Internal
Regulations

SPECIAL AGREEMENT TO EXTEND THE COMPETENCE OF THE ADMINISTRATIVE TRIBUNAL OF THE ORGANIZATION OF AMERICAN STATES TO THE INTER-AMERICAN INSTITUTE FOR COOPERATION ON AGRICULTURE (IICA)

(INFORMATIVE SUMMARY)

Background

     On February 18, 1976, the Director General of the formerly known as the Inter-American Institute on Agricultural Sciences (now Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture -IICA), and the Secretary General of the OAS signed the "SPECIAL AGREEMENT TO EXTEND THE COMPETENCE OF THE ADMINISTRATIVE TRIBUNAL OF THE ORGANIZATION OF AMERICAN STATES TO THE INTER-AMERICAN INSTITUTE OF AGRICULTURE SCIENCES (IICA)".

     In order to reach this Agreement, the parties took into consideration that the IICA is an Inter-American Specialized Organization of the OAS, that article II of the Statute of the Administrative Tribunal establishes that "the competence of the Tribunal may be extended to any Inter-American specialized organization of the Organization of American States as defined in the Charter of the Organization as well as to any interested American intergovernmental organization, in accordance with the terms established by a special agreement to be concluded to that effect by the Secretary General with each such specialized organization or interested American intergovernmental organization", and that the Director General of the IICA addressed the Secretary General of the OAS for the purpose of concluding an agreement to extend the competence of the Administrative Tribunal of the OAS to those cases in which members of the international professional staff of IICA wish to file complaints before the Tribunal, according to the regulations set in its Statute and Rules of Procedure.

Competence of the Tribunal

     The Agreement extends the competence of the Tribunal to hear and judge those complaints in which members of the international professional staff of the IICA allege nonobservance of the conditions established in their respective appointments or contracts, or violation of the General Standards to govern the operations of IICA, the Regulations of the Institute, or other applicable provisions, including those concerning the Staff Retirement and Pension Plan of the General Secretariat.

Petitioners

     The Tribunal shall be open to those members of the international professional staff of the IICA, even after their employment or duties have ceased, and to any person who has succeeded the staff member's rights upon his/her death. The Tribunal shall be also open to any other person who can show that he / she is entitled to rights derived from a provision of the Regulations of the Institute or other provisions upon which the member of the international professional staff of IICA could have relied.

     Nevertheless, the Tribunal shall not be competent to hear those complaints based in facts which occurred prior to the entry in force of the Special Agreement (February 18, 1976).

Requirements for the Admission of a Complaint by the Tribunal:

In accordance with Article 4 of the Agreement, the Tribunal will only admit a complaint if:

1. The person concerned has exhausted the procedures provided in the regulations of IICA or in other applicable provisions in force; and

2. The Director General of the IICA has made the corresponding final decision.

The Agreement includes two exceptions to the preceding requirements:

1. When the interested party and the Director General agree that the case should be submitted without exhausting the aforementioned requirements; and

2. When the Director General fails to make a final decision within the 30 days following the date on which the procedural requirements have been completed.

Terms for Filing the Complaint  Consequences of its presentation.

     The interested party must file the complaint within one hundred and twenty days after the date on which he/she was notified of the final decision of the Director General. However, in exceptional cases which should be explained in the judgment, a petition may be admitted even if it is presented after the period of one hundred and twenty days, but never later than six months after notification of the final decision that is being challenged. The filing of the complaint shall not have the effect of suspending implementation of the decision contested.

Application of the Statute and Rules of Procedure of the OAS Administrative Tribunal

     Those situations not contemplated in the Agreement shall be resolved according to the Statute and the Rules of Procedure of the Tribunal.

Compliance with Judgments

     IICA shall comply with all judgments issued by the Tribunal and shall be responsible for paying any indemnity awarded by the Tribunal to any employee of the Institute.

Information on Applicable Provisions in the Institute

     By signing this Agreement, the Institute shall send to the Secretariat of the OAS Administrative Tribunal certified copies of its Regulations and other applicable provisions, and of any amendments that may be made to these.