Joint Implementation Agreement

The ITER Organisation will be established as an international organisation through a Joint Implementation Agreement (JIA). The JIA is more formally known as the "Agreement on the Establishment of the International Fusion Energy Organisation for the Joint Implementation of the ITER Project". It has Annexes which form an integral part of the agreement, and Attachments, which do not, and which can therefore be prepared separately and subsequently modified without renegotiating the Agreement.

The JIA has a number of provisions:

Establishment of the ITER Organization, Purposes of the ITER Organization, Functions of the ITER Organization, Members of the ITER Organization, Legal Personality, Council, The Director-General and the Staff, Resources of the ITER Organization, Project Resource Management Regulations, Information and Intellectual Property, Site Support, Privileges and Immunities, Field Teams, Public Health, Safety, Licensing and Environmental Protection, Liability, Decommissioning, Financial Audit, Management Assessment, International Cooperation, Peaceful Uses and Non-proliferation, Application with regard to Euratom, Entry into force, Accession, Duration and Termination, Settlement of Disputes, Withdrawal, Annexes, Amendments, and Depositary.

The Annexes and Attachments include:

Procurement Allocation and Cost Sharing, Headquarters Agreement and Site Support, Agreement between Organisation and Host Country, Annex on Privileges and Immunities, Financial Regulations and Procurement Regulations, Staff Regulations, Council Rules of Procedure.

When it enters into force the Joint Implementation Agreement will have a duration initially of 35 years with the possibility of extension for up to 10 years without amending the Agreement. Current expectations are that the ITER Organisation should be established around the end of 2006.