Unified Agreement for the Investment of Arab Capital in the Arab States (1980)
Previous page

Article 33.

1. Should one party so request, the Court may, where it deems it necessary, decide on interim measures which must be taken in order to preserve the rights of that party.

2. Where a person who is not party to an action and yet who is subject to the jurisdiction of the Court believes that his interests will be affected by the judgement in the action, he may submit a request to intervene as a third party. The Court shall decide on the request.

Article 34.

1. Judgements shall have binding force only with regard to the parties concerned and the dispute on which a decision is given.

2. Judgements shall be final and not subject to appeal. Where there is a dispute as to the meaning or import of a judgement, the Court shall provide its interpretation at the request of any of the parties concerned.

3. A judgement delivered by the Court shall be enforceable in the States Parties, where they shall be immediately enforceable in the same manner as a final enforceable judgement delivered by their own competent courts.

Article 35.

The Court may admit an application for a review of a judgement where the judgement gravely exceeds an essential principle of the Agreement or litigation procedures or where a decisive fact in the case is revealed which was not known at the time of judgement either by the Court or by the party requesting the review. The ignorance of such fact by the said party must not, however, be attributable to his own negligence. Applications must be submitted within six months of the new fact's being uncovered and within five years of the delivery of judgement. Review proceedings shall be instituted by a decision of the Court which explicitly confirms the existence of the new fact, sets out the aspects justifying a review and declares that the application is accordingly admissible. The Court may suspend execution of a judgement which it delivered before deciding to institute review proceedings.

Article 36.

The Court may deliver a non-binding advisory opinion on any legal matter which falls within its jurisdiction at the request of a State Party or the Secretary-General of the League of Arab States or the Council.

Chapter VII. Concluding Provisions

Article 37.

1. Within a maximum period of one year of the date on which the Agreement enters into force, each State Party shall give one central authority within the State responsibility for facilitating implementation of the provisions of the Agreement in its territory during the different phases of the investment and shall inform the General Secretariat of the League of Arab States accordingly.

2. The said authority may communicate directly with investors and other authorities regarding all matters which fall within its sphere of competence.

Article 38.

1. In the event of a currency conversion request being made in implementation of the provisions of the Agreement, the conversion shall be made in the currency of the investment or any other convertible currency at the prevailing exchange rate on the day of conversion in the State where the conversion is made. Where there are several exchange rates, reference shall be made to the Council which shall seek the assistance of the Arab Monetary Fund.

2. The conversion shall be made without delay within the period normally required to complete banking procedures. Where a monetary conversion is delayed for more than three months after the submission date of a request which satisfies the requisite legal conditions, the investor shall be entitled to receive interest from the State on the unconverted money as from the expiry date of such period at the prevailing bank interest rate in the State where the investment is made.

Article 39.

The authority of the State to take specific decisions based on reasons of the public interest or public security shall remain unaffected by any provision of the Agreement.

The obligation of the Arab investor to provide the central authority or the Council with reports and statistical information shall likewise remain unaffected.

Article 40.

Papers, documents and certificates issued by the competent authorities in any State Party or by the Council within the limits of its authority shall serve as sufficient evidence for invoking the rights and affirming the obligations arising from the Agreement. They shall likewise affirm the civil status, legal status and skills of those employed in a project without being subject to the authentication procedures for foreign documents in the States Parties.

Article 41.

1. The Agreement shall be deposited with the General Secretariat of the League of Arab States for signature.

2. The Agreement shall enter into force three months after the date on which the instruments of ratification thereof have been deposited by at least

Five Arab States.

3. The League of Arab States shall accept the accession of the Arab States. Thereafter, the Agreement shall take effect in respect of any State wishing to accede thereto three months after the date on which its instruments of ratification are deposited.

4. The General Secretariat of the League of Arab States shall be responsible for informing Member States of instruments of ratification which are deposited with it.

Article 42.

States which are Parties to the Agreement may only withdraw therefrom five years after its entry into force in their regard. Written notice of withdrawal must be addressed to the Secretary-General of the League of Arab States. Withdrawals shall only take effect one year after the date on which he receives such notice.

Article 43.

The withdrawal of any State which is a Party to the Agreement or the loss of its membership of the League of Arab States or the deferral or suspension of the provisions of the Agreement pursuant to article 19 shall not affect the rights and obligations arising from investment and acquired in accordance with the provisions of the Agreement.

Article 44.

This Agreement may not be amended any earlier than five years from the date of its entry into force.

Amendments to this Agreement shall be made with the consent of two thirds of the States Parties and shall enter into force for the ratifying States three months after instruments ratifying the amendments have been deposited by at least five States.

Chapter VIII. Interim Provisions

Article 45.

Until such time as all Arab States become parties to the Agreement, the representatives of the Arab States Parties which are members of the Council shall convene in the form of a board known as "The Arab Investment Agreement Board", which shall assume the competence of the Council in this respect, save for appointment of the president and members of the Court, a task which in all instances shall fall to the Council.

