On Ratification of the Protocol on Amendments to the Agreement on the Status of the Economic Court of the Commonwealth of Independent States dated July 6, 1992

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The Law of the Republic of Kazakhstan dated June 13, 2018 No. 158-VI SAM.

To ratify the Protocol on Amendments to the Agreement on the Status of the Economic Court of the Commonwealth of Independent States dated July 6, 1992, signed in Minsk on September 13, 2017.

President of the Republic of Kazakhstan

N. NAZARBAYEV

PROTOCOL on Amendments to the Agreement on the Status of the Economic Court of the Commonwealth of Independent States dated July 6, 1992

(Entered into force on February 7, 2019 - Bulletin of International Treaties of the Republic of Kazakhstan 2019, No. 1, Article 9)

The States Parties to this Protocol, hereinafter referred to as the Parties,

Guided by article 39 of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties of May 23, 1969,

We have agreed on the following:

Article 1

In article 2 of the Agreement on the Status of the Economic Court of the Commonwealth of Independent States of July 6, 1992 (hereinafter referred to as the Agreement), the word "composition" should be replaced by the words "register of judges".

Article 2

Article 3 of the Agreement should be worded as follows:

"The seat of the Economic Court of the Commonwealth of Independent States is the city of Minsk, Republic of Belarus."

Article 3

Add the following Article 3.1 to the Agreement:

"Article 3.1

The Economic Court of the Commonwealth of Independent States is financed by the participating States from the unified budget of the CIS bodies through shared contributions, the amount of which is determined by the Council of Heads of Government of the Commonwealth of Independent States."

Article 4

To supplement the Agreement with Article 3.2 as follows:

"Article 3.2

The Economic Court of the Commonwealth of Independent States carries out its activities to consider specific cases in the ad hoc format.

The Chairman of the Economic Court of the Commonwealth of Independent States carries out activities at the seat of the Economic Court of the Commonwealth of Independent States on a permanent basis.

The Economic Court of the Commonwealth of Independent States meets at its place of residence to consider specific cases in chambers of three judges."

Article 5

Article 4 of the Agreement should be worded as follows:

"This Agreement for the signatory States of this Agreement shall enter into force from the date of its signature. For States whose legislation requires the ratification of such agreements, from the date of deposit of the instruments of ratification.

After its entry into force, this Agreement is open for accession by any member State of the Commonwealth of Independent States by submitting an instrument of accession to the depositary.

For the acceding State, this Agreement shall enter into force 30 days after the date of receipt by the depositary of the instrument of accession."

Article 6

Paragraph 6 of the Regulation on the Economic Court of the Commonwealth of Independent States (hereinafter referred to as the Regulation) should be deleted.

Article 7

Paragraph 7 of the Regulation should read as follows:

"The register of judges of the Economic Court is formed from among persons who are highly qualified specialists in the field of international law and meet the requirements, as a rule, required for appointment to senior judicial positions or senior positions of public service in the field of law.

Judges of the Economic Court are elected (appointed) to the register of judges of the Economic Court in accordance with the procedure provided for in the participating States for a period of ten years. The relevant notification on the election (appointment) of judges is sent by the State Party to the Economic Court for inclusion in the register of judges.

The powers of a judge of the Economic Court are terminated on the following grounds:

termination of the activity of the Economic Court;

expiration of a judge's term of office;

written statement of the judge on termination of his powers;

loss by a judge of the nationality of the State party to which the judge is represented;

engaging in activities incompatible with the powers of a judge;

inability to exercise the powers of a judge for health reasons or for other valid reasons;

the commission by a judge of a serious misconduct incompatible with the high status of a judge;

the entry into force of a court verdict of conviction against a judge or a court decision on the application of compulsory medical measures to him;

the entry into force of a court decision on the limitation of a judge's legal capacity or on the recognition of his incapacity;

the death of a judge or the entry into force of a court decision declaring him dead or declaring him missing.

The initiative to terminate the powers of a judge of the Economic Court may come from the State Party that appointed the judge, the Economic Court, or the judge himself. The decision to terminate the powers of a judge of the Economic Court is made by the State Party that appointed the judge.

Upon the expiration or termination of their powers, the judges of the Economic Court, with the exception of the cases provided for in paragraphs six, eight and nine of Part three of this paragraph, shall be subject to the guarantees provided for by the legislation of the participating States."

Article 8

Paragraph 8 of the Regulation should read as follows:

"Judges of the Economic Court, during the exercise of their powers to consider cases, as well as when exercising the powers of the Chairman of the Economic Court, are independent and inviolable, should not seek or receive instructions from any state and international bodies and organizations, commercial structures, political parties and movements, as well as individuals.

