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4 FEVRIER 2010. - An Act to grant the following international acts:

1. Agreement establishing the European Conference on Molecular Biology, held in Geneva on 13 February 1969;
2. Agreement establishing the European Laboratory of Molecular Biology, done in Geneva on 10 May 1973 (1) (2)
ALBERT II, King of the Belgians,
To all, present and to come, Hi.
The Chambers adopted and We sanction the following:
Article 1^er. This Act regulates a matter referred to in Article 77 of the Constitution.
Art. 2. The Agreement establishing the European Conference of Molecular Biology, made in Geneva on 13 February 1969, will come out its full effect.
Art. 3. The Agreement establishing the European Laboratory of Molecular Biology, made in Geneva on 10 May 1973, will come out its full effect.
Promulgation of this law, let us order that it be clothed with the seal of the State and published by the Belgian Monitor.
Given in Brussels on 4 February 2010.
ALBERT
By the King:
Minister of Foreign Affairs,
S. VANACKERE
Minister of Science Policy,
Mrs. S. LARUELLE
Seal of the state seal:
Minister of Justice,
S. DE CLERCK
____
Notes
(1) 2008-2009 and 2009-2010 session:
Senate.
Documents:
Bill tabled on May 14, 2009, No. 4-1325/1
Report, No. 4-1325/2.
Annales parlementaire :
Discussion, meeting of 9 July 2009.
Vote, meeting of 9 July 2009.
House of Representatives.
Documents:
Project transmitted by the Senate, No. 52-2106/1.
Text adopted in plenary and subject to Royal Assent, No. 52-2106/2.
Annales parlementaire :
Discussion, meeting of December 3, 2009.
Vote, meeting of 3 December 2009.
(2) See decree of the Flemish Community/Flemish Region of 16 July 2010 (Belgian Monitor of 9 August 2010 and Belgian Monitor of 6 August 2010 (Ed. 2)), decree of the French Community of 30 April 2009 (Belgian Monitor of 18 September 2009 - Ed. 2), decree of the German-speaking Community of 15 September 2009 (Belgian Monitor of 14 October 2009), decree of the Walloon Region of 30 April 2009 (^er April 2004 (Moniteur belge du 26 avril 2004 - Ed. 2).
Agreement establishing the European Conference on Molecular Biology
ETATS parties to this Agreement,
CONSCIENTS of the important role played by molecular biology for the advancement of science and the well-being of humanity;
CONSIDERING that there is a need to complement and intensify international cooperation already in this area by intergovernmental action;
DESIReux to develop European cooperation in the field of molecular biology with a view to promoting activities that are distinguished by their scientific merits;
REQUESTS the acceptance by the European Organization of Molecular Biology, referred to as "the EPOM", of the provisions contained in this Agreement and concerning it;
AGAINST WHO ITS:
Article I^er
Institution of the Conference
A European Conference of Molecular Biology, called the Conference, is established.
Article II
Goals
1. The Conference ensures cooperation between European States for research in fundamental molecular biology as well as for other research areas that are closely linked to them.
2. The General Programme to be carried out under the responsibility of the Conference is primarily:
(a) the award of training, teaching and research grants;
(b) assistance to universities and other national institutions of higher education and research that wish to welcome visiting professors;
(c) the establishment of courses programs and the organization of study meetings coordinated with the programs of universities and other higher education and research institutions.
The implementation of the General Programme is entrusted by the Conference to the EPOM.
The General Programme or the conditions of its implementation may be altered by the Conference unanimously by the members present and voting.
3. The projects considered by the Conference and that only some members are willing to achieve are referred to as Special Projects. Any Special Project shall be approved by the Conference by a two-thirds majority of the members present and voting. The implementation of a Special Project is agreed between the members participating in it. Any member has the ability to subsequently participate in a Special Project already approved.
Article III
The Conference
1. The members of the Conference shall be the States parties to this Agreement.
2. The Conference may, by a unanimous decision of the members present and voting, allow other European States, as well as States that have made an important contribution to the work of the EPO from its founding, to become members by acceding to this Agreement after its entry into force.
