Agreement for Israel

8/6/2019 Agreement for Israel

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N o. 30925ISRAELandHOLY SEE

Fu nd am en tal Agreem ent (with add ition al protocol). Signed atJerusa lem on 30 Decemb er 1993Authen tic texts: Heb rew and English.Registered by Israel on 27 April 1994.

ISRALetSAINT-SIGEAccord de base (avec protocole additionnel). Sign Jru-salem le 30 dcem bre 1993Textes authentiques : hbreu et anglais.Enreg istr par Isral le 27 avril 1994.

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182 Un ited Nations Treaty Series Nations Unies Recueil des Traits 1994

FUNDAMENTAL AGREEMENT 1 BETWEEN THE HOLY SEE ANDTHE STATE OF ISRAELPreamble

The Holy See and the State of Israel,Mindful of the s ingular character and universal s igni f icance of the Holy Land;Aware of the unique nature of the relat ionship between the Cathol ic Church andthe Jewish people, and of the histo ric process of rec on ci l iat ion and gro wth In mutualunderstanding and f r iendship between Cathol ics and Jews;Having decided on 29 July 1992 to estab l ish a "B i later al P ermanent Wo rking

Commission", In order to study and def ine together Issues of common Interest, and Inview of normal iz ing thei r re lat ions;Recognizing that the work of the aforement ioned Commission has producedsu f f ic ien t mater ia l for a f i r s t and Fundamental Agreement ;Realizing that such Agreement wi l l p rov ide a sound and last ing basis for thecon t inued development of thei r present and fut ur e re lat ions and for the fur thera nce ofthe Commission's task,Agree upon the fo l lowing Art ic les:

Art ic le 1S 1. The State of Isr ae l, rec al l in g I ts Dec larat ion of Indepe nden ce, af f i rm s I tsco nt in uin g commitment to uph old and obse rve the human rig ht to f reedom of rel igio n andconscience, as set forth In the Universal Declarat ion of Human Rights and In otherInternat ional Inst ruments to which I t Is a party. 2. The Holy See, re ca ll in g the Declaration on Religious Freedom of the Second VaticanEcumenical Counci l , "Dignitatis humanae", aff i rm s the Catholic Ch urc h's commitment touphold the human right to f reedom of rel igion and conscience, as set forth In theUniversal Declarat ion of Human Rights and In other internat ional Instruments to whichIt Is a par ty . The Holy See wishes to af f i rm as wel l the, Cathol ic C hu rch 's respect forother rel ig ions and the ir fol lowe rs as solemnly stated by the Second Vat ican EcumenicalCounci l In I ts Declarat ion on the Relat ion of the Church to Non-Christ ian Rel igions,"Nostra aetate".

Art ic le 2S 1. The Holy See and the S tate of Israel are committed to ap pro pria te coope rat ion Incom batt ing al l forms of ant lsemlt ism and al l kinds of racism and of re l igiou s In toleranc e,and In promoting mutual understanding among nat ions, tolerance among communit ies andrespect for human l i fe and digni ty.

1 Ca me into force on 10 M arc h 1994, the date of the last notification of ratification, in accord anc e with article 15.Vol. 1775, 1-30925


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1994 Un ited Nations Treaty Series Nations Unies Recueil des Traits 183S 2. The Holy See takes th is occasion to rei te rate I ts condemnation of hatr ed ,persecut ion and al l other manifestat ions of ant lsemlt lsm directed against the Jewishpeople and Individ ua l Jews any wh ere, at any t ime and by anyone . In pa rt ic ula r, theHoly See deplores a ttacks on Jews and des ecrat ion of Jewish synago gues and cemeteries,acts which offend the memory of the vict ims of the Holocaust, especial ly when they occurIn the same places which witnessed It.

Art ic le 3 1. The Holy See and the State of Isra el recog nize tha t both are free In the exerciseof their respect ive r ights and powers, and commit themselves to respect this principleIn their mutual relat ions and In their cooperat ion for the qood of the people.S 2. The State of Israel recogn izes the rlq ht of the Cathol ic Ch urch to ca rry out I tsre l ig ious, moral , educat ional and char i table funct ions, and to have I ts own Inst i tu t ions,and to t r a i n , appoint and deploy I ts own personnel In the said Inst i tut ions or for thesaid fun ct io ns to these ends. The Ch urch reco gnizes th e rig ht of the State to ca rry outI ts func t ions , such as prom ot ing and pr ote ct ing the wel fare and the safety of the people.Both the State and the Chu rch recogn ize the need for dialogue and coop erat ion In suchmatters as by th eir na ture cal l for I t .S 3. Con cernin g Catholic legal pers ona l i ty at canon law the Holy See and the State ofIsrael wi l l negot iate on giv in g I t ful l e f fect In Israel i law, fol low ing a rep ort f rom a lolntsubcommission of experts.

