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Paragraphs in "Convention On Environmental Impact Assessment In A Transboundary Context" coded as SCIR

Label Provision
Pre.1 The Parties to this Convention,
Pre.2 Aware of the interrelationship between economic activities and their environmental consequences,
Pre.3 Affirming the need to ensure environmentally sound and sustainable development,
Pre.6 Recalling the relevant provisions of the Charter of the United Nations, the Declaration of the Stockholm Conference on the Human Environment, the Final Act of the Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe (CSCE) and the Concluding Documents of the Madrid and Vienna Meetings of Representatives of the Participating States of the CSCE,
Pre.10 Have agreed as follows:
Art.1 Article 1
Art.1.1x For the purposes of this Convention,
Art.1.1x.i (i) "Parties" means, unless the text otherwise indicates, the Contracting Parties to this Convention;
Art.1.1x.ii (ii) "Party of origin" means the Contracting Party or Parties to this Convention under whose jurisdiction a proposed activity is envisaged to take place;
Art.1.1x.iii (iii) "Affected Party" means the Contracting Party or Parties to this Convention likely to be affected by the transboundary impact of a proposed activity;
Art.1.1x.iv (iv) "Concerned Parties" means the Party of origin and the affected Party of an environmental impact assessment pursuant to this Convention;
Art.1.1x.v (v) "Proposed activity" means any activity or any major change to an activity subject to a decision of a competent authority in accordance with an applicable national procedure;
Art.1.1x.vi (vi) "Environmental impact assessment" means a national procedure for evaluating the likely impact of a proposed activity on the environment;
Art.1.1x.vii (vii) "Impact" means any effect caused by a proposed activity on the environment including human health and safety, flora, fauna, soil, air, water, climate, landscape and historical monuments or other physical structures or the interaction among these factors; it also includes effects on cultural heritage or socio-economic conditions resulting from alterations to those factors;
Art.1.1x.viii (viii) "Transboundary impact" means any impact, not exclusively of a global nature, within an area under the jurisdiction of a Party caused by a proposed activity the physical origin of which is situated wholly or in part within the area under the jurisdiction of another Party;
Art.1.1x.ix (ix) "Competent authority" means the national authority or authorities designated by a Party as responsible for performing the tasks covered by this Convention and/ or the authority or authorities entrusted by a Party with decision-making powers regarding a proposed activity;
Art.1.1x.x (x) "The Public" means one or more natural or legal persons.
Art.2 Article 2
Art.2.1 1. The Parties shall, either individually or jointly, take all appropriate and effective measures to prevent, reduce and control significant adverse transboundary environmental impact from proposed activities.
Art.2.4 4. The Party of origin shall, consistent with the provisions of this Convention, ensure that affected Parties are notified of a proposed activity listed in Appendix I that is likely to cause a significant adverse transboundary impact.
Art.2.8 8. The provisions of this Convention shall not affect the right of Parties to implement national laws, regulations, administrative provisions or accepted legal practices protecting information the supply of which would be prejudicial to industrial and commercial secrecy or national security.
Art.2.9 9. The provisions of this Convention shall not affect the right of particular Parties to implement, by bilateral or multilateral agreement where appropriate, more stringent measures than those of this Convention.
Art.2.10 10. The provisions of this Convention shall not prejudice any obligations of the Parties under international law with regard to activities having or likely to have a transboundary impact.
Art.3 Article 3
Art.3.1 1. For a proposed activity listed in Appendix I that is likely to cause a significant adverse transboundary impact, the Party of origin shall, for the purposes of ensuring adequate and effective consultations under Article 5, notify any Party which it considers may be an affected Party as early as possible and no later than when informing its own public about that proposed activity.
Art.3.2 2. This notification shall contain, inter alia:
Art.3.2.b (b) The nature of the possible decision; and
Art.3.3 3. The affected Party shall respond to the Party of origin within the time specified in the notification, acknowledging receipt of the notification, and shall indicate whether it intends to participate in the environmental impact assessment procedure.
Art.3.4 4. If the affected Party indicates that it does not intend to participate in the environmental impact assessment procedure, or if it does not respond within the time specified in the notification, the provisions in paragraphs 5, 6, 7 and 8 of this Article and in Articles 4 to 7 will not apply. In such circumstances the right of a Party of origin to determine whether to carry out an environmental impact assessment on the basis of its national law and practice is not prejudiced.
Art.3.5 5. Upon receipt of a response from the affected Party indicating its desire to participate in the environmental impact assessment procedure, the Party of origin shall, if it has not already done so, provide to the affected Party:
Art.3.8 8. The concerned Parties shall ensure that the public of the affected Party in the areas likely to be affected be informed of, and be provided with possibilities for making comments or objections on, the proposed activity, and for the transmittal of these comments or objections to the competent authority of the Party of origin, either directly to this authority or, where appropriate, through the Party of origin.
