13 FEBRUARY 2004. - An Act to approve the Agreement between the Belgian Economic Union and the Government of the Kingdom of Thailand concerning the mutual encouragement and protection of investments and the Annex signed in Brussels on 12 June 2002 (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 referred to in Article 77 of the Constitution.
Art. 2. The Agreement between the Belgian Economic Union and the Government of the Kingdom of Thailand concerning mutual encouragement and protection of investments, and the Annex, signed in Brussels on 12 June 2002, will come out their full and complete 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 13 February 2004.
ALBERT
By the King:
Minister of Foreign Affairs,
L. MICHEL
Minister of Foreign Trade,
Ms. F. MOERMAN
Seal of the state seal:
The Minister of Justice,
Ms. L. ONKELINX
____
Notes
(1) Session 2003-2004.
Senate.
Documents. - Bill tabled on 15 September 2003, No. 3-193/1. Report, No. 3-193/2
Annales parliamentarians. - Discussion, meeting of 13 November 2003. - Vote, meeting of 20 November 2003.
House of Representatives:
Documents. - Project transmitted by the Senate, No. 51-464/1. Report on behalf of the Commission, No. 51-464/2. - Text adopted in plenary and subject to Royal Assent, No. 51-464/3
Annales parliamentarians. - Discussion, meeting of 18 December 2003. - Voting, meeting of 18 December 2003.
(2) See decree of the Flemish Region of 7 May 2004 (Belgian Monitor of 16 July 2004); Decree of the Walloon Region of 10 April 2003 (Moniteur belge of 18 April 2003 (Ed. 2); Order of the Brussels-Capital Region of 13 February 2003 (Belgian Monitor of 3 March 2003 (Ed. 2).
(3) The exchange of intruments of ratification took place on 20 August 2004.
In accordance with Article 12 of the Agreement, the Agreement shall enter into force on 19 September 2004.

Agreement between the Belgian Economic Union and the Government of the Kingdom of Thailand on mutual encouragement and protection of investments
The Government of the Kingdom of Belgium,
acting both in his name and in the name
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
the Government of the Kingdom of Thailand,
on the other hand,
The following is 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;
The following agreed:
ARTICLE 1^er
Definitions
For the purposes of this Agreement:
1. The term "investor" means, for each Contracting Party:
(a) any natural person who, according to the law of the Contracting Party concerned, is considered to be its national or citizen;
(b) any legal person constituted in accordance with the legislation of the Contracting Party concerned and having its head office in the territory of the Contracting Party concerned;
(c) any legal person not established under the law of the Contracting Party concerned:
(i) where its own capital is controlled more than 50 per cent by natural or legal persons of that Contracting Party; or
(ii) where natural or legal persons of that Contracting Party have the power to designate a majority of its directors or to legally determine the direction of its activities.
2. The term "investments" means any assets invested or reinvested in any sector of economic activity, whatever it is. These include investments within the meaning of this Agreement:
(a) movable and immovable property and any other real, gage, usufruct and similar rights;
(b) shares, shares and other forms of participation in the capital of corporations incorporated in the territory of one of the Contracting Parties;
(c) obligations, receivables and rights to all contractual benefits with financial value;
(d) patents, other industrial property rights, names filed and other intellectual property rights and trade funds, which may be recognized by the laws of the Contracting Party in the territory of which the investment is made;
(e) concessions of public or contractual law, including those relating to prospecting, development, extraction or exploitation of natural resources.
No change in the form in which assets have been invested or reinvested will affect their investment quality, provided that such change or reinvestment has also been admitted in accordance with Article 2 of this Agreement.
3. The term "income" refers to the amounts generated by an investment and, in particular, not exclusively, the profits, interests, capital increments, dividends, royalties and fees.
4. The term "territory" applies to the territory of the Kingdom of Belgium, to the territory of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg and to the territory of the Kingdom of Thailand and to 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 purposes of exploration, exploration, and
5. The term "freely usable currency" means any currency designated periodically by the International Monetary Fund as a freely usable currency in accordance with the statutes of the International Monetary Fund and any amendment thereto.
ARTICLE 2
Scope
1. This Agreement shall apply exclusively to:
(a) with regard to investments in the territory of the Kingdom of Belgium and in the territory of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, all investments made by Thai investors in accordance with the relevant laws and regulations of Belgium and the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg;
(b) in respect of investments in the territory of the Kingdom of Thailand, all investments made in accordance with Thai laws and regulations by Belgian or Luxembourg investors who have obtained the written approval of the competent Thai authority. Applications for accreditation will be dealt with expeditiously and the result of the review of the application will be communicated without undue delay in accordance with the criteria set out in the Appendix to this Agreement.
