Agreement for cooperation in dealing with pollution of the North Sea by oil and other harmful substances, 1983,

as amended by the Decision of 21 September 2002 by the Contracting Parties to enable the Accession of Ireland to the Agreement

The Governments of the Kingdom of Belgium, the Kingdom of Denmark, the French Republic, the Federal Republic of Germany, the Kingdom of the Netherlands, the Kingdom of Norway, the Kingdom of Sweden, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the European Economic Community,

Recognising that pollution of the sea by oil and other harmful substances in the North Sea area may threaten the marine environment and the interests of coastal States,

Noting that such pollution has many sources and that casualties and other incidents at sea are of great concern,

Convinced that an ability to combat such pollution as well as active co-operation and mutual assistance among States are necessary for the protection of their coasts and related interests,

Welcoming the progress that has already been achieved within the framework of the Agreement for Co-operation in Dealing with Pollution of the North Sea by Oil, signed at Bonn on 9 June 1969,

Wishing to develop further mutual assistance and co-operation in combating pollution,

Have agreed as follows:

ARTICLE 1

This Agreement shall apply:

(1)        whenever the presence or the prospective presence of oil or other harmful substances polluting or threatening to pollute the sea within the North Sea area, as defined in Article 2 of this Agreement, presents a grave and imminent danger to the coast or related interests of one or more Contracting Parties; and

(2)        to surveillance conducted in the North Sea area as an aid to detecting and combating such pollution and to preventing violations of anti-pollution regulations

ARTICLE 2

For the purpose of this Agreement, the North Sea area means the area of sea comprising:

(a)     the North Sea proper, southwards of latitude 63° 38' 10.68"N,

(b)     the Skagerrak, the southern limit of which is determined east of the Skaw by the latitude 57° 44' 43.00" N,

(c)     the English Channel and its approaches, bounded on the south and west by the line defined in Part I of the Annex to this Agreement;

(d)     the other waters, comprising the Irish Sea, the Celtic Sea, the Malin Sea, the Great Minch, the Little Minch, part of the Norwegian Sea, and parts of the North East Atlantic, bounded on the west and north by the line defined in Part II of the Annex to this Agreement.

ARTICLE 3

(1)        The Contracting Parties consider that the matters referred to in Article 1 of this Agreement call for active co-operation between them.

(2)        The Contracting Parties shall jointly develop and establish guidelines for the practical, operational and technical aspects of joint action and co-ordinated surveillance as referred to in Article 6A.

ARTICLE 4

Contracting Parties undertake to inform the other Contracting Parties about:

(a)        their national organisation for dealing with pollution of the kind referred to in Article 1 paragraph 1 of this Agreement, and for enforcing anti-pollution regulations;

(b)        the competent authorities responsible for receiving and dispatching reports of such pollution and for dealing with questions concerning measures of mutual assistance and co-ordinated surveillance between Contracting Parties;

(c)        their national means for avoiding or dealing with such pollution, which might be made available for international assistance;

(d)        new ways in which such pollution may be avoided and about new effective measures to deal with it;

(e)        major pollution incidents of this kind dealt with;

(f)        new developments in the technology of conducting surveillance;

(g)        their experience in the use of surveillance means and techniques in the detection of pollution and the prevention of violations of anti-pollution regulations, including use in co-operation with other Contracting Parties;

(h)        information of mutual interest derived from their surveillance activities;

(i)         their national programmes for surveillance, including co-operative arrangements with other Contracting Parties.

ARTICLE 5

(1)        Whenever a Contracting Party is aware of a casualty or the presence of oil or other harmful substances in the North Sea area likely to constitute a serious threat to the coast or related interests of any other Contracting Party, it shall inform that Party without delay through its competent authority.

(2)        The Contracting Parties undertake to request the masters of all ships flying their flags and pilots of aircraft registered in their countries to report without delay through the channels which may be most practicable and adequate in the circumstances:

(a)        all casualties causing or likely to cause pollution of the sea;

(b)       the presence, nature and extent of oil or other harmful substances likely to constitute a serious threat to the coast or related interests of one or more Contracting Parties.

(3)        The Contracting Parties shall establish a standard form for the reporting of pollution as required under paragraph 1 of this Article.

ARTICLE 6

(1)        For the sole purpose of this Agreement the North Sea area is divided into the zones described in the Annex to this Agreement.

(2)        The Contracting Party within whose zone a situation of the kind described in Article 1 of this Agreement occurs, shall make the necessary assessments of the nature and extent of any casualty or, as the case may be, of the type and approximate quantity of oil or other harmful substances and the direction and speed of movement thereof.

(3)        The Contracting Party concerned shall immediately inform all the other Contracting Parties through their competent authorities of its assessments and of any action which it has taken to deal with the oil or other harmful substances and shall keep these substances under observation as long as they are present in its zone.

(4)        The obligations of the Contracting Parties under the provisions of this Article with respect to the zones of joint responsibility shall be the subject of special technical arrangements to be concluded between the Parties concerned. These arrangements shall be communicated to the other Contracting Parties.

ARTICLE 6A

Surveillance shall be carried out, as appropriate, by the Contracting Parties in their zone of responsibility or zones of joint responsibility referred to in Article 6 of this Agreement. The Contracting Parties may bilaterally or multilaterally conclude agreements on or make arrangements for co-operation in the organisation of surveillance in the whole or part of the zones of the Parties concerned.

