Convention on the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development

PARIS 14th December 1960

THE GOVERNMENTS of the Republic of Austria, the Kingdom of Belgium, Canada, the Kingdom of Denmark, the French Republic, the Federal Republic of Germany, the Kingdom of Greece, the Republic of Iceland, Ireland, the Italian Republic, the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, the Kingdom of the Netherlands, the Kingdom of Norway, the Portuguese Republic, Spain, the Kingdom of Sweden, the Swiss Confederation, the Turkish Republic, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and the United States of America;

CONSIDERING that economic strength and prosperity are essential for the attainment of the purposes of the United Nations, the preservation of individual liberty and the increase of general well-being;

BELIEVING that they can further these aims most effectively by strengthening the tradition of co-operation which has evolved among them;

RECOGNISING that the economic recovery and progress of Europe to which their participation in the Organisation for European Economic Co-operation has made a major contribution, have opened new perspectives for strengthening that tradition and applying it to new tasks and broader objectives;

CONVINCED that broader co-operation will make a vital contribution to peaceful and harmonious relations among the peoples of the world;

RECOGNISING the increasing interdependence of their economies;

DETERMINED by consultation and co-operation to use more effectively their capacities and potentialities so as to promote the highest sustainable growth of their economies and improve the economic and social well-being of their peoples;

BELIEVING that the economically more advanced nations should co-operate in assisting to the best of their ability the countries in process of economic development;

RECOGNISING that the further expansion of world trade is one of the most important factors favouring the economic development of countries and the improvement of international economic relations; and

DETERMINED to pursue these purposes in a manner consistent with their obligations in other international organisations or institutions in which they participate or under agreements to which they are a party;

HAVE THEREFORE AGREED on the following provisions for the reconstitution of the Organisation for European Economic Co-operation as the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development:

Article 1

The aims of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (hereinafter called the "Organisation") shall be to promote policies designed:

(a) to achieve the highest sustainable economic growth and employment and a rising standard of living in Member countries, while maintaining financial stability, and thus to contribute to the development of the world economy;

(b) to contribute to sound economic expansion in Member as well as non-member countries in the process of economic development; and

(c) to contribute to the expansion of world trade on a multilateral, non-discriminatory basis in accordance with international obligations.

Article 2

In the pursuit of these aims, the Members agree that they will, both individually and jointly:

(a) promote the efficient use of their economic resources;

(b) in the scientific and technological field, promote the development of their resources, encourage research and promote vocational training;

(c) pursue policies designed to achieve economic growth and internal and external financial stability and to avoid developments which might endanger their economies or those of other countries;

(d) pursue their efforts to reduce or abolish obstacles to the exchange of goods and services and current payments and maintain and extend the liberalisation of capital movements; and

(e) contribute to the economic development of both Member and non-member countries in the process of economic development by appropriate means and, in particular, by the flow of capital to those countries, having regard to the importance to their economies of receiving technical assistance and of securing expanding export markets.

Article 3

With a view to achieving the aims set out in Article 1 and to fulfilling the undertakings contained in Article 2, the Members agree that they will:

(a) keep each other informed and furnish the Organisation with the information necessary for the accomplishment of its tasks;

(b) consult together on a continuing basis, carry out studies and participate in agreed projects; and

(c) co-operate closely and where appropriate take co-ordinated action.

Article 4

The Contracting Parties to this Convention shall be Members of the Organisation.

Article 5

In order to achieve its aims, the Organisation may:

(a) take decisions which, except as otherwise provided, shall be binding on all the Members;

(b) make recommendations to Members; and

(c) enter into agreements with Members, non-member States and international organisations.

Article 6

1. Unless the Organisation otherwise agrees unanimously for special cases, decisions shall be taken and recommendations shall be made by mutual agreement of all the Members.

2. Each Member shall have one vote. If a Member abstains from voting on a decision or recommendation, such abstention shall not invalidate the decision or recommendation, which shall be applicable to the other Members but not to the abstaining Member.

3. No decision shall be binding on any Member until it has complied with the requirements of its own constitutional procedures. The other Members may agree that such a decision shall apply provisionally to them.

Article 7

A Council composed of all the Members shall be the body from which all acts of the Organisation derive. The Council may meet in sessions of Ministers or of Permanent Representatives.

Article 8

The Council shall designate each year a Chairman, who shall preside at its ministerial sessions, and two Vice-Chairmen. The Chairman may be designated to serve one additional consecutive term.

Article 9

The Council may establish an Executive Committee and such subsidiary bodies as may be required for the achievement of the aims of the Organisation.

