Investment and Finance Company Ltd v. UNICEF

The Investment and Finance Company Ltd filed a legal complaint to the Court of the Eastern District of Denmark against the UNICEF concerning the execution of a commercial contract between the applicant and the UNICEF Office in Copenaghen (the Integrated Supply Centre).

The Court dismissed the case, finding that the respondent organization enjoyed immunity from the jurisdiction of national courts. The conclusion rested on the application of the 1946 Convention on Privileges and Immunities of the United Nations and the 1983 Agreement between the United Nations and Denmark the Headquarters in Copenhagen of the Integrated Supply Centre of the United Nations Children’s Fund.

The Headquarters Agreement provides that the UNICEF Office in Copenaghen shall have legal personality and the capacity to contract, to acquire, to institute legal proceedings. The Agreement also provides that: Except as otherwise provided in this Agreement, or in the General Convention, the courts or other appropriate organs of Denmark shall have jurisdiction, as provided in applicable laws, over acts done and transactions taking place in the headquarters seat (Article III, par. 3). Paragraph 6 of the same provision establishes that Judicial actions, including service of legal process and the seizure of private property, shall not take place within the headquarters, except with the consent of, and under conditions approved by, the Director of UNICEF, Copenhagen.

The Court interpreted the Headquarters Agreement’s provisions in light of the regime established under the 1946 Convention, and held that the respondent organization enjoys immunity from private law disputes such as the instant suit.