belgiquelex.be - Carrefour Bank of Legislation 26 AVRIL 2005. - An Act to Enact the Agreement between the Belgian Economic Union, on the one hand, and Bosnia and Herzegovina on the other, concerning the mutual encouragement and protection of investments, signed in Sarajevo on 3 March 2004 (1) (2) (3)
ALBERT II, King of the Belgians,
To all, present and to come, Hi.
The Chambers adopted and We sanction the following:
Article 1
er. This Act regulates a matter under Article 77 of the Constitution.
Art. 2. The Agreement between the Belgian-Luxembourg Economic Union on the one hand and Bosnia and Herzegovina on the other, concerning the mutual encouragement and protection of investments, signed in Sarajevo on 3 March 2004, will come out its full and full effect.
Promulgation of this law, let us order that it be clothed with the seal of the State and published by the Belgian Monitor.
Given in Brussels on 26 April 2005.
ALBERT
By the King:
Minister of Foreign Affairs,
K. DE GUCHT
Minister of Foreign Trade,
Mr. VERWILGHEN
Seal of the state seal:
The Minister of Justice,
Ms. L. ONKELINX
____
Notes
(1) 2004-2005 session:
Senate:
Documents. - Bill tabled on 18 January 2005, No. 3-989/1. - Report, number 3-989/2.
Annales parliamentarians. - Discussion. Session of March 3, 2005. - Vote. Session of March 3, 2005.
House of Representatives:
Documents. - Project transmitted by the Senate, No. 51-1649/1. - Text adopted in plenary and subject to Royal Assent, No. 51-1649/2.
Annales parliamentarians. - Discussion. Session of March 17, 2005. - Vote. Session of March 17, 2005.
(2) See decree of the Flemish Community/Flemish Region of 7 July 2006 (Belgian Monitor of 15 September 2006), Decree of the Walloon Region of 17 November 2005 (Belgian Monitor of 8 December 2005), Order of the Brussels-Capital Region of 3 March 2005 (Belgian Monitor of 17 March 2005).
(3) The exchange of instruments of ratification took place on 16 August 2010. This Agreement comes into force on 16 September 2010, in accordance with Article 13.
Agreement between the Belgian-German Economic Union on the one hand and Bosnia and Herzegovina on the other, concerning the mutual encouragement and protection of investments
The Government of the Kingdom of Belgium, acting on behalf of the Government of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, under existing agreements, the Walloon Government, the Flemish Government, and the Government of the Brussels-Capital Region, on the one hand, and Bosnia and Herzegovina, on the other hand (hereinafter referred to as the "contracting parties"),
Desirous of strengthening their economic cooperation by creating favourable conditions for the realization of investments by investors of one of the Contracting Parties in the territory of the other Contracting Party,
Acknowledging that mutual encouragement and protection through this Agreement will result in such investments to stimulate trade initiatives and increase the economic prosperity of both Contracting Parties;
The following agreed:
ARTICLE 1
erDefinitions
For the purposes of this Agreement:
1. The term "investors" means:
(a) With regard to the Kingdom of Belgium and the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg:
(i) "nationals", that is, any natural person who, according to the laws of the Kingdom of Belgium or the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg is considered a citizen of the Kingdom of Belgium or the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg respectively;
(ii) "societies", that is, any legal entity incorporated in accordance with the laws of the Kingdom of Belgium or the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg and having its head office in the territory of the Kingdom of Belgium or the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg respectively.
(b) With regard to Bosnia and Herzegovina:
(i) natural persons whose status as citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina is derived from the law in force in Bosnia and Herzegovina, provided that they have their permanent residence or principal place of business in Bosnia and Herzegovina;
(ii) legal persons established in accordance with the laws in force in Bosnia and Herzegovina and having their headquarters, headquarters or principal establishment in the territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
2. The term "investments" means any assets or direct or indirect contributions to digital, in kind or in services, invested or reinvested in any sector of economic activity.
