- the appointment authority shall be the Chairman of the Arbitration Institute of the Stockholm Chamber of Commerce;
- the arbitration panel shall take into account the provisions of this Agreement and the generally recognised rules of international law in its decision-making.
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 in this manner within six months, it shall be submitted to the arbitration panel at the request of one of the Parties in accordance with the provisions of this Article.
3. The arbitration panel shall be established in the following manner for each individual case. Within two months of receipt of the request for arbitration, each Contracting Party shall appoint one member of the court. The two members shall then select a citizen of a third State who, with the agreement of both 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 appointment of the first two members.
4. If the necessary appointments have not been made 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 make an appointment. If the President is a citizen of a Contracting Party or for any other reason is unable to carry out this act, Vice-President Dvora shall be requested to be appointed. If the Vice-President is also a citizen of a Contracting Party or is unable to carry out such an 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 appointment.
5. The arbitration panel shall take its decision by a majority vote. Such a decision is binding. Each Party shall reimburse the costs of its arbitrator and its participation in the arbitration procedure; the costs of the Chair and other expenditure 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. Where a question is addressed at the same time by this Agreement and by another international agreement to which both Parties are parties, nothing in this Agreement shall prevent either Party or any of its investors owning investments in the territory of the other Party from making use of any provisions which are more favourable to it.
2. If the treatment 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 by this Agreement, such favourable treatment shall be used.
Application of the Agreement
1. 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.
2. The provisions of this Agreement shall apply irrespective of whether diplomatic or consular relations exist between the Parties.
Entry into force, duration and termination
1. Each Contracting Party shall notify the other Contracting Party of the fulfilment of all the formalities required by its laws for the entry into force of this Agreement. This Agreement shall enter into force on the first day of the second month following the date of the second notification.
2. This Agreement shall remain in force for a period of 10 years. It shall then continue until 12 months have elapsed since one Contracting Party has notified the other Contracting Party in writing 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 Rome on 22 January 1996, in the Czech, Italian and English languages.
In the event of any difference in interpretation, the English text is decisive.
For the Czech Republic:
Ing. Ivan Kočárník CSc. v. r.
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance
For the Italian Republic:
Susanna Agnelli v. r.
Minister for Foreign Affairs
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Regulation Information
| Citation | Communication from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs No. 277 / 1997 Coll., on the negotiation of the Agreement between the Czech Republic and the Italian Republic on the promotion and protection of investment |
|---|---|
| Regulation Type | International Treaty |
| Author | - |
| Collection | Code of Laws |
| Date of Promulgation | 17.11.1997 |
|---|---|
| Effective from | 01.11.1997 |
| Effective until | - |
| Status | Valid |
Legal Areas:
International law
International public law
The regulation text is for informational purposes only.
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