INTERIM FINANCIAL RULES GOVERNING THE PROGRAM OF ACTIONS UNDERTAKEN WITHIN THE FRAMEWORK OF THE CONVENTION ON THE PROTECTION OF THE BLACK SEA AGAINST POLLUTION
The following interim rules shall govern the financial administration of the program of actions undertaken within the framework of the Convention on the Protection of the Black Sea Against Pollution (hereinafter referred to as the Convention) for a period of three years from September 2000 through August 2003. Within this period, it is planned that the Contracting Parties shall establish a Black Sea Environmental Fund, which would serve as the primary source of financing the implementation of the Convention. These rules shall therefore be revised upon the establishment of such a fund.
The Contracting Parties of the Convention have agreed to delegate the financial responsibilities of the program of actions to the Commission on the Protection of the Black Sea Against Pollution (hereinafter referred to as the Commission) established under the Convention. The Commission will carry out this responsibility within the framework of the rules specified below.
These rules, as recommended by the Commission and adopted by the First Meeting of the Contracting Parties in accordance with the Article XXIII of the Convention may be amended by the Contracting Parties on the basis of unanimity.
RULE 1 FINANCIAL PERIOD
1. Each financial period of the Commission shall cover the period of one year starting 1 September and ending 31 August.
RULE 2 BUDGET
1. The Commission shall adopt a work plan and a budget for the following financial period and budget estimate for the financial period following thereafter each year at its regular meeting. Should there be a need for a supplementary budget; the Commission may adopt one at any meeting. The rules applying to the regular budget will apply to the supplementary budget as well.
2. The draft work plan and budget for the following financial period and the draft budget estimate for the financial period following thereafter will be prepared by the Secretariat.
3. The draft work plan and budget and the draft budget estimate shall be dispatched by the Executive Director to all Contracting Parties at least forty-five days before the date fixed for the regular meeting and without delay after the Chairman of the Commission issues the convocation for an extraordinary meeting at which they are to be considered. The Commission will adopt the budget at least 6 months before the year it is meant for.
4. The draft budget shall be accompanied by accounts showing the amount of appropriations and actual expenditure for the preceding financial period and the amount of appropriations for the current financial period as well as by such information as the Commission may specify.
5. The draft budget and the draft budget estimate shall cover income and expenditure for the financial period to which they relate, and shall be presented in US Dollars.
6. The budget and the budget estimate shall be divided by function into chapters and, when necessary, into sub-chapters.
RULE 3 APPROPRIATIONS
1. The appropriations voted by the Commission for the following financial period shall constitute an authorization to the Executive Director to incur obligations and make payments for the purposes for which the appropriations were voted and up to the amounts so voted.
2. Appropriations shall be available for obligations during the financial period to which they relate. Remaining appropriations at the close of the financial period shall be carried over to the following year’s budget.
3. Transfer within the same chapter of the budget may be effected by the Executive Director, who shall report thereon to the Commission.
RULE 4 ANNUAL CONTRIBUTIONS
1. The appropriations for a financial period shall be financed by annual contributions (assessed and voluntary) by the Contracting Parties. The Government of Turkey will cover 40% of the total costs of establishing and operating expenses of the Secretariat. The remaining contributions will be covered by the contracting parties on an equal basis.
2. Within the first year, the Contracting Parties will review and possibly revise the shares of assessed contributions on the basis of an analysis of coastal municipal populations, GDP per capita and other relevant criteria.
3. As soon as the Commission has approved the budget and any supplementary budget for a financial period, the Executive Director shall send a copy thereof to all Contracting Parties, notifying them of their yearly assessments during the financial period. Contributions to the budget and any supplementary budget shall be payable in US Dollars within 90 days of receipt of the information from the Executive Director on the amount of contributions in the coming financial period or on the first of August, whichever is later.
4. However, a Contracting Party may inform the Executive Director of its preference to pay its contributions to the budget in two installments. In such a case at least half of the contribution shall be payable according to the provision in the preceding paragraph and the remaining amount within six months from that date.
5. A Contracting Party may wish to pay a portion of its contribution to the budget in kind. In this case, the budget items which will be covered by the relevant Party in kind will be specified in the budget proposal and shall have to be agreed by the Commission during the budget approval process. The Commission therefore reserves the right to limit any country’s in-kind contribution.
6. Payment of any contribution in any convertible currency other than U.S. Dollars shall be calculated on the basis of the current buying rate of the Turkish Central Bank for the U.S. Dollar against that currency.
7. New contracting Parties whose membership in the Commission become effective during the first six months of any financial year shall pay the full amount of the annual contribution. New Contracting Parties whose membership in the Commission become effective during the last six months of any financial year shall pay half the amount of the annual contribution. The contribution shall be paid within ninety days of depositing the instrument of accession with the Depository Government.
