Explanatory Memorandum to COM(2014)543 - EU position as regards the establishment of a list of 15 arbitrators for the Protocol on Cultural Cooperation to the Free Trade Agreement with Korea - Main contents
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This page contains a limited version of this dossier in the EU Monitor.
| dossier | COM(2014)543 - EU position as regards the establishment of a list of 15 arbitrators for the Protocol on Cultural Cooperation to the Free ... |
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| source | COM(2014)543  |
| date | 02-09-2014 |
The Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between the European Union and its Member States, of the one part, and the Republic of Korea, of the other part i has been provisionally applied since July 2011. The Protocol on Cultural Cooperation (hereafter: the Protocol), concluded by the Parties within the framework of the FTA, established a framework within which the Parties shall cooperate to facilitate exchanges in cultural activities, goods and services, including in the audio-visual sector, and to improve the conditions governing such exchanges.
By derogation from the institutional provisions of the FTA, the Trade Committee shall have no jurisdiction over the Protocol. Instead the Committee on Cultural Cooperation, established within the framework of the Protocol and comprising senior officials from within the administration of each Party, shall exercise all functions of the Trade Committee as regards the Protocol, where such functions are relevant for the purposes of implementing the Protocol. The Committee on Cultural Cooperation met for the first time on 5 December 2013 in Brussels and the Parties on that occasion shared information on their respective legal bases and cultural activities.
With the Protocol, the Parties agreed inter alia to establish an arbitration panel of 15 individuals who are willing and able to serve as arbitrators in case of a dispute between the Parties. Each Party must propose five individuals to serve as arbitrators. The Parties must also select five individuals who are not nationals of either Party and who shall act as chairperson to the arbitration panel.
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The Member States were consulted on several occasions through the Council's Committee for Cultural Affairs (CAC) in order to identify possible arbitrators for dispute settlement under the Protocol. Following the call to CAC members on 30 July 2013 seven names were proposed for EU arbitrators.
The European Commission received the list of Korean arbitrators on 7 April 2014.
The list of non-EU non-Korean arbitrators was established following consultations with the EU Delegations to OECD and UNESCO (in Paris), and to the UN (in Geneva) as well as with the Korean Party.
The arbitrators were selected on the basis of the following criteria:
– Independence: not affiliated with the government of a Party, able to serve in an individual capacity without taking instructions from any organisation or government with regard to matters related to the dispute. Members of governments of Parties and officials of Union institutions cannot be considered as independent.
– Compliance with the Code of Conduct for Members of Arbitration Panels and Mediators (Annex 14-C of the Free Trade Agreement).
– A background in international relations and/or a degree in international law.
– If possible, experience in working on cultural and audio-visual cases, ideally also in an international context.
– If possible, experience of acting as an arbitrator in matters of international trade.
The procedure for establishing the arbitration panel is provided for in Article 3bis of the Protocol. The required steps have been taken, as detailed above.
As indicated in Article 3bis (c) "the Committee on Cultural Cooperation shall (…) establish a list of 15 individuals who are willing and able to serve as arbitrators". In accordance with Article 11 of the Rules of Procedure of the Committee on Cultural Cooperation the Committee shall adopt the Decision on the establishment of the list of 15 arbitrators by agreement between the Parties (see draft below).
To do so a Council Decision is required on the position to be taken on behalf of the European Union as regards the establishment of a list of 15 arbitrators for the Protocol according to Article 6 of Council Decision 2011/265/EU.
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5. OPTIONAL ELEMENTS
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