Appendix B:
Status of Multi-National Military Implementation Force
1. For the purposes of this Appendix, the following expressions
shall have the meanings hereunder assigned to them:
(a) "NATO" means the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO),
its subsidiary bodies, its military
Headquarters, the NATO-led KFOR, and any elements/units forming
any part of KFOR or supporting KFOR,
whether or not they are from a NATO member country and whether or
not they are under NATO or national
command and control, when acting in furtherance of this
Agreement.
(b) "Authorities in the FRY" means appropriate authorities,
whether Federal, Republic, Kosovo or other.
(c) "NATO personnel" means the military, civilian, and contractor
personnel assigned or attached to or employed
by NATO, including the military, civilian, and contractor
personnel from non-NATO states participating in the
Operation, with the exception of personnel locally hired.
(d) "the Operation" means the support, implementation,
preparation, and participation by NATO and NATO
personnel in furtherance of this Chapter.
(e) "Military Headquarters" means any entity, whatever its
denomination, consisting of or constituted in part by
NATO military personnel established in order to fulfill the
Operation.
(f) "Authorities" means the appropriate responsible individual,
agency, or organization of the Parties.
(g) "Contractor personnel" means the technical experts or
functional specialists whose services are required by
NATO and who are in the territory of the FRY exclusively to serve
NATO either in an advisory capacity in
technical matters, or for the setting up, operation, or
maintenance of equipment, unless they are:
(i) nationals of the FRY; or
(ii) persons ordinarily resident in the FRY.
(h) "Official use" means any use of goods purchased, or of the
services received and intended for the
performance of any function as required by the operation of the
Headquarters.
(i) "Facilities" means all buildings, structures, premises, and
land required for conducting the operational,
training, and administrative activities by NATO for the Operation
as well as for accommodation of NATO
personnel.
2. Without prejudice to their privileges and immunities under this
Appendix, all NATO personnel shall respect the laws
applicable in the FRY, whether Federal, Republic, Kosovo, or other,
insofar as compliance with those laws is compatible
with the entrusted tasks/mandate and shall refrain from activities not
compatible with the nature of the operation.
3. The Parties recognize the need for expeditious departure and
entry procedures for NATO personnel. Such personnel
shall be exempt from passport and visa regulations and the
registration requirements applicable to aliens. At all entry and
exit points to/from the FRY, NATO personnel shall be permitted to
enter/exit the FRY on production of a national
identification (ID) card. NATO personnel shall carry identification
which they may be requested to produce for the
authorities in the FRY, but operations, training, and movement shall
not be allowed to be impeded or delayed by such
requests.
4. NATO military personnel shall normally wear uniforms, and NATO
personnel may possess and carry arms if
authorized to do so by their orders. The Parties shall accept as
valid, without tax or fee, drivers, licenses and permits
issued to NATO personnel by their respective national authorities.
5. NATO shall be permitted to display the NATO flag and/or national
flags of its constituent national elements/units on
any NATO uniform, means of transport, or facility.
6.
(a) NATO shall be immune from all legal process, whether civil,
administrative, or criminal.
(b) NATO personnel, under all circumstances and at all times,
shall be immune from the Parties' jurisdiction in
respect of any civil, administrative, criminal, or disciplinary
offenses which may be committed by them in the FRY.
The Parties shall assist States participating in the operation in
the exercise of their jurisdiction over their own
nationals.
(c) Notwithstanding the above, and with the NATO Commander's
express agreement in each case, the authorities
in the FRY may exceptionally exercise jurisdiction in such
matters, but only in respect of Contractor personnel who
are not subject to the jurisdiction of their nation of
citizenship.
7. NATO personnel shall be immune from any form of arrest,
investigation, or detention by the authorities in the
FRY. NATO personnel erroneously arrested or detained shall immediately
be turned over to NATO authorities.
8. NATO personnel shall enjoy, together with their vehicles, vessels,
aircraft, and equipment, free and unrestricted
passage and unimpeded access throughout the FRY including associated
airspace and territorial waters. This shall include,
but not be limited to, the right of bivouac, maneuver, billet, and
utilization of any areas or facilities as required for support,
training, and operations.
9. NATO shall be exempt from duties, taxes, and other charges and
inspections and custom regulations including
providing inventories or other routine customs documentation, for
personnel, vehicles, vessels, aircraft, equipment,
supplies, and provisions entering, exiting, or transiting the
territory of the FRY in support of the Operation.