3. The Conference may, by a unanimous decision of the members present and voting, establish cooperation with non-member States, national organizations or international governmental or non-governmental organizations. The conditions and modalities of such cooperation are defined by the Conference, unanimously by the members present and voting, in each case under the circumstances.
Article IV
Functioning and competence of the Conference
1. The Conference meets once a year in regular session. It may also meet in special session at the request of two thirds of all members.
2. Each member is represented by not more than two delegates. Delegates may be accompanied by advisers. The Conference elects a President and two Vice-Presidents, whose term extends to the next ordinary session.
3. The Conference:
(a) make the necessary decisions to achieve the objectives set out in Article II;
(b) decide on the venue of its meetings;
(c) may hold funds and enter into contracts;
(d) adopt its rules of procedure;
(e) may, by a two-thirds majority decision of the members present and voting, establish the subsidiary bodies that would be necessary:
(f) approves an indicative plan for the implementation of the General Programme referred to in Article II, 2, and sets its duration. In approving this plan, the Conference shall determine, by a unanimous vote of the members present and voting, the maximum amount of the commitments for the above-mentioned period. This amount cannot be subsequently amended without a decision of the Conference unanimously taken by the members present and voting;
(g) adopt the regular annual budget and, by a two-thirds majority of the members present and voting, make the necessary financial arrangements;
(h) approves the interim estimate for the following two years;
(i) Appropriate financial arrangements for each Special Project previously adopted by members participating in the Project;
(j) adopt its financial regulations by a two-thirds majority of the members present and voting;
(k) approves and publishes its audited annual accounts;
(l) approves the annual report of the Secretary-General.
4. (a) (i) Each member has a voice at the Conference.
(ii) A member may, however, vote on the terms and conditions for the execution of a Special Project only if they participate in this Project.
(iii) States that have signed but not yet ratified, accepted or approved this Agreement may be represented at the Conference and participate in its work, without the right to vote, for a period of two years after the entry into force of the Agreement,
(iv) A member does not have the right to vote at the Conference if he did not pay his contributions for two consecutive financial periods.
(b) Unless otherwise provided in this Agreement, the decisions of the Conference shall be taken by a majority of the members present and voting.
(c) The presence of delegates of the majority of all members is necessary for the Conference to deliberate and vote validly.
Article V
The Secretary-General
1. The Conference shall designate a Secretary-General for a specified period by a two-thirds majority of all members. The Secretary General remains in office until his successor is appointed. He assists the President of the Conference and ensures the interim between sessions. It may carry out all necessary actions to manage the current affairs of the Conference.
2. Le Secrétaire général présente à la Conférence :
(a) the draft indicative plan referred to in Article IV, 3, (f);
(b) the regular annual budget and provisional estimate referred to in Article IV, 3, (g) and (h);
(c) the specific financial provisions for each Special Project, in accordance with Article IV, 3, (i);
(d) the annual audited accounts and the annual report referred to in Article IV, 3, (k) and (l).
3. In carrying out his duties, the Secretary-General will use the services of the EPOM.
Article VI
Budget
1. Regular annual budget for the following fiscal year (from 1^er January to 31 December), indicating the expenditures resulting from both the implementation of the General Programme and the costs associated with the operation of the Conference and the anticipated revenues, must be submitted by the Secretary-General before 1^er October of each year.
2. The regular budget is financed by:
(a) the financial contributions of members;
(b) any donation made by members, in addition to their financial contributions, provided it is consistent with the purposes of the Conference;
(c) any other resource, including any donation made by private organizations or persons, subject to the prior approval of the Conference by a two-thirds majority of the members present and voting.
Article VII
Contributions and audits
1. Each member contributes to the expenditures resulting from both the implementation of the General Programme and the costs associated with the operation of the Conference in accordance with a scale established every three years by the Conference by a two-thirds majority of all members and based on the average of the net national income at the cost of the factors of each member for the last three years for which statistics are available.
