Advanced Search

Act Establishing The "belgian Technical Cooperation" In The Form Of A Company Public (1)

Original Language Title: Loi portant création de la « Coopération Technique Belge » sous la forme d'une société de droit public (1)

Subscribe to a Global-Regulation Premium Membership Today!

Key Benefits:

Subscribe Now for only USD$40 per month.
belgiquelex.be - Carrefour Bank of Legislation

21 DECEMBER 1998. - An Act to create "Belgian Technical Cooperation" in the form of a public law corporation (1)



ALBERT II, King of the Belgians,
To all, present and to come, Hi.
The Chambers adopted and We sanction the following:
CHAPTER I. - General provisions
Article 1er. This Act regulates a matter referred to in Article 78 of the Constitution.
Definitions
Art. 2. This Act means:
1° the "Belgian Technical Cooperation", shortened "CTB": the public law society with a social purpose, under this Act, responsible for the execution of the policy on development cooperation defined by the member of the government that has Development Cooperation in its powers and development missions in partner countries under agreements concluded with a legal entity of Belgian, foreign or international public law;
2° "the minister under the CTB": the member of the government that has the Development Cooperation in its powers;
3° "the Minister of Budget": the member of the government that has the Budget in its powers;
4° "Administration": the General Administration of Development Cooperation;
5° "direct bilateral cooperation": programmes or projects in a partner country, financed by the Belgian State, on the basis of a convention between the two countries;
6° "indirect bilateral cooperation": programmes or projects in a partner country, financed or co-financed by the Belgian State on the basis of a convention with a third party, which responds to the execution of the project or programme;
7° "multilateral cooperation": programmes or projects financed by the Belgian State and executed by an international organization and Belgian contributions to international organizations for their development programmes or projects;
8° "Country partner": countries considered as developing countries by the Development Assistance Committee of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development;
9° "programme": a coherent set of short- or medium-term objectives, focused, directly or indirectly, on a structural and sustainable improvement in the position of groups of individuals and individuals from the poor social categories of partner countries, subject to a convention between the Belgian State and the partner country;
10° "program country": partner country covered by a program;
11° "project": agreed initiative between the Belgian State and the partner country, which can include interventions, donations, financial aid or scholarships;
12° "country-project": partner country targeted by a project;
13° "non-governmental organizations": organizations that may be approved by the Minister under the CTB and which may benefit from subsidies from the Belgian State for their development cooperation activities;
14° "expert in technical cooperation": an expert in a partner country in order of the CTB;
15° "attached to Development Cooperation": an expert in a partner country with the competent Belgian diplomatic authorities on the orders of the minister under the CTB and who performs his duties in the partner country under the control of the minister under the CTB;
16° " overseas staff": technical cooperation experts, attached to Development Cooperation and experts in a partner country on the orders of an organization subsidized by the minister under the CTB;
17° "financial cooperation": financial contribution to programs or projects that may take the form of cash donations, loans and credit lines at more favourable rates than those of the market, participations in capital at risk of companies or development banks, guarantees of good end of borrowings and bonuses of interest to be imputed on the charge of borrowings made by third parties;
18° "bilateral programme of scholarships and internships": all scholarships and internship grants financed by the Belgian State on the basis of agreements concluded between the Belgian State and the partner countries;
19° "exploratory studies": preparatory studies in Belgium or in partner countries for the identification of programmes or projects;
20° "Expert and Evaluation Missions": missions to collect additional information on programs or projects, or to evaluate ongoing or completed programs or projects;
21° "emergency assistance" and "short-term rehabilitation assistance": assistance provided to prevent crisis situations or, in the event of actual disasters or crises, to meet the direct vital needs of affected populations (emergency assistance) or to prevent further or deteriorating crisis situations (short-term rehabilitation assistance);
22° "food aid": purchase, transport and distribution of basic food products, dispensed to countries facing a severe temporary or chronic food deficit.
CHAPTER II. - Creation, denomination and head office. - Social object Capital. - Statutes. - Legal and regulatory provisions
Section 1. - Creation, denomination and head office
Creation and designation
Art. 3. It is created a public law society taking the form of an anonymous society with a social purpose called "Belgian technical cooperation", abbreviated "CTB".
The name "Belgian technical cooperation" should always be preceded or followed on all acts, invoices, advertisements, publications, correspondence, letters of order and other documents emanating from the company, the mention "anonymous society of public law with social purpose" or the mention "naamloze vennootschap van publishk recht met sociaal oogmerk".
Headquarters
Art. 4. The headquarters of the company is established in the Brussels Capital Region, at the place fixed by the board of directors.
Section 2. - Social object
Public service tasks for development cooperation
Art. 5. § 1er. The CTB has the exclusivity of the execution, either inside or outside the territory of Belgium, of public service tasks in relation to direct bilateral cooperation with partner countries.