These include, but are not limited to, investments within the meaning of this Agreement:
(a) movable and immovable property and other real rights such as mortgages, privileges, leases, usufructs and similar rights;
(b) shares, shares and other forms of participation, whether minority or indirect, in the capital of corporations incorporated in the territory of one of the Contracting Parties;
(c) obligations, receivables and rights to all benefits of economic value;
(d) intellectual property rights, such as copyright and neighbouring rights, industrial property rights, technical processes, trademarks, names, know-how and trade funds;
(e) concessions of public or contractual law, including those relating to prospecting, culture, extraction or exploitation of natural resources.
No change in the legal form in which assets and capital have been invested or reinvested will affect their investment quality within the meaning of this Agreement.
3. The term "income" refers to amounts generated by an investment and, in particular, not exclusively, profits, interest, capital increments, dividends, royalties and fees, licence fees and other allowances.
4. The term "territory" means:
(a) With regard to the Kingdom of Belgium and the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg:
the territory of the Kingdom of Belgium and the territory of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, as well as the maritime zones, that is, the marine and submarine zones that extend beyond the territorial waters of the State concerned and on which it exercises, in accordance with international law, its sovereign rights and jurisdiction for the exploration, exploitation and conservation of natural resources;
(b) With regard to Bosnia and Herzegovina:
all the territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the territorial sea, the entire seabed and its subsoil, and the airspace above, including any maritime area that extends beyond the territorial sea of Bosnia and Herzegovina, which has been defined under the law of Bosnia and Herzegovina and in accordance with international law as an area on which Bosnia and Herzegovina can exercise rights in respect of the seabed, the subsoil and
ARTICLE 2
Investment promotion
1. Each Contracting Party shall encourage investment in its territory by investors from the other Contracting Party and admit such investments in accordance with its legislation.
2. In particular, each Contracting Party will authorize the conclusion and execution of licence contracts and trade, administrative or technical assistance agreements, provided that such activities have a relationship with investments.
ARTICLE 3
Investment protection
1. All direct or indirect investments made by investors of one of the Contracting Parties shall enjoy fair and equitable treatment in the territory of the other Contracting Party.
2. Subject to the measures necessary for the maintenance of public order, these investments will enjoy constant security and protection, excluding any unjustified or discriminatory measures that may hinder, in law or in fact, the management, maintenance, use, enjoyment or liquidation of such investments.
ARTICLE 4
Private and restrictive measures of ownership
1. Each of the Contracting Parties undertakes not to take any measures of expropriation or nationalization or any other measure whose effect is to directly or indirectly dispossess the investors of the other Contracting Party of their investments in its territory.
2. If public utility, security or national interest requirements warrant a derogation from paragraph 1, the following conditions shall be met:
(a) measures shall be taken in accordance with a legal procedure;
(b) they will not be discriminatory or contrary to a specific commitment;
(c) they shall be provided with provisions for the payment of adequate and effective compensation.
3. The amount of the allowance will be the effective value of the investments on the eve of the day on which the measures were taken or made public, following the first situation.
Such allowances shall be paid in the currency of the State of which the investor is a national or in any other convertible currency. They will be paid without delay and will be freely transferable. They will be of interest to the normal commercial rate from the date of the fixing of their amount to that of their payment.
4. Investors of one of the Contracting Parties whose investments would have suffered losses or damages due to war or other armed conflict, revolution, state of emergency or revolt, insurrection or riot in the territory of the other Contracting Party, will benefit, on the part of the latter, from a treatment, with respect to restitution, compensation, compensation or other compensation granted to the latter Contracting Party, which shall at least be granted to the latter
5. For substances regulated by this Article, each Contracting Party shall grant to investors of the other Contracting Party at least equal treatment to that which it reserves in its territory to investors of the most favoured nation. Such treatment would in no way be less favourable than that recognized by international law.