2. The Conference may decide, by a two-thirds majority of all members, to consider special circumstances to a member and to amend its contribution accordingly. For the purposes of this provision, it is considered, inter alia, that there is "special circumstances" where the national income per capita in a Member State is less than an amount determined by the Conference by the same majority.
3. When a State becomes a party to or ceases to be a party, the scale of assessments referred to in paragraph 1^er is changed. The new scale is effective at the beginning of the following fiscal year.
4. The Secretary-General shall inform members of the amount of their contributions in units of account, defined by a weight of 0.88867088 grams of fine gold, and the dates of payment.
5. The Secretary-General maintains detailed accounts of all expenditures and revenues. The Conference shall designate Auditors to audit its accounts and to review, in accordance with its financial regulations, the accounts of the EPO. The Secretary-General and the EPOM shall make available to the Auditors all information that may assist them in carrying out their duties.
Article VIII
Settlement of disputes
Any dispute between two or more members with respect to the interpretation and application of this Agreement, which could not be resolved through the Conference, shall be submitted, at the request of one of the parties to the dispute, to the International Court of Justice, unless the members concerned agree otherwise within a reasonable time.
Article IX
Amendments
1. This Agreement may be amended if at least two thirds of all members apply.
2. The amendment proposal is included in the agenda of the regular session immediately following the submission of the proposal to the Secretary-General. It can also be the subject of a special session.
3. Any amendment to this Agreement shall be adopted by the Conference unanimously by all members. They notify the Swiss government of their acceptance in writing.
4. The amendments come into force thirty days after the deposit of the last written acceptance.
Article X
Liquidation
Subject to any agreement between the members on the dissolution of the Conference, the Secretary-General will be responsible for matters of liquidation. Unless otherwise decided by the Conference, the assets shall be distributed among the members on a pro rata basis of contributions made since they are parties to this Agreement. If there is a liability, the liability will be borne by the same members on a pro-rata basis for the current fiscal year.
Article XI
Final clauses
1. This Agreement shall be open for signature by the States that have established it.
2. This Agreement shall be subject to ratification, acceptance or approval. Corresponding instruments are deposited with the Swiss government.
3. Any State not a signatory to this Agreement may accede to it if it meets the conditions set out in Article III, 2. The instruments of accession are deposited with the Swiss government.
4. (a) This Agreement shall enter into force when the majority of the States that have established it has ratified, accepted or approved it and provided that all the contributions of these States represent at least 70% of the total of the contributions in the scale annexed to this Agreement.
(b) For any other signatory State or accession the Agreement shall enter into force on the date of deposit of its instrument of ratification, acceptance, approval or accession.
(c) This Agreement will remain in effect for a period of five years. At least one year before this deadline, the Conference will meet to decide, by a two-thirds majority of all members, either to renew the Agreement, or to amend this agreement, or to renounce the continuation of European cooperation in molecular biology under this agreement.
5. After this Agreement has been in force for five years, any State Party to the Agreement may denounce it by giving notification to the Swiss Government for this purpose. This denunciation takes effect:
(a) at the end of the current fiscal year, if the notification was made in the first nine months of that fiscal year;
(b) at the end of the following fiscal year, if the notification took place in the last three months of a fiscal year.
6. Any member who fails to fulfil its obligations under this Agreement may be deprived of its membership by a decision of the Conference made by a two-thirds majority of all members. This decision will be notified to signatories and adherents by the Secretary-General.
7. The Swiss government will notify the signatories or adherents:
(a) any signature;
(b) the deposit of any instrument of ratification, acceptance, approval or accession;
(c) the entry into force of this Agreement;
(d) any written acceptance notified under Article IX, 3;
(e) the entry into force of any amendment; and
(f) any denunciation made under Article XI, 5.
8. Upon the entry into force of this Agreement, the Swiss Government shall register it with the Secretary-General of the United Nations in accordance with Article 102 of the Charter of the United Nations.
