The Government of the Republic of Turkey and the Commission on the Protection of the Black Sea Against Pollution;

Having regard to paragraph 11 of the Article XVII of the Convention on the Protection of the Black Sea Against Pollution;

Taking into account paragraph 6 of the Article XVII of the Convention as per which the headquarters of the Commission and the Permanent Secretariat shall be established in Istanbul;

Taking into account paragraph 8 of the Article XVII of the Convention according to which Representatives, Alternate Representatives, Advisers and Experts of the Contracting Parties shall enjoy in the territory of the respective Contracting Parties diplomatic privileges and immunities in accordance with international law;

Taking into account the Agreement on Privileges and Immunities of the Commission on the Protection of the Black Sea Against Pollution;

Considering that the Government of the Republic of Turkey may host regional projects, the objective of which is to assist the Contracting Parties for implementing the Convention, have agreed as follows:

For the purposes of this Agreement:

a) "Convention" means the Convention on the Protection of the Black Sea Against Pollution signed in Bucharest, 21 April 1992;

b) "Contracting Party" means the Party to the Convention;

c) "the Commission" means the Commission on the Protection of the Black Sea Against Pollution established in accordance with paragraph 1 of the Article XVII of the Convention and includes its Permanent Secretariat and all subsidiary bodies;

d) "the Permanent Secretariat" means the permanent body of the Commission established in accordance with paragraph 6 of the Article XVII of the Convention;

e) "Government" means the Government of the Republic of Turkey;

f) "the Host Contracting Party" means the Republic of Turkey;

g) "Representatives of Contracting Parties" means Representatives, Alternative Representatives and other members of delegations sent by Contracting Parties to participate in the meetings held by the Commission or its organ, including Advisers and Experts of delegations.

h) "the Executive Director" means the principal administrator of the Permanent Secretariat;

 i) "the Officials of the Permanent Secretariat" means officials including the Executive Director appointed by the Commission and are subject to the staff regulations adopted by the Commission;

j) "the support staff" means the auxiliary, administrative and technical staff appointed by the Executive Director, including those who are locally recruited and assigned to hourly rates of payment and are subject to the staff regulations adopted by the Commission;

k) “project personnel” – means experts appointed to carry out temporary project related work in projects of the Commission;

l) “premises of the Commission” means the buildings or parts of buildings and land ancillary thereto, used by the Commission in Istanbul, the Republic of Turkey, on a permanent or temporary basis, to carry out its functions;

(l) “archives” - means all records, correspondence, documents, manuscripts, photographs, films and recordings belonging to or held by the Commission or by any physical or juridical persons nominated by the Commission to this effect.

This Agreement shall be interpreted in light of its primary objective of enabling the Commission at its Headquarters in Istanbul, the Republic of Turkey to discharge its responsibilities and fulfil its purposes and functions effectively.

The Commission shall possess juridical personality. The Commission shall have the capacity:

a) to contract;

b) to acquire and dispose of immovable and movable property;

c) to institute legal proceedings.

1. Within the scope of its activities, the Commission shall enjoy immunity from any form of legal proceedings, except in the case of:

a) civil action by a third party for damages arising out of an accident caused by a vehicle belonging to or operated on behalf of the Commission, where these damages are not recoverable from insurance;

b) civil action relating to death or personal injury caused by an act or omission of the Commission or its staff member.

2. Without prejudice to the provision of paragraph 1 of this article, the property and assets of the Commission wherever located and by whomsoever held, shall be immune from search, requisition, and confiscation, expropriation, sequestration, restrain, seizure and any other form of interference, whether by executive, administrative, judicial or legislative.

3. Except as otherwise provided in this Agreement, the courts of the Republic of Turkey shall have jurisdiction over disputes arising out of contracts or other disputes of private character between the Commission and Turkish nationals and companies registered in the Republic of Turkey.

1. The Government shall provide convenient premises to the Commission free of rent for an unlimited time. The location of the premises of the Commission shall be selected in consultation with the Commission. The premises of the Commission may be changed upon mutual agreement.

2. The Government shall undertake to facilitate the acquisition or hire of additional premises by the Commission at such time as they may be needed.

3. The Government and the Commission may jointly agree to allow for the temporary use of the premises by third parties involved in studies, projects or programs pertaining to the Black Sea.

4. The premises of the Commission shall be supplied with all necessary public services.

5. The premises of the Commission shall be inviolable.

6. The Government of the Host Contracting Party shall provide appropriate security consistent with the status of the Commission as an Inter-Governmental Organisation against any intrusion or damage and to prevent any disturbance of the peace nearby or in the premises of the Commission.

Within the scope of its functions, without being restricted by financial controls, regulations or moratoria of any kind, other than exercised by the Contracting Parties jointly, the Commission:

a) may hold funds, gold or currency, of any kind and operate accounts in any currency;

b) may freely transfer their funds, gold or currency, from one country to another or within the Host Contracting Party and convert any currency held by it into any other currency.

