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application of this Agreement or of any supplemental Agreement, or any question affecting the premises of the Institute or the relationship between the University and the Republic of Portugal, which is not settled by negotiation or other agreed mode of settlement, shall be referred for final decision to a tribunal of three arbitrators: one to be appointed by the Governor, one to be appointed by the rector, and the third, who shall be chairman of the tribunal, to be appointed by the first two arbitrators. Should the first two arbitrators fail to agree upon the third within six months following the appointment of the first two arbitrators, such third arbitrator shall be appointed by the President of the International Court of Justice at the request of the University or the Republic of Portugal.

Article XVI

General provisions

1 — Without prejudice to the privileges and immunities accorded by this Agreement, it is the duty of the University and the Institute and of all persons enjoying such privileges and immunities to observe the laws applicable to Macau. They also have a duty not to interfere in the internal affairs of Macau.

2 — a) The director shall take every precaution to ensure that no abuse of a privilege or immunity conferred by this Agreement shall occur, and for this purpose shall establish such rules and regulations as may be deemed necessary and expedient, for the personnel of the Institute and for such other persons as may be appropriate.

b) Should the Governor consider that an abuse of a privilege or immunity conferred by this Agreement has occurred, the director shall, upon request, consult with the appropriate authorities to determine whether any such abuse has occurred. If such consultations fail to achieve a result satisfactory to the Governor and to the director, the matter shall be determined in accordance with the procedure set out in article xv, paragraph 2.

3 — This Agreement shall apply to any person within its scope irrespective of whether the Republic of Portugal maintains or does not maintain diplomatic relations with the State to which such person belongs, and irrespective of whether the State to which such person belongs grants a similar privilege or immunity to diplomatic envoys or nationals of the Republic of Portugal.

4 — The provisions of this Agreement and the provisions of the Convention shall be applicable to the Institute with equal force. Nothing in the present Agreement shall be construed as prejudicing in any manner the provisions of the Convention.

5 — This Agreement shall be construed in the light of its primary purpose of enabling the Institute to discharge fully and efficiently its functions.

6 — Consultations with respect to the modification of this Agreement or supplemental agreements shall be entered into at the request of the University or the Republic of Portugal. Any such modification or supplemental agreement may, respectively, be made by mutual consent or entered into as necessary.

7 — This Agreement shall cease to be in force if the Institute ceases to operate in or is removed from the territory of Macau, except for such provisions as may

be applicable in connection with the orderly termination of the operations of the Institute in Macau and the disposal of its property therein.

8 — This Agreement shall be approved by the Parties in accordance with their respective procedures and shall enter into force when the Parties have notified each other by exchange of letters that such procedures have been completed.

In witness whereof the undersigned, duly authorized thereto, have signed this Agreement.

Done at Macau, in duplicate, in the Englis and Portuguese languages, both texts being equally authentic, on this 12th day of March 1991.

For the Republic of Portugal:

Pedro Catarino, ambassador.

For the United Nations University:

Heitor Gurgulino de Souza, rector.

PROJECTO DE LEI N.° 126/VI APROVA 0 ESTATUTO DOS TÉCNICOS OFICIAIS DE CONTAS

O Governo apresentou, na legislatura anterior, a proposta de lei n.° 193/V, no sentido de ser autorizado a legislar sobre a instituição e a definição do regime jurídico da associação pública dos técnicos oficiais de contas, que veio a ser aprovada por unanimidade, tendo dado origem à Lei n.° 37/91, de 27 de Julho, tendo a autorização legislativa sido concedida pelo período de 90 dias. Incompreensivelmente o Governo não utilizou a autorização legislativa. De adiamento em adiamento, há 29 anos que os técnicos oficiais de contas esperam a regulamentação do exercício da sua profissão. Esta situação é incompreensível quando é conhecido e foi aprovado o texto da regulamentação legal a adoptar, resultante de um grupo de trabalho nomeado para a elaborar.

É tempo de passar das palavras aos actos, há que transformar em lei um texto que merece consenso alargado, e em relação ao qual se não vislumbra oposição com significado e fundamento.

Na sequência da atribuição aos técnicos de contas, por vários diplomas legais, de funções de interesse público no âmbito da organização e elaboração da contabilidade das empresas, importa proceder à regulamentação da respectiva actividade, prosseguindo-se desse modo objectivos de valorização profissional e de eficiência e equidade fiscal.

A regulamentação que agora se estabelece foi basicamente orientada no sentido de harmonizar e hierarquizar os diferentes interesses em causa, salvaguardando, em especial, a benefício da contabilidade e da fiscalidade, a posição dos técnicos oficiais de contas, enquanto garantes originários da verdade contabilística e tributária.

No que respeita à posição, teve-se em conta a generalização da obrigatoriedade do técnico oficial de contas, as situações de direito adquirido à data da publicação da regulamentação e uma objectiva limitação ao número de contabilidades por cada técnico oficial de