Cyprus - Hungary BIT (1989)

The Government of the Republic of Cyprus and the Government of the Hungarian People's Republic.

Desiring to expand and develop their mutual relations in the fields of economic, industrial scientific and technological cooperation on a long-term basis.

Having as their objective the creation of favourable conditions for investments by investors of one Contracting Party in the territory of the other Contracting Party,

Have agreed the following:

For the purposes of this Agreement:

The term "investments" shall comprise every kind of asset connected with the participation in companies and joint ventures, more particularly, though not exclusively:

The term "income" means those net amounts received from the investments for a certain period of time, such as shares of profits, dividends, interest. royalties and othег fees, proceeds from total or partial liquidation of the investment, as well as any other sums emanating from such investments which are considered as income under the laws of the host country.

Each Contracting Party shall promote in its territory the investments by investors of the other Contracting Party.

Investments permitted in compliance with the laws and regulations of the Contracting Party in the territory of which they are made, enjoy the protection of the present Agreement.

In cases of approved re-investments, the incomes ensuing therefrom enjoy the same protection as the original investments.

The present Agreement shall apply to all investments made in the territory of either Contracting Party by investors of the other Contracting Party after its entry into force.

Each Contracting Party shall provide effective means of asserting claims and enforcing rights with respect to covered investments.

Each Contracting Party shall ensure that its laws, regulations, administrative practices and procedures of general application, and adjudicatory decisions, that pertain to or affect covered investments are promptly published or otherwise made publicly available.

Each Contracting Party shall ensure fair and equitable treatment to the investments of investors of the other Contracting Party and shall not impair, by unreasonable or discriminatory measures, the operation, management, maintenance use, enjoyment or disposal thereof by those investors.

More particularly, each Contracting Party shall accord to such investments full security and protection which in any case shall not be less than that accorded to investments of investors of any third State.

If a Contracting Party has accorded special advantages to investors of any third State by virtue of agreements establishing customs unions, economic unions or simitar institutions, or on the basis of interim agreements leading to such unions or institutions, that Contracting Party shall not be obliged to accord such advantages to investors of the other Contracting Party.

The treatment granted under the present Article shall not extend to taxes, fees, charges and to fiscal deductions and exemptions granted by either Contracting Party to investors of third States by virtue of a double taxation agreement or other agreements regarding matters of taxation, or on the basis of reciprocity with a third State.

The amount of compensation must correspond to the market value of the expropriated investments at the moment of the expropriation.

The amount of this compensation may be estimated according to the laws and regulations of the country where the expropriation is made.

The compensation must be paid without undue delay upon completion of the legal expropriation procedure, but not later than three months upon completion of this procedure and shall be transferred in the currency in which the investment is made. In the event of delays beyond the three-months' period, the Contracting Party concerned shall be liable to the payment of interest based on prevailing rates.

Investors of either Contracting Party who suffer losses of their investments in the territory of the other Contracting Party due to war or other armed conflict or state of emergency in the territory of the other Contracting Party, shall be treated, with respect to the compensations for these losses, as investors of any third State.

In compliance with its regulations in force, either Contracting Party will permit the investors oi the other Contracting Party to transfer, in any convertible currency, income from investments and proceeds from total or partial liquidation of the investment.

The transfer will be made within reasonable time, which is usually required for the observance of all formalities in transfer of amounts, starting from the day on which the request for the transfer has been made.

Each Contracting Party shall permit returns in kind to be made as authorized or specified in an investment authorization, investment agreement, or other written agreement between the Contracting Party and a covered investment or a national or company of the other Contracting Party.

Notwithstanding paragraphs 1 through 3, a Contracting Party may prevent a transfer through the equitable, non-discriminatory and good faith application of its laws relating to:

Disputes between the Contracting Parties concerning the interpretation and application of this Agreement should be settled through diplomatic channels.

If the dispute cannot thus be settled within six months from the beginning of the negotiations, it shall upon the request of either Contracting Party be submitted to an arbitral tribunal.

The arbitral tribunal shall be constituted as follows: each Contracting Party shall appoint one arbitrator and these two arbitrators shall agree upon a national of a third State as Chairman. The arbitrators shall be appointed within three months, the Chairman within five months from the date on which either Contracting Party has informed the other Contracting Party that it intends to submit the dispute to an arbitral tribunal.

If one of the Parties fails to appoint its arbitrator and has not proceeded to do so within the specified period, the other Party may invite the President of the International Court of Justice to make the necessary appointment. If the two arbitrators are unable to reach an agreement, in the specified period, on the choice of the third arbitrator, either Party may invite the President of the International Court of Justice to make the necessary appointment.

The arbitral tribunal shall decide on the basis of respect for the law, including particularly the present Agreement and other relevant agreements existing between the two Contracting Parties and the universally acknowledged rules and principles of international law.

Unless the parties decide otherwise, the tribunal shall determine its own procedure.

The tribunal shall reach its decision by a majority of votes. Such decision shall be final and binding on the Parties.

Each Contracting Party shall beat the cost of the arbitrator appointed by itself and of its representation. The cost of the Chairman as well as the other costs will be borne in equal parts by the Contracting Parties.

Any dispute between either Contracting Party and the investor of the other Contracting Party concerning expropriation of an investment shall, as far as possible, be settled by the disputing parties in an amicable way.

If such disputes cannot be settled within six months from the date either party requested amicable settlement, it shall, upon request of the investor, be submitted to one of the following:

Each Contracting Party shall permit covered investments to engage top managerial personnel of their choice regardless of nationality.