Article XII
Transitional provisions
1. For the period commencing on the date of entry into force of the Agreement and ending on the following 31 December, the Conference will make budgetary provisions and expenses will be covered by member contributions, as set out in the following two paragraphs.
2. States that will be parties to the Agreement on the date of its entry into force and those that may become parties to the Agreement during the period ending 31 December following the Agreement shall jointly bear the full costs of the budgetary arrangements that the Conference may adopt in accordance with paragraph 1^er of this article.
3. The contributions of the States referred to in paragraph 2 of this Article shall first be fixed provisionally, as appropriate, in accordance with Article VII, 1. ÷ the end of the period referred to in paragraph 1^er of this article, a final distribution shall take place between those States on the basis of actual expenditure. Any amount paid by a member in addition to the amount so set retroactively shall be credited to the member.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the undersigned plenipotentiaries, duly authorized to do so, have signed this Agreement.
Done in Geneva on 13 February 1969, in the French, English and German languages, the three texts being equally authentic, in a single copy which will be deposited in the archives of the Swiss government, which will issue certified copies to the signatory and adherent States.

Annex to the agreement establishing the European conference of molecular biology
CERN contribution scale for 1967, based on the average national income for the years 1962 to 1964
This scale is referred exclusively to for the purposes of paragraph 4 (a) of Article XI. It does not prejudice any decisions to be taken by the Conference under paragraph 1^er Article VII on future scales of contributions.


Agreement establishing the European Laboratory of Molecular Biology
THE GERMANY FEDERAL REPUBLIC
LA REPUBLIQUE D'AUTRICHE
THE DANEMARK TRAVEL
THE FRENCH REPUBLIC
ISIS's ETAT
The ITALIAN REPUBLIC
ROYAUME DES PAYS-BAS
THE UNITED KINGDOM OF GREAT BRITAIN AND NORTHERN IRELAND
SUEDE ROYAUME
SUISSE CONFEDERATION,
Parties to the Agreement establishing the European Conference on Molecular Biology (hereinafter referred to as the "ECBM") signed in Geneva on 13 February 1969;
CONSIDERING that existing international cooperation in the field of molecular biology should be extended by the institution of a European Laboratory of Molecular Biology, and taking note of the proposals submitted to that end by the European Organization of Molecular Biology (hereinafter referred to as "the EPOM");
VU the decision of 28 June 1972 by which the ECBM approved the draft of such a Laboratory in accordance with Article II, paragraph 3, of the said Agreement, under which Special Projects may be established;
REQUESTS to specify the terms and conditions under which the Laboratory is established and operated, so that the said clauses and conditions are not affected by any change to the Agreement establishing the CEBM;
REQUESTS the acceptance by the ECBM of the provisions of this Agreement affecting it;
AGAINST WHO ITS:
Article I^er
Institution of the Laboratory
(1) A European Laboratory of Molecular Biology, an intergovernmental institution, referred to as the Laboratory, is established by this agreement.
(2) The headquarters of the Laboratory is in Heidelberg, Federal Republic of Germany.
Article II
Goals and means
(1) The Laboratory encourages cooperation between European States in fundamental research, the development of a modern instrumentation and the development of in-depth teaching in molecular biology as well as in other areas of essentially related research; To this end, it focuses its activities on stains that are not usually or easily performed in national institutions. The results of the experimental and theoretical work of the Laboratory are published or otherwise made generally accessible.
(2) For the accomplishment of its purposes, the Laboratory carries out a program that provides:
(a) the application of molecular concepts and methods to the investigation of basic biological processes;
(b) the development and use of the necessary instrumentation and technology;
(c) provision of work facilities and research facilities for visiting scientists;
(d) In-depth training and teaching.
(3) The Laboratory can create and operate the facilities required for its program.
The Laboratory includes:
(a) the equipment necessary to carry out the program pursued by the Laboratory;
(b) the buildings necessary to house the equipment referred to in paragraph (a) above, to house the administration of the Laboratory and to perform its other functions.