Article 4 1. The State of Israel af f i rms I ts con t inu ing commitment to maintain and respect the"Status quo" In the Christ ian Holy Places to which I t appl ies and the respect ive r lqhtsof the Christ ian communit ies thereunder. The Holy See aff i rms the Cathol ic Church'scont inuing commitment to respect the aforement ioned "Status quo" and the said r lqhts. 2. The above shall aoplv no twi ths tand ing an Inte rpr eta t ion to the con t rary of anyArt icle In this Fundamental Aqreement.9 3. The State of Israel aqrees with the Holy See on the obl ig at ion of co nt in uin grespec t for and pro tec t ion of the cha racte r pr op er to Cathol ic sacred places, such aschurches, monasteries, convents, cemeteries and their l ike. 4- The State of Israel aqrees w ith the Holy See on the con t inu ing quara ntee of thefreedom of Cathol ic worship.

Article 56 1. The Holy See and the State of Israel reco gnize tha t both have an Inter est Infavour ing Chr ist ian p i lgr images to the Holy Land. Whenever the need for coordinat ionarises, the proper agencies of the Church and of the State wi l l consult and cooperateas requ i red .S 2. The State of Israel a nd the Holy See express the hope that such pi lgrima ges wi l lprovide an occasion for bet ter understanding between the p i lgr ims and the people andrel ig ions In Israel .

Ar t i c le 6The Holy See and the State of Israel joi nt ly rea ff i rm the ri g ht of the Cathol icChurch to establ ish, maintain and direct schools and Inst i tutes of study at al l levels;this r ight being exercised In harmony with the r ights of the State In the f ield ofeducat ion.

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184 Un ited Nations Treaty Series Nations Unies Recueil des Traits 1994Ar t i c le 7

The Holy See and the State of Israel recogn ize a common Inte res t In prom oting andenco uraging cu l tur a l exchanges between Cathol ic Inst i tu t ions wor ldwide, and educat ional ,cu l tura l and research Ins t i tu t ion s In Israe l , and In fac i l i ta t in g access to manusc r ipts,historical documents and simi lar source materials, In conformity with appl icable laws andregu la t ions.

Ar t i c le 8The State of Israel recognizes that the r ig h t of the Catholic C hurc h to freedomof expression In the carry ing out of I ts funct ions Is exercised a lso through the Church'sown comm unicat ions media; this r i g h t b eing exercised In harmony with the r ig ht s of theState In the f ield of communicat ions media.

Ar t i c le 9The Holy See and the State of Israel join t ly rea ff i rm the ri g h t of the Cathol icChu rch to ca rry out I ts cha r i table fu nct io ns thro ug h I ts heal th care and socia l w el fareIns t i tu t io ns ; th is r ig ht being exercised In harmony wi th the r igh ts of the State In th isf ie ld .

Art ic le 109 1. The Holy See and the State of Israel Joint ly reaff i rm the rig ht of the Cathol icChu rch t o p rope r t y . 2. Wi thout pre jud ice to r ig ht s re l ied upon by the Part ies :

(a) The Holy See and the State of Israe l w il l n ego tiate In good f ai th acomprehensive agreement, containing solut ions acceptable to both Part ies, on unclear,unset t led and disputed Issues, concerning property, economic and f iscal mat ters re lat ingto the Cathol ic Church general ly, or to specif ic Cathol ic Communit ies or Inst i tut ions.(b) For the purpose of the said negot iat ions, the Permanent Bi lateral WorkingCommission wi l l appoint one or more bi late ral subcommissions of experts to stud y theIssues and make proposals.(c) The Part ies intend to commence the aforement ioned negot iat ions within threemonths of entry Into force of the present Agreement, and aim to reach agreement withintwo years f rom the beginning of the negot iat ions.(d) During the period of these negot iat ions, act ions Incompatible with thesecommitments shall be avoided.

Art ic le 11 1. The Holy See and the State of Israel decla re th ei r re sp ec tive commitment to thepromotion of the peaceful resolut ion of conf l icts among States and nat ions, excludingvio lence and terror f rom Internat ional l i fe .S 2. The Holy See, whi le ma intaining In eve ry case the rig ht to exercise Its moral andspi r i tual teaching-of f ice, deems I t opportune to recal l that , owing to I ts own character ,I t Is solemnly committed to remaining a stranger to al l merely temporal conf l icts, whichpr inc ip le app l ies spec i f i ca l l y to d ispu ted te r r i t o r ies and unset t led borders .