§ 2. Public service tasks referred to in § 1er include:
1° the material execution of the programmes in respect of direct bilateral cooperation with the programme countries and the commitment of the human and material means necessary for this execution;
2° the material execution of projects in the field of direct bilateral cooperation with the project countries and the commitment of the human and material means necessary for this execution;
3° the execution of financial cooperation and debt relief programmes or projects with partner countries;
4° the execution of actions to support the private sector of partner countries;
5° the management of the bilateral fellowship and internship programme, without prejudice to the competence of the Communities in the field of teaching;
6° the formulation of proposals on how to implement programmes and projects in respect of direct bilateral cooperation at the request of the Minister under the CTB;
7° the establishment of technical records of the aforementioned programmes and projects;
8° the granting of emergency assistance and short-term rehabilitation assistance under a decision of the Council of Ministers and food aid.
Attribution of public service tasks for cooperation
Development
Art. 6. § 1er. On a reasoned proposal by the Minister to whom the CTB reports justifying the difficulty for the Administration to carry out the following public service tasks defined, they will be proposed exclusively to the CTB on a case-by-case basis by the Minister under the CTB:
1° the conduct of exploratory studies for the identification of new programmes and projects in the context of direct, indirect or multilateral bilateral cooperation;
2° the accomplishment of missions of expertise and evaluation of programs and projects within the framework of indirect and multilateral bilateral cooperation;
3° the training of overseas staff;
4° emergency assistance and short-term rehabilitation assistance granted following a request from a aid agency.
The Act of 24 December 1993 on public procurement and certain contracts of work, supplies and services does not apply to the exclusive assignment of public service tasks referred to in items 1°, 2°, 3° and 4°.
§ 2. In the event of a formal refusal of the CTB to perform the tasks proposed to it in accordance with § 1erthe Minister under the CTB may, by derogation from this provision, propose these to third parties in accordance with the Public Procurement Act of 24 December 1993 and certain contracts of work, supplies and services.
§ 3. By derogation from §§ 1er and 2, on a reasoned proposal by the Minister to whom the CTB reports justifying the impossibility for the Administration and the CTB to perform the public service tasks referred to in § 1er, the King may, by order deliberately in the Council of Ministers, authorize, on a case-by-case basis, the Minister under the CTB to propose public service tasks referred to in § 1er directly to third parties, in accordance with the Act of 24 December 1993 on public procurement and certain contracts of work, supplies and services.
Other responsibilities
Art. 7. In addition to the tasks referred to in Articles 5 and 6, the CTB will be able to carry out the tasks entrusted to it by any legal entity of Belgian, foreign or international public law, including the preparation, supervision, the formulation of advice, prospecting and execution in respect of programs, projects and development interventions in partner countries, provided that these tasks are compatible with the performance of the public service tasks referred to in Articles 5 and 6 and that the offer
Art. 8. The CTB may perform any act, activity or operation that directly or indirectly contributes to the tasks referred to in Articles 5, 6 and 7.
Art. 9. § 1er. The CTB may take direct or indirect participations, subject to the conditions set out below, in existing companies, groups, associations or institutions of public or private law or to create in partner countries, the object and status of which are compatible with its social object, below referred to as "subsidiaries".
Such participations can only be taken in subsidiaries if they are not assimilable to Belgian public administrations within the meaning of the European system of national accounts.
§ 2. The board of directors shall decide by an absolute majority of any participation in accordance with § 1er.
Section 3. - Capital
Social capital
Art. 10. The CTB's social capital is initially set at three hundred million francs. It is represented by three thousand shares entirely released, without mention of nominal value, each representing 1/3 000th of social capital.
All actions issued on the occasion of the creation of the CTB are attributed to the federal state.
Restrictions on capital increase
Art. 11. Any issuance of new actions is subject to the prior authorization of the King, by order deliberately in the Council of Ministers.
New actions cannot be taken by persons other than the federal state.
Restrictions on disposal of shares
Art. 12. The federal state cannot yield the shares attributed to it during the creation of the CTB, nor the shares resulting from an increase in capital.
Section 4. - Statutes
Art. 13. § 1er. The statutes of the CTB and any modification thereof shall be established by the King by order deliberately in the Council of Ministers.
To amend the statutes, this is done on the proposal of the General Assembly of the CTB.
Any amendment to the statutes is decided by the General Assembly but only produces its effects after approval by the King, by order deliberately in the Council of Ministers.
§ 2. The statutes of the CTB will state the mentions provided by Article 164bis, § 1er, 1°, 2°, 3°, 6° and 9°, co-ordinated laws on commercial companies, relating to social purpose societies.
Section 5. - Legal and regulatory provisions
Art. 14. § 1er. The CTB, which takes the form of an anonymous corporation of public law with a social purpose, is subject to the legal and regulatory provisions of commercial law that are applicable to anonymous companies provided that it is not expressly derogated by or under this Act or any particular law.