(4) The Laboratory organizes and manages, as widely as possible, international cooperation in the fields and programme of activities defined in paragraphs 1^er and 2 of this article, and in harmony with the CEBM General Programme. This cooperation includes the promotion of contacts and exchanges between scientists and the dissemination of information. As part of its goals, the Laboratory also strives to cooperate, as widely as possible, with other research institutions, through collaboration and consultation. The Laboratory strives to avoid duplication with work carried out by these institutions.
Article III
Members
The States Parties to this Agreement shall be the States members of the Laboratory.
Article IV
Cooperation
(1) The Laboratory works closely with the CEBM.
(2) The Laboratory may formally cooperate with non-member States, national bodies of those States, international governmental or non-governmental institutions. The establishment, conditions and modalities of such cooperation are defined in each case in accordance with the circumstances by the Council unanimously of the Member States present and voting.
Article V
Organs
The bodies of the Laboratory are the Board and the Director General.
Article VI
The Council
Composition
(1) The Council is composed of all States members of the Laboratory. Each Member State shall be represented by not more than two delegates, who may be accompanied by advisers.
The Commission elects a President and two Vice-Presidents who remain in office for one year and who cannot be re-elected more than two consecutive times.
Observers
(2) (a) States that are not parties to this Agreement may attend Council meetings as observers under the following conditions:
(i) members of the ECBM: legal;
(ii) States not members of the ECBM: by decision of the Council unanimously taken by the Member States present and voting.
(b) The EPO and other observers may attend meetings of the Council in accordance with the rules of procedure adopted by the Council under subsection (3), (j), of this section.
Credentials
(3) The Council:
(a) determine the Laboratory ' s policy in the scientific, technical and administrative fields, including through guidance to the Director-General;
(b) approves an indicative plan for the execution of the program referred to in subsection (2) of section II of this Agreement and determines the duration of the plan. In approving this plan, the Council shall determine, by a unanimous vote of the Member States present and voting, a minimum period of participation in the programme and the maximum amount of commitments and expenditures for the above-mentioned period. Neither this period nor this amount can be subsequently amended without a decision of the Council unanimously taken by the Member States present and voting. At the expiry of the above-mentioned period, the Commission determines in the same way the maximum credits for a new period defined by Consei1;
(c) adopts the annual budget by a two-thirds majority of the Member States present and voting, provided either that all the contributions of the said Member States constitute at least two-thirds of the total contributions to the budget of the Laboratory or that the Member States present and voting shall vote favourably less than one;
(d) approves the provisional estimate of expenditures for the following two years by a two-thirds majority of the Member States present and voting;
(e) adopt the Financial Regulations of the Laboratory by a two-thirds majority of the Member States present and voting;
(f) approve and publish the annual audited accounts;
(g) approves the annual report submitted by the Executive Director;
(h) decide on staffing requirements;
(i) adopt by a two-thirds majority of all Member States the Staff Regulations;
(j) statue on the establishment of groups and installations of the Laboratory outside its headquarters has a majority of two thirds of the Member States present and voting;
(k) adopt its rules of procedure;
(l) has all other powers and performs any other functions necessary for the purposes of the Laboratory, as defined in this Agreement.
(4) The Council may amend the programme referred to in Article II, paragraph 2, of this Agreement by a unanimous decision of the Member States present and voting.
Sessions
(5) The Council shall meet at least once a year in regular session. It may also meet in special sessions. Sessions shall be held at the headquarters of the Laboratory, unless the Board decides otherwise.
Votes
(6) (a) (i) Each Member State shall have a vote on the Council.
(ii) States that have signed this Agreement but have not yet ratified, accepted or approved it may be represented at the sessions of the Council and participate in its work, without the right to vote, for a period of two years after the entry into force of this Agreement in accordance with Article XV, paragraph 4 (a).
(iii) A Member State that is late in the payment of its contributions is not entitled to vote at a session of the Council in which the Director-General declares that the amount of its delay equals or exceeds the amount of contributions due by that State for the preceding two financial periods.
(b) Unless otherwise provided by this Agreement, the decisions of the Council shall be taken by a majority of the Member States present and voting.
