Agreement

between the Swiss Federal Council

and the Bank for International Settlements
to determine the Bank’s legal status
in Switzerland 1
(of 10 February 1987; text as amended
effective 1 January 2003 by the exchange of letters
of 18 December 2002/13 January 2003) 2

The Swiss Federal Council

of the one part, and
The Bank for International Settlements
of the other part.
Having regard to the Convention of 20th January 1930
respecting the Bank for International Settlements, the
Constituent Charter and Statutes of the Bank, and the Protocol
of 30th July 1936 regarding the immunities of the Bank for
International Settlements;
Desiring, in the light of the practice followed since 1930, to settle
their mutual relationships in a Headquarters Agreement;
Have agreed upon the following provisions:

1
The footnotes in this document have been prepared for explanatory
purposes by the Bank’s Legal Service. Throughout the Agreement, the
masculine gender also implies the feminine.
2
Compendium of Swiss Laws (Recueil systématique): [Link].3.

Headquarters Agreement with Switzerland 35

I. Status, privileges and immunities of the
Bank

Article 1

Legal personality
The Swiss Federal Council acknowledges the international
legal personality and the legal capacity within Switzerland of the
Bank for International Settlements (hereinafter referred to as
“the Bank”).

Article 2

Freedom of action of the Bank

1. The Swiss Federal Council shall guarantee to the Bank
the autonomy and freedom of action to which it is entitled as an
international organisation.
2. In particular, it shall grant to the Bank, as well as to its
member institutions in their relations with the Bank, absolute
freedom to hold meetings, including freedom of discussion and
decision.

Article 3

Inviolability
1. The buildings or parts of buildings and surrounding land
which, whoever may be the owner thereof, are used for the
purposes of the Bank shall be inviolable. No agent of the Swiss
public authorities may enter therein without the express consent

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of the Bank. Only the President, 3 the General Manager of the
Bank, or their duly authorised representative shall be competent
to waive such inviolability.
2. The archives of the Bank and, in general, all documents
and any data media belonging to the Bank or in its possession,
shall be inviolable at all times and in all places.
3. The Bank shall exercise supervision of and police power
over its premises.

Article 4

Immunity from jurisdiction and execution

1. The Bank shall enjoy immunity from jurisdiction, save:
(a) to the extent that such immunity is formally waived in
individual cases by the President,3 the General Manager
of the Bank, or their duly authorised representatives;
(b) in civil or commercial suits, arising from banking or
financial transactions, initiated by contractual
counterparties of the Bank, except in those cases in
which provision for arbitration has been or shall have
been made;
(c) in the case of any civil action against the Bank for
damage caused by any vehicle belonging to or operated
on behalf of the Bank.
2. Disputes arising in matters of employment relations
between the Bank and its Officials or former Officials, or
persons claiming through them, shall be settled by the
Administrative Tribunal of the Bank. The Board of Directors of
the Bank shall determine the constitution of the Administrative
Tribunal, which shall have exclusive and final jurisdiction.

3
The reference in the Agreement to the President of the Bank is no longer
relevant as this position was abolished by decision of the Extraordinary
General Meeting of the Bank on 27 June 2005.

Headquarters Agreement with Switzerland 37

Matters of employment relations shall be deemed to include in
particular all questions relating to the interpretation or
application of contracts between the Bank and its Officials
concerning their employment, of the regulations to which the
said contracts refer, including the provisions governing the
Bank’s pension scheme and other welfare arrangements
provided by the Bank.
3. The Bank shall enjoy, in respect of its property and
assets, wherever located and by whomsoever held, immunity
from any measure of execution (including seizure, attachment,
freeze or any other measure of execution, enforcement or
sequestration, and in particular of attachment within the
meaning of Swiss law), except:
(a) in cases where execution is claimed on the basis of a final
judgment rendered by a court which has jurisdiction over
the Bank in accordance with paragraph 1(a), (b) or (c)
above;
(b) in cases of execution of an award made by an arbitral
tribunal pursuant to Article 27 of this Agreement.
4. All deposits entrusted to the Bank, all claims against the
Bank and the shares issued by the Bank shall, without the
express prior agreement of the Bank, wherever located and by
whomsoever held, be immune from any measure of execution
(including seizure, attachment, freeze or any other measure of
execution, enforcement or sequestration, and in particular of
attachment within the meaning of Swiss law).