During the exercise of their powers, the President of the Economic Court and the judges of the Economic Court shall enjoy immunity from the jurisdiction of the participating States, namely:

a) are not subject to criminal, civil and administrative liability for what they have said or written and for all actions committed by them as judges of the Economic Court;

b) are exempt from taxation of wages and other remuneration paid by the Economic Court;

c) are exempt from immigration restrictions, registration as foreigners, and state service obligations in the State in which they temporarily reside while performing their duties as judges of the Economic Court;

d) enjoy the same repatriation benefits enjoyed by diplomatic representatives during international crises in the State in which they temporarily reside in the performance of their duties as judges of the Economic Court.

Subparagraph (b) does not apply to the Chairman of the Economic Court and judges who are citizens of the host State of the Economic Court.

Subparagraph (d) does not apply to the Chairman of the Economic Court and judges who are citizens of the State of residence of the Economic Court or permanently residing there."

Article 9

Add the following paragraph 8.1 to the Provision:

"8.1. The Chairman of the Economic Court and his deputy are elected by a majority vote of the members of the Plenum in accordance with the Rules of Procedure of the Plenum for a period of two years from among the judges included in the register of judges of the Economic Court."

Article 10

Add the following paragraph 8.2 to the Provision:

"8.2. To consider a dispute at the request of the interested State, the Chairman of the Economic Court shall form a chamber consisting of three judges. Each party to the dispute appoints one judge from the register of judges to the Chamber. The third judge of the Chamber, who performs the functions of the Chairman of the Chamber, is appointed by the Chairman of the Economic Court or performs these functions independently.

If the party to the dispute does not appoint a judge of the Chamber within 30 days from the date of receipt of the application to the Economic Court, the appointment is carried out by the Chairman of the Economic Court. The Dispute Resolution Chamber may not include more than one judge who has the nationality of the State party to the dispute.

The full composition of the Economic Court considers complaints against decisions of the Chambers of the Economic Court on newly discovered circumstances, on issues of legal qualification of the decisions made in accordance with the procedure established by the Rules of Procedure of the Economic Court. The full composition of the Economic Court is appointed by the Chairman of the Economic Court from among the judges included in the register of judges of the Economic Court, one from each Participating State. The State Party, whose judge has been elected Chairman of the Economic Court, is represented in the full composition of the Economic Court only by the Chairman.

A chamber of judges consisting of three judges is formed by the Chairman of the Economic Court to consider requests for interpretation. Judges for the examination of requests for interpretation are appointed to the Chamber by the Chairman of the Economic Court on a rotating basis. The chairman of the Chamber is determined in accordance with the procedure provided for by the Rules of Procedure of the Economic Court.

The time limits for judicial proceedings to consider disputes and requests for interpretation are established by the Rules of Procedure of the Economic Court, but should not exceed a total of six months from the date of the Economic Court's decision to accept the case for proceedings. At the request of one of the parties to the dispute, the Economic Court may extend the term of the proceedings if it is satisfied that the petition is sufficiently substantiated. Such deadlines should be as short as the nature of the case allows. In this case, the extension of the total duration of the proceedings in this case should not exceed three months.

When appealing a decision of the Chamber of the Economic Court on issues of legal qualification of the decision, the full composition of the Economic Court includes judges who did not participate in the consideration of the case, the decision on which is being appealed, with the exception of the Chairman of the Economic Court."

Article 11

Add the following paragraph 8.3 to the Provision:

"8.3. At the stage of preparing a case for consideration, the Economic Court uses only remote work tools without conducting oral hearings.

The Economic Court at the trial stage uses, as a rule, a written procedure for considering cases. Oral hearings may be held at the request of one of the parties to the dispute, and in cases of interpretation – on the initiative of one of the judges of the Chamber of Judges or on the initiative of the applicant.

The duration of oral hearings, including the decision–making procedure, in the framework of consideration of a single case may not exceed: for disputes – twenty days, and for interpretation - five days."

Article 12

Paragraph 10 of the Regulation should read as follows:

"The highest collegial body of the Economic Court is the Plenum. The Plenum consists of the Chairman and judges of the Economic Court, one from each participating State, with the exception of the State of which the Chairman of the Economic Court is a national, as well as the chairmen of the highest national courts with jurisdiction to consider economic disputes.

The Plenum:

Elects the Chairman and Deputy Chairman of the Economic Court;

Approves the Rules of Procedure of the Economic Court, the Rules of Procedure of the Plenum of the Economic Court;

Analyzes the practice and working methods of the Economic Court and makes recommendations based on the results of the analysis in order to improve its activities.;

Adopts recommendations on ensuring uniform practice in the application of international treaties and other acts of the Commonwealth bodies based on the results of the consideration of cases.;

Develops and submits proposals for the consideration of the Participating States on the elimination of conflicts in the legislation of the Participating States;

considers other issues related to the activities of the Economic Court.

The Plenum holds its meetings for a maximum of three days once every 12 months."

Article 13

Paragraph 12 of the Regulation should read as follows:

"Applying to the Economic Court is not subject to a fee. The funds recovered from the dispute in the form of court costs determined by the Economic Court are used to reimburse the expenses of the Economic Court.

The costs of the court costs in considering requests for interpretation shall be borne by the Economic Court.".