(c) The presence of delegates of the majority of all Member States is necessary to constitute the quorum at any session of the Council.
Subsidiary bodies
(7) (a) The Council shall establish, by a decision taken by a two-thirds majority of all Member States, a Scientific Advisory Committee, a Finance Committee and any other subsidiary body that would be necessary.
(b) The decision establishing the Scientific Advisory Committee contains provisions relating to the composition and mandate of the said Committee, as well as to the rotation of its members, in accordance with Article VIII of this Agreement and also defines the conditions of service of its members.
(c) The decision establishing the Finance Committee and other subsidiary bodies contains provisions relating to the composition and mandate of the said bodies.
(d) The subsidiary bodies adopt their own rules of procedure.
Article VII
Director-General and Staff
(1) (a) The Council shall appoint, by a two-thirds majority of all Member States, a Director-General for a specified period and may, by the same majority, terminate his or her functions.
(b) Subsequently, in the event of a vacancy, the Board may defer the appointment of the Director-General for such a period that it considers necessary. The Council then designates, instead of Director General, a person whose powers and responsibilities it determines.
(2) The Director General is the senior executive officer and the legal representative of the Laboratory.
(3) (a) Le Directeur général présente au Conseil :
(i) the draft indicative plan referred to in paragraph 3, (b) of Article VI of this Agreement;
(ii) the budget and provisional estimate referred to in paragraph 3, (c) and (d), of Article VI of this Agreement;
(iii) the annual audited accounts and the annual report under paragraph 3, (f) and (g), of Article VI of this Agreement.
(b) The Director General shall transmit to the ECBM, for consideration, the annual report shall approve by the Commission in accordance with paragraph 3, (g) of Article VI of this Agreement.
(4) The Director-General is assisted by scientific, technical, administrative and secretariat staff authorized by the Board.
(5) The Director-General appoints and licens staff. The Council approves the appointment and termination of senior staff as defined by the Staff Regulations. Any appointment and termination must be made in accordance with the Staff Regulations. Any person, who is not a staff member, invited to work at the Laboratory, shall be subject to the authority of the Director General and to any general terms and conditions approved by the Commission.
(6) Each Member State shall respect, with respect to the Laboratory, the strictly international character of the responsibilities of the Director-General and staff. In the performance of their duties, they shall not seek or receive instructions from any Member State, Government or other external authority at the Laboratory.
Article VIII
Scientific Advisory Committee
(1) The Scientific Advisory Committee established pursuant to Article VI, paragraph 7, of this Agreement shall give advice to the Council, in particular with regard to the Director General's proposals for the implementation of the Laboratory's programme.
(2) The Committee is composed of eminent scholars appointed in their personal capacity, not as representatives of member states. The members of the Committee must be selected from scientists from a wide range of relevant scientific disciplines, to cover as far as possible and the field of molecular biology and other appropriate scientific disciplines. The Director-General, after having duly consulted the Council of the EPOM and the appropriate national institutions, proposes to the Council a list of candidates that the Council considers when appointing the members of the Committee.
Article IX
Budget
(1) The financial year of the Laboratoire court of 1^er January to December 31.
(2) The Director-General shall submit no later than 1^er October of each year, the Commission's review and approval of a budget showing detailed estimates of the Laboratory's revenues and expenditures for the following fiscal year.
(3) The Laboratory is funded by:
(a) the financial contributions of member States;
(b) any donation made by Member States in addition to their financial contributions, unless the Council decides, by a two-thirds majority vote of the Member States present and voting, that such a gift is incompatible with the aims of the Laboratory, and
(c) any other resource, including any donation offered by private organizations or individuals, subject to its acceptance by the Council by a two-thirds majority of the Member States present and voting.
(4) The Laboratory's budget is expressed as a unit of account representing a weight of 0.88867088 gram of fine gold.