Art.4 Article 4
Art.5 Article 5
Art.5.1x The Party of origin shall, after completion of the environmental impact assessment documentation, without undue delay enter into consultations with the affected Party concerning, inter alia, the potential transboundary impact of the proposed activity and measures to reduce or eliminate its impact. Consultations may relate to:
Art.5.1x.c (c) Any other appropriate matters relating to the proposed activity. The Parties shall agree, at the commencement of such consultations, on a reasonable time-frame for the duration of the consultation period. Any such consultations may be conducted through an appropriate joint body, where one exists.
Art.6 Article 6
Art.6.2 2. The Party of origin shall provide to the affected Party the final decision on the proposed activity along with the reasons and considerations on which it was based.
Art.7 Article 7
Art.8 Article 8
Art.8.1x The Parties may continue existing or enter into new bilateral or multilateral agreements or other arrangements in order to implement their obligations under this Convention. Such agreements or other arrangements may be based on the elements listed in Appendix VI.
Art.9 Article 9
Art.9.1x.a (a) Improving existing qualitative and quantitative methods for assessing the impacts of proposed activities;
Art.9.1x.b (b) Achieving a better understanding of cause-effect relationships and their role in integrated environmental management;
Art.9.1x.c (c) Analysing and monitoring the efficient implementation of decisions on proposed activities with the intention of minimizing or preventing impacts;
Art.9.1x.d (d) Developing methods to stimulate creative approaches in the search for environmentally sound alternatives to proposed activities, production and consumption patterns;
Art.9.1x.e (e) Developing methodologies for the application of the principles of environmental impact assessment at the macro-economic level. The results of the programmes listed above shall be exchanged by the Parties.
Art.10 Article 10
Art.10.1x The Appendices attached to this Convention form an integral part of the Convention.
Art.11 Article 11
Art.11.1 1. The Parties shall meet, so far as possible, in connection with the annual sessions of the Senior Advisers to ECE Governments on Environmental and Water Problems. The first meeting of the Parties shall be convened not later than one year after the date of the entry into force of this Convention. Thereafter, meetings of the Parties shall be held at such other times as may be deemed necessary by a meeting of the Parties, or at the written request of any Party, provided that, within six months of the request being communicated to them by the secretariat, it is supported by at least one third of the Parties.
Art.11.2 2. The Parties shall keep under continuous review the implementation of this Convention, and, with this purpose in mind, shall:
Art.11.2.d (d) At their first meeting, consider and by consensus adopt rules of procedure for their meetings;
Art.11.2.e (e) Consider and, where necessary, adopt proposals for amendments to this Convention;
Art.11.2.f (f) Consider and undertake any additional action that may be required for the achievement of the purposes of this Convention.
Art.12 Article 12
Art.12.1 1. Each Party to this Convention shall have one vote.
Art.12.2 2. Except as provided for in paragraph 1 of this Article, regional economic integration organizations, in matters within their competence, shall exercise their right to vote with a number of votes equal to the number of their member States which are Parties to this Convention. Such organizations shall not exercise their right to vote if their member States exercise theirs, and vice versa.
Art.13 Article 13
Art.13.1x The Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Europe shall carry out the following secretariat functions:
Art.13.1x.a (a) The convening and preparing of meetings of the Parties;
Art.13.1x.b (b) The transmission of reports and other information received in accordance with the provisions of this Convention to the Parties;
Art.13.1x.c (c) The performance of other functions as may be provided for in this Convention or as may be determined by the Parties.
Art.14 Article 14
Art.14.1 1. Any Party may propose amendments to this Convention.
Art.14.2 2. Proposed amendments shall be submitted in writing to the secretariat, which shall communicate them to all Parties. The proposed amendments shall be discussed at the next meeting of the Parties, provided these proposals have been circulated by the secretariat to the Parties at least ninety days in advance.
Art.14.3 3. The Parties shall make every effort to reach agreement on any proposed amendment to this Convention by consensus. If all efforts at consensus have been exhausted, and no agreement reached, the amendment shall as a last resort be adopted by a three-fourths majority vote of the Parties present and voting at the meeting.
Art.14.4 4. Amendments to this Convention adopted in accordance with paragraph 3 of this Article shall be submitted by the Depositary to all Parties for ratification, approval or acceptance. They shall enter into force for Parties having ratified, approved or accepted them on the ninetieth day after the receipt by the Depositary of notification of their ratification, approval or acceptance by at least three fourths of these Parties. Thereafter they shall enter into force for any other Party on the ninetieth day after that Party deposits its instrument of ratification, approval or acceptance of the amendments.
