In accordance with the "Special Agreement to Extend the Competence of the Administrative Tribunal of the Organization of American States to the Inter-American Institute of Agricultural Sciences (IICA)," signed on February 18, 1976, by the Director General of IICA and the Secretary General of the OAS, the Tribunal shall be open to those members of the international professional staff of IICA, even after their employment or duties have ceased, and to anyone entitled to survivor’s benefits upon the staff member’s death. The Tribunal shall be also open to any other person who can show that he or she is entitled to rights derived from a provision of the Rules of Procedure of the Institute or other provisions upon which the member of the international professional staff of IICA could have relied.
 
In accordance with Article 4 of the Agreement, the Tribunal will only admit a complaint if the person concerned has exhausted the procedures provided in the Rules of Procedure of IICA and the Director General of IICA has made a final decision about the case. If the Director General has not made a final decision within 30 days following the date on which the procedures established in the Rules of Procedure and other aforementioned provisions have been completed, the person concerned may have direct access to the Tribunal.
 
On an exceptional basis, the interested party and the Director General may agree that the case should be submitted without exhausting the aforementioned requirements.
 
The administrative procedures that must be exhausted prior to filing complaints with the Tribunal against the Director General of IICA are set out in Chapter X of the IICA Staff Rules and Chapter III of the Rules of Procedure of the General Directorate of IICA.