Overview of the Act
The Act enables the Government to treat the CPA and the ICRC in a manner comparable to that of an international organisation of which the United Kingdom, or His Majesty’s Government in the United Kingdom, is a member. Before this Act, the Government was unable to do that, including conferring privileges and immunities on these two organisations, because neither organisation falls within the scope of existing powers under the International Organisations Act 1968 (c. 48) ("the 1968 Act").
	The Act contains six sections and one schedule, addressing issues related to the status of the CPA and the ICRC.
	The Act creates the power, by Order in Council, to (i) confer the legal capacities of a body corporate on the CPA and the ICRC, (ii) grant the organisation, its information and premises and its staff certain privileges and immunities commensurate with its functional needs, (iii) provide that references to international organisations in general legislation include references to the CPA and the ICRC, and (iv) allow for certain confidential information that the ICRC shares with the UK government to be exempted from legal disclosure requirements.
	It is proposed that the Government will conclude written arrangements with the ICRC and CPA which will set out the parameters of the status change. They will include the privileges and immunities which the Government has decided to confer on the organisations, and which will be implemented using the powers in the Act.