Article 10

1. A Secretary-General responsible to the Council shall be appointed by the Council for a term of five years. He shall be assisted by one or more Deputy Secretaries-General or Assistant Secretaries-General appointed by the Council on the recommendation of the Secretary-General.

2. The Secretary-General shall serve as Chairman of the Council meeting at sessions of Permanent Representatives. He shall assist the Council in all appropriate ways and may submit proposals to the Council or to any other body of the Organisation.

Article 11

1. The Secretary-General shall appoint such staff as the Organisation may require in accordance with plans of organisation approved by the Council. Staff regulations shall be subject to approval by the Council.

2. Having regard to the international character of the Organisation, the Secretary-General, the Deputy or Assistant Secretaries-General and the staff shall neither seek nor receive instructions from any of the Members or from any Government or authority external to the Organisation.

Article 12

Upon such terms and conditions as the Council may determine, the Organisation may:

(a) address communications to non-member States or organisations;

(b) establish and maintain relations with non-member States or organisations; and

(c) invite non-member Governments or organisations to participate in activities of the Organisation.

Article 13

Representation in the Organisation of the European Communities established by the Treaties of Paris and Rome of 18th April, 1951, and 25th March, 1957, shall be as defined in Supplementary Protocol No. 1 to this Convention.

Article 14

1. This Convention shall be ratified or accepted by the Signatories in accordance with their respective constitutional requirements.

2. Instruments of ratification or acceptance shall be deposited with the Government of the French Republic, hereby designated as depositary Government.

3. This Convention shall come into force:

a) before 30th September, 1961, upon the deposit of instruments of ratification or acceptance by all the Signatories; or

(b) on 30th September, 1961, if by that date fifteen Signatories or more have deposited such instruments as regards those Signatories; and thereafter as regards any other Signatory upon the deposit of its instrument of ratification or acceptance;

(c) after 30th September, 1961, but not later than two years from the signature of this Convention, upon the deposit of such instruments by fifteen Signatories, as regards those Signatories; and thereafter as regards any other Signatory upon the deposit of its instrument of ratification or acceptance.

4. Any Signatory which has not deposited its instrument of ratification or acceptance when the Convention comes into force may take part in the activities of the Organisation upon conditions to be determined by agreement between the Organisation and such Signatory.

Article 15

When this Convention comes into force the reconstitution of the Organisation for European Economic Co-operation shall take effect, and its aims, organs, powers and name shall thereupon be as provided herein. The legal personality possessed by the Organisation for European Economic Co-operation shall continue in the Organisation, but decisions, recommendations and resolutions of the Organisation for European Economic Co-operation shall require approval of the Council to be effective after the coming into force of this Convention.

Article 16

The Council may decide to invite any Government prepared to assume the obligations of membership to accede to this Convention. Such decisions shall be unanimous, provided that for any particular case the Council may unanimously decide to permit abstention, in which case, notwithstanding the provisions of Article 6, the decision shall be applicable to all the Members. Accession shall take effect upon the deposit of an instrument of accession with the depositary Government.

Article 17

Any Contracting Party may terminate the application of this Convention to itself by giving twelve months' notice to that effect to the depositary Government.

Article 18

The Headquarters of the Organisation shall be in Paris, unless the Council agrees otherwise.

Article 19

The legal capacity of the Organisation and the privileges, exemptions, and immunities of the Organisation, its officials and representatives to it of the Members shall be as provided in Supplementary Protocol No. 2 to this Convention.

Article 20

1. Each year, in accordance with Financial Regulations adopted by the Council, the Secretary-General shall present to the Council for approval an annual budget, accounts, and such subsidiary budgets as the Council shall request.

2. General expenses of the Organisation, as agreed by the Council, shall be apportioned in accordance with a scale to be decided upon by the Council. Other expenditure shall be financed on such basis as the Council may decide.

Article 21

Upon the receipt of any instrument of ratification, acceptance or accession, or of any notice of termination, the depositary Government shall give notice thereof to all the Contracting Parties and to the Secretary-General of the Organisation.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the undersigned Plenipotentiaries, duly empowered, have appended their signatures to this Convention.

DONE in Paris, this fourteenth day of December, Nineteen Hundred and Sixty, in the English and French languages, both texts being equally authentic, in a single copy which shall be deposited with the depositary Government, by whom certified copies will be communicated to all the Signatories.

 

Supplementary Protocol No. 1 to the Convention on the OECD

14 December 1960

THE SIGNATORIES of the Convention on the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development;

HAVE AGREED as follows:

1. Representation in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development of the European Communities established by the Treaties of Paris and Rome of 18th April, 1951, and 25th March, 1957, shall be determined in accordance with the institutional provisions of those Treaties.