§ 2. The CTB acts are deemed commercial.
§ 3. Articles 13ter, paragraph 1er, 4°, 75, second paragraph, 76, 104 bis, § 1ersecond paragraph and § 2, 164 bis, § 1er, 4°, 7° and 8° and 164ter coordinated laws on commercial companies are not applicable to the CTB.
§ 4. The CTB is not subject to the provisions of the Act of 17 July 1997 on judicial concordat and the Bankruptcy Act of 8 August 1997.
§ 5. The CTB is granted enforcement immunity for property entirely or partially allocated to the implementation of its public service tasks.
CHAPTER III. - Management contract
Section 1. - Definition and content
Art. 15. § 1er. The special rules and conditions under which the CTB performs the public service tasks entrusted to it by articles 5 and 6 are determined by a management contract between the federal State and the CTB.
§ 2. The management contract shall not lessen the following:
1° the precise definition of the social purpose to which the public service tasks referred to in Articles 5 and 6 are devoted and the deadline for the communication of the special report referred to in Article 164bis, § 1er, 6° of the co-ordinated laws on commercial companies, which must in any case take place before the first June of the year following the year to which it relates;
2° the terms and conditions of the public service tasks referred to in sections 5 and 6 and the procedure for the assignment by the Minister under the CTB of these public service tasks by means of separate "public service assignment agreements" specifying, for each public service task, its technical and financial elements;
3° the regulation of the procedure for the assignment of public service tasks referred to in Article 6;
4° the financing modalities of the CTB, including:
- the principles governing tariffs for the performance of public service tasks, as well as a regulation of advances on these benefits, in order to ensure continuity of public service and the possibility for the CTB to honour without delay the commitments resulting from its mission.
Advances are paid by monthly instalments on the basis of the introduction by the CTB of the monthly payment plan for the month to be covered, deducted from the unused portion of the previous monthly advances on the basis of the final monthly payments transmitted by the CTB to the Administration;
- the determination, calculation and payment of any subsidies to the general budget of federal government expenditures that the federal State agrees to allocate to the coverage of the expenses that arise for the CTB of its public service tasks, taking into account the costs and revenues specific to these tasks and the operating conditions imposed by or under this Act, or by the management contract or public service agreements;
5° of the rules of conduct with respect to beneficiaries of public service benefits in partner countries;
6° the sending of technical cooperation experts by the CTB;
7° the modalities of cooperation between technical cooperation experts and development cooperation partners;
8° without prejudice to the establishment of the documents necessary for the control and preparation of the federal state budget (Section 15 - Development Cooperation), the elements that the business plan referred to in Article 23, § 1er, paragraph 2 shall contain, in particular, the evaluation of the performance of the management contract during the previous calendar year and the deadlines for the communication that must in any case intervene before the first June of the following year and the period beyond which the authorization is expected to be given;
9° the terms and conditions under which the Minister under the CTB may interrupt or terminate the execution of a task carried out by the CTB on political grounds related to the situation of the partner country;
10° where applicable, the procedures and objective parameters of the annual reassessment of the management contract referred to in Article 17, § 1er;
11° sanctions for non-compliance by a portion of its commitments resulting from the management contract or a public service assignment agreement;
12° how the financial interests of the federal state are guaranteed;
13° the internal and external control obligations for any matter that has financial implications or for public personnel or markets, particularly with respect to the prior information of government commissioners, referred to in Article 28.
§ 3. Any express resolute clause in the management contract is deemed unwritten.
Section 1184 of the Civil Code is not applicable to the management contract. The party to which an obligation under the management contract is not fulfilled may only continue the performance of the obligation and, where applicable, seek damages, without prejudice to the application of any special penalty provided for in the management contract.
§ 4. The elements of the personnel management contract will be adopted after consultation with representative trade union organizations.
The representativeness of the trade union organizations of the competent consultation committee and the procedure for consultation are determined by the provisions of the Act of 19 December 1974 organizing relations between the public authorities and the trade unions of the agents under these authorities, and its royal decrees of execution.
Section 2. - Conclusion. - Approval
Reassessment and modification. - Duration and renewal
Conclusion and approval
Art. 16. § 1er. During the negotiation and conclusion of the management contract, the federal state is represented by the minister under the CTB.
§ 2. During the negotiation of the management contract, the CTB is represented by its daily management delegate. The management contract is subject to the approval of the Board of Directors of the CTB by an absolute majority.
§ 3. The management contract comes into force only after its approval by the King, by order deliberately in the Council of Ministers, on the date fixed by that order.
Reassessment and modification
Art. 17. § 1er. The management contract is reassessed each year and, where appropriate, adapted to changes in the conditions of development cooperation and technical developments according to a procedure and objective parameters provided in the management contract.
§ 2. Any modification of the management contract not referred to in the preceding paragraph proposed by either party or both parties shall be made in accordance with section 16.
