Communication from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs No 96 / 1995 Coll.
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 Portuguese Republic on the promotion and mutual protection of investments
Valid
International Treaty
Effective from 03.08.1994
96
COMMUNICATION
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs states that the Agreement between the Government of the Czech Republic and the Government of the Portuguese Republic on the promotion and mutual protection of investments was signed in Prague on 12 November 1993.
The Parliament of the Czech Republic agreed to the Agreement and the President of the Republic ratified it.
The Agreement entered into force on 3 August 1994 pursuant to Article 13 (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
by the Government of the Czech Republic and the Government of the Portuguese Republic
on the promotion and mutual protection of investments
the Government of the Czech Republic and the Government of the Portuguese Republic (hereinafter referred to as the "Contracting Parties'),
led by the desire to develop economic cooperation for the mutual benefit of both States,
DESIRING to create and maintain favourable conditions for investment by investors of one State in the territory of the other 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 accordance 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, deposits 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, industrial property rights, such as trade marks, patents, designs, technical practices, know- how, trade secrets, business names and goodwill related to investment;
(e) rights arising from law or contractual arrangements, licences or permits issued under the law, including concessions for exploration, extraction and exploitation of natural resources.
Any change in the form in which values are invested does not affect their position as investments.
2. the term "investor" shall mean any natural or legal person of one of the Contracting Parties who invests in the territory of the other Contracting Party:
(a) "natural person" means any natural person having citizenship of one of the Contracting Parties in accordance with its law;
(b) "legal person" means any company with legal personality which has its head office in the territory of one of the Contracting Parties and is established or registered in accordance with the law of that Contracting Party.
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 "winding up of an investment 'means that the investment has ended in accordance with the legal provisions in force in the territory of the Contracting Party on which the investment was made.
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 to allow such investments, in accordance with its own law.
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) a 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 be a member; or
(b) international agreements or arrangements relating wholly or principally to taxation.
Compensation for damage
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. 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 will be 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, shall include interest on the normal rate from the date of expropriation, shall be effected without delay, shall be immediately feasible and freely transferable in 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 this Article shall also apply in cases where a Contracting Party earns assets of a company which has its head office in the territory of one of the Contracting Parties and is established or registered in accordance with the law of that Contracting Party 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 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) income from the investment as defined in Article 1 (3);
(c) the amounts for repayment of loans recognised by both Contracting Parties for the investment;
(d) funds obtained from the sale or liquidation of the investment;
(e) compensation and payments in accordance with Articles 4 and 5 of this Agreement;
(f) any payments made pursuant to Article 7;
(g) earnings of natural persons for work and services carried out in connection with investments.
2. For the purposes of this Agreement, official rates for current transactions in force at the transfer date will be used as conversion rates, unless otherwise agreed.
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 action in the territory of that Contracting Party; 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. Where 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 investor shall be entitled to present a dispute with one of the following judicial powers:
(a) the competent court of the Contracting Party in whose territory the investment was made;
(b) the International Investment Dispute Settlement Centre (ICSID), having regard to 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 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 may, where possible, be resolved by consultations or by diplomatic channels.
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 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 mandate, 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 mandate, 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
Where the provisions of a law of one of the Contracting Parties or obligations under international law existing at present or established at a later date between the Contracting Parties, in addition to the present Agreement, contain rules either general or specific authorising investments made by investors of the other Party to treat more favourable than those provided for by the present Agreement, such more favourable rules shall take precedence over the present Agreement.
Consultation
The representatives of the Contracting Parties shall consult whenever necessary on any matter affecting the implementation of this Agreement. Such consultations shall be conducted on a proposal from one of the Contracting Parties in the field and the time agreed by diplomatic channels.
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 as well as to investments made in accordance with its laws and regulations and existing at the date of application of this Agreement. However, this Agreement shall not apply to disputes arising before its entry 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 if one year before the end of the initial or any subsequent five-year period one Contracting Party has not notified the other Contracting Party in writing of its intention to terminate the Agreement.
3. For investments made before the termination 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 Prague on 12 November 1993 in duplicate in the Czech, Portuguese and English languages, all texts being equally authentic. In the event of any deviation in the interpretation, the English text shall be decisive.
For the Government of the Czech Republic:
Ing. Ivan Kočárník CSc. v. r.
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance
For the Government of the Portuguese Republic:
Fernando Faria de Oliveira v. r.
Minister for Trade and Tourism
_
CZECH REPUBLIC
Dr. Ivan Kočárník
Prague, November 12, 1993
Your Excellency,
on the occasion of the signing of the Agreement between the Government of the Czech Republic and the Government of the Portuguese Republic on the promotion and mutual protection of investments, I would like to confirm the same opinion of the two Contracting Parties on the interpretation of Article 2 of the said Agreement.
The two Contracting Parties confirm to each other that Article 2 of this Agreement will also apply to cases where investors of one Contracting Party are already operating in the territory of the other Contracting Party and wish to expand their investment or make investments in other areas. These investments and their extension will be considered new and will be granted treatment in accordance with Article 2 of this Agreement.
Sir, I would appreciate it if you could confirm that your position is consistent.
Honestly, your
Ivan Kočárník v. r.
His Excellency
Mr Fernando Faria de Oliveira
Minister for Trade and Tourism
Republic of Portugal
Lisbon
TRADE AND TURISTIC MINISTER
THE PORTUGUESE REPUBLIC,
FERNANDO FARIA DE OLIVEIRA
Lisbon, November 12, 1993
Your Excellency,
on the occasion of the signing of the Agreement between the Government of the Portuguese Republic and the Government of the Czech Republic on the promotion and mutual protection of investments, I would like to confirm the same position of both parties on the interpretation of Article 2 of the said Agreement.
The two Contracting Parties confirm to each other that Article 2 of this Agreement will also apply to cases where investors of one Contracting Party are already operating in the territory of the other Contracting Party and wish to expand their investment or make investments in other areas. These investments and their extension will be considered new and will be granted treatment in accordance with Article 2 of this Agreement.
Sir, I would appreciate it if you could confirm that your position is consistent.
Honestly, your
Fernando Faria de Oliveira v. r.
His Excellency
Mr Ivan Kočárník
Deputy Prime Minister
and Minister of Finance of the Czech Republic
Prague
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Regulation Information
| Citation | Communication from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs No. 96 / 1995 Coll., on the negotiation of the Agreement between the Government of the Czech Republic and the Government of the Portuguese Republic on the promotion and mutual protection of investment |
|---|---|
| Regulation Type | International Treaty |
| Author | - |
| Collection | Code of Laws |
| Date of Promulgation | 12.06.1995 |
|---|---|
| Effective from | 03.08.1994 |
| Effective until | - |
| Status | Valid |
Legal Areas:
International law
International public law
The regulation text is for informational purposes only.
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