ARTICLE 5
Transfers
1. Each Contracting Party shall grant investors of the other Contracting Party the free transfer of all payments relating to an investment, including:
(a) amounts intended to establish, maintain or develop investment;
(b) amounts intended for the settlement of contractual obligations, including amounts necessary for the reimbursement of borrowings, royalties and other payments arising from licences, franchises, concessions and other similar fees, as well as the remuneration of expatriated personnel;
(c) Investment income;
(d) the proceeds of the total or partial liquidation of investments, including capital gains or increases;
(e) compensation paid pursuant to section 4;
(f) payments arising from the settlement of disputes.
2. Nationals of each Contracting Party authorized to work for an investment in the territory of the other Contracting Party will also be allowed to transfer an appropriate quotity of their remuneration to their country of origin.
3. Transfers will be made in a freely convertible currency, in the course applicable to cash transactions in the currency used.
4. Each of the Contracting Parties shall issue the necessary authorizations to ensure without delay the execution of transfers, without any other charges than the usual fees and fees.
5. The guarantees provided for in this Article shall be at least equal to those granted to investors of the most favoured nation.
ARTICLE 6
Subrogation
1. If one of the Contracting Parties or a public body of the latter pays compensation to its own investors under a particular guarantee or contract of insurance against non-commercial risks entered into under an investment, the other Contracting Party shall recognize, without prejudice to the rights conferred on it by Article 11 of this Agreement, that the rights of investors are transferred to the Contracting Party or to the public body concerned, by virtue of their status.
2. With respect to the rights transferred, the other Contracting Party may apply the obligations that are legally or contractually binding on the insurer subject to the rights of the indemnified investors.
ARTICLE 7
Rules applicable
Where an investment issue is governed both by this Agreement and by the national legislation of one of the Contracting Parties or by international conventions currently in force or contracted in the future by the Contracting Parties, the investors of the other Contracting Party may avail themselves of the provisions that are most favourable to them.
ARTICLE 8
Special agreements
1. Investments that have been the subject of a particular agreement between one of the Contracting Parties and investors of the other Contracting Party shall be governed by the provisions of this Agreement and those of that particular agreement.
2. Each Contracting Party undertakes to ensure at any time compliance with its obligations with respect to investors of the other Contracting Party.
ARTICLE 9
Settlement of investment disputes
1. Any investment dispute between an investor of one of the Contracting Parties and the other Contracting Party shall be subject to a written notification, accompanied by a sufficiently dismantled aide-memoire on the part of the most diligent party.
To the extent possible, the parties will attempt to resolve the dispute through negotiation, possibly using the expert advice of a third party, or by conciliation between the Contracting Parties through diplomatic channels.
2. In the absence of amicable settlement by direct arrangement between the parties to the dispute or by diplomatic conciliation within six months of its notification, the dispute shall be submitted, at the option of the investor, to the competent jurisdiction of the State where the investment has been made, or to international arbitration.
To this end, each Contracting Party shall give its early and irrevocable consent to any dispute being submitted to that arbitration. This consent implies that they do not demand the exhaustion of domestic administrative or judicial remedies.
3. In case of recourse to international arbitration, the dispute shall be submitted to one of the following arbitration bodies, at the investor's choice:
- to an ad hoc arbitration tribunal, established in accordance with the arbitration rules of the United Nations Commission on Commercial Law (C.N.U.D.C.I.);
- the International Centre for the Settlement of Investment Disputes (C.I.R.D.I.), established by the Convention for the Settlement of Investment Disputes between States and Nationals of Other States, opened for signature in Washington on 18 March 1965;
- the Arbitration Tribunal of the International Chamber of Commerce in Paris;
- at the Arbitration Institute of the Stockholm Chamber of Commerce.
If the arbitration procedure has been initiated by a Contracting Party, the Contracting Party shall, in writing, invite the investor concerned to express his or her choice with respect to the arbitration body that must be seized of the dispute.
4. None of the Contracting Parties, a party to a dispute, shall raise any objection, at any stage of the arbitration proceedings or the execution of an arbitration award, as the investor, an opposing party to the dispute, would have received compensation covering all or part of its losses in the execution of an insurance policy or the guarantee against the non-commercial risks provided for in Article 6 of this Agreement.