Article 5

Communications
1. The Bank shall benefit, in respect of its official
communications, from treatment at least as favourable as that
which is granted to other international organisations in
Switzerland, insofar as such treatment is compatible with the
International Telecommunication Convention of 6th November
1982.

38 BIS Basic Texts 2019

2. The Bank shall have the right to use codes for its official
communications. It shall also have the right to send and receive
correspondence, including data media, by duly identified
couriers or bags enjoying the same privileges and immunities
as diplomatic couriers or bags.
3. Official correspondence and other official
communications of the Bank, when duly identified, may not be
subject to censorship.
4. The use of telecommunication equipment shall be
coordinated at the technical level with the Swiss postal and
telecommunications administration.

Article 6

Publications and data media

1. The importation of publications for the Bank’s use and the
exportation of the Bank’s publications shall not be subject to any
restriction.
2. The provisions of the preceding paragraph shall also
extend to data media of all kinds.

Article 7

Tax exemptions
1. The Bank, its assets, income and other property shall be
exempt from direct Federal, cantonal and communal taxes.
With regard to buildings, however, such exemption shall apply
only to those owned by the Bank and occupied by its services,
and to income deriving therefrom. The Bank shall not be subject
to taxation on the rent it pays for premises rented by it and
occupied by its services.
2. The Bank shall be exempt from indirect Federal, cantonal
and communal taxes. With regard to the Federal turnover tax
included in prices or separately charged, exemption shall apply
only to articles purchased for the official use of the Bank,

Headquarters Agreement with Switzerland 39

provided that the amount invoiced for one and the same
purchase exceeds five hundred Swiss francs.
3. The operations of the Bank shall be exempt within
Switzerland from all taxes and dues to the extent that such
operations take place outside the Swiss market or are
undertaken in the interests of international monetary
cooperation; the procedure for such exemption shall be
mutually agreed with the competent Swiss authorities.
4. The Bank shall be exempt from all Federal, cantonal and
communal dues, except dues charged as the price of actual
services rendered.
5. Where appropriate, the exemptions mentioned above
may take the form of reimbursement at the request of the Bank
and according to a procedure to be determined by the Bank and
the competent Swiss authorities.

Article 8

Customs treatment
The treatment by customs authorities of articles intended for the
Bank shall be governed by the Ordinance of 13th November
1985 concerning the preferential customs treatment of
international organisations, of States in their relations with such
organisations and of the special missions of foreign States.

Article 9

Free disposal of funds and freedom to conduct operations

1. The Bank may receive, hold, convert and transfer all
funds, gold, currency, cash and other transferable securities,
and dispose freely thereof, and generally carry out without any
restriction all the operations permitted by its Statutes, both
within Switzerland and in its relations with foreign countries.

40 BIS Basic Texts 2019

2. As regards its operations on the Swiss market, the Bank
shall nevertheless be obliged to confer with the Swiss National
Bank in accordance with Article 19 of the Bank’s Statutes.

Article 10

Pension funds and special funds

1. The pension fund of the Bank, which is administered
under the auspices of the Bank for its official purposes, shall
enjoy, irrespective of whether or not the fund has separate legal
personality, the same exemptions, privileges and immunities as
those enjoyed by the Bank itself with regard to its movable
property. The said pension fund consists of earmarked assets
guaranteeing the Bank’s obligations pursuant to the pension
scheme established for the benefit of its Officials engaged in a
permanent capacity.
2. The provisions of the preceding paragraph shall also
extend to any special funds which may be created by the Bank
in connection with other welfare arrangements provided by the
Bank, in particular in order to accumulate reserves in relation
thereto.

