Pursuant to the Diplomatic Privileges Extension Act 1947, and to determinations thereunder by the Minister of External Affairs and the Minister of Finance, His Excellency the Governor-General, acting by and with the advice and consent of the Executive Council, hereby makes the following order.

The organisation

Representatives of members, and the Chairman of the Council

High officers

Persons employed on missions

Other officials

Order

1

This order may be cited as the Diplomatic Privileges (FAO) Order 1957.

2

In this order, unless the context otherwise requires,—

The Act means the Diplomatic Privileges Extension Act 1947

The organisation means the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations.

The organisation

3

The organisation is hereby declared to be an organisation of which Her Majesty's Government in New Zealand and the Governments of certain foreign sovereign Powers are members.

4

The organisation shall have the legal capacities of a body corporate and, except in so far as in any particular case it has expressly waived its immunity, immunity from suit and legal process. No waiver of immunity shall be deemed to extend to any measure of execution.

5

The organisation shall have the like inviolability of official archives and premises occupied as offices as is accorded in New Zealand in respect of the official archives and premises of an envoy of a foreign sovereign Power accredited to Her Majesty.

6

The organisation shall have the like exemption or relief from taxes and rates, other than taxes on the importation of goods, as is accorded to a foreign sovereign Power.

7

The organisation shall have exemption from taxes on the importation of goods directly imported by the organisation for its official use in New Zealand or for exportation, or on the importation of any publications of the organisation directly imported by it, that exemption to be subject to compliance with such conditions as the Minister of Customs may prescribe for the protection of the revenue.

8

The organisation shall have exemption from prohibitions and restrictions on importation or exportation in the case of goods directly imported or exported by the organisation for its official use and in the case of any publications of the organisation directly imported or exported by it.

9

The organisation shall have the right to avail itself, for telegraphic communications sent by it and containing only matter intended for publication by the press or for broadcasting (including communications addressed to or despatched from places outside New Zealand), of any reduced rates applicable for the corresponding service in the case of press telegrams.

Representatives of members, and the Chairman of the Council

10

(1) Except in so far as any immunity or privilege is waived, in the case of representatives of member Governments, by the Governments whom they represent, and in the case of the Chairman of the Council, by the Council of the organisation, representatives of member Governments and the Chairman of the Council of the organisation shall enjoy—
- (a) while exercising their functions as such, and during their journey to and from the place of meeting, immunity from personal arrest or detention and from seizure of their personal baggage and inviolability for all papers and documents:
- (b) immunity from legal process of every kind in respect of words spoken or written and all acts done by them in their capacity as such:
- (c) while exercising their functions and during their journey to and from the place of meeting, the like exemption or relief from taxes as is accorded to an envoy of a foreign sovereign Power accredited to Her Majesty, save that the relief allowed shall not include relief from Customs and excise duties or sales tax except in respect of goods imported as part of their personal baggage. They shall not, where the incidence of any form of taxation depends upon residence, be deemed to be resident in New Zealand during any period when they are present in New Zealand while exercising their functions and during their journey to and from the place of meeting. This paragraph shall not apply to British subjects whose usual place of abode is in New Zealand.
(2) For the purpose of the application of this order, the expression “representatives of member Governments” shall be deemed to include their official staffs accompanying them as such representatives, as delegates, deputy delegates, advisers, technical experts, or secretaries of delegations.

(3) This clause shall not confer any immunity or privilege upon any person as the representative of Her Majesty's Government in New Zealand or as a member of the staff of such a representative.

High officers

11

Except in so far as in any particular case any immunity or privilege is waived by the organisation, officers of the organisation holding the offices of Director-General and Deputy Director-General shall be accorded in respect of themselves, their spouses, and their children under the age of twenty-one, the like immunity from suit and legal process, the like inviolability of residence, and (except in the case of a British subject who is domiciled and employed in New Zealand) the like exemption or relief from taxes as is accorded to an envoy of a foreign sovereign Power accredited to Her Majesty, his spouse, and his children.

Persons employed on missions

12

Except in so far as in any particular case any immunity or privilege is waived by the organisation, persons employed on missions on behalf of the organisation shall enjoy—
- (a) while performing their missions and during time spent on journeys in connection therewith, immunity from personal arrest or detention and from seizure of their personal baggage and inviolability for all papers and documents relating to the work of the organisation:
- (b) immunity from legal process of every kind in respect of words spoken or written and all acts done by them in the exercise of their functions.

Other officials

13

Except in so far as in any particular case any immunity or privilege is waived by the organisation, all officials of the organisation (other than those referred to in clause 11 hereof) shall enjoy—
- (a) immunity from suit and legal process in respect of words spoken or written and all acts done by them in the course of the performance of their official duties:
- (b) exemption from income tax and social security charge in respect of emoluments received by them as officers or servants of the organisation. This paragraph shall not apply to any person who is a British subject and who is domiciled and employed in New Zealand.

T J Sherrard,
Clerk of the Executive Council.

Explanatory Note

This note is not part of the order, but is intended to indicate its general effect.

The purpose of this order is to provide immunities and privileges required by the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations.

Issued under the authority of the Regulations Act 1936.

Date of notification in Gazette: 13 June 1957.

1General
2About this eprint
3List of amendments incorporated in this eprint (most recent first)

Notes

1 General

This is an eprint of the Diplomatic Privileges (FAO) Order 1957. The eprint incorporates all the amendments to the order as at 1 April 1959. The list of amendments at the end of these notes specifies all the amendments incorporated into this eprint since 3 September 2007.

Relevant provisions of any amending enactments that contain transitional, savings, or application provisions that cannot be compiled in the eprint are also included, after the principal enactment, in chronological order.

2 About this eprint

This eprint has not been officialised. For more information about eprints and officialisation, please see http://www.pco.parliament.govt.nz/eprints/ .

3 List of amendments incorporated in this eprint (most recent first)

Diplomatic Privileges (FAO) Order 1959 (SR 1959/52): clause 17