The archives of the Commission shall be inviolable wherever located or by whomsoever held.

1) Equipment such as computers, printers, CD-ROM units, facsimile and photocopying machines, modem and other equipment required by the Commission and the Permanent Secretariat will be purchased from the budget of the Commission. However the extra costs for upgrading communication capacity shall be carried out by the Government of the Republic of Turkey, in case of changing premises on the request of the Government on permanent or temporary basis.

2) Furniture and other office elements/systems will be purchased from the budget of the Commission. However the extra costs for upgrading of furniture and other office systems as well as moving costs shall be carried out by Republic of Turkey, in case of losses caused by changing premises on the request of the Government on permanent or temporary basis.

3) All maintenance and operational expenses regarding (1) and (2) above will be covered from the budget of the Commission.

4) The Government shall maintain the building in good working condition at its expense.

5) The running costs, such as electricity and water supply (including air conditioning/cooling), telephone, facsimile and internet  charges, cleaning, routine keep-up and sanitary services of the Permanent Secretariat will be covered from the budget of the Commission. The extra costs for such expenses, resulting from moving of premises on the request of the Government to another building shall be covered by the Government.

1.  The Commission, its assets, income and other property shall be exempt:

a) from all direct taxes, including income and corporate taxes: it is understood, however, that the Commission will not claim exemption from taxes which are in fact no more than charges for public utility services;

b) from customs duties and restrictions on imports and exports in respect of articles imported or exported by the Commission for its official use and its publications with the exception of charges levied for specific services which may be imposed on the Commission by reason of such imports and exports; it is understood, however, that articles imported under such exemption will not be sold in the country to which they were imported except under conditions agreed to with the Government;

c) for the purposes of this article, the term duties means custom duties, taxes and related charges which are established, or can be established, in accordance with regulations of the Host Contracting Party.

2. The Commission shall not be exempted from excise duties and from taxes on the sale of services and goods which form part of the price to be paid, except VAT for purchases for official use of goods and services.

3. The Government may facilitate exemption from other taxes and duties to the extent permitted by national legislation.

1. The Commission shall enjoy, in the territory of Turkey, for its official communications, treatment not less favourable than that accorded by the Government to other UN specialised agencies in the matter of priorities.

2. The official correspondence and other official communications of the Commission shall be inviolable.

3. Provided the national legislation pertaining to copyright is respected, the Government recognizes the right of the Commission to publish and distribute without interference by way of printed works and broadcasts or other mass media.

The Executive Director is authorised to contact the Government directly for issues pertaining to the activities of the Permanent Secretariat and of the Commission. However the counterpart of the Governments on substantial issues shall be the Commission through its Chairman.

1. Representatives, Alternate Representative, Advisors and Experts of Contracting Parties and the Chairman of the Commission, while exercising their functions and during their journeys to and from the place of meetings, enjoy the diplomatic privileges and immunities as stated in paragraph 8 of the Article XVII of the Convention referring to the Agreement On The Privileges And Immunities Of The Commission On The Protection Of The Black Sea Against Pollution. This provision is not applicable between Representatives, Alternate Representative, Advisors and Experts of and the authorities of the Contracting Parties of which he or she is a national or a permanent resident.

2. Privileges and immunities accorded to persons, mentioned in paragraph 1 of the present article, are intended exclusively to safeguard the independent exercise of their functions in connection with the Commission and are not for the personal benefit of the individuals themselves. Consequently, it is incumbent on a Contracting Party to waive the immunity of its representatives or national acting as the Chairman of the Commission, if in the opinion of the Contracting Party, the immunity would impede the course of justice, and where it can be waived without prejudice to the purpose for which the immunity is accorded.

1. Officials of the Permanent Secretariat shall be immune from legal processes in respect of words spoken or written and all acts performed by them in the exercise of their official functions or to produce official correspondence and documents relating thereto;

2. Officials of the Permanent Secretariat except those who are the nationals of the Republic of Turkey and permanent foreign residents shall enjoy within and with respect to the Republic of Turkey the following privileges and immunities:

a) Exemption from taxation in respect of salaries and emoluments paid to them by the Commission and on the same conditions as are enjoyed by the officials of the United Nations of comparable rank in the territory of the Republic of Turkey in accordance with the "Convention on the Privileges and Immunities of the United Nations" (1946);

b) Exemption in respect of themselves, their spouses and their dependents of under age 18 from immigration restrictions, aliens registration, from all personal services, from all public services of any kind whatsoever, and from military obligations such as those connected with requisitioning, military contributions and billeting in the territories of the Republic of Turkey;

c) Privileges in respect of exchange facilities as are accorded to officials of comparable rank of United Nations of comparable rank in the Republic of Turkey, in accordance with the "Convention on the Privileges and Immunities of the United Nations" (1946) and Agreement on the Privileges and Immunities of the Commission on the Protection of the Black Sea Against Pollution, 1992 ;

d) With their spouses and relatives dependent on them, the same repatriation facilities in time of international crises as accorded to officials of comparable rank of the United Nations in the territory of the Republic of Turkey, in accordance with the "Convention on the Privileges and Immunities of the United Nations" (1946) and Agreement on the Privileges and Immunities of the Commission on the Protection of the Black Sea Against Pollution, 1992;

e) The right to import free of duty their furniture and effects at the time of first taking up their post in the Republic of Turkey, as provided for by the "Convention on the Privileges and Immunities of the United Nations" (1946) with respect to officials of the United Nations and Agreement on the Privileges and Immunities of the Commission on the Protection of the Black Sea Against Pollution, 1992;

