CONSTRUING OF APPLICATION OF THE AGREEMENTS GOVERNING SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC RIGHTS GRANTED TO THE EMPLOYEES OF THE COMMONWEALTH BODIES

Judgment No. 01-1/2-2001 dated October 2, 2001 on construing the Regulations of the Council of Frontier Forces Commanders, as approved by the Agreement of the Council of Heads of States of the Commonwealth of Independent States, dated September 24, 1993, clarifies the following issues: whether fulfillment of any additional intergovernmental procedures is required for coming the above acts into effect; and whether paragraph 5.12 of the Regulations of the Council of Frontier Forces Commanders intends to specify the amount of pensions charged to the military personnel of the Coordination Service under the Council of Frontier Forces Commanders (hereinafter CS CFFC) who are subject to transfer to the reserve, on the basis of salaries fixed by the Decision of the CIS Council of Heads of Governments ‘On Conditions of Labour Remuneration in the Work-Bodies of the Council of Ministers of Defense, Council of Frontier Forces Commanders, Council of Ministers of Internal Affairs of the CIS member-States’, dated June 20, 2000.

The CIS Economic Court believes that paragraph 5.12 in the Regulations of the Council of Frontier Forces Commanders shall apply to the military personnel of the Coordination Service (which is a CFFC body) who are to be transferred to the reserve. According to this paragraph, provision of pensions to the military personnel of CS CFFC, at their retirement from military service, shall be carried out through the system of bodies of the State of their citizenship, on the basis of their respective salaries fixed by CS CFFC.

The CIS Economic Court has ascertained, that during 1992 — 2000 the amounts of salaries of the CS CFFC military personnel were fixed by the Agreement on CFFC as a standing work-body, signed by the CIS Heads of Governments on October 9, 1992, the Regulations on CFFC, approved by the Agreement of CIS Council of Heads of States, dated September 24, 1993 and the Decision of the CIS Council of Heads of Governments dated June 20, 2000. At the same time, each preceding act is only applied to the extent that its provisions are compatible with the provisions of the subsequent acts.

The Regulations of CFFC and the Decision of the Council of Heads of Governments dated June 20, 2000, concerning the amounts of salaries of the Coordination Service military personnel, shall prevail over the norms of the national legislations and shall be subject to direct application in the territories of the CIS member-States, should the legislations of such CIS member-States fail to regulate such issues or should a collision of the rules of the national law and the above acts occur.

So, following the Decision adopted by the CIS Council of Heads of Governments on June 20, 2000, the Agreement dated October 9, 1002 and paragraph 5.12 in the Regulations of CFFC and the norms of money allowances (also concerning the salaries) of the Coordination Service military personnel shall not be applicable.

As established by the Decision of June 20, 2000, starting from January 1, 2001, when discharging the Coordination Service military personnel and fixing the amount of pensions for the same, their salaries fixed by the Decision of the CIS Council of Heads of Governments ‘On Conditions of Labour Remuneration in the Work-Bodies of the Council of Ministers of Defense, Council of Frontier Forces Commanders, Council of Ministers of Internal Affairs of the CIS member-States’, dated June 20, 2000 shall be taken into account in accordance with paragraph 5.12 in the Regulations of the Council of Frontier Forces Commanders.

Judgment No. 01-1/1-06 dated May 10, 2006 on construing Items 12, 14 in the Regulations of the Intergovernmental Statistic Committee of the Commonwealth of Independent States dated April 12, 1996; Part two Article 9 in the Agreement between the CIS Intergovernmental Statistic Committee and the Government of the Russian Federation, on conditions of stay of such Intergovernmental Statistic Committee of the Commonwealth of Independent States in the territory of the Russian Federation, dated February 26, 1996 concerns the following issues:

§         Whether the citizens of the Russian Federations (officials and employees of the CIS Intergovernmental Statistic Committee) are entitled to be granted long-service pensions on terms and in accordance with the procedure established for the federal State employees of the Russian Federation;

§         Whether the obligation of the Government of the Russian Federation to equate in its national legislation, for the tasks of provision of pensions, the names of positions occupied by the employees of the CIS Intergovernmental Statistic Committee with the corresponding positions of the federal State employees of the Russian Federation, follows from the construed acts.

The CIS Economic Court believes that Rule 12 of the Regulations, which places the employees of the CIS Intergovernmental Statistic Committee on the same footing with the State employees of the governmental bodies of the State of residence  by conditions of their material security, living standard, medical care, and social welfare, shall apply to regulation of legal status of such employees of the CIS Intergovernmental Statistic Committee in the social sphere as a whole, including their right to provision of pensions.

