Next (SCHEDULE. Agreements.)

18 1957

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Number 18 of 1957.


BRETTON WOODS AGREEMENTS ACT, 1957.


ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONS

Section

1.

Interpretation.

2.

Approval of acceptance.

3.

Financial and other provisions.

4.

Short title.

SCHEDULE

Agreements

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Number 18 of 1957.


BRETTON WOODS AGREEMENTS ACT, 1957.


AN ACT TO MAKE PROVISION WITH RESPECT TO ACCEPTANCE BY THE GOVERNMENT OF THE AGREEMENTS FOR THE INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND AND THE INTERNATIONAL BANK FOR RECONSTRUCTION AND DEVELOPMENT AND TO PROVIDE FOR MATTERS (INCLUDING PAYMENTS) RELATED TO THE MATTERS AFORESAID. [18th July, 1957.]

BE IT ENACTED BY THE OIREACHTAS AS FOLLOWS :—

Interpretation.

1. —In this Act—

the Fund Agreement” means the agreement, for the establishment and operation of an international body to be called the International Monetary Fund, which was drawn up at the United Nations Monetary and Financial Conference held at Bretton Woods in New Hampshire in the United States of America in July, 1944, and of which the text of the Articles is set out in Part I of the Schedule to this Act;

the Bank Agreement” means the agreement, for the establishment and operation of an international body to be called the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, which was drawn up at the United Nations Monetary and Financial Conference held at Bretton Woods in New Hampshire in the United States of America in July, 1944, and of which the text of the Articles is set out in Part II of the Schedule to this Act;

the Fund” means the International Monetary Fund established under the Fund Agreement;

the Bank” means the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development established under the Bank Agreement.

Approval of acceptance.

2. —Acceptance by the Government of the Fund Agreement and the Bank Agreement is hereby approved.

Financial and other provisions.

3. —(1) The subsequent subsections of this section shall come into operation on the day on which the Fund Agreement and the Bank Agreement are signed on behalf of the Government.

(2) The following payments, as and when they become appropriate to be made on behalf of the Government, shall be made out of the Central Fund or the growing produce thereof:

(a) payments in respect of subscription to the Fund,

(b) payments under paragraph (a) of Section 4 of Article III of the Fund Agreement,

(c) payments under paragraph (b) or paragraph (d) of Section 8 of Article IV of the Fund Agreement,

(d) payments under Section 3, Section 7 or Section 8 of Article V of the Fund Agreement,

(e) payments under Section 3 of Article XIII of the Fund Agreement,

(f) payments under Schedule D of the Fund Agreement,

(g) payments under Schedule E of the Fund Agreement,

(h) payments in respect of subscription to the Bank,

(i) payments under Section 9 of Article II of the Bank Agreement,

(j) payments under subparagraph (iv) of paragraph (c) of Section 4 of Article VI of the Bank Agreement.

(3) The Minister for Finance may create and issue to the Fund or the Bank, in such form as he thinks fit, any such non-interest-bearing and non-negotiable notes or other obligations as are provided for by Section 5 of Article III of the Fund Agreement and Section 12 of Article V of the Bank Agreement, and any payments in respect of any such notes or obligations so created and issued shall be made out of the Central Fund or the growing produce thereof.

(4) The Minister for Finance may borrow from any person, and the Bank of Ireland may advance to him, any sum or sums required for payments under this section and, for the purpose of such borrowing, he may create and issue any securities bearing such rate of interest and subject to such conditions as to repayment, redemption or otherwise as he thinks fit.

(5) The principal and interest of any securities issued under subsection (4) of this section and the expenses incurred in connection with their issue shall be charged on the Central Fund or the growing produce thereof.

(6) Any moneys received by the Government from the Fund or the Bank or raised by securities under subsection (4) of this section shall be placed to the credit of the account of the Exchequer and shall form part of the Central Fund and be available in any manner in which that Fund is available.

(7) The Central Bank of Ireland shall act as a depository for the holdings of currency of the State and other assets of the Fund and the Bank and may advance to the Minister for Finance any sum or sums required for payments under this section.

(8) The provisions of—

(a) Sections 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9 of Article IX of the Fund Agreement,

(b) Sections 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9 of Article VII of the Bank Agreement, and

(c) the first sentence of paragraph (b) of Section 2 of Article VIII of the Fund Agreement,

shall have the force of law in the State, subject to the proviso that nothing in Section 9 of Article IX of the Fund Agreement or in Section 9 of Article VII of the Bank Agreement shall be construed—

(i) as entitling the Fund or the Bank to import goods free of customs duty without any restriction on their subsequent sale in the country to which they were imported,

(ii) as conferring on the Fund or the Bank any exemption from duties or taxes which form part of the price of goods sold, or

(iii) as conferring on the Fund or the Bank any exemption from taxes or duties which are in fact no more than charges for services rendered.

Short title.

4. —This Act may be cited as the Bretton Woods Agreements Act, 1957.