ARTICLE 7

A Contracting Party requiring assistance to deal with pollution or the prospective presence of pollution at sea or on its coast may call on the help of the other Contracting Parties. Contracting Parties requesting assistance shall specify the kind of assistance they require. The Contracting Parties called upon for help in accordance with this Article shall use their best endeavours to bring such assistance as is within their power taking into account, particularly in the case of pollution by harmful substances other than oil, the technological means available to them.

ARTICLE 8

(1)        The provisions of this Agreement shall not be interpreted as in any way prejudicing the rights and obligations of the Contracting Parties under international law, especially in the field of the prevention and combating of marine pollution.

(2)        In no case shall the division into zones referred to in Article 6 of this Agreement be invoked as a precedent or argument in any matter concerning sovereignty or jurisdiction.

(3)        The division into zones referred to in Article 6 of this Agreement shall in no way restrict the rights of Contracting Parties to carry out in accordance with international law surveillance activities beyond the limits of their zones.

ARTICLE 9

(1)        In the absence of an agreement concerning the financial arrangements governing actions of Contracting Parties to deal with pollution which might be concluded on a bilateral or multilateral basis or on the occasion of a joint combating operation, Contracting Parties shall bear the costs of their respective actions in dealing with pollution in accordance with subparagraph (a) or subparagraph (b) below:

(a)        if the action was taken by one Contracting Party at the express request of another Contracting Party, the Contracting Party requesting such assistance shall reimburse to the assisting Contracting Party the costs of its action;

(b)       if the action was taken by a Contracting Party on its own initiative, this Contracting Party shall bear the costs of its action.

(2)        The Contracting Party requesting assistance may cancel its request at any time, but in that case it shall bear the costs already incurred or committed by the assisting Contracting Party.

(3)               Unless otherwise specified in bilateral or multilateral agreements or arrangements, each Contracting Party shall bear the costs of its surveillance activities carried out in accordance with Article 6A.

ARTICLE 10

Unless otherwise agreed the costs of action taken by a Contracting Party at the request of another Contracting Party shall be calculated according to the law and current practice in the assisting country concerning the reimbursement of such costs by a person or entity liable.

ARTICLE 11

Article 9 of this Agreement shall not be interpreted as in any way prejudicing the rights of Contracting Parties to recover from third parties the costs of action to deal with pollution or the threat of pollution under other applicable provisions and rules of national and international law.

ARTICLE 12

(1)        Meetings of the Contracting Parties shall be held at regular intervals and at any time when, due to special circumstances, it is so decided in accordance with the Rules of Procedure.

(2)        The Contracting Parties at their first meeting shall draw up Rules of Procedure and Financial Rules, which shall be adopted by unanimous vote.

(3)        The Depositary Government shall convene the first meeting of Contracting Parties as soon as possible after the entry into force of this Agreement.

ARTICLE 13

Within the areas of its competence, the European Economic Community is entitled to a number of votes equal to the number of its Member states which are Contracting Parties to the present Agreement. The European Economic Community shall not exercise its right to vote in cases where its Member States exercises theirs and conversely.

ARTICLE 14

It shall be the duty of meetings of the Contracting Parties:

(a)        to exercise overall supervision over the implementation of this Agreement;

(b)       to review the effectiveness of the measures taken under this Agreement;

(c)        to carry out such other functions as may be necessary under the terms of this Agreement.

ARTICLE 15

(1)        The Contracting Parties shall make provisions for the performance of secretariat duties in relation to this Agreement, taking into account existing arrangements in the framework of other international agreements on the prevention of marine pollution in force for the same region as this Agreement.

(2)        Each Contracting Party shall contribute 2.5% towards the annual expenditure of the Agreement. The balance of the Agreement's expenditure shall be divided among Contracting Parties other than the European Economic Community in proportion to their gross national product in accordance with the scale of assessment adopted regularly by the United Nations General Assembly. In no case shall the contribution of a Contracting Party to this balance exceed 20% of the balance.

ARTICLE 16

(1)        Without prejudice to Article 17 of this Agreement, a proposal by a Contracting Party for the amendment of this Agreement or its Annex shall be considered at a meeting of the Contracting Parties. Following adoption of the proposal by unanimous vote the amendment shall be communicated by the Depositary Government to the Contracting Parties.

(2)        Such an amendment shall enter into force on the first day of the second month following the date on which the Depositary government has received notifications of approval from all Contracting Parties.

ARTICLE 17

(1)        Two or more Contracting Parties may modify the common boundaries of their zones described in the Annex to this Agreement.

(2)        Such a modification shall enter into force for all Contracting Parties on the first day of the sixth month following the date of its communication by the Depositary Government unless, within a period of three months following that communication, a Contracting Party has expressed an objection or has requested consultation on the matter.

ARTICLE 18

(1)        This Agreement shall be open for signature by the governments of the States invited to participate in the Conference on the Agreement for Co-operation in Dealing with Pollution of the North Sea by Oil and Other Harmful Substances, held at Bonn on 13 September 1983, and by the European Economic Community .

(2)        These States and the European Economic Community may become Parties to this Agreement either by signature without reservation as to ratification, acceptance or approval or by signature subject to ratification, acceptance of approval followed by ratification, acceptance or approval.

(3)        Instruments of ratification, acceptance or approval shall be deposited with the Government of the Federal Republic of Germany.

