Overeenkomst inzake overheidsopdrachten

Preamble

Parties to this Agreement (hereinafter referred to as “Parties”),

Considering that Ministers agreed in the Tokyo Declaration of 14 September 1973 that comprehensive Multilateral Trade Negotiations in the framework of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (hereinafter referred to as “General Agreement” or “GATT”) should aim, inter alia, to reduce or eliminate non-tariff measures or, where this is not appropriate, their trade restricting or distorting effects, and to bring such measures under more effective international discipline;

Considering that Ministers also agreed that negotiations should aim to secure additional benefits for the international trade of developing countries, and recognized the importance of the application of differential measures in ways which will provide special and more favourable treatment for them where this is feasible and appropriate;

Recognizing that in order to achieve their economic and social objectives to implement programmes and policies of economic development aimed at raising the standard of living of their people, taking into account their balance-of-payments position, developing countries may need to adopt agreed differential measures;

Considering that Ministers in the Tokyo Declaration recognized that the particular situation and problems of the least developed among the developing countries shall be given special attention and stressed the need to ensure that these countries receive special treatment in the context of any general or specific measures taken in favour of the developing countries during the negotiations;

Recognizing the need to establish an agreed international framework of rights and obligations with respect to laws, regulations, procedures and practices regarding government procurement with a view to achieving greater liberalization and expansion of world trade and improving the international framework for the conduct of world trade;

Recognizing that laws, regulations, procedures and practices regarding government procurement should not be prepared, adopted or applied to foreign or domestic products and to foreign or domestic suppliers so as to afford protection to domestic products or suppliers and should not discriminate among foreign products or suppliers;

Recognizing that it is desirable to provide transparency of laws, regulations, procedures and practices regarding government procurement;

Recognizing the need to establish international procedures on notification, consultation, surveillance and dispute settlement with a view to ensuring a fair, prompt and effective enforcement of the international provisions on government procurement and to maintain the balance of rights and obligations at the highest possible level;

Hereby agree as follows:

Article I. Scope and Coverage

• a). any law, regulation, procedure and practice regarding any procurement of products, through such methods an purchase or as lease, as rental or hire-purchase, with or without an option to buy by the entities 1)Throughout this Agreement, the word entities is understood to include agencies.2)[Red: De lijsten van de aankopende instanties zijn niet opgenomen. De lijsten liggen ter inzage bij het Ministerie van Economische Zaken, Directoraat-Generaal voor de Buitenlandse Economische Betrekkingen, Hoofdafdeling Handelspolitiek, alsmede bij de parlementaire documentatiedienst van de Tweede Kamer en bij de Staten van Aruba te Oranjestad.]subject to this Agreement. This includes services incidental to the supply of products if the value of these incidental services does not exceed that of the products themselves, but not service contracts per se;

• b). any procurement contract of a value of SDR 130,000 or more 1)For contracts below the threshold, the Parties shall consider, in accordance with paragraph 6 of Article IX, the application in whole or in part of this Agreement. In particular, they shall review the procurement practices and procedures utilized and the application of non-discrimination and transparency for such contracts in connexion with the possible inclusion of contracts below the threshold in this Agreement.3.This Agreement shall apply to any procurement contract for which the contract value is estimated to equal or exceed the threshold at the time of publication of the notice in accordance with Article V:4.. No procurement requirement shall be divided with the intent of reducing the value of the resulting contracts below SDR 130,000. If an individual requirement for the procurement of a product or products of the same type results in the award of more than one contract or in contracts being awarded in separate parts, the basis for application of this Agreement shall be either the actual value of similar recurring contracts concluded over the previous fiscal year or twelve months adjusted, where possible, for anticipated changes in quantity and value over the subsequent twelve months, or the estimated value of recurring contracts in the fiscal year or twelve months subsequent to the initial contract. The selection of the valuation method by the entity shall not be used with the purpose of circumventing the Agreement. In cases of contracts for the lease, rental, or hire-purchase of products, the basis for calculating the contract value shall be: In cases where a proposed procurement specifies the need for option clauses, the basis for application of this Agreement shall be the total value of the maximum permissible purchases, lease, rentals or hire-purchases, inclusive of optional purchases;

• (i). in the case or fixed-term contracts, where their term is twelve months or less, the calculation should be based on the total contract value for its duration, or, where their term exceeds twelve months, its total value including the estimated residual value;

• (ii). in the case of contracts for an indefinite period, the monthly instalment multiplied by forty-eight;

• (iii). if there is any doubt, the second basis of calculation, namely (ii), is to be used.