2. With regard to investments in the territory of the Kingdom of Thailand, Belgian or Luxembourg investors will be allowed to apply for such approval for any investment, whether it was made after or before the entry into force of this Agreement.
ARTICLE 3
Investment promotion
Each Contracting Party shall ensure that investment in its territory is encouraged and facilitated by investors from the other Contracting Party in accordance with its policies and plans.
ARTICLE 4
Treatment of investments
1. (a) Investments made by investors from one of the Contracting Parties in the territory of the other Contracting Party, as well as the resulting income, shall enjoy fair and equitable treatment;
(b) Investments and incomes of investors in each Contracting Party shall at all times be fair and equitable treatment and shall enjoy full protection and security in the territory of the other Contracting Party. No Contracting Party shall in any way, in law or in fact, interfere with the management, maintenance, use, enjoyment or alienation of investments made in its territory by investors of the other Contracting Party;
(c) The treatment and protection granted under paragraphs (a) and (b) shall be at least equal to those granted by each Contracting Party to its own investors, or to investors of the most favoured nation, if these provisions are more favourable. In no case shall they be less favourable than those recognized by international law.
2. Each Contracting Party shall comply with all obligations, in addition to those stipulated in this Agreement, that it may have contracted with respect to investments made by investors of the other Contracting Party.
ARTICLE 5
Expropriation
1. Whenever the investments of an investor of one of the Contracting Parties are subject to direct or indirect measures of expropriation or nationalization, the investor concerned shall, on the territory of the other Contracting Party, receive fair and equitable treatment in relation to any such measure. Such measures may only be taken in the public interest and by payment of compensation. The amount of the allowances will be the actual market value of the investment on the eve of the day the measure was taken and the allowances will be actually feasible. They shall be settled without delay in a currency freely usable, in accordance with applicable norms and recognized principles of international law.
Expropriation or nationalization measures must also comply with legal procedures.
Indemnities will also include interest at a market-based commercial rate for that currency from the due date to the effective payment.
Investors of one of the Contracting Parties whose investments would have suffered losses due to war or other armed conflict, revolution, state of national emergency or revolt in the territory of the other Contracting Party, shall, on the part of the other Contracting Party, benefit from treatment, with respect to restitution, compensation, compensation or other compensation, which shall at least be equal to that granted by the latter Contracting Party to the most
2. If one of the Contracting Parties expropriates assets of a corporation incorporated in accordance with the legislation in force in any part of its territory, and in which an investor of the other Contracting Party has shares, it shall ensure that the provisions of paragraph (1) of this Article are applied to the extent necessary to guarantee compensation, as provided by that paragraph, of the investor of the other Contracting Party which has the shares of that Contracting Party.
3. Without prejudice to the above provisions of this Article, investors of one of the Contracting Parties shall, in the territory of the other Contracting Party, in respect of the substances covered by the said provisions, receive no less favourable treatment than that granted to investors of the latter Contracting Party or to investors of the most favoured nation.
4. The investor of either Contracting Party affected by an expropriation or nationalization measure shall be authorized, in accordance with the law of the other Contracting Party, to request a review, by a judicial authority or by any other independent authority of that Contracting Party, of the case of the investor and the valuation of the investment, in accordance with the principles set out in paragraphs 1^er and 2. The expropriating Contracting Party shall make every effort to ensure that such review is carried out without delay.
ARTICLE 6
Investment and income transfers
1. Each Contracting Party shall guarantee to investors of the other Contracting Party the free transfer of capital and all revenues relating to their investments, after payment of the usual taxes and fees.
2. The remuneration of nationals of each of the Contracting Parties authorized to work for an investment in the territory of the other Contracting Party shall also be transferable freely in currencies freely usable.
3. Transfers will be made in currencies freely usable, in the course applicable to the date of such transfers.
4. The guarantees provided for in this Article shall be at least equal to those granted to investors of the most favoured nation.
ARTICLE 7
Subrogation
1. If one of the Contracting Parties or an agency designated by the investor pays compensation to an investor under an insurance policy covering non-commercial risks, contracted under an investment or any part thereof in the territory of the other Contracting Party, the latter shall recognize:
(a) the transfer, by legislative or legal action, of all rights and receivables of the investor to the first Contracting Party or its designated agency; and
(b) the right, for the first Contracting Party or for its designated body, to exercise the rights and to claim the receivables of that investor by subrogation.
