The CIS Economic Court issued a decision on the fulfillment of financial obligations by the CIS member states. The Court examined the case upon the request of the CIS Executive Committee on the interpretation of Articles 10 and 38 of the CIS Charter of January 22, 1993, in an open court session, in oral proceedings.
The CIS Economic Court Chamber in its decision indicated the obligation of all CIS member states to transfer the statutory assessed contributions to the unified budget of the CIS bodies, which derives from the purposes of the CIS Charter of January 22, 1993.
It is noted that the abovementioned obligation is an obligation under international law, arising from the membership in the CIS and based on the pacta sunt servanda principle (Article 26 of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties of May 23, 1969; Article 3 of the CIS Charter), which arises for a State from the moment the CIS Charter enters into force for it, according to the procedure established by international law and continues throughout the entire period of its participation in the CIS Charter.
It is stated that the participation of a member state in the activities of the CIS bodies including the consideration and adoption of decisions on the formation of the unified budget of the CIS bodies is not a legal prerequisite for the emergence or fulfillment of the said international obligation but is a form of realization of the rights pertaining to a state as a CIS member.
The decision mentions that the statutory assessed contributions not transferred by the debtor state are considered to be its arrears to the unified budget of the CIS bodies regardless of its participation in the activities of the CIS bodies or of signing of the decisions approving the unified budget of the CIS bodies for the next financial year. The arrears arise ex lege as of the January 1 of the next financial year.
At the same time a failure of a member state to sign the unified budget of the CIS bodies for the next financial year or its non-participation in the activities of the CIS bodies, does not terminate the obligations established by the Article 38 of the CIS Charter.
The CIS Economic Court Chamber underlines that in the event of a systematic failure by the state to fulfill its obligations regarding the financing of the activities of the CIS bodies, application of the measures provided for in the Article 10 of the CIS Charter falls within the competence of the CIS Heads of State Council.
When exercising such powers, the CIS Heads of State Council is entitled to consider the adoption of measures permitted by the CIS Charter and international law in compliance with the principles of good faith, proportionality and other universally recognized principles and norms of international law.
In the event of failure to transfer the adopted assessed contributions, the other member states are entitled to demand compliance with the principle of shared contributions and initiate consideration by the CIS Heads of State Council of the issue of the debt settlement by means of the CIS bodies including adoption of a decision regarding recourse claims.
The Decision of the CIS Economic Court Chamber on the interpretation enters into force from the date of its issuance, is final and subject to no appeal.