• c). procurement by the entities under the direct or substantial control of Parties and other designated entities, with respect to their procurement procedures and practices. Until the review and further negotiations referred to in the Final Provisions, the coverage of this Agreement is specified by the lists of entities, and to the extent that rectifications, modifications or amendments may have been made, their successor entities, in Annex I.

Article II. National Treatment and Non-Discrimination

• a). that accorded to domestic products and suppliers; and

• b). that accorded to products and suppliers of any other Party.

• (a). that their entities shall not treat a locally-established supplier less favourably than another locally-established supplier on the basis of degree of foreign affiliation or ownership;

• (b). that their entities shall not discriminate against locally-established suppliers on the basis of the country of production of the good being supplied, provided that the country of production is a Party to the Agreement in accordance with the provisions of paragraph 4 of this Article.

Article III. Special and Differential Treatment for Developing Countries

• a). safeguard their balance-of-payments position and ensure a level of reserves adequate for the implementation of programmes of economic development;

• b). promote the establishment or development of domestic industries including the development of small-scale and cottage industries in rural or backward areas; and economic development of other sectors of the economy;

• c). support industrial units so long as they are wholly or substantially dependent on government procurement;

• d). encourage their economic development through regional or global arrangements among developing countries presented to the CONTRACTING PARTIES to the GATT and not disapproved by them.

• -. the solution of particular technical problems relating to the award of a specific contract;

• -. any other problem which the Party making the request and another Party agree to deal with in the context of this assistance.

Article IV. Technical Specifications

• a). be in terms of performance rather than design; and

• b). be based on international standards, national technical regulations, or recognized national standards.

Article V. Tendering Procedures

• a). any conditions for participation in tendering procedures shall be published in adequate time to enable interested suppliers to initiate and, to the extent that it is compatible with efficient operation of the procurement process, complete the qualification procedures;

• b). any conditions for participation in tendering procedures shall be limited to those which are essential to ensure the firm’s capability to fulfil the contract in question. Any conditions for participation required from suppliers, including financial guarantees, technical qualifications and information necessary for establishing the financial, commercial and technical capacity of suppliers, as well as the verification of qualifications, shall be no less favourable to foreign suppliers than to domestic suppliers and shall not discriminate among foreign suppliers. The financial, comercial and technical capacity of a supplier shall be judged both on the basis of that suppliers global business activity as well as its activity in the territory of the procuring entity, taking due account of the legal relationship between the supply organizations;

• c). the process of, and the time required for, qualifying suppliers shall not be used in order to keep foreign suppliers off a suppliers’ list or from being considered for a particular proposed procurement. Entities shall recognize as qualified suppliers such domestic or foreign suppliers who meet the conditions for participation in a particular proposed procurement. Suppliers requesting to participate in a particular proposed procurement who may not yet be qualified shall also be considered, provided there is sufficient time to complete the qualification procedure;

• d). entities maintaining permanent lists of qualified suppliers shall ensure that suppliers may apply for qualification at any time; and that all qualified suppliers so requesting are included in the lists within a reasonably short time;

• e). any supplier having requested to become a qualified supplier shall be advised by the entities concerned of the decision in this regard. Qualified suppliers included on permanent lists by entities shall also be notified of the termination of any such lists or of their removal from them;

• f). the Parties shall ensure that

• (i). each entity and its constituent parts follow a single qualification procedure, except in cases of duly substantiated need for different procedures;

• (ii). efforts be made to minimize differences in qualification procedures between entities;

• g). nothing in sub-paragraphs (a) to (f) above shall preclude the exclusion of any supplier on grounds such as bankruptcy or false declarations, provided that such an action is consistent with the national treatment and non-discrimination provisions of this Agreement.

• a). the nature and quantity, including any options for additional quantities, of the products to be supplied and, if possible, an estimate of the timing when such options may be exercised; in the case of recurring contracts the nature and quantity and, if possible, an estimate of the timing of the subsequent tender notices for the products to be procured;

• b). whether the procedure is open or selective;

• c). any delivery date;

• d). the address and final date for submitting an application to be invited to tender or for qualifying for the suppliers’ lists, or for receiving tenders, as well as the language or languages in which they must be submitted;

• e). the address of the entity awarding the contract and providing any information necessary for obtaining specifications and other documents;

• f). any economic and technical requirements, financial guarantees and information required from suppliers;

• g). the amount and terms of payment of any sum payable for the tender documentation;

• h). whether the entity is inviting offers for purchase, lease, rental or hire-purchase, or more than one of these methods.