Article 11

Social security
1. The Bank, in its capacity as an employer, shall not be
subject to Swiss legislation regarding old-age and surviving-
dependants insurance, incapacity insurance, unemployment
insurance, the compensation for loss of income scheme, and
compulsory provision of occupational pension schemes for old
age, surviving relatives and incapacity.
2. Those Officials of the Bank who do not have Swiss
nationality shall not be subject to the legislation referred to in
the preceding paragraph.
3. The Officials of the Bank shall not be subject to cantonal
or communal insurance against illness, whenever such

Headquarters Agreement with Switzerland 41

insurance is compulsory, to the extent that the Bank offers them
equivalent protection in respect of illness, accident or maternity.
4. The Officials of the Bank shall not be subject to the Swiss
scheme for compulsory insurance against accident to the extent
that the Bank offers them equivalent protection in respect of
accident, whether employment-related or not, and employment-
related illnesses.

II. Privileges and immunities granted to

persons who are called upon by the
Bank in an official capacity

Article 12

Status of the members of the Board of Directors and of

the representatives of the Bank’s member central banks
The members of the Board of Directors of the Bank, together
with the representatives of those central banks which are
members of the Bank, shall enjoy while carrying out their duties
in Switzerland and throughout their journey to or from the place
where a meeting is held, the following privileges and
immunities:
(a) immunity from arrest or imprisonment and immunity from
seizure of their personal baggage, save in flagrant cases
of criminal offence;
(b) inviolability of all papers and documents;
(c) immunity from jurisdiction, even after their mission has
been accomplished, for acts carried out in the discharge
of their duties, including words spoken and writings;
(d) the customs privileges and facilities granted pursuant to
the Ordinance of 13th November 1985 concerning the
preferential customs treatment of international
organisations, of States in their relations with such

42 BIS Basic Texts 2019

 organisations and of the special missions of foreign
States;
(e) exemption for themselves, their spouses and children
from any immigration restrictions, from any formalities
concerning the registration of aliens and from any
obligations relating to national service in Switzerland;
(f) the same facilities as regards monetary or exchange
regulations as those granted to the representatives of
foreign governments on a temporary official mission;
(g) the right to use codes in official communications or to
receive or send documents or correspondence by means
of couriers or diplomatic bags.

Article 13

Status of the President, the General Manager and Senior

Officials
1. The President,3 the General Manager of the Bank, and
those Senior Officials who are designated by the latter with the
consent of the Federal Department for Foreign Affairs shall
enjoy such privileges and immunities, exemptions and facilities
as are granted to diplomatic agents in accordance with the law
of nations and international custom.
2. Customs privileges and facilities shall be granted
pursuant to the Ordinance of 13th November 1985 concerning
the preferential customs treatment of international
organisations, of States in their relations with such
organisations and of the special missions of foreign States.

Article 14

Privileges and immunities granted to all Officials

The Officials of the Bank, whatever their nationality, shall
(a) enjoy immunity from jurisdiction for acts accomplished in
the discharge of their duties, including words spoken and

Headquarters Agreement with Switzerland 43

 writings, even after such persons have ceased to be
Officials of the Bank;
(b) enjoy exemption from all Federal, cantonal and
communal taxes on salaries, fees and allowances paid to
them by the Bank; however, Switzerland may take these
emoluments into account for the purpose of determining
the tax payable on income from other sources; this
exemption shall apply to Officials of Swiss nationality,
provided the Bank operates an internal taxation scheme;
(c) enjoy exemption, at the time of payment, from all Federal,
cantonal and communal taxes on capital payments due
in whatever circumstances by the Bank; the same shall
apply to any capital payments which may be made to
Officials of the Bank by way of indemnity for sickness,
accidents, etc.; however, income derived from such
capital payments, as well as annuities and pensions paid
to former Officials of the Bank, shall not be entitled to
such exemption.