Article 14

Paragraph 13 of the Regulation should read as follows:

"A judge included in the register of judges of the Economic Court (except for the Chairman of the Economic Court) is paid remuneration for the consideration of each specific case, if he is not a person to whom such remuneration cannot be paid in connection with his main work (service).

During the period of their participation in the oral hearings on the consideration of the case, including the procedure for making a decision on the consideration of the case, and in the work of the Plenum, judges are provided with travel documents to and from the seat of the Economic Court (holding the Plenum), as well as living quarters, except when they permanently reside at the seat of the Economic Court (holding the Plenum).

During the period of participation in the oral hearings, including the decision-making procedure, judges of the Economic Court are provided with office administrative premises in the building of the Economic Court, transportation services and technical facilities necessary for the exercise of their powers to a reasonable extent.

The terms of remuneration of the Chairman of the Economic Court and the staff of the Economic Court, the amount of remuneration for the consideration of cases and the procedure for ensuring the activities of judges during their participation in oral hearings, including the procedure for making decisions, are determined by the Council of Heads of Government of the Commonwealth of Independent States."

Article 15

Paragraph 14 of the Regulation should read as follows:

"The Chairman of the Economic Court organizes the activities of the Economic Court, appoints judges to the chamber of the Economic Court to consider a specific application for dispute resolution or a request for interpretation, directs the office of the Economic Court and other functions within his competence.

In the absence of the Chairman of the Economic Court, his functions are performed by the Deputy Chairman of the Economic Court at his place of permanent residence using remote work facilities."

Article 16

To supplement the Provision with paragraph 14.1 as follows:

"14.1. The activities of the Economic Court are provided by the office of the Economic Court on an ongoing basis.

The office of the Economic Court performs the following functions:

preparation of case materials for consideration and sending them to the judges of the Chamber;

exercising, within the limits of their powers, interaction with judges, participating States, institutions of the Commonwealth of Independent States, participants in the process and other persons;

exercising the functions of the court session secretary;

preparation of sessions of the Economic Court and the Plenum of the Economic Court;

preparation of analytical materials on the activities of the Economic Court, including those related to its practice and working methods;

logistical support of the Economic Court;

resolving, within the limits of its powers, other issues related to ensuring the activities of the Economic Court.

The number of the Economic Court staff is approved by the Council of Heads of State of the Commonwealth of Independent States.

To ensure the activities of the Economic Court, administrative and technical personnel may be involved, the number of which is determined by the Council of Heads of Government of the Commonwealth of Independent States."

Article 17

This Protocol shall apply provisionally from the date of signature and shall enter into force 30 days after the date of receipt by the depositary of the third written notification on the completion by the Parties of the internal procedures necessary for its entry into force. For the Parties that have completed the internal procedures later, this Protocol shall enter into force 30 days after the date of receipt by the depositary of the relevant documents.

After its entry into force, this Protocol is open for accession by any State Party to the Agreement by submitting an instrument of accession to the depositary. For the acceding State, this Protocol shall enter into force 30 days after the date of receipt by the depositary of the instrument of accession.

Done in Russian in accordance with the procedure established by paragraph 9 of rule 7 of the Rules of Procedure of the Council of Heads of State, the Council of Heads of Government, the Council of Ministers of Foreign Affairs and the Economic Council of the Commonwealth of Independent States.

For the Republic of Azerbaijan

For the Russian Federation V. Putin on July 17th, 2017

For the Republic of Armenia

For the Republic of Tajikistan E. Rahmon on June 7, 2017

For the Republic of Belarus A. Lukashenko on June 26, 2017

For Turkmenistan

For the Republic of Kazakhstan, N. Nazarbayev on June 26, 2017

For the Republic of Uzbekistan

For the Kyrgyz Republic A. Atambayev on September 13, 2017 (with reservation)

For Ukraine

For the Republic of Moldova

Reservation Of the Kyrgyz Republic To the Protocol on Amendments to the Agreement on the Status of the Economic Court of the Commonwealth of Independent States dated July 6, 1992

The Kyrgyz Republic will participate in financing the activities of the CIS Economic Court within the limits of the funds provided by the republican budget for the relevant period.

President Of the Kyrgyz Republic

A.Sh. Atambayev

I hereby certify that the attached text is a copy of the authentic text of the Protocol on Amendments to the Agreement on the Status of the Economic Court of the Commonwealth of Independent States dated July 6, 1992, drawn up in accordance with paragraph 9 of rule 7 of the Rules of Procedure of the Council of Heads of State, the Council of Heads of Government, the Council of Ministers of Foreign Affairs and the Economic Council of the Commonwealth of Independent States. Copies of the above–mentioned Protocol with the original signatures of the heads of the member States of the Commonwealth of Independent States are kept in the Executive Committee of the Commonwealth of Independent States.

First Deputy Chairman Executive Committee – Executive Secretary of the CIS

V. Gumansky

President

Republic of Kazakhstan

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