If the officials of the Permanent Secretariat on the termination of their functions export furniture and effects to which this paragraph applies, they shall be exempt from any customs duties, except payments for services, which may be imposed by reason of such export.

3. Privileges and immunities are granted to officials in the interests of the Commission only and not for the personal benefit of the individuals themselves. The Commission shall have the right and the duty to waive the immunity of the officials of the Permanent Secretariat, including the Executive Director in any case where, in its opinion the immunity would impede the course of the justice and can be waived.

4. With the purpose of facilitating the performance of their functions, identification cards with the same effect of the residence permits shall be issued to them, their spouses and their dependents of under age of 18, by the Government.

1. The support staff of the Permanent Secretariat are under no obligation to give evidence concerning matters connected with the exercise of their functions, or to produce official correspondence and documents relating thereto;

2. The support staff of the Permanent Secretariat except those who are the nationals of the Republic of Turkey and permanent foreign residents in its territory:

a) shall with respect to services rendered for the Permanent Secretariat be exempt from any obligations in regard to work permits imposed by the laws and regulations of the Republic of Turkey concerning the employment of foreign labour;

b) shall be exempt from dues and taxes on wages which they receive for their services;

c) shall be exempt of all personal services, from all public of any kind whatsoever and from military obligations such as those connected with requisitioning, military contributions and billeting in the territory of the Republic of Turkey.

3. With regard to the support staff of the Permanent Secretariat, except those who are the nationals of the Host Contracting Party and permanent foreign residents in its territory, the Government shall issue, where possible, identification cards in conformity with their status. These identification cards will be used in 1ieu of residence permits.

4. The Executive Director upon authorization of the Chairman shall have the right and the duty to waive the immunity of a member of the support staff provided for in paragraph 1 of this article in any case where, in his or her opinion the immunity would impede the course of justice and can be waived.

Within the limits of the relevant Turkish legislation the spouses and children of the Permanent Secretariat’s staff shall enjoy access to the labour market provided they reside in the Republic of Turkey under the same roof as the principal holder of the Identity Card.

The provisions of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, dated 18 April 1961 shall be applicable to the officials and the support staff of the Permanent Secretariat in matters concerning social security. Turkish nationals and permanent residents in Turkey are subject to Turkish legislation with respect to social security.

The Commission shall cooperate at all times with the competent authorities of the Government to facilitate proper administration of justice, to secure the observance of police regulations and to prevent the improper use of the privileges, immunities and facilities provided for in this Agreement.

The Executive Director shall annually send to the Government, a list of all the officials and support staff of the Permanent Secretariat as well as project personnel. The Executive Director on behalf of the Commission shall inform the Government when an official or support staff of the Permanent Secretariat as well as project personnel takes up or relinquishes his duties. The Executive Director shall in each case indicate whether or not the individual concerned is a national of the Host Contracting Party or permanently resident of the Republic of Turkey.

The Commission shall be entitled to display its emblem and its flag on its premises and the means of transport of the Commission and of its Executive Director.

The Commission and the Government may at any time propose an amendment to this Agreement and it can be amended through negotiation between the Commission and the Government.

This Agreement repeals and replaces the Headquarters Agreement between the Government of the Republic of Turkey and the Commission on the Protection of Black Sea against Pollution, done at Istanbul, on 28 April 2000.

Any dispute that may arise from the interpretation and implementation of this Agreement shall be resolved through negotiation between the Government and the Commission.

This agreement shall enter into force on the first day following the date on which the Government notifies by diplomatic channels the Commission that the necessary procedures for the entry into force of the Agreement has been completed.

Any amendments to this Agreement, agreed upon between the Commission and the Government shall enter into force in accordance with the procedure set forth in Paragraph 1 of this Article.

This Agreement shall remain in force as long as the Headquarters of the Commission are on the territory of the Republic of Turkey

In the event of the Headquarters of the Commission being moved from the territory of Turkey this agreement shall cease to be in force after a reasonable period of time required for the orderly termination of the operation of the Commission and its Headquarters in Istanbul and the disposal of its property therein.

Done at Sofia, on 16 April 2009 in the English and Turkish languages, in two copies, both texts being equally authentic.

On behalf of the Commission             On behalf of the Government of the

                                                                        Republic of Turkey