The entity shall publish in one of the official languages of the GATT a summary of the notice of proposed procurement containing at least the following:

• (i). subject matter of the contract;

• (ii). time-limits set for the submission of tenders or an application to be invited to tender; and

• (iii). addresses from which documents relating to the contracts may be requested.

• a). In the case of selective tendering procedures, entities maintaining permanent lists of qualified suppliers shall publish annually in one of the publications listed in Annex III 1)[Red: De lijst is niet opgenomen. De lijst ligt ter inzage bij het Ministerie van Economische Zaken, Directoraat-Generaal voor de Buitenlandse Economische Betrekkingen, Hoofdafdeling Handelspolitiek, alsmede bij de parlementaire documentatiedienst van de Tweede Kamer en bij de Staten van Aruba te Oranjestad.], a notice of the following:

• (i). the enumeration of the lists maintained, including their headings, in relation to the products or categories of products to be procured through the lists;

• (ii). the conditions to be filled by potential suppliers in view of their inscription on those lists and the methods according to which each of those conditions be verified by the entity concerned;

• (iii). the period of validity of the lists, and the formalities for their renewal.

• b). Entities maintaining permanent lists of qualified suppliers may select suppliers to be invited to tender from among those listed. Any selection shall allow for equitable opportunities for suppliers on the lists,

• c). If, after publication of the notice under paragraph 4 above, a supplier not yet qualified requests to participate in a particular tender, the entity shall promptly start the procedure of qualification.

• a). Any prescribed time-limit shall be adequate to allow foreign as well as domestic suppliers to prepare and submit tenders before the closing of the tendering procedures. In determining any such time-limit, entities shall, consistent with their own reasonable needs, take into account such factors as the complexity of the proposed procurement, the extent of sub-contracting anticipated, and the normal time for transmitting tenders by mail from foreign as well as domestic points.

• b). Consistent with the entity’s own reasonable needs, any delivery date shall take into account such factors as the complexity of the proposed procurement, the extent of sub-contracting anticipated, and the realistic time required for production, de-stocking and transport of goods from the points of supply.

• a). In open procedures, the period for the receipt of tenders shall in no case be less than forty days from the date of publication referred to in paragraph 4 of this Article.

• b). In selective procedures not involving the use of a permanent list of qualified suppliers, the period for submitting an application to be invited to tender shall in no case be less than twenty-five days from the date of publication referred to in paragraph 4 of this Article; the period for receipt of tenders shall in no case be less than forty days from the date of issuance of the invitation to tender.

• c). In selective procedures involving the use of a permanent list of qualified suppliers, the period for receipt of tenders shall in no case be less than forty days from the date of the initial issuance of invitations to tender. If the date of initial issuance of invitations to tender does not coincide with the date of the publication referred to in paragraph 4 of this Article, there shall in no case be less than forty days between these two dates.

• d). The periods referred to in (a), (b) and (c) above may be reduced in the case of the second or subsequent publications dealing with contracts of a recurring nature within the meaning of paragraph 5 of this Article. In this case, the period for the receipt of tenders shall in no case be less than twenty-five days. The second or subsequent publication should include a reference to permit the identification of the first publication.

• e). The periods referred to in (a), (b), (c) and (d) above may be reduced where a state of urgency duly substantiated by the entity renders impracticable the periods in question but shall in no case be less than ten days from the date of the publication referred to in paragraph 4 of this Article.

• f). The Parties shall ensure that their entities shall take due account of publication delays when setting the final date for receipt of tenders or of applications to be invited to tender.

• a). the address of the entity to which tenders should be sent;

• b). the address where requests for supplementary information should be sent;

• c). the language or languages in which tenders and tendering documents must be submitted;

• d). the closing date and time for receipt of tenders and the length of time during which any tender should be open for acceptance;

• e). the persons authorized to be present at the opening of tenders and the date, time and place of this opening;

• f). any economic and technical requirement, financial guarantees and information or documents required from suppliers;

• g). a complete description of the products required or of any requirements including technical specifications, conformity certification to be fulfilled by the products, necessary plans, drawings and instructional materials;

• h). the criteria for awarding the contract, including any factors other than price that are to be considered in the evaluation of tenders and the cost elements to be included in evaluating tender prices, such as transport, insurance and inspection costs, and in the case of foreign products, customs duties and other import charges, taxes and currency of payment;

• i). the terms of payment;

• j). any other terms or conditions.