The right of the employees of the CIS Intergovernmental Statistic Committee to be provided with pensions shall be exercised in accordance with the procedure and on terms established by the legislation for the State employees of the State which citizens they are. The period of employment in the CIS Statistic Committee shall be included into the State-employee’s length of service, in particular, into the length of service considered for granting the long-service pension, in accordance with the procedure and on terms established for the federal State employees of the Russian Federation.

At the same time, since the legislation of the Russian Federation fails to specify the list of positions of the employees of the CIS Intergovernmental Statistic Committee and the corresponding positions of the federal State employees, and fails to specify the governmental body with which employees the personnel of the CIS Statistic Committees is equated, the CIS Economic Court recommends that the Government of the Russian Federation and the CIS Statistic Committee should specify the list of positions of the employees of the latter and their correspondent positions of the federal State employees of the Russian Federation.

Judgment No. 01-1/7-04 dated November 11, 2005, on construing Items 14 and 22 in the Regulations of the CIS Executive Committee dated June 21, 2000; Article 11 in the Agreement on legal status of the representatives of the States and officials of the Inter-State Economic Committee of the Economic Union dated March 28, 1997; and Item 5 in the Decision of the Council of Heads of States of the Commonwealth of Independent States on improvement and reformation of the bodies of the Commonwealth of Independent States dated April 2, 1999, regulates the following issues:

§         Whether the employees of the CIS Executive Committee, the Inter-State Economic Committee of the Economic Union, who are the citizens of the Russian Federation and who have transferred for employment in the CIS Executive Committee in connection with reorganization of the CIS bodies (CIS Executive Secretariat, Inter-State Economic Committee of the Economic Union, etc.), are entitled to be provided with pensions on terms established by the legislation of the Russian Federation for the State employees;

§         Whether such right depends on the wording, describing the grounds of transfer for employment in the CIS Executive Committee.

The CIS Executive Committee has been formed as a result of reorganization of a number of CIS bodies, and is an assignee of the CIS Executive Secretariat, Inter-State Economic Committee (ISEC) of the Economic Union.

The documents subject to construing, provide for placing the representatives of the States and the officials of CIS ISEC and CIS Executive Committee, including ex-officials and employees of ISEC who have moved for employment in the CIS Executive Committee on the grounds of the CIS Council of Heads of States Decision dated April 2, 1999, on the same footing with certain categories of the State employees of the States which citizens such mentioned officials are, and all privileges of the State employees in the field of material security, living standard, medical care, and social welfare, and provision of pensions, shall apply to such officials in compliance with the legislations of the respective States which are the parties to the Agreement.

The States which are the parties to the Agreement shall take measures in order to integrate such norms in their national legislations.

The CIS Economic Court has established that the length of service, in the Inter-State Economic Committee of the Economic Union, of any officials and employees transferred for employment in the CIS Executive Committee in consequence of reorganization of the CIS Bodies, shall be included into their length of service in capacity of the State employees of the States which citizens they are, on the grounds of Article 11 of the Agreement dated March 28, 1997. The right of such persons to the long-service pensions shall be retained irrespective of the wording of their transfer to the CIS Executive Committee for employment.

The period of employment in ISEC of such officials and employees who are the citizens of the Russian Federation and who have been transferred to the CIS Executive Committee for employment shall be included into their length of service in the capacity of the federal State employees on the grounds of Part two Article 16 in the Agreement between the Government of the Russian Federation and the Inter-State Economic Committee of the Economic Union, on terms of residence of such Inter-State Economic Committee of the Economic Union in the territory of the Russian Federation, dated July 19, 1995.

Advisory Opinion No. 01-1/4-03 dated February 17, 2004 on construing the Agreement on legal status of the officials and employees of the bodies of the Commonwealth of Independent States, dated April 25, 2005 clarifies to which category the following persons, to which the provisions of the Agreement dated April 25, 2003 apply, shall be assigned:

a)      Civil personnel of the CIS member-States Military Cooperation Coordination Headquarters;

b)      Military personnel of such Headquarters, including the Chief of Staff, the First Deputy Chief of Staff, deputy chiefs of staff;

c)      Representatives of the armed forces of the CIS member-States.

The CIS Economic Court has determined that the Agreement dated April 25, 2003 regulates a special category of the CIS bodies personnel, namely, the international employees, on the basis of criteria generally accepted for such personnel of international organizations, and shall apply to all CIS bodies irrespective of their legal nature. The Court has formulated classification criteria for the CIS-bodies personnel in their capacity of the international employees: officials (persons approved by the CIS bodies at the suggestion of the parties according to quota on positions fixed for each party); employees (persons employed as CIS-bodies specialists on the basis of labour contracts signed with the same, except for administrative and technical personnel); the Court has also defined their fundamental characteristics.