2. The Commissions of the European Economic Community and of the European Atomic Energy Community as well as the High Authority of the European Coal and Steel Community shall take part in the work of that Organisation.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the undersigned Plenipotentiaries, duly empowered, have appended their signatures to this Protocol.

DONE in Paris, this fourteenth day of December, Nineteen Hundred and Sixty, in the English and French languages, both texts being equally authentic, in a single copy which shall be deposited with the Government of the French Republic, by whom certified copies will be communicated to all the Signatories.

 

Supplementary Protocol No. 2 to the Convention on the OECD

Paris, 14 December 1960

THE SIGNATORIES of the Convention on the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (hereinafter called the "Organisation");

HAVE AGREED as follows:

The Organisation shall have legal capacity and the Organisation, its officials, and representatives to it of the Members shall be entitled to privileges, exemptions, and immunities as follows:

(a) in the territory of the Contracting Parties to the Convention for European Economic Co-operation of 16th April, 1948, the legal capacity, privileges, exemptions, and immunities provided for in Supplementary Protocol No. 1 to that Convention;

(b) in Canada, the legal capacity, privileges, exemptions, and immunities provided for in any agreement or arrangement on legal capacity, privileges, exemptions, and immunities entered into between the Government of Canada and the Organisation;

(c) in the United States, the legal capacity, privileges, exemptions, and immunities under the International Organisations Immunities Act provided for in Executive Order No. 10133 of 27th June, 1950; and

(d) elsewhere, the legal capacity, privileges, exemptions, and immunities provided for in any agreement or arrangement on legal capacity, privileges, exemptions, and immunities entered into between the Government concerned and the Organisation.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the undersigned Plenipotentiaries, duly empowered, have appended their signatures to this Protocol.

DONE in Paris, this fourteenth day of December, Nineteen Hundred and Sixty, in the English and French languages, both texts being equally authentic, in a single copy which shall be deposited with the Government of the French Republic, by whom certified copies will be communicated to all the Signatories.

 

Supplementary Protocol No. 1 to the Convention for European Economic Co-operation on the Legal Capacity, Privileges and Immunities of the Organisation

PARIS, 16 April 1948

The Government and Authorities signatories to the Convention for European Economic Cooperation;
CONSIDERING that according to the provisions of Article 22 of the Convention, the Organisation for European Economic Co-operation shall enjoy in the territory of each of its Members such legal capacity as may be necessary for the exercise of its functions and the fulfillment of its purposes, and that the Organisation, its officials, and representatives of the Members of the Organisation shall be entitled to the privileges and immunities set out in a Supplementary Protocol;

HAVE AGREED on the following provisions:

PART I: Personality, Capacity

Article 1

The Organisation shall possess juridical personality. It shall have the capacity to conclude contracts, to acquire and dispose of movable and immovable property and to institute legal proceedings.

PART II: Property, Funds and Assets

Article 2

The Organisation, its property and assets wherever located and by whomsoever held, shall enjoy immunity from every form of legal process except insofar as in any particular case it has expressly waived its immunity. It is, however, understood that no waiver of immunity shall extend to any measure of execution.

Article 3

The premises of the Organisation shall be inviolable. The property and assets of the Organisation, wherever located and by whomsoever held, shall be immune from search, requisition, confiscation, expropriation and any other form of interference, whether by executive, administrative, judicial or legislative action.

Article 4

The archives of the Organisation, and in general all documents belonging to it or held by it, shall be inviolable wherever located.

Article 5

Without being restricted by financial controls, regulations or moratoria of any kind:

(a) the Organisation may hold currency of any kind and operate accounts in any currency;

(b) the Organisation may freely transfer its funds from one country to another or within any country and convert any currency held by it into any other currency.

Article 6

The Organisation, its assets, income and other property shall be:

(a) exempt from all direct taxes; it is understood, however, that the Organisation will not claim exemption from rates and taxes which are in fact no more than charges for public utility services;

(b) exempt from customs duties and prohibitions and restrictions on imports and exports in respect of articles imported or exported by the Organisation for its official use. It is understood however that articles imported under such exemption will not be sold in the country into which they were imported except under conditions agreed with the Government of that country;

(c) exempt from customs duties and prohibitions and restrictions on imports and exports in respect of its publications.

Article 7

While the Organisation will not, as a general rule, claim exemption from excise duties and from taxes on the sale of movable and immovable property which forms part of the price to be paid, nevertheless when the Organisation is making important purchases for official use of property on which such duties and taxes have been charged or are chargeable, Members will, whenever possible, make appropriate administrative arrangements for the remission or return of the amount of duty or tax.