The Economic Affairs Department of the League of Arab States shall carry out the secretarial tasks of the Board in accordance with internal regulations issued by the Council, which shall include the organization of the administrative affairs of the Board, the determination of its resources and the rules for the disposal thereof.

Article 46.

The jurisdiction of the Court shall devolve upon the Arab Court of Justice once it is established.

Conclusion

DONE at Amman on Wednesday, 19 Muharram A.H. 1401, corresponding to 26 November A.D. 1980, in the Arabic language in one original, which is kept in the General Secretariat of the League of Arab States. A true copy of the original is to be furnished to every State which signs or becomes a Party to the Agreement.

Attachments

1. Conciliation

1. Where two disputing parties agree to conciliation, the agreement must comprise a description of the dispute, the demands of the parties concerned, the name of the conciliator they have selected and the remuneration which they have decided he should receive. The two disputing parties may ask the Secretary-General of the League of Arab States to select a person to assume the task of conciliation between them. The General Secretariat of the League shall provide the conciliator with a copy of the conciliation agreement and ask him to carry out his task.

2. The task of the conciliator shall be restricted to achieving a rapprochement, between the different points of view. He shall be entitled to put forward proposals guaranteeing a solution satisfactory to the parties concerned, who must furnish him with the necessary information and documents to assist him in carrying out his task. Within three months of being informed of the conciliation task, the conciliator must submit a report to the Council summarizing the dispute, his proposals for its settlement and any solutions which have been accepted by the parties concerned. The report must be forwarded within two weeks of its submission to the parties, each of whom shall express his opinion thereon within two weeks of the date of receipt.

3. The report of the conciliator shall not have probative force in any court before which the dispute may be brought.

2. Arbitration

1. Where the two parties fail to agree to conciliation or where the conciliator proves unable to render his decision within the period specified or where the parties do not agree to accept the solutions proposed, they may agree to resort to arbitration.

2. Arbitration procedures shall commence by the dispatch of a notice by the party seeking arbitration to the other party in the dispute. The notice shall set out the nature of the dispute, the

Decision which he wishes to see rendered in the dispute and the name of the arbitrator whom he has appointed. Within 30 days of receiving the notice, the other party must inform the party seeking arbitration of the name of the arbitrator he has appointed. Within 30 days of the appointment of the second arbitrator, the two arbitrators must choose a third person to serve as chairman of the arbitral panel, who shall have the casting vote in the event of opinions being equal.

3. Where the other party fails to appoint an arbitrator or where the two arbitrators fail to agree on the appointment of the person who is to have the casting vote within the time-limits specified, the arbitral panel shall consist of one arbitrator or an uneven number of arbitrators, one of whom shall have a casting vote. Either party may ask the Secretary-General of the League of Arab States to appoint the arbitrators.

4. Parties to the dispute may not change the arbitrator whom they have appointed once consideration of the case has begun unless an arbitrator resigns or dies or is unable to work, in which case a substitute shall be appointed using the same method by which the original arbitrator was appointed. The successor shall have all the authority of the original arbitrator and shall undertake all his duties.

5. The arbitral panel shall convene for the first time at the time and place specified by the arbitrator who has the casting vote. Thereafter, the Board shall decide the time and place of its meetings.

6. The arbitral panel shall decide all matters related to its jurisdiction and shall determine its own procedure.

7. The arbitral panel shall accord all parties a fair opportunity to submit their written and oral statements and shall adopt its decisions by a majority of votes, stating the grounds for each decision. Decisions must be signed by a majority of the members of the panel at least. Each party shall

Receive a signed copy thereof.

8. Decisions of the arbitral panel rendered in accordance with the provisions of this article shall be final and binding. Both parties must comply with and implement the decision immediately it is rendered unless the panel specifies a deferral of its implementation or of the implementation of part thereof. No appeal may be made against arbitration decisions.

9. Decisions of the arbitral panel must be rendered within a period not exceeding six months from the date on which the panel first convenes. The Secretary-General of the League of Arab States, at the substantiated request of the panel, may extend the period once only for no more than a further six months should he deem it necessary.

10. The Secretary-General of the League of Arab States shall determine the fees of the arbitrators and the remuneration of other persons engaged in work and procedures related to the arbitration. Each party shall be responsible for its own arbitration costs, whilst the arbitral panel shall determine which party is to bear the costs of the arbitration itself or the proportion of the arbitration costs to be shared between both parties, in addition to payment procedures and method.

11. Where the decision of the arbitral panel fails to be implemented within three months of its rendering, the matter shall be brought before the Arab Investment Court for it to rule on such measures for its implementation as it deems appropriate.

For the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan

For the United Arab Emirates

For the State of Bahrain

For the Republic of Tunisia

For the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria

For the Republic of Djibouti

For the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

For the Democratic Republic of Sudan

For the Syrian Arab Republic

For the Somali Democratic Republic

For the Republic of Iraq

For the Sultanate of Oman

For Palestine

For the State of Qatar

For the State of Kuwait

For the Lebanese Republic

For the Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya

For the Kingdom of Morocco

For the Islamic Republic of Mauritania

For the Yemen Arab Republic

For the People's Democratic Republic of Yemen

Previous page Page 2