International Organisations Act 1968

1 Organisations of which United Kingdom is a member. U.K.

(1) This section shall apply to any organisation declared by Order in Council to be an organisation of which—

(a) the United Kingdom, or Her Majesty’s Government in the United Kingdom, and

[F1 (b) any other sovereign Power or the Government of any other sovereign Power,]

are members.

(2) Subject to subsection (6) of this section, Her Majesty may by Order in Council made under this subsection specify an organisation to which this section applies and make any one or more of the following provisions in respect of the organisation so specified (in the following provisions of this section referred to as “the organisation”), that is to say—

(a) confer on the organisation the legal capacities of a body corporate;

(b) provide that the organisation shall, to such extent as may be specified in the Order, have the privileges and immunities set out in Part I of Schedule 1 to this Act;

(c) confer the privileges and immunities set out in Part II of Schedule 1 to this Act, to such extent as may be specified in the Order, on persons of any such class as is mentioned in the next following subsection;

(d) confer the privileges and immunities set out in Part III of Schedule 1 to this Act, to such extent as may be specified in the Order, on such classes of officers and servants of the organisation (not being classes mentioned in the next following subsection) as may be so specified.

(3) The classes of persons referred to in subsection (2)(c) of this section are

(a) persons who (whether they represent Governments or not) are representatives to the organisation or representatives on, or members of, any organ, committee or other subordinate body of the organisation (including any sub-committee or other subordinate body of a subordinate body of the organisation);

(b) such number of officers of the organisation as may be specified in the Order, being the holders (whether permanent, temporary or acting) of such high offices in the organisation as may be so specified; and

(c) persons employed by or serving under the organisation as experts or as persons engaged on missions for the organisation.

(4) Where an Order in Council is made under subsection (2) of this section, the provisions of Part IV of Schedule 1 to this Act shall have effect by virtue of that Order (in those provisions, as they so have effect, referred to as “the relevant Order”), except in so far as that Order otherwise provides.

(5) Where an Order in Council is made under subsection (2) of this section, then for the purpose of giving effect to any agreement made in that behalf between the United Kingdom or Her Majesty’s Government in the United Kingdom and the organisation Her Majesty may by the same or any subsequent Order in Council make either or both of the following provisions, that is to say—

(a) confer the exemptions set out in paragraph 13 of Schedule 1 to this Act, to such extent as may be specified in the Order, in respect of officers and servants of the organisation of any class specified in the Order in accordance with subsection (2)(d) of this section and in respect of members of the family of any such officer or servant who form part of his household;

(b) confer the exemptions set out in Part V of that Schedule in respect of—

(i) members of the staff of the organisation recognised by Her Majesty’s Government in the United Kingdom as holding a rank equivalent to that of a diplomatic agent, and

(ii) members of the family of any such member of the staff of the organisation who form part of his household.

(6) Any Order in Council made under subsection (2) or subsection (5) of this section shall be so framed as to secure—

(a) that the privileges and immunities conferred by the Order are not greater in extent than those which, at the time when the Order takes effect, are required to be conferred in accordance with any agreement to which the United Kingdom or Her Majesty’s Government in the United Kingdom is then a party (whether made with [F2 any other sovereign Power or Government] or made with one or more organisations such as are mentioned in subsection (1) of this section), and

(b) that no privilege or immunity is conferred on any person as the representative of the United Kingdom, or of Her Majesty’s Government in the United Kingdom, or as a member of the staff of such a representative.

[F3 (7) Notwithstanding subsection (6)(a) of this section, where any agreement to which the United Kingdom or Her Majesty’s Government in the United Kingdom is a party requires the conferral of any privileges and immunities on the spouse of any individual, Her Majesty may by Order in Council confer the same privileges and immunities on the civil partner of that individual.]

Subordinate Legislation Made

P1 S. 1: s.1 power exercised by S.I. 1991/757.

P2 S. 1: for previous exercises of this power see Index to Government Orders.

Textual Amendments

F1 S. 1(1)(b) substituted by International Organisations Act 1981 (c. 9, SIF 68:1), s. 1(1)(a)

F2 Words substituted by International Organisations Act 1981 (c. 9, SIF 68:1), s. 1(1)(b)

F3 S. 1(7) inserted (23.12.2005) by Civil Partnership Act 2004 (International Immunities and Privileges, Companies and Adoption) Order 2005 (S.I. 2005/3542), arts. 1(2), 2(1)

Modifications etc. (not altering text)

C1 S. 1 extended by Diplomatic and other Privileges Act 1971 (c. 64), s. 2

C2 S. 1 modified (7.6.2005) by International Organisations Act 2005 (c. 20), ss. 4(1), 11(3)

C3 S. 1 modified (7.6.2005) by International Organisations Act 2005 (c. 20), ss. 8, 11(3)

C4 S. 1(5)(6)(a) modified (7.6.2005) by International Organisations Act 2005 (c. 20), ss. 4(2), 11(3)

C5 S. 1(6)(b) excluded by International Organisations Act 1981 (c. 9, SIF 68:1), s. 4