Decision of Economic Court of the Commonwealth of Independent States

of November 11, 1997 No. C-1/1-97

(extraction)

The state arbitration of the Republic of Armenia appealed to Economic Court with request about interpretation of part 2 of Item 3 of the Regulations on Economic Court approved by the Agreement of Council of heads of states of the Commonwealth of Independent States of July 6, 1992. The specified part of Item 3 of the Provision provides that "by agreements of the State Parties of the Commonwealth other disputes connected with execution of agreements and other acts of the Commonwealth adopted on their basis can be carried to maintaining Economic Court". In this regard the State Arbitration of the Republic of Armenia asks to give interpretation regarding what possible disputes are implied by the concept "other disputes" and also what matters of argument and between what State Parties of the Commonwealth can be resolved by Economic Court.

The analysis of the adopted in the Commonwealth of agreements and other acts, their jurisdictional clauses allowed Economic Court to draw the following conclusions.

Use of the concept "other disputes" regarding the 2nd Item 3 of the Regulations on Economic Court is connected with the fact that part of 1 same Item determines competence of Court by exact specifying of the list of disputes subordinated to it. As obligatory jurisdiction of Economic Court two categories of interstate economic disputes are provided here:

the disputes arising in case of execution of the economic obligations provided by agreements, decisions of Council of heads of states, Council of Heads of Government and other its institutes;

disputes on compliance of normative and other acts of the State Parties of the Commonwealth adopted on economic problems, agreements and other acts of the Commonwealth.

The economic Court considers that, proceeding from the commonly accepted legal categories in jurisprudence, it is necessary to understand obligations which subject is making by the State Parties of agreements of the actions which are directly connected with property provisions as economic obligations namely: transfer of things, payment of sums of money, performance of works, rendering services and others. That is object of these legal relationship are the actions connected with the material benefits having cost nature.

Such obligations as showed studying of acts of the Commonwealth, are accepted by the states when implementing joint activities not only in the field of trade, production, monetary, transport and other areas, but also in case of cooperation in humanitarian, ecological, cultural and other spheres.

Part 2 of Item 3 of the Provision allows the State Parties of the Commonwealth to expand competence of Court, having transferred to its consideration other disputes which subject can be obligations (their execution) assumed by the State Parties of agreements in any sphere of cooperation determined in article 4 of the Charter of the Commonwealth of Independent States.

Thus, the Regulations on Economic Court provide two bases of court jurisdiction:

1. Regulations on Economic Court (p.1 item 3).

2. The agreements of the State Parties of the Commonwealth (both bilateral, and multilateral) which are in force between the states parties in dispute on transfer of future disputes between them in Economic Court in approved or unilaterally.

The regulations on Economic Court establish obligatory jurisdiction of Economic Court on the disputes carried to its competence by part 1 of Item 3 and mentioned above as part 3 of the same Item of the Provision provides that the Court considers disputes "according to the statement of the interested states on behalf of their authorities, institutes of the Commonwealth". The term "statement" should be treated as the unilateral action for declaration of the interested state, but not the agreement compromise in the form of the bilateral agreement as criterion of optional jurisdiction.

As the disputes considered by Economic Court follow from acts of the Commonwealth, any State Party of such acts can be the interested state according to which statement proceedings according to part 3 of Item 3 of the Regulations on Economic Court are initiated. At the same time, if the act of the Commonwealth infringes on interests of other State Party of the Commonwealth which did not sign it such states can be also carried to number of interested.

The agreement on the status of Economic Court of the Commonwealth of Independent States of July 6, 1992 which approves Regulations on Economic Court of the Commonwealth of Independent States is signed by heads of the Republic of Armenia, the Republic of Belarus, the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, the Republic of Moldova, the Russian Federation, the Republic of Tajikistan, the Republic of Uzbekistan. And the head of the Republic of Moldova signed the agreement with clause according to which the possibility of initiation of proceedings in Court according to the statement of the state is excluded and transfer of dispute to Court only over "the agreement of the Parties" is recognized.

The agreement on the status of Economic Court, according to depositary, became effective concerning all states which signed it.

The State Parties of the Agreement on the status of Economic Court of the Commonwealth of Independent States of July 6, 1992 which signed and ratifying it, and by that recognized according to articles 11 and 12 of the Vienna convention on the right of international treaties obligatory court jurisdiction on economic disputes (except the Republic of Moldova) can be both claimants, and defendants in the disputes connected with execution by them of the economic obligations based on acts of the Commonwealth.

As for the State Parties of the Commonwealth which did not sign the Agreement on the status of Economic Court, presentation to them of the claims connected with execution of economic obligations it is possible only in cases if they recognized jurisdiction of Economic Court in this or that form.

One of such forms is as it is stated above, the jurisdictional clause included in the agreement (contract) on transfer of dispute for permission of Economic Court. In the presence of such clause of the state, signed, and in necessary cases and ratifying the agreement (agreement), irrespective of participation in the Agreement on the status of Economic Court has the right to bring To trial the dispute resolution on obligation fulfillment, the provided such agreement (agreement) including economic.

Besides, in a number of agreements also such formulations as "The parties transfer the solution of case to Economic Court" are used, "disputes can be transferred by the Parties to the decision of Economic Court", "disputes can be considered (to decide) Economic Court", etc. The economic Court considers that taking into account part 3 of Item 3 of the Provision providing transfer of disputes to Court over the unilateral statement of the interested states in these cases it is about the right of the Parties to appeal to Economic Court unilaterally.

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