Council Decision 2011/72/CFSP of 31 January 2011 concerning restrictive measures directed against certain persons and entities in view of the situation in Tunisia

Article 1

1.   All funds and economic resources belonging to, owned, held or controlled by persons responsible for misappropriation of Tunisian State funds, and natural or legal persons or entities associated with them, as listed in the Annex, shall be frozen.

2.   No funds or economic resources shall be made available, directly or indirectly, to, or for the benefit of, natural or legal persons or entities listed in the Annex.

2a.   Without prejudice to Article 5, in the event of the decease of a person listed in the Annex:

(a) where a criminal conviction for the misappropriation of State funds was made against that person before his or her decease, the funds and economic resources which belonged to that person or which he or she owned, held or controlled shall continue to be frozen until court orders for the recovery of the misappropriated State funds and the payment of fines have been executed;

(b) where no such criminal conviction was made against that person before his or her decease, the funds and economic resources which belonged to that person or which he or she owned, held or controlled shall continue to be frozen for a reasonable period of time, subject to paragraph 4. If a civil or administrative action for the recovery of misappropriated State funds is brought within that period, the funds and economic resources which belonged to that person or which he or she owned, held or controlled shall remain frozen until such action is dismissed or, if it is upheld, until the court’s order for the recovery of the misappropriated funds has been executed.

2b.   The Council shall amend the list in the Annex as necessary once it establishes that the conditions set out in paragraph 2a for maintaining the freezing of funds and economic resources which belonged to the deceased person or which he or she owned, held or controlled are no longer met.

3.   The competent authority of a Member State may authorise the release of certain frozen funds or economic resources, or the making available of certain funds or economic resources, under such conditions as it deems appropriate, after having determined that the funds or economic resources concerned are:

(a) necessary to satisfy the basic needs of the persons listed in the Annex and their dependent family members, including payments for foodstuffs, rent or mortgage, medicines and medical treatment, taxes, insurance premiums, and public utility charges;

(b) intended exclusively for the payment of reasonable professional fees and the reimbursement of incurred expenses associated with the provision of legal services;

(c) intended exclusively for the payment of fees or service charges for the routine holding or maintenance of frozen funds or economic resources; or

(d) necessary for extraordinary expenses, provided that the competent authority has notified the competent authority of the other Member States and the Commission of the grounds on which it considers that a specific authorisation should be granted, at least 2 weeks prior to the authorisation.

A Member State shall inform the other Member States and the Commission of any authorisation it grants under this paragraph.

4.   By way of derogation from paragraph 1, the competent authorities of a Member State, may authorise the release of certain frozen funds or economic resources, provided the following conditions are met:

(a) the funds or economic resources are the subject of an arbitral decision rendered prior to the date on which the natural or legal person, entity or body referred to in paragraph 1 was listed in the Annex or of a judicial or administrative decision rendered in the Union, or a judicial decision enforceable in the Member State concerned, prior to or after that date;

(b) the funds or economic resources will be used exclusively to satisfy claims secured by such a decision or recognised as valid in such a decision, within the limits set by applicable laws and regulations governing the rights of persons having such claims;

(c) the decision is not for the benefit of a natural or legal person, entity or body listed in the Annex; and

(d) recognising the decision is not contrary to public policy in the Member State concerned.

The Member State concerned shall inform the other Member States and the Commission of any authorisation granted under this paragraph.

5.   Paragraph 2 shall not apply to the addition to frozen accounts of:

(a) interest or other earnings on those accounts; or

(b) payments due under contracts, agreements or obligations that were concluded or arose prior to the date on which those accounts became subject to this Decision; or

(c) payments due under judicial, administrative or arbitral decisions rendered in the Union or enforceable in the Member State concerned,

provided that any such interest, other earnings and payments remain subject to the measures provided for in paragraph 1.

6.   Paragraphs 1 and 2 shall not apply to the provision, processing or payment of funds, other financial assets or economic resources or to the provision of goods and services which are necessary to ensure the timely delivery of humanitarian assistance or to support other activities that support basic human needs where such assistance and other activities are carried out by:

(a) the United Nations (UN), including its programmes, funds and other entities and bodies, as well as its specialised agencies and related organisations;

(b) international organisations;

(c) humanitarian organisations having observer status with the UN General Assembly and members of those humanitarian organisations;

(d) bilaterally or multilaterally funded non-governmental organisations participating in the UN Humanitarian Response Plans, UN Refugee Response Plans, other UN appeals or humanitarian clusters coordinated by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs;

(e) organisations and agencies to which the Union has granted the Humanitarian Partnership Certificate or which are certified or recognised by a Member State in accordance with national procedures;

(f) Member States’ specialised agencies; or

(g) the employees, grantees, subsidiaries or implementing partners of the entities referred to in points (a) to (f) while and to the extent that they are acting in those capacities.

7.   Without prejudice to paragraph 6, and by way of derogation from paragraphs 1 and 2, the competent authorities of a Member State may authorise the release of certain frozen funds or economic resources, or the making available of certain funds or economic resources, under such conditions as they deem appropriate, after having determined that the provision of such funds or economic resources is necessary to ensure the timely delivery of humanitarian assistance or to support other activities that support basic human needs.

8.   In the absence of a negative decision, a request for information or a notification for additional time from the relevant competent authority within five working days of the date of receipt of a request for authorisation under paragraph 7, that authorisation shall be considered granted.

9.   The Member State concerned shall inform the other Member States and the Commission of any authorisations granted under paragraphs 7 and 8 within four weeks of such authorisation.’

Article 2

1.   The Council, acting upon a proposal by a Member State or the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, shall establish and amend the list in the Annex.

2.   The Council shall communicate its decision, including the grounds for the listing, to the person or entity concerned, either directly, if the address is known, or through the publication of a notice, providing such person or entity with an opportunity to present observations.

3.   Where observations are submitted, or where substantial new evidence is presented, the Council shall review its decision and inform the person or entity concerned accordingly.

Article 3

1.   The Annex shall include the grounds for listing the persons and entities.

2.   The Annex shall also contain, where available, the information necessary to identify the persons or entities concerned. With regard to persons, such information may include names, including aliases, date and place of birth, nationality, passport and ID card numbers, gender, address if known, and function or profession. With regard to entities, such information may include names, place and date of registration, registration number and place of business.

Article 4

In order to maximise the impact of the above mentioned measures, the Union shall encourage third States to adopt restrictive measures similar to those contained in this Decision.

Article 5

1.   This Decision shall apply until 31 January 2025.

2.   This Decision shall be kept under constant review. It may be renewed or amended, as appropriate, if the Council deems that its objectives have not been met.

Article 6

This Decision shall enter into force on the date of its adoption.

Annex 1

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