5. The arbitral tribunal shall rule on the basis of the domestic law of the Contracting Party party to the dispute in the territory of which the investment is located, including the rules relating to conflicts of laws, as well as on the basis of the provisions of this Agreement, the terms of the particular agreement possibly concluded with respect to the investment and principles of international law.
6. Arbitration awards will be final and binding for the parties to the dispute. Each Contracting Party undertakes to enforce the awards in accordance with its national legislation.
ARTICLE 10
Most-favoured national and national treatment
For all matters relating to the processing of investments, investors from each Contracting Party will benefit, on the territory of the other Contracting Party, from the treatment of the most favoured nation.
With regard to exploitation, management, maintenance, use, enjoyment, sale or any other form of investment alienation, each Contracting Party shall grant in its territory to investors of the other Contracting Party a treatment that will not be less favourable than that granted to its own investors or investors of any third State, if that treatment is more favourable.
Such treatment shall not extend to the privileges granted by a Contracting Party to investors of a third State, by virtue of its participation or association in a free trade zone, a customs union, a common market or any other form of regional economic organization.
The provisions of this section do not apply to tax matters.
ARTICLE 11
Disputes between Contracting Parties concerning the interpretation or application of this Agreement
1. Any dispute relating to the interpretation or application of this Agreement shall be resolved, if possible, by diplomatic means.
2. In the absence of a diplomatic settlement, the dispute will be submitted to a joint commission, composed of representatives of the two Parties. The meeting will be held at the request of the most expeditious and unjustified Party.
3. If the joint commission cannot resolve the dispute, the dispute shall be submitted, at the request of either Contracting Party, to an arbitral tribunal constituted, for each particular case, as follows:
Each Contracting Party shall designate an arbitrator within two months of the date on which one of the Contracting Parties has indicated to the other of its intention to submit the dispute to arbitration. Within two months of their designation, the two arbitrators shall jointly appoint a third-country national who shall serve as president of the arbitral tribunal.
If these deadlines have not been observed, one or the other Contracting Party shall invite the President of the International Court of Justice to make the necessary appointment or appointments.
If the President of the International Court of Justice is a national of either Contracting Party or of a State with which one or the other Contracting Party does not maintain diplomatic relations, or if, for another reason, the Vice-President of the International Court of Justice is prevented from exercising that function, the Vice-President of the International Court of Justice shall be invited to proceed with the appointment or appointments required.
4. The court shall establish its own rules of procedure. Its decisions shall be taken by a majority vote; they shall be final and binding for Contracting Parties.
5. Each Contracting Party shall bear the costs associated with the designation of its arbitrator. The disbursements inherent in the designation of the third arbitrator and the operating costs of the court shall be borne by the Contracting Parties equally.
ARTICLE 12
Scope
This Agreement shall apply to investments made before or after its entry into force by investors of one of the Contracting Parties in the territory of the other Contracting Party.
However, the provisions of this Agreement will not apply to claims relating to events that occurred prior to its entry into force or to claims that were resolved before it came into force.
ARTICLE 13
Entry into force and duration
1. This Agreement shall enter into force one month from the date on which the Contracting Parties have exchanged their instruments of ratification. It will remain in force for a period of ten years.
Unless one of the Contracting Parties denounces it at least six months before the expiry of its validity period, it shall be automatically extended for a period of ten years, each Contracting Party reserves the right to denounce it by a notification made at least six months before the expiration date of the current validity period.
2. With respect to investments made prior to the expiry date of this Agreement, the provisions of this Agreement shall remain applicable to them for a period of ten years from the expiry date.
3. This Agreement may be amended in writing between Contracting Parties. Any amendment shall enter into force in accordance with the procedure prescribed for the entry into force of this Agreement.
In faith, undersigned representatives, duly authorized to do so, have signed this Agreement.
Done in Sarajevo on 3 March 2004, in two original copies, each in French, Dutch, Bosnian/Croat/Serb and English, all texts being equally authentic. The English language text will prevail in the event of a discrepancy of interpretation.
