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11 AVRIL 1999. - An Act to approve the Agreement between the Belgian Economic Union and the Republic of Lithuania concerning the mutual encouragement and protection of investments, signed in Brussels on 15 October 1997 (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 Republic of Lithuania concerning the mutual encouragement and protection of investments, signed in Brussels on 15 October 1997, will emerge its full and full effect.
Promulgation of this law, let us order that it be clothed in the Seal of the State and published by the Belgian Monitor.
Given in Brussels on 11 April 1999.
ALBERT
By the King:
Minister of Foreign Affairs,
E. DERYCKE
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Telecommunications, in charge of Foreign Trade,
E. DI RUPO
Seal of the state seal:
Minister of Justice,
T. VAN PARYS
____
Notes
(1) 1998-1999 session:
Senate.
Documents. - Bill tabled on 10 December 1998, No. 1-1186/1. - Report, no. 1-1186/2. - Text adopted by the Commission, No. 1-1186/3.
Annales parliamentarians. - Discussion. Session of 11 February 1999. - Vote. Session of 11 February 1999.
Room.
Documents. - Project transmitted by the Senate, No. 49-1978/1. - Text adopted in plenary and submitted to Royal Assent No. 49-1978/2.
Annales parliamentarians. - Discussion. Session of February 25, 1999. - Vote. Session of 25/02/1999.
(2) Decree of the Walloon Region of 22 February 1999 (Moniteur belge of 11 March 1999, pp. 7807-7808; Flemish Region Decree of 19 December 1998 (Belgian Monitor of 9 February 1999, pp. 3691-3692); Order of the Brussels-Capital Region of 22 April 1999 (Belgian Monitor of 22 October 1999, p. 39945.)

AGREEMENT ENTER BELGO-LUXEMBOURGEOISE ECONOMIC MEETING AND THE REPUBLIC OF LITUANIA CONCERNING ENCOURAGEMENT AND THE RECIPROVESTMENT PROTECTION
The Government of the Kingdom of Belgium,
The Government of the Walloon Region,
The Government of the Flemish Region,
The Government of the Brussels-Capital Region,
and
The Government of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg,
on the one hand,
and
The Government of the Republic of Lithuania,
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 nationals of one of the Contracting Parties in the territory of the other Contracting Party,
The following agreed:
Article 1
Definitions
For the purposes of this Agreement,
1. The term "investors" means:
(a) for the Belgian Economic Union:
(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;
(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.
(b) for the Republic of Lithuania:
(i) natural persons who are nationals of the Republic of Lithuania in accordance with the law of the Republic of Lithuania;
(ii) each entity incorporated under the law of the Republic of Lithuania and registered in the territory of the Republic of Lithuania in accordance with its laws and regulations.
2. The term "investment" means any assets or direct or indirect inflows into cash, in kind or in services, invested or reinvested in any sector of economic activity, whatever it is, in accordance with the laws and regulations of the host Contracting Party.
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 and similar rights;
(b) shares, social shares and other forms of participation, whether minority or indirect, in societies;
(c) obligations, receivables and rights to all benefits of economic value;
(d) copyrights, industrial property rights (such as patents, trademarks, industrial designs), know-how and trade funds;
(e) concessions of public or contractual law, including those relating to the prospecting, cultivation, extraction or exploitation of natural resources.
For the purposes of this Agreement, changes in the legal form in which assets and capital have been invested or reinvested do not affect their investment qualification, provided that such changes are made in accordance with the laws and regulations of the Contracting Party on the Territory or the investment is made.
3. The term "income" refers to amounts generated by an investment and, in particular, not exclusively, profits, interests, capital increments, dividends, royalties or allowances.
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 Republic of Lithuania and to the maritime zones, that is, the marine and submarine zones, which extend beyond the territorial waters of the States concerned and on which they exercise, in accordance with international law, their sovereign rights and their jurisdiction for the purposes of exploration, exploitation and exploitation.
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 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 shall enjoy constant security and protection, i.e., excluding any unjustified or discriminatory measures that may hinder, in law or in fact, their management, maintenance, use, enjoyment or liquidation.
3. The treatment and protection defined in paragraphs 1 and 2 are at least equal to those enjoyed by investors of a third State and are in no way less favourable than those recognized by international law.
4. However, this treatment and protection do 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, any other forms of regional economic organizations or agreements relating to double taxation or other taxation arrangements.
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 must be met:
(a) measures shall be taken by law;
(b) they are neither discriminatory nor contrary to a specific commitment;
(c) they have provisions for the payment of adequate and effective compensation.
3. The amount of the allowances will be the market value of the expropriated investments immediately before the expropriation took place or the expropriation was made public.
