CONSTRUING OF CONSTITUENT DOCUMENTS

OF THE EURASIAN ECONOMIC UNION

Advisory Opinion No. 01-1/3-05 dated March 10, 2006 on construing the Treaty on establishing the Eurasian Economic Union, dated October 10, 2000 concerns the following issues:

-         What is legal effect of the provisions contained in Part two Article 1 of the Agreement dated October 10, 2000; what is the procedure and way used to delegate authorities from the States, which are the parties to this Treaty, to EurAsEU (whether adoption, by the States, of their national acts providing for delegation of certain portion of authorities to the Commonwealth, is sufficient), and in what way are such authorities exercised within the Eurasian Economic Union);

-         Decisions of what particular EurAsEU bodies are fulfilled in accordance with the procedure established by Part one Article 14 of the Treaty dated October 10, 2000; on what issues, covered by the terms of reference of such bodies, such decisions may be made; what is their place in the hierarchy of the national legislative acts of the EurAsEU member-States;

-         Whether Part one Article 14 of the Treaty excludes applicability, to EurAsEU, of Article 58 in the Agreement on the customs union and common free Market zone dated February 26, 1999, and Article 24 in the Treaty on deepening integration in economic and humanitarian fields dated March 29, 1996, which govern issues related to adoption of decisions by the EurAsEU Intergovernmental Council, to be directly implemented by the member-States and by the institutions and organizations of the parties.

The CIS Economic Court believes that Part two Article 1 in the Treaty dated October 10, 2000, which establishes that EurAsEU has authorities voluntarily delegated to it by the contracting parties when exercising their sovereignty in accordance with the provisions of this Treaty (Part one Article 2; Part two Article 5; paragraph four Part two Item 1 Article 6; Part one Article 7; Parts one and two Article 8), is legally binding upon the EurAsEU member-States.

The scope of such delegated authorities may be changed through signing a separate Protocol which shall make an integral part to the Treaty dated October 10, 2000, or through signing a separate International Treaty by all member-States.

Authorities of EurAsEU in its capacity of an international organization shall be exercised by the EurAsEU bodies through adoption of appropriate decisions.

The CIS Economic Court has specified the kinds of acts adopted by the EurAsEU bodies, namely: decisions, recommendations, documents, and other acts; the Court has also qualified such acts from the angle of binding nature of norms contained therein. The Court has stated that the Treaty failed to establish the system and hierarchy of acts adopted by the EurAsEU bodies.

The decisions in the field of law of nations adopted by the EurAsEU Intergovernmental Council within its terms of reference, and the decisions in the field of law of nations adopted by the EurAsEU Integration Committee on the basis of appropriate authorities delegated to it by the EurAsEU Intergovernmental Council, shall be binding and shall be executed by the member-States in accordance with the procedure established in Part one Article 14 in the Treaty dated October 10, 2000, though integration thereof into the respective national legislations of the member-States, i.e. validity of Part one Article 14 of the Agreement dated October 10, 2000 excludes applicability of Article 58 of the Agreement dated February 26, 1999 and Article 24 of the Treaty dated March 29, 1996.