On the ratification of the Agreement between the Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan and the Government of the Republic of Armenia on the Promotion and Mutual Protection of Investments

Home / RLA / On the ratification of the Agreement between the Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan and the Government of the Republic of Armenia on the Promotion and Mutual Protection of Investments

Law of the Republic of Kazakhstan dated May 22, 2010 No. 278-IV

To ratify the Agreement between the Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan and the Government of the Republic of Armenia on the Promotion and Mutual Protection of Investments, signed in Astana on November 6, 2006.

President of the Republic of Kazakhstan N. Nazarbayev

Agreement between the Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan and By the Government of the Republic of Armenia on the Promotion and Mutual Protection of Investments

(Official website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan - Entered into force on August 1, 2010)

The Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan and the Government of the Republic of Armenia, hereinafter referred to as the Parties, recognizing the need to protect the investments of investors of one Party in the territory of the other Party on a non-discriminatory basis; wishing to promote the expansion of economic cooperation in the field of investments of individuals and legal entities of one Party in the territory of the other Party; recognizing that the agreement on the treatment provided to such investments will to stimulate the flow of private capital and economic development of the Parties; Agreeing that a stable investment framework will contribute to maximizing the efficient use of economic resources and improve living standards, recognizing that the development of economic and business ties can promote respect for internationally recognized labor rights; agreeing that these goals can be achieved without general measures that weaken health, safety and environmental protection Wednesday, agreed on the following:

Article 1 Definitions

For the purposes of this Agreement, 1. The term "investment" means any type of assets invested or invested by investors of one Party for business purposes in accordance with the national legislation of the State of the other Party in the territory of the latter, as well as the rights resulting therefrom, and in particular, but not exclusively, may include: (a) movable and immovable property or any property rights such as leases, mortgages, retention of title and mortgages; (b) shares, shares, debentures and any other forms of participation in companies; (c) monetary claims or any performance under the contract that has economic value; (d) intellectual property rights, including copyrights, trademarks, patents, industrial designs and technical processes, know-how, trade secrets, trade names and goodwill; (e) concessions that are granted in accordance with by law or in accordance with an agreement, including concessions for the exploration, development, extraction or use of natural resources. Any change in the form of investments that has occurred in accordance with the national legislation of the State hosting investments in its territory does not affect their definition as investments. 2. The term "investor" means an entity of the State of one Party that invests in the territory of the State of the other Party in accordance with the national legislation of the State of the latter Party and the provisions of this Agreement, and includes: (a) any natural person who is a national of the State of either Party and is authorized in accordance with the national legislation of his State to make investments; (b) any legal entity established and registered in accordance with the national legislation of the State of the Party and authorized to make investments. 3. The term "income" means the funds received as a result of the investment, including profits, interest, dividends, royalties, royalties and other payments. 4. The term "territory" means the territory of the State of one of the Parties within the land, sea and air borders, including land, waters, subsoil and airspace over which the State of the relevant Party exercises sovereignty and extends its jurisdiction in accordance with the norms of international law. 5. The term "good villa" means: (a) the notional value of the firm's business ties, the price of accumulated intangible assets, the monetary valuation of intangible capital - the prestige of the brand, the experience of business relationships, stable clientele, as well as managerial, organizational and technical resources, reputation in the financial world, the mechanism for controlling sales activities; (b) intangible fixed capital, assets such as the difference between the price of the enterprise as a whole and the price of the real fixed capital. A negative intangible asset is the difference between the selling and book values of an enterprise.

Article 2 Investment promotion and protection

1. Each Party encourages and creates favorable conditions in its territory for investments by investors of the other Party's State and allows such investments in accordance with the national legislation of its State. 2. Each Party in the territory of its State provides investments and income from investments of investors of the other Party's State with fair and equal treatment, as well as full, permanent protection and security. 3. No Party on the territory of its State shall, by unreasonable, discriminatory or arbitrary measures, prevent the increase, management, preservation, use, possession, sale or other disposal of investments by investors of the other Party's State.

Article 3 Legal regime

1. Each Party provides investors of the other Party's State, their investments and investment income, with treatment no less favorable than that it provides to national investors or third-country investors and their investments with respect to expansion, management, maintenance, use, ownership, sale or other disposal of investments. 2. Each Party to this Agreement reserves the right, in accordance with the national legislation of its State, to determine the industries, areas and types of activities in which the activities of investors are limited and (or) excluded.

Article 4 Release

The provisions of this Agreement shall not be interpreted as obliging a Party to provide investors of the other Party's State and their investments and investment income with existing or future benefits of any regime, preference or privilege resulting from: (a) membership in a free trade area, a customs union, a monetary union, a common market, and any international treaty to which a State of either Party is a party, leading to such unions or similar organizations; (b) any international agreement or national legislation of the State of the Party relating wholly or primarily to taxation.