Duration and renewal
Art. 18. § 1er. The management contract is concluded for a period of not less than three years and not more than five years.
§ 2. No later than six months prior to the expiration of a management contract, the Daily Management Officer shall submit a new management contract to the Minister under the CTB.
If, on the expiry of a management contract, a new management contract has not entered into force, the contract is extended in full right until a new management contract comes into force. This extension is issued to the Belgian Monitor by the Minister of the CTB.
If, one year after the extension referred to in the preceding paragraph, a new management contract has not entered into force, the King may, by order deliberately in the Council of Ministers, set provisional rules concerning the substances referred to in Article 15, § 2. These interim rules are valid as a new management contract and are applicable until the entry into force of a new management contract, entered into in accordance with Article 16.
Publication
Art. 19. Orders for approval of a management contract or its adaptation, as well as orders setting provisional rules, are issued to the Belgian Monitor.
The provisions of the management contract or, where applicable, provisional rules shall be published in annexes to the Royal Decree, with the exception of those covered by an obligation of secrecy established by or under the law or whose publication would be contrary to public order.
CHAPTER IV. - Organization
Section 1. - General
Art. 20. The CTB organs are:
1st General Assembly;
2° the board of directors;
3° the Delegate for Daily Management;
4th the steering committee.
Section 2. - The General Assembly
Art. 21. § 1er. The minister of the CTB, or his delegate, represents the federal state at the general assembly.
§ 2. The General Assembly shall not exercise any other powers other than those reserved for it by the provisions of the co-ordinated laws on commercial companies that apply to anonymous companies.
Section 3. - The Board of Directors
Composition and operation
Art. 22. § 1er. The board of directors is composed of twelve members, including the president who is a full member of the board.
§ 2. The Board of Directors has as many French-speaking and Dutch-speaking members.
§ 3. The members of the board of directors are appointed by the King, by order deliberately in the Council of Ministers, on the basis of their knowledge of international cooperation or management.
Members of the board of directors appointed by the King may only be revoked by a royal decree deliberated in the Council of Ministers, on the advice of the board of directors, approved by an absolute majority.
§ 4. Board members are appointed for a renewable term of four years.
§ 5. The General Assembly shall determine the remuneration of members of the Board of Directors under their terms of reference as an administrator. This compensation is payable to the CTB.
§ 6. In the event of a vacancy of a director's place, the remaining directors have the right to fill it provisionally, until a final appointment in accordance with § 3.
§ 7. Without prejudice to other limitations provided by or under a law or in the statutes of the CTB, the administrator's mandate is incompatible with the following mandate or functions:
1st member of the European Parliament or the European Commission;
2nd members of the Legislative Chambers;
3rd member of the federal government or member of the Minister's office under the CTB;
4th member of the Council of a Community or Region;
5° member of the government of a Community or Region;
6th governor of a province, including the deputy governor of the Flemish Brabant province and the commissioners of the federal government, bearing the titles of governor and deputy governor, established in the administrative district of Brussels-Capital, district commissioner or member of the permanent deputation of a provincial council;
7° member of the statutory or contractual staff of the CTB;
8° bourgmestre, alderman or president of the public social welfare centre of a municipality of more than 30,000 inhabitants or holder of a full-service mandate or function in an intercommunal.
When a director contravenes the provisions of the preceding paragraph, it is required to dismiss any warrants or functions in question within one month. If he fails to do so, he shall be deemed, at the expiry of that period, to have discharged his or her mandate from the CTB, without prejudice to the legal validity of the acts he or she has performed or the deliberations he or she has taken part in the period in question.
§ 8. The King shall appoint, by order deliberately in the Council of Ministers, the President of the Board of Directors in that capacity and his alternate.
The President and his alternate may only be revoked as such by a royal decree deliberated in the Council of Ministers, on the advice of the board of directors, approved by an absolute majority. The revocation of the president in his capacity as an administrator shall, in full right, lead to his revocation as president.
In the event of a division of voices within the board of directors, the President's voice or, in the absence of the President, his or her alternate, is preponderant.
Credentials
Art. 23. § 1er. The board of directors has the power to perform all the necessary or useful acts to the realization of the social object of the CTB.
The Board of Directors defines the CTB strategy on the proposal of the Delegate for Daily Management and approves annually a business plan setting out the objectives and medium-term strategy of the CTB and the special report referred to in Article 164bis, § 1er, 6° of the coordinated laws on commercial companies, whose projects are submitted to it by the Delegate for Daily Management.
The elements of the business plan that relate to the performance of public service tasks are subject to the approval of the Minister under the CTB for evaluation under the provisions of the management contract. The other elements are provided for information.