The Regulations of the CIS member-States Military Cooperation Coordination Headquarters establishes the following specific terms to define different categories of the Headquarters personnel: Chief of Staff, deputy chiefs of staff, representatives of the armed forces of the Commonwealth member-States, military and civil personnel of the Headquarters. The CIS Economic Court has ascertained that the Headquarters, as a standing operating body of the Commonwealth Council of Ministers of Defence, meets all requirements established for the bodies to which the Agreement applies. The Headquarters personnel satisfy the criteria established by the Agreement to qualify them either as officials or the employees: Chief of Staff, deputy chiefs of staff, military personnel of the Headquarters shall be included into the category of officials; civil personnel (except for administrative and technical personnel) shall be included into the category of employees.

Representatives of the armed forces of the CIS member-States shall not be deemed the international employees, and by virtue of this provision the Agreement dated April 25, 2003 shall not apply to them.

Judgment No. 01-1/2-05 dated March 2, 2006 on construing the Regulations of terms of labour remuneration in the bodies of the Commonwealth of Independent States financed from consolidated budget of the bodies of the Commonwealth of Independent States, as approved by the Decision of the Council of Heads of Governments of the Commonwealth of Independent States on April 25, 2003 defines legal nature of a raising factor applied for special conditions of service in the intergovernmental bodies, fixed by Item 18 in the Regulations, as a component part of cash allowances for the military men who are on service in the operating bodies of the CIS member-States’ Council of Ministers of Defence.

The CIS Economic Court has ascertained that, according to Item 16 of the Regulations, cash allowances of the military men, employees of the bodies of internal affairs, and civil personnel of the operating bodies of the Council of Ministers of Defence, The Council of Frontier Forces Commanders, the Council of Ministers of Internal Affairs, the CIS Antiterrorist Centre consist of: the salary according to the military rank, salary according to the occupied position, increment to the salary (according to the occupied position), bonus on the labour results. A raising factor at the rate of 1.3 (1.5) to the salaries according to occupied positions shall be applied for particular conditions of service mentioned in paragraph 16 of the Regulations (Item 18 of the Regulations).

The CIS Economic Court believes that the notions of “increment” and “raising factor” are equivalent in spite of their terminological variance. Payments with the raising factor applied do not form any new salary bur increase the amount of allowances for the military men and other persons mentioned in paragraph 16 of the Regulations.

Provision of pensions to the military men upon termination of their service in the CIS member-States Military Cooperation Coordination Headquarters shall be carried out in compliance with the legislation of the CIS member-State to which military personnel such military men belong. In a number of CIS member-States (the Republic of Belarus, the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Republic of Kyrgyzstan, the Russian Federation) the raising factor for particular conditions of service in the intergovernmental bodies is not taken into account at calculation of pensions to the military men sent for service from the Headquarters to the Ministries of Defence of the States which have sent the same.

Judgment No. 01-1/1-05 dated November 22, 2005 on construing Item 9 in the Decision of the Council of Heads of States of the Commonwealth of Independent States on improvement and reformation of structure of the Commonwealth bodies, dated April 2, 1999 concerns preservation, for the ex-employees of the CIS Executive Committee released from work in accordance with the above Decision, of medical care, sanatoria and health resorts services rendered as of the date of termination of employment of such mentioned persons in the CIS Executive Secretariat.

The CIS Economic Court has ascertained that the Decision dated April 2, 1999 represents an act adopted by the CIS body in its capacity of an international organization, which act includes the following two kinds of norms: the norms of the CIS internal law (organization of CIS functioning) which are binding both upon the Commonwealth as a whole, and upon its member-States; 2) the norms which establish rights and obligations of the member-States outside CIS, which norms are of a recommendation nature. Provisions of Item 9 of the Decision, related to preservation of medical care, sanatoria and health resorts services for the ex-employees of the CIS Executive Secretariat, belong to the second group norms, are of a recommendation nature, and represent the instruction to the bodies of the member-States, which legislations do not contain the appropriate norms, to retain (until adoption of an international or national act to govern such issues) medical care, sanatoria and health resorts services rendered to the released employees of the CIS bodies at the level rendered to the same as of the date of termination of their employment in the CIS bodies.

Such norm shall not have direct action in the territories of the CIS member-States, i.e. does not create real rights and obligations of the subjects to which it is addressed (i.e. the governmental bodies), save as otherwise is provided for by the national legislation of the respective Commonwealth member-State.