EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
Subject - International Organisations (Privileges and Immunities) Amendment Act 2013
Proclamation
Subsection 2(1) of the International Organisations (Privileges and Immunities) Amendment Act 2013 (the Amendment Act) provides that Schedule 1 to the Act commences on a day to be fixed by proclamation. However, if the provisions of Schedule 1 did not commence within the period of 6 months beginning on the day the Act receives the Royal Assent, they would commence on the day after the end of that period. The Act received the Royal Assent on 1 July 2013 and the Proclamation fixed 8 November 2013 as the day on which Schedule 1 to the Act commenced.
The Amendment Act amended the International Organisations (Privileges and Immunities) Act 1963 (the Act) to provide a legislative basis for the enactment of Regulations, providing for the conferral of privileges and immunities on the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the International Criminal Court. All the provisions of the Amendment Act, other than Schedule 1, commenced on 1 July 2013.
International Committee of the Red Cross
Australia has signed the Arrangement between the Government of Australia and the International Committee for the Red Cross on a Regional Headquarters in Australia (the ICRC Arrangement), conferring legal status on the ICRC in Australia and other privileges and immunities needed to facilitate its work in Australia and the Pacific Region.
Previously, the Act allowed privileges and immunities to be conferred on ‘international organisations’ and ‘overseas organisations’. However, the Act defined these terms too narrowly to accommodate the independent and non-intergovernmental character of the ICRC. New section 9D addresses this by permitting the enactment of Regulations conferring privileges and immunities on the ICRC in accordance with the ICRC Arrangement.
By inserting a new section 9D, rather than extending the definition of ‘international organisation’ or ‘overseas organisation’, it has been ensured that, in amending the Act to provide a legislative basis for conferring privileges and immunities on the ICRC, the amendment will not inadvertently encompass any other organisations. It has also been ensured that the privileges and immunities conferred on the ICRC will be limited to those set out in the ICRC Arrangement.
International Criminal Court
The Agreement on Privileges and Immunities of the International Criminal Court (the ICC Agreement) confers privileges and immunities, including certain tax and financial exemptions, on the International Criminal Court (ICC), as well as a number of officials and other persons associated with the ICC, including victims participating in ICC proceedings.
Previously, Regulations made under the Act could confer privileges and immunities on international tribunals, such as the ICC, and persons associated with such tribunals. However, the Act did not refer to victims participating in proceedings before such tribunals. New section 9C addressed this problem and ensured that the Act provides an adequate basis for the enactment of Regulations conferring privileges and immunities on the ICC, including victims participating in proceedings, in accordance with the ICC Agreement. It also ensured that the privileges and immunities conferred on the ICC will be limited to those set out in the ICC Agreement.
The Amendment Act made consequential amendments to sections 3 and 7 regarding international conferences to ensure that section 7, which relates to privileges and immunities of representatives attending certain international conferences or engaged on missions in Australia, can be used in future in relation to the ICRC and ICC, as with international organisations to which the Act applies.
The Proclamation is a legislative instrument for the purposes of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003.
Authority: Subsection 2(1) of the
International Organisations (Privileges and Immunities) Amendment Act 2013