10 JUIN 1996. An Act to Enact the Agreement between the Belgian Economic Union and the Eastern Republic of Uruguay concerning the mutual encouragement and protection of investments, and Protocol signed in Brussels on 4 November 1991 (1)
Albert II, King of the Belgians,
To all, present and to come, Hi.
The Chambers adopted and We sanction the following:
Article 1. This Act regulates a matter referred to in Article 77, paragraph 1, 6, of the Constitution.
Art. 2. The Agreement between the Belgian Economic Union and the Eastern Republic of Uruguay concerning the mutual encouragement and protection of investments, and the Protocol, signed in Brussels on 4 November 1991, will come out its full and full effect.
Promulgate this law, order that it be clothed with the seal of the State and published by the Belgian Monitor.
Given in Brussels on 10 June 1996.
ALBERT
By the King:The Minister of Foreign Affairs,
E. DERYCKE
Minister of Foreign Trade,
Ph. MAYSTADT
Seal of the state seal:
Minister of Justice,
S. DE CLERCK
Agreement between the Belgian Economic Union and the Eastern Republic of Uruguay on mutual encouragement and protection of investments
The Government of the Kingdom of Belgium, acting both on its behalf and on the Government of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, under existing agreements,
and
The Government of the Eastern Republic of Uruguay,
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,
Considering the beneficial influence of such an agreement to improve business contacts and build confidence in investment,
The following agreed:
Article 1
er1. The term "investors" means:
(a) any natural person who, according to Belgian, Luxembourg or Uruguayan legislation, is considered a citizen of the Kingdom of Belgium, the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg or the Oriental Republic of Uruguay, respectively;
(b) any legal entity shall be in accordance with the Belgian, Luxembourg or Uruguayan legislation and shall have its head office in the territory of the Kingdom of Belgium, the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg or the Oriental Republic of Uruguay, respectively.
2. The term "investments" means any assets and any contribution in cash, in kind or in services, invested or reinvested directly or indirectly in any sector of economic activity, whatever it is.
These include, but are not limited to, investments within the meaning of this Agreement:
(a) the propriety of movable and immovable property and any other real rights such as mortgages, privileges, leases, usufructs and similar rights;
(b) shares, social shares and all other forms of participation, whether minority or indirect, in companies incorporated in the territory of one of the Contracting Parties;
(c) obligations, receivables and rights to all benefits of economic value;
(d) copyrights, industrial property rights, (such as invention patents, licences, trademarks, models and industrial models), technical processes, know-how, registered names and trade funds;
(e) concessions of public or contractual law, including those relating to the prospecting, cultivation, extraction or exploitation of natural resources.
No change in the legal form in which assets and capital have been invested or reinvested affects their investment qualification within the meaning of this Agreement.
3. The term "income" refers to amounts generated by an investment and, in particular, not exclusively, profits, interest, capital increments, dividends, royalties or allowances.
Article 2
1. Each of the Contracting Parties shall encourage the investment of investors from the other Contracting Party and admit these investments in accordance with its legislation.
2. In particular, each Contracting Party will authorize the conclusion and execution of licence contracts and commercial assistance agreements; administrative or technical, provided these activities relate to investments.
3. This Agreement applies to investments made even before it enters into force in the territory of each Contracting Party by investors of the other Contracting Party. It does not apply to disputes arising prior to its entry into force.
Article 3
1. All existing and future 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, such investments shall enjoy constant security and protection, excluding any unjustified or discriminatory measures that may hinder, in any way, 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 under:
(a) its participation or association in a free trade zone, a customs union, a common market or any other form of international economic organizations;
(b) a convention to avoid double taxation or any other tax agreements.
Article 4
1. Each of the Contracting Parties undertakes not to take directly or indirectly any measures of expropriation or nationalization or any other measure having a similar effect on investments in its territory to investors of the other Contracting Party,
2. If public utility or national interest requirements justify a derogation from paragraph 1, the following conditions must be met:
(a) measures are taken in accordance with a legal procedure;
(b) they are not discriminatory;
(c) they have provisions for the payment of adequate and effective compensation.
3. The amount of the allowances will be the actual value of the investments concerned on the eve of the day or the measures taken or made public.