Compensation shall be paid in the currency of the State to which the investor belongs or in any other convertible currency. They will be paid without delay and freely transferable. They will bear interest on the basis of LIBOR from the date of their fixation to that of their payment.
4. Investors of one of the Contracting Parties whose investments would have suffered damage from 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, receive at least equal treatment to that granted to investors of the most-favoured nation in respect of restitution, compensation, compensation or other compensation.
5. For substances regulated by this Article, each Contracting Party shall grant to investors of the other Party at least equal treatment to that 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, to or from its territory, 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.
2. Nationals of each of the Contracting Parties authorized to work for an investment in the territory of the other Contracting Party are also authorized to transfer an appropriate quotity of their remuneration to their countries of origin.
3. Transfers are made in a freely convertible currency.
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 are 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 Contracting Party pays compensation to its own investors under a particular investment guarantee, the other Contracting Party recognizes that the rights and shares of investors are transferred to the Contracting Party or the public body concerned.
2. With respect to transferred rights, the other Contracting Party may apply to the insurer, which is subrogated in the rights of compensation investors, the obligations that are legally or contractually binding on the insurers.
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 existing international conventions or endorsed by the Parties in the future, 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 Party shall be governed by the provisions of this Agreement and those of that particular agreement.
2. Each of the Contracting Parties shall at any time ensure compliance with its commitments 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 notified in writing, together with a sufficiently dismantled aide-memoire, by the most diligent party.
To the extent possible, the parties will attempt to settle the dispute amicably by negotiation, by resorting to the expertise of a third party, or by conciliation between the Contracting Parties by diplomatic means.
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, either to the competent jurisdiction of the State or 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 the event of recourse to international arbitration, the dispute is 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.),
- at 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, D.C., 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 is introduced at the initiative of 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 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, the provisions of this Agreement, the terms of the particular agreement that would have been reached with respect to the investment, as well as the principles of international law.
6. Arbitration awards are 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 nation
For all matters relating to the processing of investments, investors from each of the Contracting Parties shall, on the territory of the other Party, benefit from the treatment of the most favoured nation.
Article 11
Different interpretation or application between contracting parties
1. Any dispute relating to the interpretation or application of this Agreement shall be resolved, if possible, by diplomatic means.
2. If the dispute is not resolved by diplomatic means, the dispute shall be submitted to a joint commission composed of representatives of the two Parties; the Party shall meet at the request of the most diligent and without undue delay.
3. If the joint commission cannot resolve the dispute, it shall be submitted, at the request of either of the Contracting Parties, to an arbitration procedure implemented, 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 designate a third State national who shall be president of the College of Arbitrators.
If these deadlines have not been observed, either Contracting Party shall invite the President of the International Court of Justice to proceed with the appointment of the arbitrator or non-designated arbitrators.
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 that appointment.
If the Vice-President is a national of either Contracting Party or of a State with which either Contracting Party shall not maintain diplomatic relations or if it is also unable to perform the function, the oldest member who is not a national of either Contracting Party shall be invited to make such necessary appointments.
4. The college will set 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 working costs of the college shall, in principle, be borne equally by the Contracting Parties. However, the College may decide that a higher proportion of costs will be borne by one of the two Contracting Parties and that decision will be mandatory for both Contracting Parties.
Article 12
Previous investments
This Agreement also applies 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 its laws and regulations.
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 remains 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 renewed for a further period of ten years, each Contracting Party reserves the right to denounce it by a notification introduced at least six months before the expiration date of the current validity period.
2. The investments made prior to the expiry date of this Agreement shall remain subject to it for a period of ten years from that date.
In faith, the undersigned representatives, duly authorized by their respective Governments, have signed this Agreement.
Done in Brussels on 15 October 1997, in three original copies, each in French, Dutch, Lithuanian and English, all texts being equally authentic. The English-language text will be credible in the event of a discrepancy of interpretation.
For the Belgian Economic Union:
For the Government of the Kingdom of Belgium:
E. DERYCKE,
Minister of Foreign Affairs
For the Government of the Grand-Duche of Luxembourg:
P. SCHULLER,
Ambassador of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg
For the Government of the Republic of Lithuania:
ALGIRDAS SAUDARGAS,
Minister of Foreign Affairs
For the Government of the Walloon Region:
E. DERYCKE
For the Government of the Flemish Region:
P. BALDEWIJNS,
Flemish Minister of the Flemish Region
For the Government of the Brussels-Capital Region:
E. DERYCKE
____
Note
(3) Pursuant to article 13, this agreement will enter into force on 6 September 1999.