RULE 5 SPECIAL CONTRIBUTIONS
1. The Commission may accept contributions from third countries or from organizations to carry out specific tasks, which are in accordance with the objectives of the Convention. The Executive Director shall establish special accounts to cover such contributions and shall report thereon to the Commission. These contributions shall be used and administered in accordance with the rules specified herewith and for the activities agreed upon by the Commission.
RULE 6 FINANCIAL PROVISIONS FOR STAFFING THE SECRETARIAT
6.1 Remuneration
1. The salaries of the Secretariat staff will be determined by the Commission.
2. The payment of salaries and other remuneration shall be effectuated in US$ .
3. The members of the Secretariat staff shall receive 75 % max. of annual tuition cost for each dependent child not exceeding $ 1000 only for the professional staff.
4. Staff members shall be entitled to an allowance for each dependent child under 18 years of age and if the education of the child is continuing without any interruption up to the age of 23. The amount of this allowance will be fixed by the Commission.
5. Staff members (including dependent family members) arriving from outside or moving from the venue of the headquarters will receive removal/installation expenses.
6. A housing subsidy will be accorded to the staff members depending on the service category of their posts. This amount will be fixed by the Commission upon the proposal of the Executive Director.
7. Upon termination of employment, one month’s salary will be paid for each year of service of a staff member as indemnity payment.
8. In case of physical incapacity or death of a staff member, a one month salary, together with payment for accrued leave, shall be paid to his/her family, in addition to the above indemnity payment.
9. The Commission shall compensate all taxes of the Permanent Secretariat staff levied on salaries and other emoluments paid to them by the Commission when such are due pursuant to the tax legislation of the Contracting Parties.
6.2 Social Security
1. For the purposes of these rules the family of any staff member means the staff member, spouse and dependent children under age 18 and if the education of the child is continuing without any interruption up to the age of 23, unless specified otherwise.
2. The staff member and his/her family will get medical insurance.
3. The staff member may be granted a sick leave provided that they submit a medical certificate. If the staff member does not present a medical certificate for each day a corresponding amount will be deducted from his/her salary.
6.3 Allowances
1. Official duty travel expenses and hotel accommodations shall be paid from the Secretariat’s budget if they are not covered by the host country. For this purpose, per-diems shall be paid according to the United Nations scale.
2. A representation allowance will be accorded once a year to the Executive Director as decided by the Commission.
RULE 7 GENERAL FUND
1. For the purposes of managing financial contributions and expenditures of the Commission, a General Fund shall be established. The General Fund shall be credited with the annual contributions from Contracting Parties and any other income accruing to the Commission. All general expenditure of the Contacting Parties and the Commission shall be made from the General Fund.
RULE 8 CUSTODY OF DEPOSITS
1. The Executive Director shall designate the bank or banks in which the deposits of the Commission shall be kept and report all such depositories to the Commission.
RULE 9 ACCOUNTS
1. The Executive Director shall maintain such accounts as are necessary and shall prepare final accounts at the end of the financial period. The accounts shall be presented in US Dollars and shall show:
a) The income and expenditures,
b) The status of appropriations including: the original budget appropriations; the appropriations as modified by transfer; credits, if any, other than the appropriations voted by the Commission; the amounts charged against those appropriations and/or other credits,
c) The assets and liabilities of the Commission.
2. The Executive Director shall submit a Statement of Accounts for each financial period to the auditors not later than ninety days following the end of the financial period and to the Contracting Parties not later than sixty days before the next regular meeting of the Commission. The statement shall show the income of the Commission, and under separate headings, expenditure. The Executive Director shall attach to the statement an explanatory memorandum.
RULE 10 INTERNAL CONTROL
1. The Executive Director:
a) shall elaborate detailed procedures in order to ensure effective financial administration and the exercise of economy. Such procedures, once elaborated, shall be presented to the first meeting of the Commission following the establishment of the Secretariat;
b) will have direct and sole responsibility for all expenditures incurred by the general fund and special accounts;
c) may nominate an alternate officer to authorize expenditures in his absence, as well as certifying officers, for the approval of the Commission.
2. Auditing of the Commission's activities will be carried out by a specialized sub-group composed of three experts nominated by the Contracting Parties rotating among the Parties in alphabetical order and provided free of charge. Auditing modalities will be fixed by the sub-group itself. The report will be submitted to the Contracting Parties in convention or in written procedure.
RULE 11 FINANCIAL STATEMENT
1. The activities and financial statement of the programme of actions undertaken within the framework of the Convention will be presented annually in a document available to the public.