Article 5 Expropriation and compensation

1. Any Party shall not expropriate or nationalize, directly or indirectly, the investments of an investor of the other Party's State or take any such measures (hereinafter referred to as expropriation), except for those taken: (a) for state and public purposes; (b) in a non-discriminatory manner; (c) in accordance with due process of law; (d) with payment of provisional, adequate and effective compensation in accordance with paragraphs 2 and 3 of this article. 2. The compensation must: (a) be paid without delay. In the event of a delay, any loss related to the exchange rate resulting from this delay will be borne by the receiving Party; (b) equal to the fair market value of the expropriated investment on the date preceding the date of expropriation. The fair market value should not reflect any change in value due to the fact that the expropriation became publicly known earlier; (c) be fully realizable and freely transferable; (d) include interest at the commercial rate established on a market basis for the currency of payment from the date of expropriation to the date of actual payment. 3. An investor of the State of any Party who claims to have suffered from the expropriation of the other Party should have the right to an urgent review of his case, including an assessment of his investments and compensation in accordance with the provisions of this article, by a judicial authority or other competent and independent authority of the State of the latter Party.

Article 6 Compensation of losses

1. To investors of the State of one Party whose investments in the territory of the State of the other Party have suffered losses as a result of war or other armed conflicts, a state of emergency, rebellion, insurrection, rebellion in the territory of the State of the latter Party, the latter Party shall provide, in respect of restitution, compensation, compensation or other settlement, a regime no less favorable than that provided by the latter Party to its to investors or investors of any third country that is most favorable for the investor. 2. To any investor of the State of the Party who, in any of the cases referred to in paragraph 1, incurs losses due to: (a) the confiscation of his investment or part of it by the forces or authorities of the other Party, or (b) the destruction of the investment or part of it by the forces or authorities of the other Party, which was not required by the necessity of the situation, in any case, restitution or compensation must be provided by the latter Party, which in any case must be prompt, adequate and effective. In this case, compensation must be provided in accordance with paragraphs 2 and 3 of Article 5.

Article 7 Translations

1. Each Party, in accordance with the national legislation of its State, shall ensure to investors of the State of the other Party the transfer to and from its territory of their investments and transferable payments related to investments. Such payments should include, in particular, but not exclusively: (a) initial capital and additional amounts to maintain or increase the contribution; (b) income; (c) proceeds from the full or partial sale or liquidation of investments; (d) payments made under the contract, including loans; (e) compensation paid in accordance with articles 5 and 6; (f) payments arising from the dispute; (g) salaries and other remuneration for personnel employed abroad and working in connection with investments. 2. Each Party shall ensure that the transfer referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article is made in freely convertible currency at the market exchange rate of the State of the Party in whose territory the investment was made effective on the day of the transfer. 3. In the absence of an exchange market for foreign currency, the exchange rate to be applied should be the most recent exchange rate for the transfer of currency to the special drawing rights of the International Monetary Fund. 4. Without prejudice to paragraphs 1, 2 and 3 of this Article, any Party may restrict the transfer by fair, non-discriminatory and fair application of the laws of its State relating to: (a) bankruptcy, insolvency or protection of creditors' rights; (b) issuance, trading or transactions in securities and derivative financial instruments; (c) offenses; (d) financial reporting or accounting of transfers when assistance is needed to implement the law or financial regulatory authorities; (e) enforcement of orders or court decisions in judicial or administrative proceedings; (f) non-payment taxes and other mandatory payments.

Article 8 Subrogation

If a Party or its authorized body makes payments in accordance with a refund, guarantee or insurance contract given in respect of an investor's investments in the territory of the other Party's State, the latter Party must recognize the transfer of any rights and claims of such investor to the first Party or an authority designated by it for the exercise of any rights and claims by virtue of subrogation to the same extent as and their predecessor.

Article 9 Disputes between an investor and a Party

1. Any dispute concerning investments between the State of one Party and the investor of the State of the other Party, if possible, should be settled through negotiations. 2. If the dispute is not resolved in writing within 3 months from the date of its occurrence, the dispute may, at the option of the investor or one of the Parties, be sent for consideration: (a) to the competent courts of the State of the Party in whose territory the investments were made, or (b) to arbitration at the International Center for Settlement of Investment Disputes, established in in accordance with the Convention on the Settlement of Investment Disputes between States and Natural or Legal Persons of Other States, opened for signature in Washington on March 18, 1965 (hereinafter - International Center), or (c) to arbitration in accordance with the additional services of the International Center, if only one of the Parties is a party to the Convention referred to in subparagraph (b) of this paragraph, or (d) to any "ad hoc" arbitration court, which, unless otherwise agreed by the parties to the dispute, is established in accordance with the arbitration rules of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL). 3. An investor who has referred a dispute to a national court may, nevertheless, apply to one of the arbitration tribunals referred to in subparagraph (b) of paragraph 2 or subparagraph (c) of paragraph 2 of this article if, before making a decision on the subject matter of consideration by the national court, the investor declares that he will no longer continue the case. through national judicial procedures and will withdraw the case. 4. Any arbitration under this article must, at the request of any Party to the dispute, be conducted in a State that is a party to Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards, adopted in New York City on June 10, 1958 (hereinafter - the New York Convention). Claims submitted to arbitration pursuant to this article should be considered as arising from commercial (trade) relations or contracts for the purposes of article 1 of the New York Convention. 5. Each Party hereby gives its unconditional consent to submit the dispute between it and the investor of the other Party's State to arbitration in accordance with this article. 6. None of the Parties to the dispute may raise objections at any stage of the arbitration proceedings or the enforcement of the award, or indicate that the investor, who is a party to the dispute, has received compensation covering part or all of the losses due to insurance. 7. The decision must be final and binding on the parties to the dispute and must be enforced in accordance with the national legislation of the State of the Party in whose territory the decision is being made by the competent authority of the Party.