Compensation shall be paid in the currency of the State to which the investor belongs or in any other freely convertible currency. They will be of interest to the rate of the currency market used from the date of their fixation to that of their payment; they shall be paid without delay and freely transferable, regardless of the place of the residence or seat of the person entitled to the residence.
4. Investors of one of the Contracting Parties whose investments would have suffered damage from war or any other weapon, 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 brought under this Article, each Contracting Party shall grant to investors of the other Party at least equal treatment to that which it reserves in its territory to investors of the most favoured nation. Such treatment would in no way be less favourable than that recognized by international law.
Article 5
Each Contracting Party, in the territory of which investments have been made by investors of the other Contracting Party, grants these investors the free transfer of their liquid assets, including:
(a) income from investments including benefits, interest, capital income, dividends, royalties;
(b) amounts required for the reimbursement of regularly contracted borrowings;
(c) the proceeds of debt collection, the total or partial liquidation of investments, including surplus-values or increases in the capital invested;
(d) compensation paid pursuant to section 4;
(e) royalties and other payments relating to licence fees and commercial, administrative or technical assistance.
2. Nationals of each of the Contracting Parties authorized to work for an investment approved 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. Each of the Contracting Parties shall issue the necessary authorizations to ensure without delay the execution of the transfers, without any other charges than the usual taxes and fees. The guarantees provided for in this article shall be at least equal to those granted in similar cases to the most-favoured-nation investors.
Article 6
1. Transfers shall apply to Articles 4 and 5 of this Agreement at the exchange rates applicable to the date of the Agreement and under the regulation of the exchanges in force in the State in which the investment was made.
2. These rates will in no way be less favourable than those granted to investors in the most-favoured nation, including by virtue of specific commitments, provided for in any agreements or arrangements with respect to investment protection.
3. In all cases, the applied rates will be fair and fair.
Article 7
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 of the indemnified investors have been transferred to the Contracting Party or to the public body concerned, in its capacity as an insurer.
2. In the same way that investors, and within the limits of the rights so transferred, the insurer may, by subrogation, exercise the rights of such investors and assert their claims
Subrogation of rights also extends to the rights to transfer and arbitration referred to in Articles 5 and 11
These rights may be exercised by the insurer within the limits of the quotity of the risk covered by the guarantee contract, and by the beneficial investor of the guarantee, within the limits of the quotity of the risk not covered by the contract.
3. With respect to transfer rights, the other Contracting Party may apply to the insurer, subject to the rights of the indemnified investors, the obligations that are legally or contractually binding on the indemnified investors.
Article 8
Where an investment issue is governed by both the present Agreement and the national legislation of one of the Contracting Parties or by international conventions subscribed to the date of this Agreement or subsequently by the Contracting Parties, the investors of the other Contracting Party may take advantage of the provisions that are most favourable to them.
Article 9
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 10
1. Any dispute that arises between the Contracting Parties concerning the interpretation or application of this Agreement shall be resolved, if possible, by diplomatic means.
2. Failure to settle 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 unjustified Party.
3. If the joint commission cannot resolve the dispute, it shall be submitted, at the request of either of the Contracting Parties, to an arbitral tribunal shall, for each particular case, be as follows:
Each Contracting Party shall designate an arbitrator within three months of the date on which one of the Contracting Parties has indicated to the other of its intention to submit the differend to arbitration. Within two months of their designation, the two arbitrators shall jointly designate a national of a third State who shall be president of the arbitral tribunal.
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 Contracting 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 shall be invited to make such appointment.
4. The arbitral tribunal shall thus establish its own rules of procedure Its decisions shall be taken by a majority vote; they shall be final and binding for Contracting Parties.
5. Each Contracting Party shall bear the costs associated with the designation of its arbitrator. The inherent disbursements have the designation of the third arbitrator and the operating costs of the arbitral tribunal shall be borne by the Contracting Parties equally.
Article 11
1. Any differend relating to investments, between an investor of one of the Contracting Parties and the other Contracting Party, shall be subject to an ecrite notification, accompanied by an aide-memoire sufficiently dotted, on the part of the most diligent part.
To the extent possible, this dispute is amicable consultation between the parties to the dispute.
2. In the absence of amicable settlement by direct arrangement between the parties to the dispute within six months of its notification, the dispute may be sounlis, has the request of one of the parties, has the competent administrative or judicial jurisdiction of the Contracting Party in the territory of which the investment is located.