Article 15

Privileges and immunities granted to non-Swiss Officials

Officials of the Bank who do not have Swiss nationality shall:
(a) be exempt from all obligations relating to national service
in Switzerland;
(b) together with their spouses and dependent members of
their families, not be submitted to the provisions
restricting immigration and formalities concerning the
registration of aliens;
(c) enjoy, with respect to exchange facilities and facilities for
the transfer of their assets and property in Switzerland
and abroad, the same privileges as those granted to the
Officials of other international organisations;
(d) together with the dependent members of their families
and their household staff, benefit from the same

44 BIS Basic Texts 2019

 repatriation facilities as Officials of other international
organisations;
(e) enjoy the customs privileges and facilities granted
pursuant to the Ordinance of 13th November 1985
concerning the preferential customs treatment of
international organisations, of States in their relations
with such organisations and of the special missions of
foreign States.

Article 16

Military service of Swiss Officials

1. The General Manager of the Bank shall furnish the Swiss
Federal Council with a list of those Officials who have Swiss
nationality and who are subject to the performance of military
duties.
2. The General Manager of the Bank and the Swiss Federal
Council shall draw up an agreed restrictive list of those Officials
who have Swiss nationality and who, by reason of their
functions, shall be accorded foreign leave of absence
(dispensation from military service).
3. In the event of the call-up of Swiss Officials, the Bank
may, through the intermediary of the Federal Department for
Foreign Affairs, request dispensation or change of date of
military service.

Article 17

Exceptions to the immunity from jurisdiction and

execution
The persons referred to in Articles 12, 13 and 14 of the present
Agreement shall not benefit from immunity from jurisdiction nor,
where applicable, from immunity from execution, in the event of
legal proceedings against them with respect to damage
occasioned by a vehicle in their ownership or control, or in the

Headquarters Agreement with Switzerland 45

event of their contravening the Federal laws in force regarding
road traffic which may give rise to the imposition of a spot fine.

Article 18

Experts
Experts who do not have Swiss nationality and who carry out
temporary missions for the account of the Bank shall, for the
duration of such mission, be treated as Officials of the Bank, so
far as the privileges and immunities enjoyed by such Officials
are concerned.

Article 19

Purpose of immunity
1. The privileges and immunities provided for in the present
Agreement are not established for the personal benefit of those
persons in whose favour they are granted. Their purpose is
solely to ensure, in all circumstances, the freedom of action of
the Bank and the complete independence of the persons
concerned in the carrying-out of their duties with respect to the
Bank.
2. The President3 and the General Manager of the Bank
shall have not only the right but also the duty to waive the
immunity of any Official when they consider that such immunity
would hinder the normal course of justice, and that it is possible
to waive such immunity without prejudicing the interests of the
Bank. In respect of the President3 and the General Manager
themselves, the Board of Directors shall have the power to
waive immunity.

Article 20

Access, residence and departure

The Swiss authorities shall take all the necessary steps to
facilitate the entry into, departure from and residence in Swiss

46 BIS Basic Texts 2019

territory of all persons, irrespective of their nationality, who are
to attend the Bank in an official capacity, namely:
(a) the members of the Board of Directors of the Bank, their
spouses and children;
(b) the representatives of central banks which are members
of the Bank, their spouses and children;
(c) the President,3 the General Manager and the Officials of
the Bank, as well as the dependent members of their
respective families;
(d) experts;
(e) any other person, irrespective of his nationality, who is to
attend the Bank in an official capacity.

Article 21

Identity cards
1. The Federal Department for Foreign Affairs shall transmit
to the Bank an identity card, with a photograph of the holder, for
each Official and each dependent member of his family living
with him and having no gainful occupation. This card shall be
authenticated by the Federal Department for Foreign Affairs
and by the Bank and shall serve to identify the holder for the
purpose of any Federal, cantonal or communal authority.
2. The Bank shall regularly communicate to the Federal
Department for Foreign Affairs the list of the Officials of the
Bank, and of the members of their families, indicating, in respect
of each, date of birth, nationality, domicile in Switzerland, and
category or class of employment.