ARTICLE 19

(1)        This Agreement shall enter into force on the first day of the second month following the date on which the Governments of all the States mentioned in Article 18 of this Agreement and the European Economic Community have signed the Agreement without reservation as to ratification, acceptance or approval or have deposited an instrument of ratification, acceptance or approval.

(2)        Upon the entry into force of this Agreement, the Agreement for Co-operation in Dealing with Pollution of the North Sea by Oil, done at Bonn on 9 June 1969, shall cease to be in force.

ARTICLE 20

(1)        The Contracting Parties may unanimously invite any other coastal State of the North East Atlantic area to accede to this Agreement.

(2)        In such a case article 2 of this Agreement and its Annex shall be amended as necessary. The amendments shall be adopted by unanimous vote at a meeting of the Contracting Parties and shall take effect upon the entry into force of this Agreement for the acceding State.

ARTICLE 21

(1)        For each State acceding to this Agreement, the Agreement shall enter into force on the first day of the second month following the date of deposit by such State of its instrument of accession.

(2)        Instruments of accession shall be deposited with the Government of the Federal Republic of Germany.

ARTICLE 22

(1)        After this Agreement has been in force for five years it may be denounced by any Contracting Party.

(2)        Denunciation shall be effected by a notification in writing addressed to the Depositary Government which shall notify all the other Contracting Parties of any denunciation received and of the date of its receipt.

(3)        A denunciation shall take effect one year after its receipt by the Depositary Government.

ARTICLE 23

The depositary Government shall inform the Contracting Parties and those referred to in Article 18 of this Agreement of:

(a)        any signature of this Agreement;

(b)       the deposit of any instrument of ratification, acceptance, approval or accession and of the receipt of any notice of denunciation;

(c)        the date of entry into force of this Agreement;

(d)       the receipt of any notification of approval relating to amendments to this Agreement or its Annex and of the date of entry into force of such amendments.

ARTICLE 24

The original of this Agreement, of which the English, French and German texts are equally authentic, shall be deposited with the Government of the Federal Republic of Germany, which shall send certified copies thereof to the Contracting Parties and which shall transmit a certified copy to the Secretary-General of the United Nations for registration and publication in accordance with Article 102 of the Charter of the United Nations.

In witness whereof the undersigned, being duly authorised thereto by their respective Governments, have signed this Agreement.

Done at Bonn , this thirteenth day of September 1983.

Appendix

"Annex to the Agreement for Cooperation in Dealing with Pollution of the North Sea by Oil and Other Harmful Substances, 1983

Description of the

Atlantic boundary of the North Sea area and of

the zones referred to in Article 6 of this Agreement

(as amended by the agreement between Denmark, Norway and Sweden of 25 January 1994¹, the decision of the Contracting Parties of 21 September 2002 and the modifications under article 17 made by Denmark, France, the Federal Republic of Germany, the Netherlands, Norway and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland on 21 September 2002)

THE ATLANTIC BOUNDARY OF THE NORTH SEA AREA

Part I: The line bounding the English Channel and its approaches to the south and west

The line bounding the English Channel and its approaches to the south and west shall be a line which:

(i)      commences at the southernmost point of the island of Ushant ;

(ii)     from that point, then follows the parallel of latitude 48° 27' 00.00" N westwards to the point where it intersects with a line (hereafter referred to as "the 1983 Bonn Agreement line") drawn 50 nautical miles west of a line joining the Isles of Scilly and the island of Ushant;

(iii)    from that point of intersection, then follows the 1983 Bonn Agreement line northwards as far as its intersection with the line marking the boundary of the continental shelf between France and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, as defined in the arbitration decision of 30 June 1977;

(iv)    from that point of intersection, then follows the line of that boundary westwards as far as the point  48° 10' 00.00" N   9° 22' 15.91" W; and

(v)     from that point, then follows the parallel of latitude 48° 10' 00.00" N westwards as far as the point 48° 10' 00.00" N   10° 0' 00.00" W.

Part II: The line bounding to the west and north the other waters covered by the Agreement

The line bounding to the west and north the other waters covered by the Agreement, comprising the Irish Sea, the Celtic Sea, the Malin Sea, the Great Minch, the Little Minch, part of the Norwegian sea and parts of the North East Atlantic, shall be a line which

(i)      commences at the point 48° 10' 00.00" N   10° 0' 00.00" W;

(ii)     from that point, then follows the western boundary of the Irish sea pollution responsibility zone (that is, a line which is at every point 200 nautical miles distant from the nearest point on the baselines established for the purposes of the Maritime Jurisdiction Acts, 1959 to 1988, of Ireland) as far as the point  56° 42' 00.00" N   14° 0' 00.00" W;

(iii)    from that point, then follows the western boundary of the zone established by the Merchant Shipping (Prevention of Pollution) (Limits) Regulations 1996 of the United Kingdom, as amended by the Merchant Shipping (Prevention of Pollution) (Limits) Regulations 1997 (that is, the lines joining the points listed in Table 1 below in the order in which they are listed) as far as the point 63°38'10.68"N and 0°30'00.00"W; and

(iv)    from that point follows the parallel of latitude 63°38'10.68"N eastwards to the coast of Norway .