• a). In open procedures, entities shall forward the tender documentation at the request of any supplier participating in the procedure, and shall reply promptly to any reasonable request for explanations relating thereto.

• b). In selective procedures, entities shall forward the tender documentation at the request of any supplier requesting to participate and shall reply promptly to any reasonable request for explanations relating thereto.

• c). Entities shall reply promptly to any reasonable request for relevant information submitted by a supplier participating in the tendering procedure, on condition that such information does not give that supplier an advantage over its competitors in the procedure for the award of the contract.

• a). tenders shall normally be submitted in writing directly or by mail. If tenders by telex, telegram or telecopy are permitted, the tender made thereby must include all the information necessary for the evaluation of the tender, in particular the definitive price proposed by the tenderer and a statement that the tenderer agrees to all the terms, conditions and provisions of the invitation to tender. The tender must be confirmed promptly by letter or by the despatch of a signed copy of the telex, telegram or telecopy.Tenders presented by telephone shall not be permitted. The content of the telex, telegram or telecopy shall prevail where there is a difference of conflict between that content and any documentation received after the time-limit; requests to participate in selective tendering procedures may be submitted by telex, telegram or telecopy;

• b). the opportunities that may be given to tenderers to correct unintentional errors between the opening of tenders and the awarding of the contract shall not be permitted to give rise to any discriminatory practice;

• c). a supplier shall not be penalized if a tender is received in the office designated in the tender documentation after the time specified because of delay due solely to mishandling on the part of the entity. Tenders may also be considered in other exceptional circumstances if the procedures of the entity concerned so provide;

• d). all tenders solicited under open and selective procedures by entities shall be received and opened under procedures and conditions guaranteeing the regularity of the openings as well as the availability of information from the openings. The receipt and opening of tenders shall also be consistent with the national treatment and non-discrimination provisions of this Agreement. To this effect, and in connexion with open procedures, entities shall establish provisions for the opening of tenders in the presence of either tenderers or their representatives, or an appropriate and impartial witness not connected with the procurement process. A report on the opening of tenders shall be drawn up in writing. This report shall remain with the entities concerned at the disposal of the government authorities responsible for the entity in order that it may be used if required under the procedures of Articles VI and VII of this Agreement;

• e). to be considered for award, a tender must, at the time of opening, conform to the essential requirements of the notices or tender documentation and be from suppliers which comply with the conditions for participation. If an entity has received a tender abnormally lower than other tenders submitted, it may enquire with the tenderer to ensure that it can comply with the conditions of participation and be capable of fulfilling the terms of the contract;

• f). unless in the public interest an entity decided not to issue the contract, the entity shall make the award to the tenderer who has been determined to be fully capable of undertaking the contract and whose tender, whether for domestic or foreign products, is either the lowest tender or the tender which in terms of the specific evaluation criteria set forth in the notices or tender documentation is determined to be the most advantageous;

• g). if it appears from evaluation that no one tender is obviously the most advantageous in terms of the specific evaluation criteria set forth in the notices or tender documentation, the entity shall, in any subsequent negotiations, give equal consideration and treatment to all tenders within the competitive range;

• h). entities should normally refrain from awarding contracts on the condition that the supplier provide offset procurement opportunities or similar conditions. In the limited number of cases where such requisites are part of a contract, Parties concerned shall limit the offset to a reasonable proportion within the contract value and shall not favour suppliers from one Party over suppliers from any other Party. Licensing of technology should not normally be used as a condition of award but instances where it is required should be as infrequent as possible and suppliers from one Party shall not be favoured over suppliers from any other Party. In the limited number of cases where offset procurement opportunities or similar conditions are required, these requirements shall be included in the notice of proposed procurement and tender documentation;

• i). option clauses shall not be used in a manner which circumvents the provisions of the Agreement;

• j). awards shall be made in accordance with the criteria and essential requirements specified in the tender documentation.

