Article 6 Privileges and immunities of EUTM Mali personnel granted by the Host State
EUTM Mali personnel shall not be liable to any form of arrest or detention.
The papers, correspondence and property of EUTM Mali personnel shall be inviolable, except in case of measures of execution which are permitted pursuant to paragraph 6.
EUTM Mali personnel shall enjoy immunity from criminal proceedings in the Host State under all circumstances.
The immunity from criminal proceedings of EUTM Mali personnel may be waived by the Sending State or the EU body concerned, as the case may be. Such waiver shall always be in writing.
EUTM Mali personnel shall enjoy immunity from the civil and administrative proceedings in the Host State in respect of words spoken or written and all acts performed by them in the exercise of their official functions.
If any civil proceedings are instituted against EUTM Mali personnel before any Host State court, the Mission Commander and the competent authority of the Sending State or the EU body concerned shall be notified immediately. Prior to initiation of proceedings before the competent court, the Mission Commander and the competent authority of the Sending State or the EU institution concerned shall certify to the court whether the act in question was performed by EUTM Mali personnel in the exercise of their official functions.
If the act was performed in the exercise of official functions, proceedings shall not be initiated and the provisions of Article 15 shall apply. If the act was not committed in the exercise of official functions, proceedings may continue. The certification issued by the commander of the mission and the competent authority of the Sending State or the EU body concerned shall be binding upon the court of the Host State, which may not contest it.
However, the competent authorities of the Host State may challenge the merits of that certification within a period of two months from its date of issue. In such a case, each of the Parties shall commit to resolving the dispute exclusively by diplomatic means.
The initiation of civil proceedings by EUTM Mali personnel shall preclude them from invoking immunity from jurisdiction in respect of any counter-claim directly connected with the principal claim.
EUTM Mali personnel shall not be obliged to give evidence as witnesses.
No measures of execution may be taken in respect of EUTM Mali personnel, except in cases where civil proceedings not related to their official functions are instituted against them. The property of EUTM Mali personnel, certified by the Mission Commander to be necessary for the fulfilment of their official functions, shall be free from seizure for the satisfaction of a judgment, decision or order. In civil proceedings, EUTM Mali personnel shall not be subject to any restrictions on their personal liberty or to any other measures of constraint.
The immunity of EUTM Mali personnel from jurisdiction in the Host State does not exempt them from jurisdiction in the respective Sending States.
EUTM Mali personnel shall be exempt from any form of taxation in the Host State on the salary and emoluments paid to them by EUTM Mali or the Sending States, as well as on any income received from outside the Host State.
The Host State shall, in accordance with such laws and regulations as it may adopt, authorise entry of articles for the personal use of EUTM Mali personnel and grant exemption on such articles from all customs duties, taxes and related charges other than charges for storage, cartage and similar services.
The personal baggage of EUTM Mali personnel shall be exempt from inspection, unless there are serious grounds for presuming that it contains articles that are not for the personal use of EUTM Mali personnel, or articles the import or export of which is prohibited by the law or controlled by the quarantine regulations of the Host State. Such inspection shall be conducted only in the presence of the EUTM Mali personnel concerned or of an authorised representative of EUTM Mali.