§ 2. The Board of Directors may delegate to the Delegate for Daily Management, in whole or in part, the competencies referred to in § 1erexcept:
1° approval of the management contract and any modification of the contract;
2° the setting of the strategy and approval of the business plan as well as the special report referred to in Article 164bis, § 1er6° of the coordinated laws on commercial companies;
3° the control of the delegate for day management, particularly with regard to the execution of the management contract;
4° the approval of the annual inventory and accounts, including the balance sheet, the results account and the schedule, as well as the management report referred to in section 77 of the coordinated laws on business corporations;
5° the taking of participation in existing public or private corporations, groups, associations or institutions of public or private law or to be established as referred to in Article 9, as well as the presentation of representatives of the CTB in the management bodies of such societies, groups, associations or institutions;
6th the convocation of the general assembly;
7° the other powers reserved for the board of directors by this Act, the statutes adopted under this Act and by the coordinated laws on commercial companies.
§ 3. Contracts for work, supplies and services have passed by or under a decision of the Board of Directors. The Board of Directors determines the contracts that fall within the sole competence of the delegate to the day management or the members of the steering committee to which the delegated authority.
§ 4. The Board of Directors determines the conditions under which staff recruitment is the sole responsibility of the delegate for day management.
§ 5. The Board of Directors has a collegiate control over the management provided by the Delegate for Daily Management. The Daily Management Delegate reports regularly to the Board. An annual report on daily management is transmitted to parliament.
The Board of Directors has the right to obtain, collegially, any relevant information and documentation from its Daily Management delegate and to conduct any necessary verification.
The internal audit functions of the CTB may at any time be entrusted to an internal audit committee, in which the chair of the Board of Directors, who is assisted by two members of the Board of Directors. The Daily Management Delegate is invited to the Internal Audit Committee meetings.
Section 4. - Delegate for Daily Management
Appointment and revocation
Art. 24. § 1er. The King appoints the delegate for day-to-day management by order deliberately in the Council of Ministers for a renewable term of six years on the basis of his knowledge of international cooperation or management.
The delegate for day-to-day management may be revoked only by a royal decree deliberated in the Council of Ministers, on the advice of the board of directors approved by an absolute majority.
§ 2. The rights, including remuneration, and mutual obligations of the Delegate for Daily Management, on the one hand, and the CTB, on the other hand, are settled in a particular agreement between the parties concerned subject to the approval of the Minister under the CTB. During the negotiation of this agreement, the CTB is represented by members of the Board of Directors. The remuneration of the Delegate for Daily Management is borne by the CTB.
§ 3. The delegate for day-to-day management performs in the CTB or for the representation of full-service functions.
§ 4. Section 22, § 7, applies to the Delegate for Daily Management.
Credentials
Art. 25. § 1er. The Daily Management Delegate is invited to all meetings of the Board of Directors and has an advisory voice.
§ 2. Only the Daily Management Officer may be responsible for day-to-day management and representation in this management.
§ 3. The Delegate for Daily Management is also responsible for the powers delegated by the Board of Directors under section 23, § 2, as well as for the execution of the decisions of the Board of Directors.
§ 4. With the exception of those referred to in articles 16, § 2 and 23, §§ 3 and 4, the delegate for day-to-day management may, after approval of the board of directors, delegate some of his powers to one or more members of the steering committee or to members of the CTB staff.
Section 5. - Steering Committee
Composition and operation
Art. 26. § 1er. The Board of Directors shall, on the proposal of the Delegate for Daily Management, comprise the steering committee of which it determines the number of members, each of whom shall be entitled "member of the steering committee". The total number of members of the steering committee cannot exceed six.
The board of directors shall appoint and revoke, on the proposal of the delegate for day management, the members of the steering committee for a renewable term of six years.
The Daily Management Delegate is a member of the Executive Committee and chairs it.
§ 2. The rights, including remuneration, and mutual obligations of the members of the steering committee are settled in a particular agreement between each member of the steering committee and the CTB represented by the delegate for day management, with prior agreement of the board of directors of the absolute majority. The remuneration of the members of the steering committee is borne by the CTB.
§ 3. The members of the steering committee shall serve in the CTB or for the representation of the CTB in full-service functions.
§ 4. Section 22, § 7, paragraph 1, 1 to 6 and 8, and paragraph 2 applies to members of the steering committee.
§ 5. The practical modalities for the functioning of the steering committee are defined by the delegate for day management.
Credentials
Art. 27. The members of the steering committee shall be responsible for the delegated competences of the delegate for day management under Article 25, § 4 and shall assist the delegate for day management in the exercise of the powers referred to in Article 25, § 2 and § 3, in particular by carrying out his decisions.
CHAPTER V. - Control
Section 1. - Administrative murder
Art. 28. § 1er. The CTB is subject to the control of the Minister under the CTB and the Minister of Budget. This control is exercised in the intervention of two government commissioners, appointed and revoked by the King, one on the proposal of the minister under the CTB and the other on the proposal of the Minister of Budget.
For cases of possible incapacity, the King appoints an alternate for each government commissioner, one on the proposal of the minister under the CTB and the other on the proposal of the Minister of Budget. The Commissioner of the Alternate Government has the same powers as the Commissioner of the Government for the performance of his mission. The King may revoke each alternate.