2. The first Contracting Party or its designated body shall have the right, if it/he wishes, to exercise such rights and to make such claims, under the same conditions as the assignor.
3. In the event that the first Contracting Party enters into possession of amounts in the legal currency of the other Contracting Party or receivables under a transfer under paragraph (a) of paragraph (1) of this Article, the first Contracting Party may freely dispose of such amounts and receivables for the purpose of covering its expenses in the territory of the last Contracting Party.
ARTICLE 8
Exceptions
1. 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.
2. The provisions of this Agreement relating to the granting of the treatment of the most favoured nation shall not be construed as requiring one of the Contracting Parties to extend to investors of the other Contracting Party the benefit of any treatment, preference or privilege that may be granted by the first Contracting Party under:
(a) the creation or extension of a customs union, or a free trade zone, or an area applying a common foreign tariff, or a monetary union, or a regional economic cooperation association; or
(b) the adoption of an agreement to lead to the creation or extension of such a union or area within a reasonable time; or
(c) any agreement with a country or third countries located in the same geographical area to promote regional cooperation in the economic, social, industrial, monetary or employment sectors; or
(d) any international agreement or arrangement, or any national legislation relating to partial or total taxation.
ARTICLE 9
Treatment of the most favoured nation
1. All provisions of this Agreement relating to the granting of treatment no less favourable than that accorded to the most-favoured-nation investors will be interpreted as meaning that such treatment will be granted in an immediate and unconditional manner.
2. If it is possible, under this Agreement, to choose between the granting of national treatment or treatment no less favourable than that granted to investors of the most-favoured nation for any matter, the choice between these possibilities will be to the recipient party on a case-by-case basis.
ARTICLE 10
Disputes between Contracting Parties
1. Any dispute between the Contracting Parties relating to the interpretation or application of this Agreement shall be resolved, if possible, through consultations or negotiations.
2. If a dispute between the Contracting Parties cannot be settled within six months, it shall be submitted, at the request of either Contracting Party, to an arbitral tribunal.
3. The arbitral tribunal shall be constituted for each particular case in the following manner:
(a) each Contracting Party shall designate a member of the court and these two members shall then designate a national of a third State who, with the agreement of the two Contracting Parties, shall be appointed President of the court;
(b) the said members of the tribunal shall be appointed within two months and the President within four months from the date on which one of the Contracting Parties informed the other Contracting Party of its intention to submit the dispute to an arbitral tribunal.
4. If the scheduled appointments have not taken place within the time limits specified in subsection (3) of this Article, either Contracting Party may, in the absence of any other relevant agreement, invite the President of the International Court of Justice to make the necessary appointments. If the President is a national of either Contracting Party or if, for another reason, the Vice-President of the International Court of Justice shall be invited to make the necessary appointments. If the Vice-President of the International Court of Justice is a national of either Contracting Party or if the Vice-President of the International Court of Justice is also unable to exercise that function, the highest member in the International Court of Justice and who is not a national of either Contracting Party will be invited to make the necessary appointments.
5. (a) The arbitral tribunal shall make its decisions by a majority vote. Court decisions will be mandatory for both Contracting Parties;
(b) Subject to the faculty recognized in the arbitral tribunal to set other fees rules, each Contracting Party shall bear the costs of the member of the arbitral tribunal that it has designated, and the costs of its representation in the arbitration proceedings. The costs of the President and other costs of the arbitration proceedings shall be borne equally by the two Contracting Parties;
(c) For all matters other than those specified in paragraphs (a) and (b) of this paragraph, the arbitral tribunal shall establish its own rules of procedure.
ARTICLE 11
Settlement of disputes between an investor of one of the Contracting Parties and the other Contracting Party
1. Any dispute over investments between an investor of one of the Contracting Parties and the other Contracting Party shall be settled amicably, through consultations and negotiations.
2. If there is no settlement within six months of the date on which the issue was raised by written notification, the dispute may be submitted, at the investor's request:
(a) at the International Centre for the Settlement of Investment Disputes (C.I.R.D.I.), established under the Convention for the Settlement of Investment Disputes between States and Nationals of Other States, open for signature in Washington D.C. on 18 March 1965 (C.I.R.D.I. Convention), provided that both the Contracting Party party to the dispute as the Contracting Party of which the investor is
(b) the regulation of the C.I.R.D.I. Supplementary Mechanism, provided that one of the Contracting Parties is a party to the C.I.R.D.I. Convention; or
(c) an international arbitrator or an ad hoc arbitral tribunal established under the rules of arbitration of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (C.N.U.D.C.I.). The authority empowered to make appointments under the arbitration rules of the N.U.D.C.I. will be the Secretary General of the I.C.R.D.I.