Table 1: Points and lines of the Western Boundary of the Zone established by the Merchant Shipping (Prevention of Pollution) (Limits) Regulations 1996 of the United Kingdom , as amended

BOUNDARIES OF ZONES OF RESPONSIBILITY REFERRED TO IN ARTICLE 6 OF THIS AGREEMENT

Part III:        Boundaries of the Zones of National Responsibility

1.         General:         Where the limits of a zone of responsibility are specified by a series of lines joining the points in a list, the nature of those lines shall be the nature specified against each point as the nature of the line joining it to the following point.

2.         Denmark :       The zone of national responsibility of Denmark shall be limited by the following series of lines:

(a)     a line starting at the point where the boundary of the zone of joint responsibility of Denmark and Germany described in Part IV below intersects a line from the point 55° 10' 03.40"N   7° 33' 09.60" E towards the point DK1 (DE1) in the table below, and following that line to the point DK1 (DE1);

(b)     a series of lines joining the following points in the order in which they are listed:

3.         Federal Republic of Germany : The zone of national responsibility of the Federal Republic of Germany shall be limited by the following series of lines:

(a)     a line starting at the point where the boundary of the zone of joint responsibility of Denmark and Germany described in Part IV below intersects a line from the point 55° 10' 03.40"N 7° 33' 09.60" E towards the point DE1 (DK1) in the table below, and following that line to the point DE1 (DK1);

(b)     a series of lines joining the following points in the order in which they are listed:

(c)     landwards of the last mentioned point, a line from that point towards the point 53° 59' 56.80" N  6° 6' 28.20" E as far as the intersection of that line with the boundary of the zone of joint responsibility of Germany and the Netherlands described in Part IV below.

4.                   Ireland : The zone of national responsibility of Ireland shall be limited by the following series of lines:

(a)     to the north, a series of lines joining the points listed in Table 3 in the order in which they are listed;

(b)     to the west, the western boundary of the North Sea and its Approaches;

(c)     to the east and to the south, a series of lines joining the points listed in Table 2 in the order in which they are listed.

5.       The Netherlands : The zone of national responsibility of the Netherlands shall be limited to the south by the parallel of latitude 51°51' 52.1267" N, and to the north of this parallel of latitude by the following series of lines:

(a)     a series of lines joining the following points in the order in which they are listed:

(b)     landwards of the last mentioned point, a line from that point towards the point 53° 59' 56.80" N; 6° 6' 28.20" E as far as the intersection of that line with the boundary of the zone of joint responsibility of Germany and the Netherlands described in Part IV below.

6.       Norway : The zone of national responsibility of Norway shall be limited to the north by the parallel of latitude 63° 38' 10.68"N and to the west, south and east by the following series of lines:

(a)     a series of lines which joins the points listed in Table 4 in the order in which they are listed;

(b)     southwards from the last point mentioned in that table, a series of lines which join the following points in the order in which they are listed:

(c)     then a line following the Norwegian-Swedish border.

 7.         Sweden : The zone of national responsibility of Sweden shall be limited to the south, by the parallel of latitude 57° 44' 43.00" N, and to the north of this parallel of latitude by a series of lines joining the following points in the order in which they are listed:

(c)     then a line following the Swedish-Norwegian border.

 8.         United Kingdom :  The zone of national responsibility of the United Kingdom shall be limited by

(a)     to the east, by a series of lines comprising:

(i)      a series of lines joining the points listed in Table 4 in the order in which they are listed;

(ii)     a series of lines joining the following points in the order in which they are listed:

(b)     to the south and west, by the following series of lines:

(i)      a line commencing at the westernmost point of the Isles of Scilly, and joining that point to the point 49° 52' 00.00" N 7° 44' 00.00" W;

(ii)     from that point, a line following the 1983 Bonn Agreement line (as defined in Part I above) southwards to its intersection with the boundary of the continental shelf between France and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland as defined in the arbitration decision of 30 June 1977;

(iii)    from that point of intersection, the line of that boundary westwards as far as the point 48°10' 00.00" N  9° 22' 15.91" W; and

(iv)    from that point, a series of lines joining the points listed in Table 3 in the order in which they are listed to the outer limit of the territorial sea adjacent to Northern Ireland at the point 54° 0' 00.00" N and 05° 36' 20.00" W;

(c)     to the west and north, by the following series of lines:

(i)      a line joining the point in the territorial sea adjacent to Northern Ireland nearest to the point 55° 31' 13.36" N 6° 45' 00.00" W with that point;

(ii)     from that point, a series of lines joining the points listed in Table 2 in the order in which they are listed as far as the point 56° 42' 00.00"N 14° 00' 00.00" W;

(iii)    from that point, a line which follows the western and northern boundaries of the North Sea area as far as the point 63° 38' 10.68"N and 0° 30' 00.00" W.

Table 2: Points and Lines of the Boundary between the Responsibility Zones of Ireland and the United Kingdom – East and South

Table 3: Points and Lines of the Boundary between the Responsibility Zones of Ireland and the United Kingdom – North

Table 4: Points and Lines of the Boundary between the Responsibility Zones of Norway and the United Kingdom

Part IV:        Boundaries of the Zones of Joint Responsibility

The zones of joint responsibility shall be as follows:

 (1)     Zone of Joint Responsibility of Belgium , France , the Netherlands and United Kingdom

The sea area between the parallels of latitude 51°51' 52.1267" N and 51° 6' 00.00"N.