The King determines the remuneration of each government commissioner. This compensation is borne by the federal government's general expenditure budget.
The King may, by order deliberately in the Council of Ministers, settle the exercise of the missions, the means of action and the status of the commissioners.
§ 2. The government commissioners ensure compliance with the law, the statutes of the CTB, the management contract and the public service assignment agreements.
§ 3. Government Commissioners are invited to all meetings of the Board of Directors and have an advisory voice. Each Commissioner of the Government shall receive the full agenda and any related documents, no later than five working days prior to the date of the meetings, except in exceptional circumstances. Each Government Commissioner receives the minutes of the Board of Directors meetings.
Each Commissioner of the Government may, at any time, be aware of books, correspondence, minutes and generally of all documents and records of the CTB. Each Commissioner of the Government may require directors, the delegate for day management, the members of the steering committee, the officers and officers of the CTB to obtain all the explanations or information and to carry out all the audits that appear necessary to carry out his or her mandate.
The CTB immediately forwards to each Commissioner of the Government the remarks of the College of Commissioners referred to in section 29 and the answers provided to these remarks. Each Government Commissioner corresponds with the members of the College of Commissioners referred to above on matters within its jurisdiction.
The CTB provides government commissioners with the necessary human and material resources to carry out their mandate. The Minister who reports to the CTB and the Minister of Budget may, each for his or her purpose and, if he or she considers it useful, assist the Commissioners of the Government by experts. The remuneration of experts is dependent on the federal government's general expenditure budget.
§ 4. Each Government Commissioner may, within four business days, lodge an appeal with the Minister to whom he reports against any decision of the CTB bodies that he or she considers to be contrary to the law, the statutes of the CTB, the management contract or the public service assignment agreements. This remedy also exists against any decision to entrust third parties to the tasks that the CTB can carry out itself.
Without prejudice to the prior duty of information referred to in Article 15, § 2, 13°, the time limit for appealing against a decision of the board of directors shall be from the date of the meeting to which the decision was made, provided that the Commissioner of the Government was regularly summoned and, if not, from the day on which the decision was notified or, if not, from the day on which he was notified. Without prejudice to the pre-information duty referred to in Article 15, § 2, 13°, for the other decisions of the CTB bodies, this period is short from the notification of the decision to the Government Commissioner or, if not, from the day on which he was aware of it.
The appeal is suspensive.
Any appeals from a government commissioner are communicated on the same day by recommended to the chair of the board of directors, to the delegate of day management, to the minister under the CTB and to the Minister of Budget.
§ 5. Within ten working days commencing on the same day as the period referred to in § 4, the Minister of the CTB and the Minister of Budget shall jointly notify, after consultation, the President of the Board of Directors and the Delegate for Daily Management of the cancellation of the decision.
In the event of disagreement between the Minister of the CTB and the Minister of Budget, one or the other shall notify, after consultation and within the ten working days referred to in the preceding paragraph, the President of the Board of Directors and the Delegate for Daily Management, the lack of agreement and the extension to 30 days of the initial ten-day period.
In the event that, within thirty working days, commencing on the same day as the period referred to in § 4, the Minister of the CTB and the Minister of Budget shall find an agreement, they shall immediately inform the President of the Board of Directors of the CTB and the Delegate for Daily Management.
In the absence of a decision within thirty working days referred to in the preceding paragraph, the King shall, by Royal Decree deliberated in the Council of Ministers within sixty working days, beginning on the same day as the period referred to in § 4.
In the absence of a decision within the 60-day period referred to in the preceding paragraph, the TTO decision becomes final.
§ 6. Each year, the Board of Directors reports to the Minister who reports to the CTB for the performance by the CTB of its public service tasks.
Each year, the Minister under CTB reports to the Senate and House of Representatives on the application of this Act.
§ 7. When compliance with the law, the statutes of the CTB, the management contract or the public service assignment agreements requires it, the minister under the CTB or each government commissioner may require the competent management body to deliberate, within the time it sets, on any matter it determines.
Section 2. - Control of the financial situation
Art. 29. § 1er. The control of the financial situation, annual accounts and regularity, under the law and the statutes of the CTB, of the transactions to be found in the annual accounts, is entrusted within the CTB to a panel of commissioners with four members. The members of the college have the title of Commissioner.
The mission, means of action and status of commissioners may be specified by the King by order deliberately in the Council of Ministers.
§ 2. The Court of Auditors appoints two Commissioners. The other commissioners are appointed by the General Assembly.
The auditors appointed by the Court of Auditors shall be appointed from among the members of the Court of Auditors. The other commissioners are appointed among the members, natural or legal persons, of the Institute of Corporate Reviewers.
§ 3. The commissioners are appointed for a renewable term of six years. Under penalty of damages, they can only be revoked in the course of a warrant for just cause.