PART III: Facilities in Respect of Communications

Article 8

The Organisation shall enjoy in the territory of each Member, for its official communications, treatment not less favourable than that accorded by the Government of that Member to any other Government including its diplomatic mission in the matter of priorities, rates and taxes on mails, cables, telegrams, radiograms, telephotos, telephone and other communications and press rates for information to the press and radio. No censorship shall be applied to the official correspondence and other official communications of the Organisation.

PART IV: The Representatives of Members

Article 9

Representatives of Members to the principal and subsidiary organs of the Organisation shall, while exercising their functions and during their journey to and from the place of meeting, enjoy the privileges, immunities and facilities normally enjoyed by diplomatic envoys of comparable rank.

Article 10

Privileges, immunities and facilities are accorded to the representatives of Members not for the personal benefit of the individuals concerned, but in order to safeguard the independent exercise of their functions in connection with the Organisation. Consequently, a Member has not only the right but the duty to waive the immunity of its representative in any case where, in the opinion of the Member, the immunity would impede the course of justice, and it can be waived without prejudice to the purpose for which the immunity is accorded.

Article 11

The provisions of Article 9 are not applicable as between a representative and the authorities of the State of which he is a national or of which he is or has been the representative.

Article 12

In this Part IV the expression shall be deemed to include all delegates, alternates, advisers, technical experts and secretaries of delegations.

PART V: Officials

Article 13

The Secretary-General will specify the categories of officials to which the provisions of this Part V shall apply. He shall submit a list of these categories to the Council. Thereafter this list shall be communicated to all Members. The names of the officials included in these categories shall from time to time be made known to Members.

Article 14

Officials of the Organisation shall:

(a) be immune from legal process in respect of things done by them in their official capacity; they shall continue to be so immune after completion of their functions as officials of the Organisation;

(b) enjoy the same exemption from taxation in respect of the salaries and emoluments paid to them as is enjoyed by officials of the principal International Organisations and on the same conditions;

(c) be immune, together with their spouses and dependent relatives, from immigration restrictions and alien registration;

(d) be accorded the same privileges in respect of exchange facilities as are accorded to the officials of comparable rank forming a part of diplomatic missions;

(e) be given, together with their spouses and dependent relatives, the same repatriation facilities in time of international crisis as members of diplomatic missions;

(f) have the right to import free of duty their furniture and effects at the time of first taking up their post in the country in question.

Article 15

In addition to the privileges, immunities, exemptions and facilities specified in Article 14, the Secretary-General shall be accorded in respect of himself, his spouse and children under the age of 21, the privileges, immunities, exemptions and facilities accorded to heads of diplomatic missions in conformity with international law.

The Deputy Secretaries-General shall enjoy the privileges, immunities, exemptions and facilities accorded to diplomatic representatives of comparable rank.

Article 16

Privileges, immunities and facilities are granted to officials in the interests of the Organisation and not for the personal benefit of the individuals concerned. The Secretary-General shall have the right and the duty to waive the immunity of any official in any case where, in his opinion, the immunity would impede the course of justice and can be waived without prejudice to the interests of the Organisation. In the case of the Secretary-General and the Deputy Secretaries-General the Council shall have the right to waive immunity.

Article 17

The Organisation shall co-operate at all times with the appropriate authorities of Members to facilitate the proper administration of justice, secure the observance of police regulations and prevent the occurrence of any abuse in connection with the privileges, immunities, exemptions and facilities mentioned in this Part V.

PART VI: Experts on Missions for the Organisation

Article 18

Experts (other than officials coming within the scope of Part V) performing missions for the Organisation shall be accorded such privileges, immunities and facilities as are necessary for the independent exercise of their functions during the period of their missions, including the time spent on journeys in connection with their missions. In particular they shall be accorded:

(a) immunity from personal arrest or detention and from seizure of their baggage;

(b) in respect of things done by them in the course of the performance of their mission, immunity from legal process of every kind;

(c) inviolability for all papers and documents.

Article 19

Privileges, immunities and facilities are granted to experts in the interests of the Organisation and not for the personal benefit of the individuals concerned. The Secretary-General shall have the right and the duty to waive the immunity of any expert in any case where, in his opinion, the immunity would impede the course of justice and it can be waived without prejudice to the interests of the Organisation.

PART VII: Supplementary Agreements

Article 20

The Organisation may conclude with any Member or Members supplementary agreements adjusting the provisions of the present Protocol so far as that Member or those Members are concerned.

In faith whereof the undersigned Plenipotentiaries, being duly authorised to that effect, have signed the present Protocol.

Done in Paris this sixteenth day of April, Nineteen Hundred and Forty Eight, in the English and French languages, both texts being equally authentic, in a single copy which shall remain deposited in the Archives of the Government of the French Republic, by which certified copies will be communicated to all the other Signatories.