The Andean Integration System - Andean Community 2004

Cartagena Agreement

Chapter II - Section D - The Andean Community General Secretariat

Article 29.- The General Secretariat is the executive body of the Andean Community and, as such, acts solely in accordance with the interests of the Subregion. The General Secretariat shall give technical support, when appropriate, to the other bodies and institutions of the Andean Integration System.

The General Secretariat shall be headed by the General Secretary. In performing his duties, the General Secretary shall rely on the Directors General, in accordance with the respective regulations. The General Secretary shall also enjoy the services of any technical and administrative staff needed to accomplish his duties. The General Secretariat shall express itself through Resolutions.

Article 30.- The Andean Community General Secretariat’s responsibilities are:

a) To ensure the application of this Agreement and compliance with the provisions that comprise Andean Community Law;

b) To carry out the tasks assigned to it by the Andean Council of Foreign Ministers and the Commission;

c) To formulate and put forward draft Decisions to the Andean Council of Foreign Ministers and the Commission, in accordance with their respective spheres of responsibility, and initiatives and suggestions to the enlarged meeting of the Andean Council of Foreign Ministers, aimed at facilitating or hastening the fulfillment of this Agreement, so that its objectives may be achieved within the shortest possible time frame;

d) To conduct studies and propose the necessary measures for applying the special treatments in benefit of Bolivia and Ecuador and, in general, those regarding the participation of the two countries in this Agreement;

e) To study and report annually to the Andean Council of Foreign Ministers and the Commission, on the results of the application of this Agreement and the achievement of its objectives, paying special attention to the fulfillment of the principle of fair distribution of the benefits of integration, and to propose pertinent corrective measures;

f) To perform the technical studies and coordination entrusted to it by other bodies of the Andean Integration System, together with any others it considers necessary;

g) To maintain permanent working relations with the Member Countries, in coordination with the national integration body appointed by each country for that purpose;

h) To draw up its annual working program, in which it shall give preference to the tasks assigned to it by other System bodies;

i) To promote periodic meetings of the national organizations responsible for economic policy formulation or execution and, particularly, those charged with economic planning;

j) To maintain working relations with the executive bodies of other regional integration and cooperation organizations, in order to strengthen their relationship and reciprocal cooperation;

k) To keep the records of the enlarged meetings of the Andean Council of Foreign Ministers and of the Commission, and to draw up a tentative agenda of their meetings, in coordination with the chairmen of those bodies;

l) To be the depository for the records of the meetings and other documents of Andean Integration System bodies and to certify their authenticity;

m) To publish the Official Gazette of the Cartagena Agreement;

n) To act as Secretariat for the Meeting of Representatives of the institutions that comprise the Andean Integration System; and,

ñ) To carry out all other responsibilities expressly assigned to it by Andean Community Law.

Article 31.- The General Secretariat shall operate on a permanent basis and its headquarters shall be located in the city of Lima, Peru.

Article 32.- The General Secretariat shall be headed by a Secretary General who shall be chosen by consensus of the Andean Council of Foreign Ministers for a five-year term of office and may be reelected a single time.

The Secretary General shall be a person with broad representation and acknowledged prestige, and must be a national of one of the Member Countries. He shall act only in the interests of the Subregion as a whole.

The Secretary General may not carry out any other activity during his term of office; nor shall he seek or accept instructions from any government, national institution or international organization.

If the office falls vacant, the Andean Council of Foreign Ministers, meeting in enlarged session, shall immediately proceed to appoint a new Secretary General by consensus. Until that time, the Director-General with the most seniority shall temporarily head the General Secretariat.

Article 33.- The Secretary General may be removed from office by consensus, at the request of a Member Country, only if, in the exercise of his duties, he commits the gross negligence foreseen in the General Secretariat Regulations.

Article 34.- The responsibilities of the Andean Community Secretary General are:

a) To act as the General Secretariat’s legal representative;

b) To propose initiatives in regard to the General Secretariat Regulations to the Commission or to the Andean Council of Foreign Ministers;

c) To hire and dismiss technical and administrative staff, in accordance with the General Secretariat Regulations;

d) To participate with the right to be heard in the sessions of the Andean Council of Foreign Ministers and the Commission and in their respective enlarged meetings, and, when invited to do so, in the meetings of other System bodies;

e) To present the draft annual budget to the Commission for its approval; and,

f) To present an annual report of the General Secretariat’s activities to the Andean Council of Foreign Ministers meeting in enlarged session.

Article 35.- The Secretary General, in consultation with the Member Countries and in keeping with the General Secretariat’s functional and organic structure, shall appoint the Directors-General. These persons shall be top-level professionals, appointed strictly in accordance with their academic background, suitability, reputation, and experience, and they shall each be responsible for a specific technical area.

The Directors-General shall be nationals of Member Countries and the Secretary General shall seek to ensure balanced subregional geographic distribution in their appointment. The appointment and dismissal of the Directors-General shall be governed by the General Secretariat Regulations.

Article 36.- In proceedings where the interests of two or more Member Countries are in dispute, the Secretary General shall enjoy the technical assistance of special experts, whose appointment and method of participation shall be determined according to the General Secretariat Regulations.

Article 37.- The Secretary General, when hiring technical and administrative staff, who may be of any nationality, shall bear in mind strictly the ability, competence, and reputation of the candidates and shall seek to ensure balanced subregional geographic distribution, provided that this is compatible with the preceding criteria.

Personnel shall be appointed and dismissed according to the criteria and grounds established in the General Secretariat Regulations, without prejudice to what the establishing Treaty of the Court of Justice and its amending protocols provide for.

Article 38.- The staff of the General Secretariat shall refrain from taking any action that may be incompatible with the nature of their duties and shall neither seek nor accept instructions from any Government, national institution or international organization.

Article 39.- In the case of proceedings that should conclude with the adoption of a Resolution or Opinion, public or private individuals or legal entities from the Member Countries shall cooperate in such investigations as the General Secretariat may make in carrying out its duties and, in this sense, shall supply any information they are requested for this purpose.

The General Secretariat shall keep any documents and information furnished strictly confidential, in accordance with the rules governing those matters.