(2)     Zone of Joint Responsibility of France and United Kingdom

The English Channel south-west of parallel 51° 6' 00.00" N to a line which:

(a)     commences at the westernmost point of the Isles of Scilly, and joins that point with the point 49°52'00.00"N 7° 44' 00.00" W;

(b)     from that point, follows the 1983 Bonn Agreement line (as defined in Part I above) southwards to its intersection with the parallel of latitude 48° 27' 00.00" N; and

(c)     follows that parallel of latitude eastwards to the southernmost point of the isle of Ushant .

(3)     Zone of Joint Responsibility of Denmark and Germany

The sea area bounded by:

(a)     on the south, the parallel of latitude 54° 30' 00.00" N westwards from the coast of Germany ;

(b)     on the west, the meridian of longitude 6° 30' 00.00" E;

(c)     on the north, the parallel of latitude 55° 50' 00.00" N westwards from the coast of Denmark ; and

(d)     on the east, the coastline, including the Wadden sea area.

(4)     Zone of Joint Responsibility of Germany and the Netherlands

The sea area bounded by:

(a)     on the west, the meridian of longitude 6° 0' 00.00" E northwards from the coast of the Netherlands ;

(b)     on the north, the parallel of latitude 54° 0' 00.00" N;

(c)     on the east, the meridian of longitude 7° 15' 00.00" E, northwards from the coast of the Federal Republic of Germany; and

(d)     on the south, the coastline, including the Wadden sea area.

Part V:  Interpretation

The positions of the points referred to in this Annex shall be determined according to the European Geodesic System (1950 version)."

Rules of procedure

General

1.           It shall be the duty of meetings of the Contracting Parties to the Bonn Agreement to take all the necessary decisions in order to reach the objectives of the Bonn Agreement and in particular:

a.         to exercise overall supervision over the implementation of this Agreement;

b.         to review the effectiveness of the measures taken under this Agreement;

c.         to carry out such other functions as may be necessary under the terms of this Agreement.

Meetings of Contracting Parties and subsidiary bodies

2.           Ordinary meetings of the Contracting Parties shall take place at regular intervals, normally annually, on being convened by the Secretary in consultation with the Contracting Party holding the Presidency and with the Contracting Party responsible for the organisation of the meeting. This latter responsibility shall rotate among the Contracting Parties according to English alphabetical order. The time and place of such meetings shall, to the extent possible, be decided by the Contracting Parties either at the preceding meeting or by correspondence between the Contracting Party responsible for the organisation of the meeting and the other Contracting Parties.

3.           Extraordinary meetings shall only be convened by the Contracting Party holding the Presidency if requested to do so by at least three delegations.

4.           Each Contracting Party shall assign a Head of Delegation and for each meeting as many other delegates as it thinks appropriate.

5.           Each Contracting Party should give the Secretary the number and names of delegates, if possible, 14 days before an ordinary meeting.

6.           The presence of delegations representing at least two thirds of the Contracting Parties shall constitute a quorum for ordinary and extraordinary meetings.

7.           For ordinary meetings of the Contracting Parties, the Secretary shall, in agreement with the Contracting Party holding the Presidency, circulate a proposed draft agenda at least two months before the meeting. Each Contracting Party shall be entitled to ask, up to five weeks before the meeting, for such subjects to be placed on the draft agenda as it desires to have discussed, if possible on the basis of an explanatory memorandum. The draft agenda shall be sent to all Contracting Parties at least one month before the date of the meeting. The draft agenda shall be adopted at the beginning of the meeting. Items may be added to the agenda with the unanimous approval of all Contracting Parties present but decisions on these items can only be taken if all Contracting Parties are represented.

8.       A Working Group on Operational, Technical and Scientific Questions (OTSOPA) is established. The meeting of Contracting Parties shall establish annually a work programme for this working group. Except for:

a.       any question that the Bonn Agreement (other than under article 14(c)) or the Rules of Procedure (other than under rule 2(c)) provide shall be decided by a meeting of the Contracting Parties;

b.       any question involving a change to the budget of the Bonn Agreement; and

c.       any items in the OTSOPA work programme where a question is reserved for further consideration by the meeting of Contracting Parties (which should only be done exceptionally);

OTSOPA shall be authorised to approve action on any item in that work programme on behalf of the meeting of Contracting Parties, provided that at least two-thirds of the Contracting Parties are represented at its meeting. Such approval shall be given by consensus in accordance with rule 20.

9.           The meeting of the Contracting Parties may set up such working groups as it may deem necessary to provide advice on subjects outside the terms of reference of OTSOPA such as legal issues and in general to perform such functions as may be required by the Contracting Parties.

10.          The meetings of the Contracting Parties and of the working groups shall be held in private unless the meeting of the Contracting Parties, without objection of any of the Contracting Parties, decides otherwise.

Presidency

11.          The Contracting Parties shall elect one of their number to the Presidency and this office should rotate among the Contracting Parties, normally in English alphabetical order. A Contracting Party whose turn for election to the Presidency falls due may reserve the right to decline its election. The Contracting Party holding the Presidency shall inform in due time the other Contracting Parties of their nominee for Chairman. In acting as Chairman of the meeting of the Contracting Parties, the Chairman shall act in a neutral capacity and not as a delegate of that Contracting Party.

12.          The Contracting Party concerned shall hold the Presidency for a period of two years.

13.          The duties of the Contracting Party holding the Presidency shall be to preside over the meeting of the Contracting Parties, to carry out any duties entrusted to it by the meeting of the Contracting Parties and, in common with the other Contracting Parties, to take initiatives and put forward proposals to the meeting of the Contracting Parties which could promote the efficient operation of the Agreement.