3. If at the expiry of a period of eighteen months from the date of notification of the introductive act of the proceedings before the above-mentioned court, the court has not definitively ruled on the dispute, or if the award made on the occasion of the dispute does not conform to the provisions of this Agreement or to the rules of law legally accepted, the end may be subject to international arbitration.
For this purpose, each Contracting Party shall give under this Article its precipitous and irrevocable consent to any dispute being submitted to that arbitration.
4. Upon the introduction of one of the arbitration proceedings, each party to the dispute shall take all the necessary measures for its withdrawal from the judicial proceedings at any time in progress.
5. In case of recourse to international arbitration, the dispute may be brought before one of the arbitration bodies referred to below, at the investor's choice
- to an ad hoc arbitration tribunal, established according to the arbitration records of the United Nations Commission for International 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 Reglement of Investment Disputes between States and Nationals of Other States", opened for signature in Washington on 18 March 1965, when each State, a party to this Agreement, has adhered to it. As long as this condition is not fulfilled, each Contracting Party agrees that the dispute be submitted to arbitration in accordance with the Regulation of the C.I.R.D.I. Supplementary Mechanism.
6. None of the Contracting Parties, a party to a dispute, shall raise any objection, at any stage of the proceedings or of the execution of an arbitration award, as the investor, an adverse party to the dispute, would have lost an indemnity covering all or part of its losses pursuant to an insurance policy or the guarantee provided for in Article 7 of this Agreement.
7. The arbitration body shall rule on the basis of the law of the Contracting Party party to the differend, including the rules relating to conflicts of laws, the provisions of this Agreement, the terms of any particular agreements that would have been concluded with respect to the investment and the principles of international law in the matter.
8. Arbitral awards are final and binding for the parties to the dispute. Each Contracting Party undertakes to execute awards in accordance with its legislation.
9. None of the two Contracting Parties may present an international claim concerning a controversy of one of its investors unless, at the conclusion of the arbitration procedure provided for in this Article, the other Contracting Party shall not execute or comply with the award rendered on the occasion of the dispute.
Article 12
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 13
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.
It will then be renewed by tacit renewal for successive periods of ten years. Each Contracting Party shall, at any time, have the right to denounce it in writing with a notice of six months before the expiration of the current period of validity.
2. The investments made externally shall be subject to the expiration date of this Agreement for a period of ten years from that date.
The undersigned representatives, duly authorized by their respective Governments, signed this Agreement.
Done in Brussels on 4 November 1991, in two original copies, each in French, Dutch and Spanish, the three texts being equally authentic.
For the Belgian Economic Union:
Mr. EYSKENS,
Minister of Foreign Affairs
For the Government of the Eastern Republic of Uruguay:
H. GROS ESPIELL,
Minister of External Relations
Protocol on the Agreement between the Belgian Economic Union and the Eastern Republic of Uruguay concerning the mutual encouragement and protection of investments, signed in Brussels on 4 November 1991
On the occasion of the signing of the Agreement between the Belgian Economic Union and the Eastern Republic of Uruguay on the mutual encouragement and protection of investments, the undersigned plenipotentiaries, duly authorized by the Contracting Parties, have agreed on the following provisions which are integrative to the Agreement:
1. Ad. Article 1 § 1st. (a).
The Agreement does not apply to investments of natural persons who are nationals of the Kingdom of Belgium or the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg and the Oriental Republic of Uruguay, unless at the time of the investment these persons are domiciled outside the territory of the Contracting Party or the investment has been made.
2. Ad Article 1. § 2.
Indirect investments include investments made by investors of one of the Contracting Parties in the territory of the other Contracting Party, through a partnership of a third State.
In order to benefit from the provisions of this Agreement, these investors may be invited to demonstrate their investments.
Done in Brussels on 4 November 1991, in two original copies, each in French, Dutch and Spanish, the three texts being equally authentic.
For the Belgian Economic Union:
Mr. EYSKENS,
Minister of Foreign Affairs
For the Government of the Eastern Republic of Uruguay:
H. GROS ESPIELL,
Minister of External Relations
The instruments of ratification were not exchanged. This Agreement has not yet entered into force. A subsequent notice will be issued to mention the date of the exchange of instruments of ratification and the date of entry into force.
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