• a). in the absence of tenders in response to an open or selective tender, or when the tenders submitted have been either collusive or do not conform to the essential requirements in the tender, or from suppliers who do not comply with the conditions for participation provided for in accordance with this Agreement, on condition, however, that the requirements of the initial tender are not sub-stantially modified in the contract as awarded;

• b). when, for works of art or for reasons connected with protection of exclusive rights, such as patents or copyrights, the products can be supplied only by a particular supplier and no reasonable alternative or substitute exists;

• c). insofar as is strictly necessary when, for reasons of extreme urgency brought about by events unforeseeable by the entity, the products could not be obtained in time by means of open or selective tendering procedures;

• d). for additional deliveries by the original supplier which are intended either as parts replacement for existing supplies or installations, or as the extension of existing supplies or installations where a change of supplier would compel the entity to procure equipment not meeting requirements of interchangeability with already existing equipment4)It is the understanding that “existing equipment” referred to in Article V:16 (d) includes software to the extent that the initial procurement of the software was covered by the Agreement..

• e). when an entity procures prototypes or a first product which are developed at its request in the course of, and for, a particular contract for research, experiment, study or original development. When such contracts have been fulfilled, subsequent procurements of products shall be subject to paragraphs 1-15 of this Article 1)Original development of a first product may include limited production in order to incorporate the results of field testing and to demonstrate that the product is suitable for production in quantity to acceptable quality standards. It does not extend to quantity production to establish commercial viability or to recover research and development costs..

Article VI. Information and Review

These notices shall contain6)It is understood that certain information on the contract award may not be published in cases of those contracts where release of such information would impede law enforcement or otherwise be contrary to the public interest or would prejudice the legitimate commercial interest of particular enterprises, public or private, or might prejudice fair competition between suppliers. :

• (a). nature and quantity of products in the contract award(s);

• (b). name and address of the entity awarding the contract;

• (c). date of award;

• (d). name(s) and address(es) of winning tenderer(s);

• (e). value of winning award(s) or the highest and lowest offer taken into account in the award of the contract;

• (f). where appropriate, means of identifying the notice issued under Article V:4;

• (g). the type of procedure used;

• (h). where appropriate, justification according to Article V:16 for the use of such procedure.

• a). statistics on estimated value of contracts awarded, both above and below the threshold value on a global basis and broken down by entities;

• b). statistics on number and total value of contracts awarded above the threshold value, broken down by entities, categories of products according to a uniform classification system to be determined by the Committee, and country of origin of the product;

• c). statistics, broken down by entity, and by category of product, on the number and total value of contracts awarded under each of the cases of Article V, paragraph 16 showing country of origin of the product;

• d). statistics, broken down by entities, on the number and total value of contracts awarded under derogations to the Agreement contained in Annex 1.

Article VII. Enforcement of Obligations

• a). examine the matter;

• b). consult regularly with the parties to the dispute and give full opportunity for them to develop a mutually satisfactory solution;

• c). make a statement concerning the facts of the matter as they relate to application of this Agreement and make such findings as will assist the Committee in making recommendations or giving rulings on the matter.

Citizens of countries whose governments are parties to a dispute shall not be eligible for membership of the panel concerned with that dispute. Panel members shall serve in their individual capacities and not as governmental representatives nor as representatives of any organization. Governments or organizations shall therefore not give them instructions with regard to matters before a panel.

Where a mutually satisfactory solution to a dispute cannot be found or where the dispute relates to an interpretation of this Agreement, the panel should first submit the descriptive part of its report to the Parties concerned, and should subsequently submit to the parties to the dispute its conclusions, or an outline thereof, a reasonable period of time before they are circulated to the Committee. Where an interpretation of this Agreement is not involved and where a bilateral settlement of the matter has been found, the report of the panel may be confined to a brief description of the case and to reporting that a solution had been reached.

• a). a statement concerning the facts of the matter;

• b). recommendations to one or more Parties; and/or

• c). any other ruling which it deems appropriate.

Any recommendations by the Committee shall aim at the positive resolution of the matter on the basis of the operative provisions of this Agreement and its objectives set out in the Preamble.

Article VIII. Exceptions to the Agreement

Article IX. Final Provisions

• a). This Agreement shall be open for acceptance by signature or otherwise, by governments contracting parties to the GATT and by the European Economic Community whose agreed lists of entities are contained in Annex 1.

• b). Any government contracting party to the GATT not a Party to this Agreement may accede to it on terms to be agreed between that government and the Parties. Accession shall take place by the deposit with the Director-General to the CONTRACTING PARTIES to the GATT of an instrument of accession which states the terms so agreed.