Secretariat

14.          Secretariat functions required by the meeting of the Contracting Parties shall be provided by the Secretariat of the OSPAR Commission as employer. To the extent that the Executive Secretary of the OSPAR Commission performs certain functions which are contained in these Rules and financial rules, he shall report to the meeting of Contracting Parties.

15.          For the purposes of these Rules and of the Financial Rules of the Bonn Agreement, “ Secretariat ” and “Secretary” mean the Secretariat and Executive Secretary of the OSPAR Commission.

16.          The Secretary shall be responsible to the meeting of the Contracting Parties for drawing up budgets and calculating contributions and for the income and expenditure of the Agreement in a year in respect of which the Contracting Parties shall grant him discharge. He shall act as Secretary at the meetings of the Contacting Parties and shall perform any other tasks that may be entrusted to him by the meeting of the Contracting Parties or by the Contracting Party holding the Presidency.

17.          For meetings of OTSOPA, the Secretariat will be responsible for collecting and circulating information and papers and for preparing the report of the meeting, with assistance of the Chairman of the Working Group as appropriate.

18.          If additional ad hoc working groups are considered to be necessary outside the framework of OTSOPA, these will be conducted without the support of the Secretary or the Secretariat . When deciding to create an additional ad hoc working group, the meeting of Contracting Parties shall give due regard to the necessary arrangements for adequate secretarial assistance for the group’s meetings.

Voting

19.          Each Contracting Party shall have one vote in the meeting of the Contracting Parties, subject to the provisions of Article 13 of the Agreement.

20.          Decisions of the Contracting Parties shall be agreed by consensus of the Contracting Parties present and voting except where the Bonn Agreement or these Rules prescribe some other procedures. Delegations abstaining from voting shall be considered as not voting.

21.          Decisions under Rule 2.(c) of the Financial Rules shall be taken by unanimous vote of the delegations present and voting at the meeting.

22.          In exceptional cases, on a proposal by the Chairman, a written vote may be held between meetings.

Documents

23.     All documents of the Bonn Agreement and its subsidiary bodies (including summary records) will be made available by the Secretariat to any person on request (with a payment towards the costs of preparation when appropriate), except documents which the originator, the Agreement or its subsidiary bodies do not consider it appropriate to make publicly available, such as draft reports which could be misleading and documents concerning budgetary, personnel, contractual and similar management issues. In the case of documents prepared by the Secretariat , the Secretary shall exercise the discretion given to the originator until the document is submitted to the Agreement or subsidiary body for which it is prepared. If the Secretary decides that it is not appropriate to make such a document available, the body to which it has been submitted may alter that decision after it has considered the document.

24.     Documents which are not to be made publicly available should be clearly marked as “RESTRICTED” and should carry the footnote “The Bonn Agreement has decided that all documents of the Agreement can be made publicly available unless otherwise specified. Documents that are marked as “RESTRICTED” should not be made available to the public”.

25.     All documents submitted for discussion or information of the Bonn Agreement and its subsidiary bodies shall be received by the Secretariat at least 15 working days before the opening of the meeting. Documents received after this deadline will be circulated as late ("L") documents and will only be discussed if the meeting of the Contracting Parties or the subsidiary body unanimously so decides. Documents prepared by the Secretariat which are not circulated at least 10 working days before opening of the meeting will be marked as “L” documents, but may in any case be discussed.

26.     Reports of the meetings held within the framework of the Agreement, and proposals and recommendations, shall be sent by the Secretary to all Contracting Parties without delay.

27.     The circulation of documents shall be by means of:

a.       placing the documents on the Bonn Agreement website;

b.       sending a notification direct to the contact point of each Contracting Party and observer that the documents have been up-loaded.

Where it is not practicable to circulate a document by electronic means, the Secretariat shall send a paper copy to each Contracting Party and observer.

Languages

28.          The official languages of the meeting of the Contracting Parties shall be English and French. A Contracting Party desiring to use any other language shall be entitled to do so if, at its own expense, it provides for translation and/or interpretation into the official languages.

29.          Meetings of all subsidiary bodies shall be held in English only. A Contracting Party desiring to use any other language shall be entitled to do so if, at its own expense, it provides for translation and/or interpretation into English.

30.          Reports of the Contracting Parties meetings and of OTSOPA meetings shall be made available in English and in French.

Observers

31.          The meeting of Contracting Parties may grant permanent observer status to States or to international intergovernmental organisations. This status applies only to meetings of Contracting Parties. The meeting of Contracting Parties may also grant permanent observer status to States or international intergovernmental organisations for meetings of OTSOPA.

32.          The participation of any occasional observer of a state or of an international intergovernmental organisation in any meeting of the Contracting Parties or of OTSOPA is subject to the approval of all Heads of Delegation, whose views will be sought in each case by the Secretary. If no objections are made, the party concerned shall be invited to attend the meeting. A period of at least 15 days shall be allowed to Heads of Delegation to object to the presence of observers at meetings of the Contracting Parties or of OTSOPA; silence shall be taken as assent.

33.          The participation of observers in other working groups, or in certain parts of these other working groups, is subject to the approval of all Heads of Delegation, whose views will be sought in each case by the Secretariat . If no objections are made, the party concerned shall be invited to attend the meeting. A period of at least 15 days shall be allowed to Heads of Delegation to object to the presence of observers at other working group meetings; silence will be taken as assent.