Article 10 Settlement of disputes between the Parties

1. Disputes between the Parties regarding the interpretation and application of this Agreement should, if possible, be resolved through negotiations and consultations. 2. If the dispute cannot be resolved in this way within six (6) months from the date on which such negotiations were requested by either Party in writing, it must be submitted to the arbitral tribunal at the request of either Party. 3. Such an arbitration court should be established for each individual case as follows. Within two (2) months of receiving the request for arbitration, each Party shall appoint one member of the court. These two members must then select a third-country national as Chairman, who, after approval by the Parties, must be appointed within four (4) months from the date of appointment of the other two members. 4. If the necessary appointments have not been made within the period specified in paragraph 3 of this Article, either Party, in the absence of any other agreement, shall invite the President of the International Court of Justice to make the necessary appointments. If the Chairman is a national of the State of either Party or another circumstance prevents the performance of the specified function, the next oldest member of the International Court of Justice, who is not a citizen of the State of either Party or another circumstance does not prevent the performance of the specified function, should be invited to make the necessary appointments. 5. The arbitration court must make a decision by a majority vote. The court's decision must be final and binding on both Parties. Each Party shall bear the costs of its appointed member and its representation in the arbitration process. Both Parties shall bear the expenses of the Chairman in equal shares, as well as other expenses. The court may make a different decision regarding the division of costs. In all other respects, the arbitral tribunal shall determine its own rules of procedure. 6. Disputes related to the dispute referred to in paragraph 1 of this article shall be resolved in accordance with the provisions of this Agreement and generally recognized principles of international law.

Article 11 Expenses

The Parties shall independently bear the costs that will arise in the course of their implementation of this Agreement, within the limits of the funds provided for by the national legislation of the States of the Parties, unless a different procedure is agreed in each specific case.

Article 12 Application of other rules and special obligations

1. If the provisions of the law of the State of either Party or international treaties contain rules, general or special, providing investments made by investors of the State of the other Party with a more favorable regime than provided by this Agreement, then the investor of the State of the latter Party is provided with a more favorable regime. 2. Each Party must comply with any obligation it may have with respect to a particular investment by an investor of the other Party's State.

Article 13 Applicability of this Agreement

This Agreement applies to all investments made by investors of the State of either Party in the territory of the State of the other Party both before and after the entry into force of this Agreement, but should not apply to any dispute or claim related to investments that arose and (or) was settled before the entry into force of this Agreement.

Article 14 General exceptions

1. Nothing in this Agreement shall be interpreted as preventing one of the Parties from taking actions necessary to protect national security or measures to maintain public order, provided that such measures are not applied. Parties to arbitrary or unjustified discriminatory forms or hidden investment restrictions. 2. The provisions of this article shall not apply to subparagraph (e) of paragraph 1 of Article 7 of this Agreement.

Article 15 Transparency

1. Each Party must immediately publish or otherwise make publicly available its laws and regulations, as well as international treaties that may relate to investments by an investor of the other Party's State in the territory of the recipient State. 2. Nothing in this Agreement shall require a Party to provide or allow access to any confidential or proprietary information, including information related to investors and their investments, the disclosure of which would interfere with law enforcement or would be contrary to its right protecting confidentiality, or would prejudice the legitimate interests of individual investors.

Article 16 Consultations

The Parties, at the request of either Party, shall consult on any controversial issue concerning the interpretation and application of this Agreement. The place and time of consultations are agreed upon by the competent authorities of the Parties through diplomatic channels.

Article 17 Amendment, entry into force and termination

1. By mutual agreement of the Parties, amendments and additions may be made to this Agreement, which are formalized in separate protocols that are integral parts of this Agreement. 2. This Agreement shall enter into force on the first day of the second month after the date of receipt by the Parties of the last written notification through diplomatic channels on the completion of the internal procedures necessary for its entry into force and shall be valid for an indefinite period. 3. This Agreement is valid until the expiration of twelve months from the date of receipt by one Party of a written notification to the other Party of its intention to terminate this Agreement. 4. With respect to investments made prior to the date of termination of this Agreement, the provisions of articles 1-16 shall remain in force for a further 10-year period from the date of termination of this Agreement.

Done in Astana on November 6, 2006, in two copies each in the Kazakh, Armenian and Russian languages, all texts are equally authentic. In case of different interpretation of the provisions of this Agreement, the Parties will refer to the text in Russian.

For the Government For the Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan of the Republic of Armenia

Note. RCPI. The following is the text of the Agreement in Armenian.

President

Republic of Kazakhstan

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