EITI Principle 6 recognises that achievement of greater transparency must be set in the context of respect for contracts and laws.
6. We recognise that achievement of greater transparency must be set in the context of respect for contracts and laws.
The EITI Standard requires that the EITI Report documents the government’s policy on disclosure of contracts and licenses that govern the exploration and exploitation of oil, gas and minerals.
Implementing countries are encouraged to publicly disclose any contracts and licenses that provide the terms attached to the exploitation of oil, gas and minerals.
It is a requirement that the EITI Report documents the government’s policy on disclosure of contracts and licenses that govern the exploration and exploitation of oil, gas and minerals. This should include relevant legal provisions, actual disclosure practices and any reforms that are planned or underway. Where applicable, the EITI Report should provide an overview of the contracts and licenses that are publicly available, and include a reference or link to the location where these are published.
The term contract in 3.12(a) means:
the full text of any contract, concession, production-sharing agreement or other agreement granted by, or entered into by, the government which provides the terms attached to the exploitation of oil gas and mineral resources;
the full text of any annex, addendum or rider which establishes details relevant to the exploitation rights described in 3.12(c)(i) or the execution thereof; and
the full text of any alteration or amendment to the documents described in 3.12(c)(i) and 3.12(c)(ii).
The term license in 3.12(a) means:
the full text of any license, lease, title or permit by which a government confers on a company(ies) or individual(s) rights to exploit oil, gas and/or mineral resources;
the full text of any annex, addendum or rider that establishes details relevant to the exploitation rights described in in 3.12(d)(i) or the execution thereof; and
the full text of any alteration or amendment to the documents described in 3.12(d)(i) and 3.12(d)(ii).
Contract transparency in Guinea - online portal
Following the passing of the 2011 Mining Code which mandates contract transparency, the government of Guinea has published all mining contracts and associated agreements signed since 1958 on a dedicated website that allows for full searchability within documents and includes annotated summaries of the deals.
Contract transparency in Liberia - online portal
In Liberia, LEITI hosts a contracts and concession library that contains all extractive contracts signed by the government. The LEITI Act (2009) mandates LEITI to “To promote the public disclosure of contracts and concessions bearing relationship with the extraction of forest and mineral resources”. Accordingly, the LEITI Secretariat in 2012 secured and uploaded to its website for public consumption, more than 100 concessions agreements, contracts, permits, and licenses in respect of the oil, mining, forestry, and agriculture sectors. Hard copies of these assigned rights are available at the office of the Secretariat.
The LEITI Secretariat recognizes that it remains challenging for the average citizen to understand the terms and provisions due to their complex legal nature. LEITI has therefore secured legal services experts to produce easy-to-read versions of all concessions agreements within the oil, mining, agriculture, and forestry sectors. These will summarize the fiscal terms, contract start/end dates, community benefits, and other key provisions on the agreements.
Contract transparency in Afghanistan - online portal
The government of Afghanistan has published several contracts on the website of the Ministry of Mines and Petroleum. 0n 26 July, President Hamid Karzai issued a decree committing the government to "publish all contracts with details” with national and international companies from the past three years, and to finalize a contract transparency plan based on “agreed international principles and with considerations of the future of the country."
Over 200 contracts have been published so far. There are ongoing discussions within AEITI about further disclosures, including disclosure of the contract for the Aynak copper mine.
As per the Standard Terms of Reference for Validators:
The validator is expected to document whether the government’s policy on contract transparency has been disclosed. This should include relevant legal provisions, actual disclosure practices and any government reforms that are planned or underway (3.12.b).
The validator is expected to document whether the EITI Report includes disclosures of contracts and licenses. Such disclosures are encouraged but not required and should not be considered in assessing compliance with the EITI provisions (3.12.a). Where contracts are disclosed, the validator is expected to document whether the EITI Report provides an overview of the contracts and information on how these can be accessed (3.12.b).