A Commissioner may not, without serious personal reasons, resign from office until the filing of his annual accounts report and after making a written report on the reasons for his resignation to the Minister under the CTB.
§ 4. The King determines the remuneration of the commissioners. This compensation is borne by the federal government's general expenditure budget.
§ 5. The report referred to in section 65 of the co-ordinated corporate laws is forwarded to the Board of Directors and to the Minister under the CTB.
§ 6. The Court of Auditors exercises its control exclusively on the basis of Article 30, § 3, of this Act. Accountants of the CTB are not subject to the Act of 29 October 1846 on the organization of the Court of Accounts.
CHAPTER VI. - Accounting and annual accounts
Art. 30. § 1er. The CTB is subject to the Act of 17 July 1975 on accounting and annual accounts of enterprises. It establishes its accounting by calendar year. It establishes a separate system of accounts for activities related to its public service tasks, on the one hand, and for other activities, on the other.
The schedule to the annual accounts contains a summary statement of accounts for public service tasks and a commentary on this. The King may make general or specific rules relating to the form and content of this summary statement and commentary.
§ 2. Each year, the Board of Directors prepares an inventory and prepares annual accounts and a management report. The management report contains the information referred to in Article 77, fourth paragraph, of the coordinated laws on business companies.
Subject to the special rules established under Article 10, § 2, second paragraph, of the Act of 17 July 1975 on the accounting and annual accounts of enterprises, inserted by the law of 1er July 1983, the annual accounts, the management report and the report of the College of Commissioners are published in a manner determined in section 80 of the coordinated laws on business corporations. Article 80bis of the same laws is applied by analogy.
§ 3. The Board of Directors shall communicate the annual accounts together with the management report and report of the College of Commissioners referred to in section 29 of this Act to the Minister of the CTB and the Minister of Budget, before April 30 of the year following the fiscal year concerned.
Before May 31 of the year following the fiscal year in question, the Minister to whom the CTB reports the documents referred to in the first paragraph to the Audit Court.
The Court of Auditors may, at the intervention of its representatives to the College of Commissioners, organize on-site oversight of the accounts and operations related to the performance of public service tasks. The Court may publish the accounts in its Record of Observations.
In addition, at the intervention of its representatives to the College of Commissioners, the Court of Auditors prepares annually, for the Senate and the House of Representatives, a report on the implementation of public service tasks.
Before the same date, the Minister under the CTB shall communicate the documents referred to in the first paragraph to the House of Representatives.
CHAPTER VII. - Financing
Art. 31. The CTB resources are as follows:
1° the own revenues derived from the performance of the public service tasks referred to in Articles 5 and 6, as specified by the management contract in accordance with Article 15, § 2, 4°;
2° clean revenues from the execution of the tasks referred to in Article 7;
3° advances on public service duties referred to in Articles 5 and 6, as specified by the management contract in accordance with Article 15, § 2, 4°;
4° the possible subsidies to the general budget of the expenses of the Federal State, as specified by the management contract in accordance with Article 15, § 2, 4°;
5° the refund of the loans the CTB has granted.
The CTB is not allowed to borrow. However, the King may, due to exceptional circumstances, by order deliberately in the Council of Ministers and the agreement of the Minister of Budget, authorize the CTB to borrow.
CHAPTER VIII. - Tax status
Art. 32. § 1er. Article 180 of the Income Tax Code 1992, coordinated by a Royal Decree of 10 April 1992 and confirmed by the Law of 11 June 1992, is supplemented by an 11° written as follows: "11° the society of public law to social purpose Belgian technical cooperation".
§ 2. The CTB is considered a public institution within the meaning of section 6 of the Act of 3 July 1969 creating the Value-Added Tax Code, replaced by section 7 of the Act of 28 December 1992.
§ 3. The CTB is considered a public institution within the meaning of Article 161 of Royal Decree No. 64 of 30 November 1939 containing the Code of Registration, Mortgage and Registry Rights.
§ 4. The CTB is considered a public institution within the meaning of Article 55 of the Code of Succession Rights, established by Royal Decree No. 308 of 31 March 1936.
CHAPTER IX. - Staff
Transfer of staff with retention of acquired rights
Art. 33. Staff of the Administration may be transferred to the CTB by Royal Decree.
The King shall determine, after consultation with the staff representative organizations, the terms and conditions of the transfer referred to in paragraph 1 and the measures necessary to guarantee the rights of the staff transferred with respect to seniority, pension and remuneration, as well as the modalities of reintegration within the Staff Administration transferred to the CTB. The transfer of staff from the Administration to the CTB will be made on a voluntary basis. The right to reinstatement may be exercised individually for a period of two years either as of the date of publication of the CTB Staff Regulations or as of the date of its effective transfer.
The representativeness of the trade union organizations of the competent consultation committee and the procedure for consultation are determined by the provisions of the Act of 19 December 1974 organizing relations between the public authorities and the trade unions of the agents under these authorities and its royal decrees of execution.