Article X
Contributions and audits
(1) Each Member State contributes annually to the capital expenditures and current operating expenses of the Laboratory by the payment of a total sum in convertible currency according to a scale fixed every three years by the Council to a two-thirds majority of all Member States, and based on the average of net national income at the cost of the factors of each Member State for the last three calendar years for which statistics are available.
(2) The Council may decide by a two-thirds majority of all Member States to consider all special circumstances to a Member State and to amend its contribution accordingly. For the purposes of this provision, it is considered, inter alia, that there is "special circumstances" where the national per capita income of a Member State is less than an amount determined by the Council by a two-thirds majority, or is such that a Member State is required to contribute more than 30 per cent of the total amount of contributions made by the Council in accordance with the scale referred to in paragraph 1^er of this article.
(3) (a) States, which become parties to this Agreement after 31 December of the year of its entry into force, shall also pay their contribution to future capital expenditures and current operating expenses, a special contribution to capital expenditures previously incurred by the Laboratory. The amount of this special contribution shall be determined by the Council by a two-thirds majority of all Member States.
(b) Any contribution made in accordance with the provisions of paragraph (a) of this paragraph shall be deducted from the contri butions of other Member States, unless the Council decides otherwise by a two-thirds majority of all Member States.
(4) If, after the entry into force of this Agreement, a State becomes a party or ceases to be a party to the agreement, the scale of contributions referred to in paragraph 1^er of this article is amended. The new scale is effective at the beginning of the following fiscal year.
(5) The Director-General shall notify the Member States of their annual contributions and, in accordance with the Finance Committee, the dates of payment.
(6) The Director-General shall maintain the exact accounts of all income and expenditure.
(7) The Board appoints auditors to review the accounts of the Laboratory. The Board shall submit a report on the annual accounts to the Board.
(8) The Director General shall provide the auditors with any information and assistance they may require in the performance of their duties.
Article XI
Legal status
The Laboratory has legal personality. In particular, it has the capacity to contract, acquire and dispose of movable and immovable property and to judge. The State in whose territory the Laboratory is located concludes with the latter a siege agreement, subject to the approval of the Council by a two-thirds majority of all Member States, and defining both the status of the Laboratory and the privileges and immunities of the Laboratory itself and its personnel, necessary for the pursuit of the purposes and the exercise of the functions of the Laboratory.
Article XII
Settlement of disputes
Any dispute between two or more Member States concerning the interpretation or application of this Agreement, which is not settled by the good offices of the Council, shall, at the request of any of the parties to the dispute, be submitted to the International Court of Justice, unless the Member States concerned agree to another method of settlement within three months from the date on which the President of the Council finds that the good offices of the Council cannot be settled.
Article XIII
Amendments
(1) Any proposal from a Member State to amend this Agreement shall be included in the agenda of the ordinary session of the Council immediately following the submission of the proposal to the Director General. Such a proposal may also be the subject of a special session.
(2) Any amendment to the Agreement requires the unanimous acceptance of the Member States. They notify their acceptance in writing to the Swiss government.
(3) The amendments come into force thirty days after the deposit of the last written notification of acceptance.
Article XIV
Dissolution
The Laboratory is dissolved if at any time there are less than three Member States. Subject to any agreement that may be reached between the Member States at the time of dissolution, the State in whose territory the headquarters of the Laboratory is located is responsible for the liquidation. Unless otherwise decided by the Member States, the assets are distributed among the States that are members of the Laboratory at the time of dissolution, in proportion to the payments they have made. If there is a liability, the liability shall be borne by the said Member States on the basis of their assessed contributions for the current financial year.
Article XV
Signature, ratification, accession, entry into force
(1) This Agreement shall be open for signature by the States members of the ECBM until the date of its entry into force in accordance with paragraph 4 (a) of this Article.
(2) This Agreement shall be subject to ratification, acceptance or approval. Appropriate instruments are deposited with the Swiss government.
(3) (a) Any Member State of the ECBM not a signatory to this Agreement may accede to it at any later time.