Representatives of the Contracting Parties shall whenever necessary hold meetings in order to review the implementation of this Agreement. These meetings shall be held on the proposal of one of the Contracting Parties at a place and at a time agreed upon through diplomatic channels.

Either Contracting Party will permit in accordance with its laws, regulations and administrative practices followed, the entrance and stay of the investors, employees and workers of the other Party who are involved in activities connected with the investments.

The Contracting Parties shall not exclude or hinder the transport agencies of the other Contracting Party and whenever necessary, shall issue permits for the transportation of goods and persons in connection with the investments made.

Each Contracting Party hereby consents to the submission of any investment dispute for settlement by binding arbitration in accordance with the choice of the national or company under paragraph 3 (a) (i), (ii), and (iii) or the mutual agreement of both parties to the dispute under paragraph 3 (a) (iv). This consent and the submission of the dispute by a national or company under paragraph 3 (a) shall satisfy the requirements of:

Any arbitration under paragraph 3 (a) (ii), (iii) or (iv) shall be held in a state that is a party to the United Nations Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards, done at New York, June 10, 1958.

Any arbitral award rendered pursuant to this Article shall be final and binding on the parties to the dispute. Each Contracting Party shall carry out without delay the provisions of any such award and provide in its territory for the enforcement of such award.

In any proceeding involving an investment dispute, a Contracting Party shall not assert, as a defense, counterclaim, right of set-off or for any other reason, that indemnification or other compensation for all or part of the alleged damages has been received or will be received pursuant to an insurance or guarantee contract.

For purposes of Article 2(2) (b) of the ICSID Convention and this Article, a company of a Contracting Party that, immediately before the occurrence of the event or events giving rise to an investment dispute, was a covered investment, shall be treated as a company of the other Contracting Party.

This Agreement shall enter into force thirty days after the date on which the Contracting Parties have notified each other that the constitutional requirements for the entry into force of this Agreement have been fulfilled.

This Agreement is concluded for a period of 10 years. Its validity shall be extended for an indefinite period of time unless either Contracting Party notifies in writing, at least 6 months prior to its expiry, the other Contracting Party of its wish to terminate the Agreement. After the ten-year period of validity each Contracting Party has the right to terminate the Agreement upon a 6-months' written notice. The termination shall become effective 6 months after the notification has been received by the other Contracting Party.

In respect of investments made prior to the date when the termination of this Agreement becomes effective, the provisions of this Agreement remain in force for a further period of 15 years from that date.

Expenses incurred by the Chairman and other arbitrators, and other costs of the proceedings, shall be paid for equally by the Contracting Parties. However, the arbitral panel may, at its discretion, direct that a higher proportion of the costs be paid by one of the Contracting Parties.

DONE at Budapest this 24th day of May 1989 in two originals in the English language, both texts being equally authentic.

Each Contracting Party reserves the right to deny to a company of the other Contracting Party the benefits of this Treaty if nationals of a third country own or control the company and:

No provision of this Treaty shall impose obligations with respect to tax matters, except that:

A national or company, that asserts in an investment dispute that a tax matter involves an expropriation, may submit that dispute to arbitration pursuant to Article IX(3) only if:

This Treaty shall not preclude a Contracting Party from applying measures necessary for the fulfillment of its obligations with respect to the maintenance or restoration of international peace or security, or the protection of its own essential security interests.

This Treaty shall not preclude a Contracting Party from prescribing special formalities in connection with covered investments, such as a requirement that such investments be legally constituted under the laws and regulations of that Contracting Party, or a requirement that transfers of currency or other monetary instruments be reported, proved that such formalities shall not impair the substance of any of the rights set forth in this Treaty.

A Contracting Party's obligations under this Treaty shall apply to a stat enterprise in the exercise of any regulatory, administrative or other governmental authority delegated to it by that Contracting Party.

This Treaty shall enter into forces thirty days after the date of exchange of instruments of ratification. It shall remain in force for a period of then years and shall continue in force unless terminated in accordance with paragraph 2. It shall apply to covered investments existing at the time of entry into force as well as to those established or acquired thereafter.

A Contracting Party may terminate this Treaty at the end of the initial ten year period or at any time thereafter by giving one year's written notice to the other Contracting Party.

For ten years from the date of termination, all other Articles shall continue to apply to covered investments established or acquired prior to the date of termination, except insofar as those Articles extend to the establishment or acquisition of covered investments.

The Annex and Protocol shall form an integral part of the Treaty.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the respective plenipotentiaries have signed this Treaty.

DONE in duplicate at Amman this second day of July 1997, in the English and Arabic languages, each text being equally authentic.

The Government of the United States of America may adopt or maintain exceptions to the obligation to accord national treatment to covered investment in the sectors or with respect to the matters specified below:

The Government of the United States of America may adopt or maintain exceptions to the obligations to accord national treatment to covered investments in the sectors or with respect to the matters specified below:

The Government of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan may adopt or maintain exception to the obligations to accord national treatment to covered investments in the sectors and with respect to the matters specified below:

Notwithstanding paragraphs 1 and 3, each Party agrees to accord national treatment to covered investment in the following sectors:

With respect to Article I (d), the Contracting Parties confirm with their mutual understanding that either Contracting Party may require approvals or impose format requirements in connection with a change in the form of an investment, provided that such approvals or formal requirements are otherwise consistent with this Treaty.

With regard to Article III (2), the term "without delay" does not necessarily mean instantaneous. The intent is that the Contracting Party diligently and expeditiously carry out necessary formalities.