3. Any arbitration proceedings under paragraph 2 shall be held in a State Party to the United Nations Convention for the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards, made in New York on 10 June 1958.
4. In the event that the investor chooses to submit the dispute to C.I.R.D.I. arbitration under paragraph 2 (a), each Contracting Party shall give its irrevocable consent to the dispute being submitted to that arbitration in accordance with the provisions of that Convention.
5. Each Contracting Party shall give its irrevocable consent that any investment dispute be subject to arbitration in accordance with the investor's choice under paragraphs 2 (b) and (c).
6. The consent of each of the Contracting Parties referred to in paragraph 5 and the choice by the investor of any of the arbitration procedures referred to in the above-mentioned paragraphs shall be made in accordance with:
(a) the provisions of the C.I.R.D.I. Supplementary Mechanism Regulation relating to the required written consent of the parties to a dispute; and
(b) the provisions of Article 1^er the arbitration rules of the C.N.U.D.C.I. relating to the written agreement by which the parties to an agreement undertake to appeal to arbitration; and
(c) the provisions of Article II of the United Nations Convention for the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards, made in New York on 10 June 1958, relating to a "written agreement".
7. 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 has been made, including the rules relating to conflicts of law, as well as on the basis of the provisions of this Agreement, of the terms of the particular agreement possibly concluded with respect to the investment and principles of international law.
8. Arbitral awards made pursuant to this Article shall be final and binding for the parties to the dispute. Each Contracting Party shall execute such sentences without delay and shall ensure that they are effectively applied in its territory.
9. As part of any type of dispute settlement procedure relating to an investment, no Contracting Party shall make an application for a counterclaim or a right of compensation or shall invoke as a defence or other means the fact that compensation or any other form of compensation for all or part of the alleged damage has been awarded or will be awarded in accordance with an insurance or bond agreement; the Contracting Party may, however, require evidence to be provided that the compensation party agrees that the investor asserts its right to compensation.
ARTICLE 12
Entry into force, duration and denunciation
This Agreement shall be subject to ratification and the instruments of ratification shall be exchanged as soon as possible in Bangkok. The Agreement shall enter into force on the thirtieth day after the date of the exchange of instruments of ratification and shall remain in force for an initial period of ten years. It shall then be automatically renewed for a further period of ten years, each Contracting Party reserves the right to denounce it by notification sent twelve months in advance to the other Contracting Party; the said denunciation may take place at any time, as soon as a nine-year period has elapsed. However, with respect to the investments admitted during the period in which this Agreement is to come out, the provisions of this Agreement shall remain applicable to them for a period of ten years from the expiration date.
ARTICLE 13
Final provision
This Agreement shall also apply to investments made prior to its entry into force by investors of one of the Contracting Parties in the territory of the other Contracting Party in accordance with the laws and regulations of the other Contracting Party.
In faith, the undersigned, duly authorized to do so by their respective Governments, have signed this Agreement.
Done in Brussels on 12 June of the year 2002 of the Christian era, corresponding to the year 2545 of the Buddhist era, in duplicate, in French, Dutch, Thai and English languages, all texts being equally authentic. The English language text will prevail in the event of a discrepancy of interpretation.

Appendix to section 2 (1) (a)
1. The term "competent authority" refers to the Investment Accreditation Committee established under the Agreement on the Promotion and Protection of Investments between the Kingdom of Thailand and other countries; The Committee is chaired by the Minister for Foreign Affairs.
2. Procedures for the introduction of applications will be as follows:
(a) Belgian or Luxembourg investors will submit to the Committee, through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, their application for a certificate of approval, and will include all the information required on their investments;
(b) The Committee will review without undue delay investor requests and provide them with the result of the review within 60 days from the date of receipt of the application. In some exceptional cases, if the Committee considers it necessary, it may extend the time limit for reviewing applications for an additional 60 days.
3. Investment projects with the following characteristics may be approved by the Committee:
(a) rely primarily on local resources;
(b) replace certain imports;
(c) be at high labour intensity;
(d) be export-oriented;
(e) be part of investments that should be encouraged such as the pharmaceutical industry, electronics, telecommunications, etc.;
(f) involve the transfer of know-how and technology to Thai nationals.