Cap. 190 sub. leg. N

The Asia-Pacific Telecommunity Notification(Cap. 190, section 2)[21 November 1980](Format changes—E.R. 4 of 2021) Part I General 1. This Notification may be cited as the Asia-Pacific Telecommunity Notification.(E.R. 4 of 2021) 2. For the purposes of this Notification, the official activities of the Asia-Pacific Telecommunity (hereinafter referred to as the Organization) means its activities carried out in pursuance of its objectives as defined in the Constitution of the Organization, opened for signature at Bangkok on 1 April 1976 until 31 October 1976 and at New York thereafter, and includes its administrative activities.(E.R. 4 of 2021) Part II The Organization 3. The Organization is an organization to which the International Organizations and Diplomatic Privileges Ordinance (Cap. 190) applies. 4. The Organization is an organization of which the Government or Governments of one or more foreign sovereign powers are members and of which the Government of the People’s Republic of China is a member and the Government of Hong Kong is an associate member.(32 of 2000 s. 40) 5. The Organization 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. 6. The Organization shall have the like inviolability of official archives and premises occupied as offices as is accorded in the People’s Republic of China in respect of the official archives and premises of an envoy of a foreign sovereign power accredited to the Government of the People’s Republic of China.(81 of 1999 s. 3) 7. The Organization shall have the like exemption or relief from taxes and rates, other than taxes on the importation of goods, as is accorded in the People’s Republic of China to a foreign sovereign power.(81 of 1999 s. 3) 8. The Organization shall have exemption from taxes on the importation of goods directly imported by the Organization for its official use in Hong Kong or for exportation, or on the importation of any publications of the Organization directly imported by it, such exemption to be subject to compliance with such conditions as the Commissioner of Customs and Excise may prescribe for the protection of the revenue.(40 of 1985 s. 10) 9. The Organization shall have exemption from prohibitions and restrictions on importation or exportation in the case of goods directly imported or exported by the Organization for its official use and in the case of any publications of the Organization directly imported or exported by it. 10. The Organization 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 dispatched from places outside Hong Kong), of any reduced rates applicable for the corresponding service in the case of press telegrams. Part III Representatives 11. (1) Except in so far as in any particular case any privilege or immunity is waived by the Governments of members and associate members whom they represent, representatives of members and associate members to the General Assembly, the Management Committee or to any conference, meeting or other organ of the Organization shall enjoy—(a) while exercising their functions as such and during their journeys 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 things done or omitted to be done by them in their capacity as representatives. (2) Where the incidence of any form of taxation depends upon residence, representatives shall not be deemed to be resident in Hong Kong during any period when they are present in Hong Kong for the discharge of their duties. (3) For the purposes of the application of this Article the expression representatives (代表) shall be deemed to include, in addition to the representatives, the following members of their official staffs accompanying them as such representatives— Alternate representatives, Advisers, Technical experts, Secretaries of Delegations, and Part IV of the First Schedule to the Ordinance shall not operate so as to confer privileges or immunities on the staffs of representatives other than on those persons falling within the above-mentioned descriptions. (4) The provisions of the preceding paragraphs of this Article shall not confer any immunity or privilege on any person as the representative of the Central People’s Government in Hong Kong or as a member of the staff of such representative or on any person who is a Chinese national. (80 of 1982 s. 3; 81 of 1999 s. 3) Part IV High Officials of the Organization 12. Except in so far as in any particular case any privilege or immunity is waived by the Organization, the Executive Director shall be accorded in respect of himself, his spouse and his children under the age of twenty-one and the Deputy Executive Directors shall be accorded in respect of themselves the like immunity from suit and legal process, the like inviolability of residence and the like exemption or relief from taxes, other than income tax, as is accorded in the People’s Republic of China to an envoy of a foreign sovereign power accredited to the Government of the People’s Republic of China, his spouse and children, and exemption from income tax in respect of emoluments received by them as officers of the Organization.(81 of 1999 s. 3) Part V Other Officials of the Organization 13. Except in so far as in any particular case any privilege or immunity is waived by the Organization, officials of the Organization of any category specified by it shall enjoy—(a) immunity from suit and legal process in respect of words spoken or written and things done or omitted to be done by them in the course of the performance of their official duties;(b) exemption from income tax in respect of emoluments received by them as officers or servants of the Organization.