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The Intersputnik International Organization of Space Communications (hereinafter – ‘Intersputnik’, ‘the Organization’) was established in 1971 under the intergovernmental Agreement of November 15, 1971 on the Establishment of the Intersputnik International System and Organization of Space Communications (hereinafter – ‘the Intersputnik Agreement’). The international legal status of the Organization is governed by the Intersputnik Agreement, Protocol of November 4, 2003 on Amendments to the Intersputnik Agreement, Agreement of September 20, 1976 on the Legal Capacity, Privileges and Immunities of Intersputnik and the Agreement of September 15, 1977 on the Settlement of Issues Connected with the Seat of Intersputnik in the USSR. Under these agreements, legal successors of the USSR, GDR and CSSR are the Russian Federation, the Federal Republic of Germany and the Czech Republic, respectively.

Intersputnik is an international person but not a legal entity under national laws of any state. At the same time, when doing business, Intersputnik enjoys all rights of a legal entity and is qualified to enter into contracts and institute proceedings.

In the territory of the member countries, Intersputnik enjoys privileges and immunities. Its property, assets and documents are immune from any administrative or judicial interference regardless of their location; Intersputnik’s premises are inviolable.

Intersputnik is exempted from all direct taxes and duties, both federal and local, from customs duties and restrictions for the import/export of any articles for official use.

In the territory of the member countries, representatives on the Board – Intersputnik’s governing body – and officers of the Intersputnik Directorate enjoy certain privileges and immunities. They are not subject to administrative or legal liability and are exempted from personal duties or customs duties applicable to articles for personal use. The Director General and the deputy Director General also enjoy other privileges and immunities granted in a given state to diplomatic representatives.

Apart from the above privileges and immunities, Intersputnik’s financial transactions are not subject to any control by federal or local authorities in the Russian Federation. All goods, works and services sold to Intersputnik in the Russian Federation for official use are subject to 0 % VAT.

The Intersputnik Agreement was signed on November 15, 1971 by authorized representatives of the Governments of nine countries and registered by the Secretariat of the United Nations on March 27, 1973 under No. 12343. Later, the Governments of sixteen more countries acceded to the Agreement. Today, twenty five sovereign states are Members of the Organization.

Under the above Agreement, Intersputnik was founded as an open international organization for the purpose of establishing an international satellite telecommunications system. The Agreement defines the components of the international satellite telecommunications system and phases of its establishment. Articles 11-13 of the Agreement define the structure of the Organization and the terms of reference of its bodies. The Agreement regulates the formation of the share capital and defines principal space segment requirements. Under the Agreement, the languages of the Organization are English, Spanish, Russian and French.

The Agreement on the Legal Capacity, Privileges and Immunities of Intersputnik defines the international legal status of the Organization in the territory of its member countries (see above).

The Protocol on Amendments to the Intersputnik Agreement was approved by nineteen Intersputnik member countries including the Republic of Azerbaijan, Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, Republic of Belarus, Republic of Bulgaria, Socialist Republic of Vietnam, Federal Republic of Germany, Republic of India, Republic of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Republic of Cuba, Mongolia, Republic of Poland, Russian Federation, Romania, Syrian Arab Republic, Republic of Tajikistan, Czech Republic and Ukraine.

As set forth in Article 24 of the Intersputnik Agreement, effective amendments are only binding on the Members of the Organization that ratified the Protocol on Amendments. Those Members of the Organization that failed to approve the Protocol continue to be guided by the provisions of the 1971 version of the Intersputnik Agreement in their relations with other Members of the Organization and among themselves.

The Protocol on Amendments provides for the entry into force of the Operating Agreement, introduction of the institution of Intersputnik Signatories – domestic telecommunications entities appointed by a given Intersputnik Member – and the establishment of a new body – Operations Committee – consisting of Signatories to promptly review and make decisions on issues related to Intersputnik’s activity. The Protocol more exactly describes the terms of reference of the Board and defines the powers of the Operations Committee.

The Operating Agreement took effect on February 4, 2003. It will enter into force for the Signatories that will sign it later as from the date of signing. The Operating Agreement describes in detail the concept of the Share Capital and the procedure of its accumulation. It defines the status of a Signatory and the procedure of accruing Signatory rights and obligations under the Operating Agreement. The Agreement describes the procedure of the establishment and the rules of the Operations Committee. Also, it governs the relations among the Signatories and between the Signatories and the Organization in the event of withdrawal from the Organization, winding-up of the Organization, property claims to the Organization or Signatories, and in other situations.