Inter-Governmental Maritime Consultative Organisation (Immunities and Privileges) (Amendment) Order 1982 (Hansard, 26 April 1982)

§ Lord Skelmersdale
My Lords, I beg to move that the Inter-Governmental Maritime Consultative Organisation (Immunities and Privileges) (Amendment) Order 1982 be approved. The words "Inter-Governmental Maritime Consultative Organisation" being rather a mouthful, I hope the House will allow me on this occasion to use the acronym IMCO throughout in my few words on the order.
The order is required to give effect to an Exchange of Notes between the Government and IMCO amending the IMCO Headquarters Agreement. The amendment is to allow member states to establish in this country permanent missions accredited to IMCO.
The convention establishing IMCO entered into force on 17th March 1958 and the organisation set up its headquarters in London early the following year. A Headquarters Agreement was concluded with IMCO in 1968. IMCO's purpose is to provide the means for co-operation and exchange of information among Governments on technical matters related to international shipping, especially with regard to the establishment of internationally agreed standards for the safety of life at sea and the prevention and control of marine pollution from ships. IMCO is responsible for calling international maritime conferences and drafting international maritime conventions, instruments and agreements. It has produced numerous technical codes relating to the carriage of various types of cargoes such as chemicals, ores, nuclear materials and other dangerous goods, and 705 covering the construction and equipment of specialised ships like gas and chemical carriers. Your Lordships will be aware that IMCO is the only United Nations body with its headquarters in this country.
The IMCO Council first considered the question of permanent missions as long ago as 1975 and, although our representatives have always argued that members' interests were adequately served by their diplomatic missions in London, or by visiting experts, it was accepted in 1979 that there was no objection in principle to the establishment of permanent missions. In reaching this decision we were guided by the fact that the majority of IMCO's members wanted to be free to establish permanent missions. Although there are no non-embassy missions at the moment, and these are not expected, other comparable specialised agencies in other cities are served by such missions and have permanent missions accredited to them. In the light of these considerations we have agreed with IMCO that the Headquarters Agreement should be amended in the manner set out in Cmnd. 8495 which was laid before this House on 16th February.
The draft order before your Lordships would implement that amendment. It grants certain limited immunities and privileges to permanent representatives of member states and resident members of permanent missions. However, as we do not expect many members of IMCO to establish separate permanent missions here I do not think your Lordships need have much concern over this order. The order does not apply to IMCO headquarters' staff members. They are already provided for under the existing provisions of the Headquarters Agreement. The immunities it accords are much less than those given to embassy personnel of diplomatic rank. The immunity from jurisdiction is restricted to official acts, and will not, therefore, apply if they should, for example, commit traffic offences or not pay their rates, both aspects of immunity which I know have caused your Lordships concern in the past. Given IMCO's role in a wide variety of maritime matters which are of great importance to us as a major shipping nation and as a coastal state, I hope that your Lordships will show support for the work of this important organisation by approving this order. I beg to move.

§ Lord Bishopston
My Lords, I am sure we are all grateful to the noble Lord for explaining the order which amends the Headquarters Agreement between Her Majesty's Government and IMCO, allowing member states to establish permanent missions here. As the Minister has said, the order brings IMCO into line with other UN agencies, such as FAO and UNESCO, in respect of an IMCO base in this country. The organisation has some very important functions, not least those concerned with marine pollution—a matter of great concern to the United Kingdom and, indeed, to many other countries—as well as other specialist functions. The order also grants, as the noble Lord said, certain immunities and privileges to permanent staff representatives of diplomatic rank.
706 I should be grateful if the noble Lord would answer one or two questions, of some of which I have given him notice. First, can he say whether the immunities extend to the families of mission personnel? Secondly, in what way do the immunities and privileges differ from those granted to other missions' representatives and staff? Thirdly, do the immunities extend to road and traffic legislation requirements? Is there a limitation on the missions? Another question which occurs to me, and of which I have not given notice, concerns any taxation immunities which would apply in this case.

§ Lord Skelmersdale
My Lords, I am grateful to the noble Lord, Lord Bishopston, for his reception of the order. The noble Lord has asked me one or two questions. I think that perhaps I dealt with his question about traffic and road legislation in my original introduction. The answer is that immunities are not confirmed for that. The noble Lord also asked how the immunities of the personnel of such missions differ from diplomatic immunities. The answer is—again as I think I said originally—that the immunities in this case are only for official acts in the normal course of the duties of those personnel, whereas diplomats are exempt all the time, whatever they are doing. Therefore, it is a very minor form of immunity and privilege.
As regards the families of mission personnel, the only immunity which extends to wives and families is that of immigration. Once they are actually here they do not get any immunities at all. As to limitations of numbers, yes, we can control the size of these missions, and the annex to Cmnd. 8495 contains the agreed procedure—the accreditation to IMCO of permanent representatives and their staff. If the person is not already a member of an embassy, IMCO must inform Her Majesty's Government. If we should object to the person either because of something that he has done or because we think that the mission is already big enough, consultations must take place between Her Majesty's Government and IMCO.
The question of tax is a little complicated. However, basically, it works in the same way as it does for any person working abroad. In this case, representatives will be exempt from tax on their salaries paid to them by their Governments—that is, exempt from tax in this country; what happens in their countries of origin is, of course, a matter for those countries.
I hope that I have tidied up all the questions which the noble Lord has asked me. As I said at the beginning, I am very grateful for his reception of the order.