Art.14.5 5. For the purpose of this Article, "Parties present and voting" means Parties present and casting an affirmative or negative vote.
Art.14.6 6. The voting procedure set forth in paragraph 3 of this Article is not intended to constitute a precedent for future agreements negotiated within the Economic Commission for Europe.
Art.15 Article 15
Art.15.1 1. If a dispute arises between two or more Parties about the interpretation or application of this Convention, they shall seek a solution by negotiation or by any other method of dispute settlement acceptable to the parties to the dispute.
Art.15.2 2. When signing, ratifying, accepting, approving or acceding to this Convention, or at any time thereafter, a Party may declare in writing to the Depositary that for a dispute not resolved in accordance with paragraph 1 of this Article, it accepts one or both of the following means of dispute settlement as compulsory in relation to any Party accepting the same obligation:
Art.15.2.a (a) Submission of the dispute to the International Court of Justice;
Art.15.2.b (b) Arbitration in accordance with the procedure set out in Appendix VII.
Art.15.3 3. If the parties to the dispute have accepted both means of dispute settlement referred to in paragraph 2 of this Article, the dispute may be submitted only to the International Court of Justice, unless the parties agree otherwise.
Art.16 Article 16
Art.16.1x This Convention shall be open for signature at Espoo (Finland) from 25 February to 1 March 1991 and thereafter at United Nations Headquarters in New York until 2 September 1991 by States members of the Economic Commission for Europe as well as States having consultative status with the Economic Commission for Europe pursuant to paragraph 8 of the Economic and Social Council resolution 36 (IV) of 28 March 1947, and by regional economic integration organizations constituted by sovereign States members of the Economic Commission for Europe to which their member States have transferred competence in respect of matters governed by this Convention, including the competence to enter into treaties in respect of these matters.
Art.17 Article 17
Art.17.1 1. This Convention shall be subject to ratification, acceptance or approval by signatory States and regional economic integration organizations.
Art.17.2 2. This Convention shall be open for accession as from 3 September 1991 by the States and organizations referred to in Article 16.
Art.17.3 3. The instruments of ratification, acceptance, approval or accession shall be deposited with the Secretary-General of the United Nations, who shall perform the functions of Depositary.
Art.17.4 4. Any organization referred to in Article 16 which becomes a Party to this Convention without any of its member States being a Party shall be bound by all the obligations under this Convention. In the case of such organizations, one or more of whose member States is a Party to this Convention, the organization and its member States shall decide on their respective responsibilities for the performance of their obligations under this Convention. In such cases, the organization and the member States shall not be entitled to exercise rights under this Convention concurrently.
Art.17.5 5. In their instruments of ratification, acceptance, approval or accession, the regional economic integration organizations referred to in Article 16 shall declare the extent of their competence with respect to the matters governed by this Convention. These organizations shall also inform the Depositary of any relevant modification to the extent of their competence.
Art.18 Article 18
Art.18.1 1. This Convention shall enter into force on the ninetieth day after the date of deposit of the sixteenth instrument of ratification, acceptance, approval or accession.
Art.18.2 2. For the purposes of paragraph 1 of this Article, any instrument deposited by a regional economic integration organization shall not be counted as additional to those deposited by States members of such an organization.
Art.18.3 3. For each State or organization referred to in Article 16 which ratifies, accepts or approves this Convention or accedes thereto after the deposit of the sixteenth instrument of ratification, acceptance, approval or accession, this Convention shall enter into force on the ninetieth day after the date of deposit by such State or organization of its instrument of ratification, acceptance, approval or accession.
Art.19 Article 19
Art.19.1x At any time after four years from the date on which this Convention has come into force with respect to a Party, that Party may withdraw from this Convention by giving written notification to the Depositary. Any such withdrawal shall take effect on the ninetieth day after the date of its receipt by the Depositary. Any such withdrawal shall not affect the application of Articles 3 to 6 of this Convention to a proposed activity in respect of which a notification has been made pursuant to Article`3, paragraph 1, or a request has been made pursuant to Article 3, paragraph 7, before such withdrawal took effect.
Art.20 Article 20
Art.20.1x The original of this Convention, of which the English, French and Russian texts are equally authentic, shall be deposited with the Secretary-General of the United Nations.
Conc.1 IN WITNESS WHEREOF the undersigned, being duly authorized thereto, have signed this Convention.
Conc.2 DONE at Espoo (Finland), this twenty-fifth day of February one thousand nine hundred and ninety-one.