34.          Upon receipt of requests from non-governmental organisations to attend particular meetings of the Contracting Parties or of working groups, perhaps only for certain items of the agenda or only for the opening of the meeting, the Secretary or the Secretariat will seek the views of Heads of Delegation and only accede to the request if there are no objections. Non-governmental organisations may submit information documents to the meeting.

35.          Each Contracting Party or Head of Delegation to meetings has the right to ask the observers to withdraw for certain items of the agenda or for the discussion of a particular agenda item.

36.          At meetings of the Contracting Parties, the Parties may also nominate observers to attend meetings of other international organisations.

Other

37.          A Contracting Party more than 12 months in arrears with its contributions shall not be eligible for election to the Presidency.

38.          The meeting of the Contracting Parties shall decide what further action should be taken in respect of a Contracting Party more than 12 months in arrears with its contributions.

39.          The financial arrangements of the Agreement are set out in the Financial Rules of the Bonn Agreement as at the Annex (including its appendices).

40.     The meeting of Contracting Parties may nominate members of the Secretariat or delegates of Contracting Parties as representatives to meetings organised by other international organisations. Between meetings of the Contracting Parties, the Contracting Party holding the Presidency may make such nominations after consulting the Heads of Delegations of Contracting Parties. Where such a representative may have to express views on behalf of the Bonn Agreement, the Secretariat shall ensure that agreed guidance is provided to him/her. The representative shall follow such guidance. The function of such representatives is to act as a channel of communication between the Bonn Agreement and its Contracting Parties and other international organisations. They have no authority to enter into commitments or obligations on behalf of the Bonn Agreement or its Contracting Parties.

  41.          These Rules, including the Annex, may be amended at any meeting of the Contracting Parties by a unanimous vote. Proposals for amendment of these Rules should be circulated to Heads of delegations at least two months before a meeting.

Financial Rules of the Bonn Agreement

The Financial Year

1.         The Agreement's financial year shall be from 1 January to 31 December.

The Budget

2.         Preparation and adoption of the budget:

(a)        A draft budget shall be prepared by the Secretary for approval by the meeting of the Contracting Parties. The draft budget shall be accompanied by accounts showing the amount of appropriations and expenditure incurred for the preceding financial year and the amount of appropriations for the current financial year and shall be divided by function into chapters;

(b)        The draft budget for the ensuing year shall be circulated by the Secretary to the Contracting Parties not less than 60 days before the meeting at which the budget is to be adopted. It shall include a draft statement of the contributions of Contracting Parties;

(c)        The meeting of the Contracting Parties shall adopt the budget which shall contain all planned expenditure and all estimated revenue, the receipt of which can be estimated with confidence, for the financial year to which it relates;

(d)        A non-binding outline budget of estimated expenditure for the three subsequent years shall be circulated at the same time.

3.         The appropriations agreed by the meeting of the Contracting Parties for the ensuing financial year shall constitute an authorisation to the Secretary to incur obligations and make payments for the purposes for which the appropriations were voted and up to the amounts so voted unless the meeting of the Contracting Parties decides otherwise.

4.         Appropriations shall be made available for obligations during the financial period to which they relate. Any excess of income over expenditure in a financial year, as revealed by the audited accounts at the end of the said financial year, shall be transferred to the General Fund.

5.         Transfers within the same chapter of the budget may be effected by the Secretary, who shall report thereon to the meeting of the Contracting Parties.

6.         In cases where special necessity arises, transfers from one chapter of the budget to another within the ceiling of the approved budget may be effected by the Secretary after having obtained the approval of the Contracting Party holding the Presidency and shall be reported to the meeting of the Contracting Parties.

7.       When expenditure exceeding the ceiling of the budget as a whole or for a purpose not covered in the budget is necessary, the Secretary shall consult the Contracting Party holding the Presidency and prepare a supplementary budget. The Secretary shall send a copy of this supplementary budget by telefax and mail to the Head of each Delegation.

8.       If the provision for additional expenditure in such a supplementary budget does not exceed the amount standing to the credit of the Working Capital Fund on the date when the supplementary budget is sent by telefax to the Heads of Delegation, the supplementary budget shall be deemed to be approved by the Contracting Parties three weeks after that date, unless before the end of that day one or more Contracting Parties have notified the Secretary that they cannot approve it. If every such notification is subsequently withdrawn, the budget shall be deemed to be approved on the day of the last withdrawal of such a notification. In other cases a supplementary budget shall be adopted in the same manner as an ordinary budget.

9.         If by 1 December in any year the budget for the ensuing year has not been adopted, the Secretary, until such time as the budget is adopted, shall be authorised to collect contributions and incur expenditure up to 25% of the contributions and chapters of the budget provided for in the current year.

Provision of Funds

10.        Each Contracting Party shall meet the expenses of its delegates.

11.        Each Contracting Party shall contribute towards the annual expenditure of the Agreement in accordance with Article 15(2) of the Agreement.

12.        The Bonn Agreement shall review from time to time its contribution to the salary budget of the OSPAR Commission in consultation with the Chairman of the OSPAR Commission.

13.        As soon as the meeting of the Contracting Parties has approved the budget for a financial year, the Secretary shall send a copy thereof to all Contracting Parties, notifying them of their yearly assessments during the financial year. Contributions to the budget shall be due in the currency of the country in which the Secretariat is located within thirty days of receipt of the information from the Secretary or on the first banking day of the financial year at the seat of the Secretariat , whichever is later. Contributions shall be received by the Secretariat by 15 February of the financial year at the latest.