(b) The termination of the Agreement establishing the CEBM shall not prevent the accession to this Agreement by a State, formerly a party to the Agreement establishing the CEBM or in respect of which, pursuant to Article III, paragraph 2, of the Agreement, a decision allowing it to accede to it.
(c) The instruments of accession are deposited with the Swiss government.
(4) (a) This Agreement shall enter into force when it has been ratified, accepted or approved by the majority of the States listed in the Preamble to this Agreement, including the State in which the headquarters of the Laboratory is located, and subject to the fact that all the contributions of the said States represent at least seventy per cent of the total of the contributions contained in the scale annexed to this Agreement.
(b) After its entry into force under paragraph 4 (a) of this Article, this Agreement shall enter into force, for any signatory State that ratifies, accepts or approves it subsequently, on the date of deposit of its instrument of ratification, acceptance or approval.
(c) For any State acceding to this Agreement, the Agreement shall enter into force on the date of the deposit of its instrument of accession.
(d) (i) This Agreement will initially remain in force for a period of seven years. After that, it will remain in force for an indefinite period unless the Council, no later than one year before the expiry of the seven-year period referred to above, decides by a two-thirds majority of all Member States and provided that the contributions of the said Member States do not constitute less than two-thirds of all contributions to the Laboratory budget, to extend this agreement for a specified period or to terminate it.
(ii) The termination of the Agreement establishing the CEBM does not affect the validity of this Agreement.
Article XVI
Denunciation
(1) After this Agreement has been in force for six years, any State that is a party to it may, subject to the provisions of paragraph 3 (b) of Article VI of this Agreement, denounce it by notification to the Swiss Government. Such denunciation shall take effect at the end of the following fiscal year.
(2) Any Member State that does not fulfil its obligations under this Agreement may be deprived of its membership by a decision of the Council taken by a two-thirds majority of all Member States. Such a decision shall be notified by the Director-General ' s care to signatories and members.
Article XVII
Notifications and Registration
(1) The Swiss government shall notify the signatories and members of:
(a) all signatures;
(b) the deposit of any instrument of ratification, acceptance, approval or accession;
(c) the entry into force of this Agreement;
(d) any written acceptance of an amendment notified in accordance with Article XIII, paragraph 3, of this Agreement;
(e) the entry into force of any amendment;
(f) any denunciation of this Agreement.
(2) When this Agreement comes into force, the Swiss Government shall register it with the United Nations Secretariat in accordance with Article 102 of the Charter of the United Nations.
Article XVIII
Transitional provisions
(1) For the period beginning on the date of entry into force of this Agreement and ending on 31 December thereafter, the Council shall make budgetary provisions and the expenditures shall be covered by contributions from the Member States, as set out in the following two paragraphs.
(2) The States Parties to this Agreement on the date of its entry into force and the States that have become parties to it by 31 December next, shall jointly bear the full costs of the budgetary arrangements that the Council may adopt in accordance with paragraph 1^er of this article.
(3) The contributions of the States referred to in paragraph 2 of this article shall be provisional, as appropriate, and in accordance with paragraphs 1^er and 2 of Article X of this Agreement. At the end of the period specified in paragraph 1^er of this article, a final apportionment of the costs between the said States shall be effected on the basis of actual expenditure. Any amount paid by a surplus State of its final share so calculated shall be credited to the credit.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF the undersigned plenipotentiaries, duly authorized for this purpose, have signed this Agreement.
Done in Geneva on 10 May 1973, in the German, English and French languages, the three texts being equally authentic, in a single original copy to be deposited in the archives of the Swiss government, which will issue certified copies to all the signatory and adherent States.

Annex
Scale of contributions based on average national income, 1968-1970, published by the United Nations
The scale referred to here shall be exclusively for the purposes of Article XV, paragraph 4 (a), of this Agreement. It does not prejudice any decisions to be taken by the Council in accordance with paragraph 1^er of Article X and on future scales of assessments.


Agreement establishing the European Conference on Molecular Biology, done at Geneva on 13 February 1969


Agreement establishing the European Laboratory of Molecular Biology, done in Geneva on 10 May 1973