Staff status and union status
Art. 34. § 1er. The King sets the framework and status of the staff and the union status, after negotiations with the representative organizations of the staff referred to in section 33.
The representativeness of the trade union organizations of the competent consultation committee and the negotiation procedure are determined by the provisions of the law of 19 December 1974 organizing relations between the public authorities and the trade unions of the agents under these authorities and its royal decrees of execution.
§ 2. The legal and regulatory provisions that regulate the status of the staff and the union status of the Authority shall remain applicable to the CTB until the respective entry into force of the staff status or the union status determined in accordance with § 1er.
Statutory or contractual regime
Art. 35. § 1er. Without prejudice to the provisions of section 33, CTB staff shall be recruited and employed in accordance with the framework and status of the personnel arrested by the King in accordance with section 34.
However, the CTB may recruit and employ staff under a contract of work under the Act of 3 July 1978 on contracts of work, in order to:
1° to meet exceptional and temporary staff needs, whether it is the implementation of limited projects over time or an extraordinary addition of work;
2° performing tasks requiring high qualification knowledge or experience;
3° to replace members of the statutory or contractual staff for periods of temporary, partial or total absence;
4° to perform auxiliary or specific tasks.
§ 2. The relations between the CTB and the union organizations representing the staff are regulated in the union status of the King, in accordance with Article 34.
§ 3. The salaries and salaries of the statutory and contractual agents of the CTB cannot exceed the salaries and maximum salaries of the statutory agents of the federal state to equivalent grades.
§ 4. Without prejudice to existing legal and regulatory provisions, the minimum rules for incompatibility in the head of the CTB staff are provided for by the statutes referred to in Article 34, § 1er.
CHAPTER X. - Miscellaneous provisions
Art. 36. The CTB freely decides, within the limits of its social object, the acquisition, use and disposition of its tangible and intangible property, the establishment or suppression of real rights on these property, as well as the execution of such decisions.
Art. 37. The CTB can transfer and compromise. However, any arbitration agreement with natural persons prior to the birth of the dispute is void.
Art. 38. The CTB freely decides, within the limits of its social purpose and social purpose as defined by the management contract, of the placement of its available funds, in accordance with the Royal Decree of 15 July 1997 on measures to consolidate the financial assets of the public administrations, taken under Articles 2, § 1er and 3, § 1er, 6°, and § 2 of the Act of 26 July 1996 to fulfil the budgetary conditions of Belgium's participation in the European Economic and Monetary Union.
Art. 39. The CTB can receive donations and bequests.
CHAPTER XI. - Dissolution
Art. 40. The dissolution of the CTB can only be pronounced by or under a law. The law regulates the mode and conditions of liquidation in accordance with Article 146bis § 1er, 9° of coordinated laws on commercial companies.
CHAPTER XII. - Entry into force
Art. 41. § 1er. The King shall determine the effective date of this Act.
§ 2. Until the approval of the management contract, referred to in section 15, and the statutes referred to in section 13, the duties referred to in sections 5 to 8 remain entrusted to the Administration.
Promulgate this law, order that it be clothed with the seal of the State and published by the Belgian Monitor.
Given in Brussels on 21 December 1998.
ALBERT
By the King:
The Prime Minister,
J.-L. DEHAENE
Minister of Foreign Trade,
E. DI RUPO
The Minister of Budget,
H. VAN ROMPUY
Minister of Foreign Affairs,
E. DERYCKE
Minister of Public Service,
A. FLAHAUT
The Secretary of State for Development Cooperation,
R. MOREELS
Seal of the state seal:
Minister of Justice,
T. VAN PARYS
____
Note
(1) See:
Documents of the House of Representatives:
1371-97/98:
No. 1. Bill.
Numbers 2 to 4 . Amendments.
No. 5. Opinion of the State Council.
Numbers 6 to 12. Amendments.
No. 13. Report.
No. 14. Text adopted by the Commission.
Numbers 15 and 16. Amendments.
No. 17. Text adopted in plenary and transmitted to the Senate.
Annales de la Chambre des représentants : 15 et 16 juillet 1998.
Documents of the Senate:
1-1073-1997/1998.
No. 1. Project transmitted by the House of Representatives.
1-1073-1998/1999.
Numbers 2 and 3. Amendments.
No. 4. Report.
No. 5. Text adopted by the Commission.
No. 6. Text amended in plenary meeting and referred to the House of Representatives.
Annales of the Senate: December 3, 1998.
Documents of the House of Representatives:
1371-97/98.
No. 18. Project amended by the Senate.
N° 19. Amendments.
Number 20. Report.
No. 21. Amendments.
No. 22. Text adopted in plenary and subject to Royal Assent.
Annales of the House of Representatives: 17 December 1998.
(*) Fifth session of the 49e Legislature.