14.        Contracting Parties shall bear any bank charges arising from the transfer of funds.

15.        New Contracting Parties whose membership of the Agreement becomes effective during the first six months of any year shall pay the full amount of the annual contribution. New Contracting Parties whose membership of the Agreement becomes effective during the last six months of any year shall pay half the amount of the annual contribution. The contribution shall be paid within ninety days of depositing the instrument of accession with the Depositary Government.

16.        Except for contributions or debts from Contracting Parties, any debt receivable by the Agreement shall be written off, at the latest in the third year following that in which the debt becomes due.

17.        The meeting of Contracting Parties shall consider, before approving the budget for any year, what action to take in respect of any contribution or debt still owing from any Contracting Party.

Funds

18.        A General Fund is established for the purpose of accumulating any surplus of income over expenditure until such time as it is disbursed following a decision by the meeting of Contracting Parties.

19.        Any cash surplus in the General Fund as revealed by audited accounts shall be used to offset the contributions of Contracting Parties in an ensuing financial year unless the meeting of Contracting Parties decides otherwise.

20.        A Working Capital Fund is established to provide reserve funds for emergency situations. The Working Capital Fund shall be restricted to a level of 10% of estimated gross expenditure. It shall be maintained at the appropriate level by budget contributions.

Statements of Account

21.        The Secretary shall:

(a)     maintain proper accounts and ensure effective financial control.

(b)     ensure that all payments are supported by vouchers and other documents which ensure that the services or goods have been received and that payment has not previously been made.

22.        The Secretary shall prepare a Statement of Account at the end of each financial year. The statement shall show the income of the Agreement and, under separate heads, expenditure; it shall also give such information as may be appropriate to indicate the current financial position of the Agreement. The Secretary shall attach to the Statement of Account for each financial year an explanatory memorandum.

23.        In exercising his financial responsibilities the Secretary shall take due account of the guidelines in Appendix 1.

External Audit

24.        An External Auditor shall be appointed by the meeting of the Contracting Parties.

25.        In exercising his responsibilities the Auditor shall take due account of the guidelines in Appendix 2.

26.        The Auditor shall prepare a report on the accounts certified, and on any matters on which the meeting of the Contracting Parties may from time to time give specific instructions.

27.        The Secretary shall submit final accounts to the Auditor not later that 31 March following the end of the financial year to which the accounts relate and the Auditor shall submit his report to the meeting of the Contracting Parties not later than 30 April following the end of the said financial year. At their next meeting the Contracting Parties shall decide on the discharge to be given to the Secretary in respect of the implementation of the budget.

Decisions involving expenditure

28.        The meeting of the Contracting Parties shall take no decision involving expenditure unless it has before it a report from the Secretary on the administrative and financial implications of the proposal.

29.        Where in the opinion of the Secretary the proposed expenditure cannot be met from the existing appropriation it shall not be incurred until the meeting of the Contracting Parties has made the necessary appropriation, in accordance with §§ 2-6 of these Rules.

Appendix 1

 Guidelines on the financial responsibilities of the Secretary

 1.         The Secretary shall:

(a)     establish detailed financial rules in order to ensure effective financial administration and the exercise of economy;

(b)     designate the officers who may receive monies, incur obligations, and make payments on behalf of the Agreement; the Secretary may delegate to other officials of the Secretariat such of his powers as he considers necessary for the effective implementation of the Financial Rules;

(c)     maintain an internal audit which shall provide for an effective current examination and/or review of financial transactions.

2.         No member of the Secretariat shall incur any liability for expenditure without written authorisation from the Secretary.

3.         The Secretary shall make suitable arrangements under which the Agreement will be protected against loss on account of the conduct of officials who may be entrusted by him with the custody and disbursement of funds of the Agreement.

Appendix 2

Guidelines on the responsibilities of the auditor

1.         The auditor shall perform such audit as he deems necessary to certify:

(a)     that the financial statements are in accord with the books and records of the Agreement;

(b)     that the financial transactions reflected in the statements have been in accordance with the rules and regulations, the budgetary provisions, and other applicable directives;

(c)     that the monies on deposit and on hand have been verified by certificate received direct from the Agreement's depositaries or by actual count;

(d)     that the assets and liabilities of the Agreement are in accord with the books and records of the Agreement.

2.         Subject to the directions of the meeting of the Contracting Parties, the auditor shall be the sole judge as the acceptance in whole or in part of the certifications by the Secretary and may proceed to such detailed examination and verification of all financial records as he chooses including those relating to supplies and equipment.

3.         The auditor and his staff shall have free access at all convenient times to all books of account and records which are, in the opinion of the auditor, necessary for the performance of the audit. On application to the Secretary, information classified in the records of the Secretariat as confidential, and which is required for the purposes of the audit shall be made available to the auditor.

4.         The auditor, in addition to certifying the accounts, may make such observations as he deems necessary with respect to the efficiency of the financial procedures, the accounting system, the internal financial controls and, in general, the financial consequences of administrative practices. In no case, however, shall the auditor include criticism in his audit report without first affording the Secretary an opportunity of explanation to the auditor on the matter under observation. Audit objections to any item in the accounts shall be immediately communicated to the Secretary.

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