This Charter has as its goal the definition of the fundamental and inalienable rights of the investor. The Charter was drafted by the Convention of Independent Financial Advisors (CIFA), a non-governmental organization with consultative status at the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations. CIFA is the possessor and custodian of this Charter. The Charter aims to underline the principles, both straightforward and permanent, of the investor so as to benefit from a legal framework which preserves private property and comprises goods resulting from the activities, be they personal property or intellectual, of the investor. The Charter attempts to respect the legislation, traditions and customs of all the countries which ratify it.

Article 1

Private property is protected according to the contents of this Charter of investors’ rights. Private property is defined as the entirety of goods and rights that exist, as well as all revenue and obligations relating to it that are not recognised as the property of a member state of the United Nations. Private property resulting from ancestral, historic or tribal rights is equally covered by this Charter.

Article 2

Only private property constituted or acquired under universally accepted moral norms is protected by this Charter. All private property acquired or constituted under constraint or duress, or by way of intimidation or any other criminal manner, is excluded from protection by this Charter.

Article 3

The investor is a person, physical and moral, who is in possession of the right of disposal of his or her private property and is, simultaneously, the beneficiary of income and obligations which accrue to him.

Article 4

All acts of expropriation or confiscation of private property and revenues are forbidden. All investors have the right to protect themselves, by all legal means, against all acts of expropriation or confiscation by a state or private organization that is directly or indirectly subordinated to it.

Article 5

The investor has the right, freely and without constraint, to dispose of the totality of all of his or her assets which constitute his private property as well as the income attributable and conforming to their needs and aspirations. Any restrictions on the rights of disposal of these goods are not acceptable without the agreement of the owner who gives free consent without constraint.

Article 5

The investor has the right, freely and without constraint, to dispose of the totality of all of his or her assets which constitute his private property as well as the income attributable and conforming to their needs and aspirations. Any restrictions on the rights of disposal of these goods are not acceptable without the agreement of the owner who gives free consent without constraint.

Article 7

The investor has the right to use his best judgement to find the most appropriate way for his private property and revenue to yield a profit. He has the right freely to choose the structures and institutions that he judges will more than adequately accommodate the components of his private property as well as the revenue which results.

Article 8

The investor undertakes to arrange his assets in a manner that respects the habits, customs as well as the legal framework of the countries in which he invests.

Article 9

The investor has the right to expect from states and governments good structures, supervision and adequate surveillance of the market place. He or she is free, and at the same time personally responsible, for all investments which proceed forth.

Article 10

The investor undertakes to respect the fundamental rights of mankind as defined in the Charter of the United Nations.