Article 22

Prevention of abuse of privileges

The Bank and the Swiss authorities shall cooperate at all times
to facilitate the satisfactory administration of justice, to ensure

Headquarters Agreement with Switzerland 47

the observance of police regulations and to prevent any abuse
of the privileges, immunities, facilities and exemptions provided
for in the present Agreement.

Article 23

Disputes of a private nature

The Bank shall take the necessary steps to ensure the
satisfactory settlement of:
(a) disputes arising out of contracts to which the Bank is a
party and other disputes on private law matters, where
the Bank enjoys immunity from jurisdiction pursuant to
Article 4, paragraph 1 above;
(b) disputes involving any Official of the Bank who, pursuant
to Articles 13 and 14, benefits from immunity, where
immunity has not been waived in accordance with the
provisions of Article 19.

III. Non-responsibility and security of

Switzerland

Article 24

Non-responsibility of Switzerland
Switzerland shall not, on account of the Bank’s activities on its
territory, assume any international responsibility for acts or
omissions of the Bank or for those of the Bank’s Officials.

48 BIS Basic Texts 2019

 Article 25

Security of Switzerland
1. Nothing in this Agreement shall affect the right of the
Swiss Federal Council to apply all appropriate safeguards in the
interests of the security of Switzerland.
2. Should the Federal Council consider it necessary to
apply the provisions of the first paragraph of the present Article,
it shall, as promptly as circumstances permit, establish contact
with the Bank in order to decide jointly upon such measures as
may be necessary to protect the interests of the Bank.
3. The Bank shall cooperate with the Swiss authorities to
prevent any prejudice to the security of Switzerland on account
of any activity of the Bank.

IV. Final provisions

Article 26

Implementation of the Agreement by Switzerland

The Federal Department for Foreign Affairs shall be the Swiss
authority responsible for the application of this Agreement.

Article 27

Settlement of disputes
1. Any difference of opinion concerning the application or
interpretation of this Agreement which direct consultations
between the parties have failed to settle may be referred, by
either party, to the Arbitral Tribunal provided for by the Hague
Agreement of 20th January 1930 referred to in Paragraph 11 of
the Bank’s Constituent Charter.

Headquarters Agreement with Switzerland 49

2. The parties to this Agreement may nevertheless agree to
submit such difference of opinion to an ad hoc arbitral tribunal
consisting of three members. In this event, the Swiss Federal
Council and the Bank will each appoint one member of that
tribunal, and the persons so appointed shall select a president.
Should the members of the tribunal be unable to agree upon
who should be selected as president, he shall be appointed by
the President of the International Court of Justice at the request
of the members of the tribunal, or, if he is unable to exercise this
function, by the Vice-President, or failing him by the most senior
member of the Court. The said ad hoc tribunal shall fix its own
rules of procedure.

Article 28

Amendment of the Agreement

1. This Agreement may be revised at the request of either
party.
2. In such a case, the parties shall jointly examine any
appropriate changes in the provisions of the present
Agreement.

Article 29

Withdrawal from the Agreement

Either party may withdraw from this Agreement upon giving the
other party two years’ notice of withdrawal.

Article 30

Existing immunities and privileges

The present Agreement shall not be deemed to affect in any
way the privileges and immunities granted to the Bank pursuant
to the Convention of 20th January 1930 respecting the Bank for
International Settlements, the Constituent Charter and Statutes

50 BIS Basic Texts 2019

of the Bank, or the immunities set forth in the Brussels Protocol
of 30th July 1936.

Article 31

Entry into force

The present Agreement shall enter into force on the date of its
signature, and shall be applied with effect from 1st January
1987.

Done at Berne on 10th February 1987 in two copies in the

French language.

Headquarters Agreement with Switzerland 51