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1994 Un ited Nations Treaty Series Nations Unies Recueil des Traits 185Art icle 12

The Holy See and the State of Israel w i l l con t inue to negot iate In good fai t h Inpurs uan ce of the Agenda ag reed up on In Jerusalem, on 15 July 1992, and conf irm ed atthe Vat ican , on 29 July 1992; l ikewise on Issues aris ing from Art icles of the pres entAgreement, as wel l as on other Issues bi lateral ly agreed upon as ob]ects of negot iat ion.Art icle 13

6 1. In this Agreement the Pa rt ies use these terms In the fol lo win g sense:(a) The Catholic Church and the Church - i n c l ud i ng , Inter alia. Its Communities andI ns t i t u t i ons ;(b ) Communities of the Cathol ic Church - meaning the Cathol ic rel igious ent i t lescon side red by the Holy See as Chu rches sul lurls and by the State of Israel asRecognized Rel igious Communit ies;(c ) The State of Israel and the State - I nc lud ing , Inter alia. I ts author i t ies establ ishedby law.9 2. Notw i thstand ing the val id i ty of th is Agreement as between the Part ies, and wi thou tdet ract ing f rom the general i ty of any appl icable ru le of law wi th reference to t reat ies,the Part ies agree that th is Agreement does not pre jud ice r ig hts and obl igat ions a r is ingfrom exist in g trea t ies between eithe r Party and a State or States, which are know n andIn fact avai lable to both Part ies at the t ime of the signature of this Agreement.

Art icle 146 1. Upon signa ture of the pre sen t Fundamental Agreement and In pre pa rat io n for theestabl ishm ent of ful l diplom atic relat ion s, the Holy See and the State of Israe l exchangeSpecial Representat ives, whose rank and privi leges are specif ied In an Addit ionalProtocol . 2.. Fol low ing the en try Into force and Immediately upon the be gin nin g of theImplementat ion of the present Fundamental Agreement, the Holy See and the State ofIsrael Wil l establ ish ful l diplomatic relat ions at the level of Apostol ic Nunciature, on thepart of the Holy See, and Embassy, on the part of the State of Israel.

Art icle 15This Agreement shal l enter Into force on the date of the lat ter not i f icat ion ofra t i f i ca t ion by a Par ty .

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186 United Nations Treaty Series Nations Unies Recueil des Traits 1994Done In two original copies In the Engl ish and Hebrew languages, both textsbeing equal ly authent ic. In case of d ivergency, the Engl ish text shal l prevai l .

Signe d In Jerusalem, this t h ir t i e th day of the month of December, In theyear 1993, which corresponds to the sixteenth day of the month of Tevet, In the year5754.

For the Government For the Holy See:of the State of Israel:

1 Joseph Beil in .2 Claud io M . Celli.Vol. 1775, 1-30925


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1994 United Nations Treaty Series Nations Unies Recueil des Traits 187ADDITIONAL PROTOCOL

1 . In re lat ion to Ar t . 14 1 of the Fundam ental A greem ent, signe d by the HolySea and the State of Israel , the "Specia l Representat ives" shal l have, respect ive ly ,the personal rank of Apostol ic Nuncio and Ambassador.

2. These Special Representatives shal l enjoy al l the r ights, pr ivi leges andImmunit ies g ran ted to Heads of Diplomatic Missions un der Inter natio na l law andcommon usage, on the basis of reciprocity.

3 . The Special Re pres enta tive of the Sta te of Israel to the Holy See, whi leresid in g In I ta ly , shall en joy a l l the r ig hts , pr iv i leg es and Immuni t ies def ined byAr t . 12 of the Tre aty of 1929 betwe en the Holy See and I ta ly, reg ar din g Envoy sof Fore ign Governm ents to the Holy See res iding in I taly . The r ig ht s, pr iv i leg esand Imm unities ex ten de d to the p erso nn el of a Diplomatic Mission shall l ikewis ebe granted to the personnel o f the Israel i Specia l Representat ive 's Mission .According to an establ ished custom, nei ther the Specia l Repre senta t ive , nor theofficial members of his Mission, can at the same time be members of Is ra el 'sDiplomatic Mission to I taly .

4 . The Special Re pre sen tative of the Holy See to the State of Israel may at thesame time exercise othe r rep res en tat ive func tions of the Holy See and beacc red ited to o ther States . He and the pe rsonne l of his Mission shall enjoy all ther i gh ts , priv i leg es and immu nit ies gr an ted by Isra el to Diplomatic Agents andMissions.

5. The names, ran k and func tions of the Special Re pre sen tative s wi ll appe ar,In an ap pro pr iate way, In the off icial l ists of Fore ign Missions acc redite d to eachP a r t y .

Signed In Jerusalem, this thirt ieth day of the month of December, in theyea r 1993, which corre spo nds to the sixteen th day of the month of Tevet , in theyear 5754.

For the Government For the Holy See:of the State of Israel:

1 Joseph Beilin.2 Claudio M. Celli.Vol. 1775, 1-30925

Documents

Agreement for Israel