902-(12)

II SÉRIE-A — NÚMERO 51

2 — Whatever the relations existing between the Governments of the representatives of the Group and the Government of the Portuguese Republic, the provision of the above paragraph shall be applied and shall not prejudice any special immunity to which the representative might be entitled.

3 — The privileges and immunities mentioned in the first paragraph of this article may not be used by representatives of the Government or by citizens of the Portuguese Republic.

4 — The privileges and immunities are given to the representatives in order to guarantee their independence while serving the Group. Each member State should renounce the immunity of its representative, when the course of justice is being obstructed and when such a renunciation does not prejudice the original purpose of the immunity.

5 — The Group shall inform the Government of the names of the representatives of the various member States, before their arrival in Portugal.

Article XVI Secretariat employees

1 — The secretary-general of the International Copper Study Group shall enjoy the same privileges and immunities normally granted to members of the diplomatic missions of comparable rank. The secretary-general of the International Copper Study Group shall be included in the diplomatic list organized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The employees of the Group's Secretariat shall be entitled to the following privileges:

a) Judicial immunity regarding activities while performing functions during the exercise of their duties, including declarations and documents;

b) Inviolability of official documents;

c) Exemption, extended to spouses and members of the family dependent on them, from all restrictive immigration measures, including visa requirements and registration formalities, during immigration control;

d) The same facilities in respect to exchange as the ones given to members of the diplomatic missions of comparable rank, except when employees have Portuguese nationality or have permanent residence in Portugal;

e) Exemption from taxes on income and complementary remuneration to be paid by the Group. However, the Government shall take into consideration the value of these remunerations in order to estimate the taxation to apply relatively to income derived from other sources;

f) As they assume their functions in Portugal, the employees shall be exempt from importation du-

i ties, VAT special consumer tax, except for duties destined for the payment of services, relative to the importation of furniture and other personal goods they own or shall acquire within three months of changing their residence. The alienation of imported goods that are exempt from importation duties cannot be done before one year and are subject to Community regulations on this matter;

g) The right to import temporarily an automobile for personal use, while working in Portugal, exempt from importation duties, VAT, and automobile tax. The secretary-general may import, under the same conditions, a second automobile to be used by his family. The temporary importation request shall be presented to the customs authorities whithin 6 months from the beginning of functions.

2 — The conditions of work of these employees shall be solely governed by the provisions of the staff rules and regulations of the Intemacional Copper Study Group. No staff member can claim additional rights than those defined on the said staff rules and regulations.

Article XVII

Experts

The article xv, paragraphs a), b) and c), shall apply to experts, who are not members of the Group's Secretariat, during the exercise of duties or while on a mission for the Group.

Article XVHI Notiflcatioo of appointment and identity cards

1 — The Group shall inform the Government of the beginning and cessation of the activities of any employee or expert, and it shall regularly send to the Government a list of all employees and experts in activity, indicating whether they are citizens of Portuguese nacionality or foreign citizens with permanent residence in Portugal.

2 — The Government shall issue an identity card with the possessor's photograph to all employees and experts. This document shall prove their identity before all official authorities and should therefore be accepted. The Group shall give back the identity card as soon as its possessor ends his activities.

Article XIX

Objective of privileges and immunities and their renouncement

1 — The privileges and immunities conferred in this Agreement to the representatives, Secretariat employees, and experts are granted to assure, under every circumtance, the normal activities of the Group, as well as the independence of those to whom they are conferred.

2 — The secretary-general has the right and duty to renounce the immunities, except his own, when considering that such immunities are obstructing the course of justice, and if that is possible whithout prejudicing the Group. The Group may suspend the secretary-general's immunities.

Article XX

Cooperation between the Group and the Government

The Group shall cooperate with the competent authorities, in order to prevent the abuse of the privileges, immunities, and facilities conferred by this Agreement. The right of the Government to take a/1 preventive measures to provide nacional security shall not be prejudiced by the provisions of this Agreement.