10. The authorities in the FRY shall facilitate, on a priority basis
and with all appropriate means, all movement of
personnel, vehicles, vessels, aircraft, equipment, or supplies,
through or in the airspace, ports, airports, or roads used. No
charges may be assessed against NATO for air navigation, landing, or
takeoff of aircraft, whether government-owned or
chartered. Similarly, no duties, dues, tolls or charges may be
assessed against NATO ships, whether government-owned
or chartered, for the mere entry and exit of ports. Vehicles, vessels,
and aircraft used in support of the operation shall not
be subject to licensing or registration requirements, nor commercial
insurance.
11. NATO is granted the use of airports, roads, rails, and ports
without payment of fees, duties, dues, tolls, or charges
occasioned by mere use. NATO shall not, however, claim exemption from
reasonable charges for specific services
requested and received, but operations/movement and access shall not
be allowed to be impeded pending payment for
such services.
12. NATO personnel shall be exempt from taxation by the Parties on the
salaries and emoluments received from NATO
and on any income received from outside the FRY.
13. NATO personnel and their tangible moveable property imported into,
acquired in, or exported from the FRY shall
be exempt from all duties, taxes, and other charges and inspections
and custom regulations.
14. NATO shall be allowed to import and to export, free of duty, taxes
and other charges, such equipment, provisions,
and supplies as NATO shall require for the operation, provided such
goods are for the official use of NATO or for sale
to NATO personnel. Goods sold shall be solely for the use of NATO
personnel and not transferable to unauthorized
persons.
15. The Parties recognize that the use of communications channels is
necessary for the Operation. NATO shall be
allowed to operate its own internal mail services. The Parties shall,
upon simple request, grant all telecommunications
services, including broadcast services, needed for the operation, as
determined by NATO. This shall include the right to
utilize such means and services as required to assure full ability to
communicate, and the right to use all of the
electro-magnetic spectrum for this purpose, free of cost. In
implementing this right, NATO shall make every reasonable
effort to coordinate with and take into account the needs and
requirements of appropriate authorities in the FRY.
16. The Parties shall provide, free of cost, such public facilities as
NATO shall require to prepare for and execute
the Operation. The Parties shall assist NATO in obtaining, at the
lowest rate, the necessary utilities, such as electricity,
water, gas and other resources, as NATO shall require for the
Operation.
17. NATO and NATO personnel shall be immune from claims of any sort
which arise out of activities in pursuance
of the operation; however, NATO will entertain claims on an ex gratia
basis.
18. NATO shall be allowed to contract directly for the acquisition of
goods, services, and construction from any
source within and outside the FRY. Such contracts, goods, services,
and construction shall not be subject to the payment
of duties, taxes, or other charges. NATO may also carry out
construction works with their own personnel.
19. Commercial undertakings operating in the FRY only in the service
of NATO shall be exempt from local laws
and regulations with respect to the terms and conditions of their
employment and licensing and registration of employees,
businesses, and corporations.
20. NATO may hire local personnel who on an individual basis shall
remain subject to local laws and regulations
with the exception of labor/employment laws. However, local personnel
hired by NATO shall:
(a) be immune from legal process in respect of words spoken or
written and all acts performed by them in their
official capacity;
(b) be immune from national services and/or national military
service obligations;
(c) be subject only to employment terms and conditions
established by NATO; and
(d) be exempt from taxation on the salaries and emoluments paid
to them by NATO.
21.In carrying out its authorities under this Chapter, NATO is
authorized to detain individuals and, as quickly as
possible, turn them over to appropriate officials.
22. NATO may, in the conduct of the operation, have need to make
improvements or modifications to certain
infrastructure in the FRY, such as roads, bridges, tunnels, buildings,
and utility systems. Any such improvements or
modifications of a non-temporary nature shall become part of and in
the same ownership as that infrastructure. Temporary
improvements or modifications may be removed at the discretion of the
NATO Commander, and the infrastructure
returned to as near its original condition as possible, fair wear and
tear excepted.
23. Failing any prior settlement, disputes with the regard to the
interpretation or application of this Appendix shall be
settled between NATO and the appropriate authorities in the FRY.
24. Supplementary arrangements with any of the Parties may be
concluded to facilitate any details connected with the
Operation.
25. The provisions of this Appendix shall remain in force until
completion of the Operation or as the Parties and NATO
otherwise agree.