• c). This Agreement shall be open for acceptance by signature or otherwise by governments having provisionally acceded to the GATT, on terms related to the effective application of rights and obligations under this Agreement, which take into account rights and obligations in the instruments providing for their provisional accession, and whose agreed lists of entities are contained in Annex I.

• d). This Agreement shall be open to accession by any other government on terms, related to the effective application of rights and obligations under this Agreement, to be agreed between that government and the Parties, by the deposit with the Director-General to the CONTRACTING PARTIES to the GATT of an instrument of accession which states the terms so agreed.

• e). In regard to acceptance, the provisions of Article XXVI:5a) and b) of the General Agreement would be applicable.

Reservations may not be entered in respect of any of the provisions of this Agreement.

This Agreement shall enter into force on 1 January 1981 for the governments 1)For the purpose of this Agreement, the term “government” is deemed to include the competent authorities of the European Economic Community.which have accepted or acceded to it by that date. For each other government, it shall enter into force on the thirtieth day following the date of its acceptance or accession to this Agreement.

• a). Each government accepting or acceding to this Agreement shall ensure, not later than the date of entry into force of this Agreement for it, the conformity of its laws, regulations and administrative procedures, and the rules, procedures and practices applied by the entities contained in its list annexed hereto, with the provisions of this Agreement.

• b). Each Party shall inform the Committee of any changes in its laws and regulations relevant to this Agreement and in the administration of such laws and regulations.

• a). Rectifications of a purely formal nature and minor amendments relating to Annexes I-IV to this Agreement shall be notified to the Commitee and shall become effective provided there is no objection within thirty days to such rectifications or amendments.

• b). Any modifications to lists of entities other than those referred to in sub-paragraph (a) may be made only in exceptional circumstances. In such cases, a Party proposing to modify its list of entities shall notify the Chairman of the Committee who shall promptly convene a meeting of the Committee. The Parties shall consider the proposed modification and consequent compensatory adjustments, with a view to maintaining a comparable level of mutually agreed coverage provided in this Agreement prior to such modification. In the event of agreement not being reached on any modification taken or proposed, the matter may be pursued in accordance with the provisions contained in Article VII of this Agreement, taking into account the need to maintain the balance of rights and obligations at the highest possible level.

• a). The Committee shall review annually the implementation and operation of this Agreement taking into account the objectives thereof. The Committee shall annually inform the CONTRACTING PARTIES to the GATT of developments during the periods covered by such reviews.

• b). Not later than the end of the third year from the entry into force of this Agreement and periodically thereafter, the Parties thereto shall undertake further negotiations, with a view to broadening and improving this Agreement on the basis of mutual reciprocity, having regard to the provisions of Article III relating to developing countries. In this connexion, the Committee shall, at an early stage, explore the possibilities of expanding the coverage of this Agreement to include service contracts.

The Parties may amend this Agreement having regard, inter alia, to the experience gained in its implementation. Such an amendment, once the Parties have concurred in accordance with the procedures established by the Committee, shall not come into force for any Party until it has been accepted by such Party.

An Party may withdraw from this Agreement. The withdrawal shall take effect upon the expiration of sixty days from the day on which written notice of withdrawal is received by the Director-General to the CONTRACTING PARTIES to the GATT. Any Party may upon such notification request an immediate meeting of the Committee.

This Agreement shall not apply as between any two Parties if either of the Parties, at the time either accepts or accedes to this Agreement, does not consent to such application.

The notes and annexes to this Agreement constitute an integral part thereof.

This Agreement shall be serviced by the GATT secretariat.

This Agreement shall be deposited with the Director-General to the CONTRACTING PARTIES to the GATT, who shall promptly furnish to each Party and each contracting party to the GATT a certified copy thereof, of each rectification or modification thereto pursuant to paragraph 5 and of each amendment thereto pursuant to paragraph 7, and a notification of each acceptance thereof or accession thereto pursuant to paragraph 1 and of each withdrawal therefrom pursuant to paragraph 8, of this Article.

This Agreement shall be registered in accordance with the provisions of Article 102 of the Charter of the United Nations.

DONE at Geneva this twelfth day of April nineteen hundred and seventy-nine in a single copy, in the English, French and Spanish languages, each text being authentic, except as otherwise specified with respect to the lists of entitles annexed hereto.