International Convention For The Campaign Against Contagious Diseases Of Animals

Filename: 1935-CampaignAgainstContagiousDiseasesAnimals.EN.txt
Source: LNTS, vol. 186, pp. 175.

International Convention For The Campaign Against Contagious Diseases Of Animals

Source: LNTS, vol. 186, pp. 175.

THE FEDERAL PRESIDENT OF AUSTRIA; HIS MAJESTY THE KING OF THE BELGIANS; HIS MAJESTY THE KING OF THE BULGARIANS; THE PRESIDENT OF THE SPANISH REPUBLIC; THE PRESIDENT OF THE FRENCH REPUBLIC; HIS MAJESTY THE KING OF THE HELLENES; HIS MAJESTY THE KING OF ITALY; THE PRESIDENT OF THE LATVIAN REPUBLIC; HER MAJESTY THE QUEEN OF THE NETHERLANDS; THE PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF POLAND; HIS MAJESTY THE KING OF ROUMANIA; THE SWISS FEDERAL COUNCIL; THE PRESIDENT OF THE CZECHOSLOVAK REPUBLIC; THE PRESIDENT OF THE TURKISH REPUBLIC; THE CENTRAL EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE OF THE UNION OF SOVIET SOCIALIST REPUBLICS,

Being convinced that an unceasing and increasingly effective campaign against contagious diseases of animals can only be successfully prosecuted by concerted action by the countries concerned;

Recognising unanimously, moreover, that, in any action intended to facilitate international trade in live-stock and animal products, the first item in the programme must be the improvement of veterinary health conditions by every possible means, including closer and more frequent international co-operation;

Have appointed as their Plenipotentiaries:

THE FEDERAL PRESIDENT OF AUSTRIA:

M. Emerich PFLÜGL, Permanent Representative accredited to the League of Nations, Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary.

HIS MAJESTY THE KING OF THE BELGIANS:

M. Paul VAN ZEELAND, Prime Minister, Minister for Foreign Affairs and External Trade.

HIS MAJESTY THE KING OF THE BULGARIANS:

M. Nicolas ANTONOFF, Permanent Delegate accredited to the League of Nations, Minister Plenipotentiary.

THE PRESIDENT OF THE SPANISH REPUBLIC:

M. Julio LÓPEZ OLIVÁN, Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to the Swiss Federal Council.

THE PRESIDENT OF THE FRENCH REPUBLIC:

Dr. V. DROUIN, Head of the Veterinary Service at the Ministry of Agriculture.

HIS MAJESTY THE KING OF THE HELLENES:

M. Raoul BIBICA-ROSETTI, Permanent Delegate accredited to the League of Nations, Minister Plenipotentiary.

HIS MAJESTY THE KING OF ITALY:

Professor C. BISANTI, Veterinary Inspector-General at the Ministry of the Interior.

THE PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF LATVIA:

M. Jules FELDMANS, Permanent Delegate accredited to the League of Nations, Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to the Swiss Federal Council.

HER MAJESTY THE QUEEN OF THE NETHERLANDS:

Ridder C. VAN RAPPARD, Permanent Delegate accredited to the League of Nations, Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to the Swiss Federal Council.

THE PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF POLAND:

M. Titus KOMARNICKI, Permanent Delegate accredited to the League of Nations, Minister Plenipotentiary.

HIS MAJESTY THE KING OF ROUMANIA:

M. Constantin ANTONIADE, Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to the League of Nations.

THE SWISS FEDERAL COUNCIL:

Dr. G. FLÜCKIGER, Director of the Federal Veterinary Office.

THE PRESIDENT OF THE CZECHOSLOVAK REPUBLIC:

M. Rodolphe KÜNZL-JIZERSKÝ, Permanent Delegate accredited to the League of Nations, Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to the Swiss Federal Council.

THE PRESIDENT OF THE TURKISH REPUBLIC:

M. Cemal HÜSNÜ TARÂY, Permanent Delegate accredited to the League of Nations, Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to the Swiss Federal Council.

THE CENTRAL EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE OF THE UNION OF SOVIET SOCIALIST REPUBLICS:

Vladimir POTEMKINE, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the President of the French Republic.

Who, having communicated their full powers, found in good and due form, have agreed upon the following provisions:

Article I.

The High Contracting Parties undertake to enact the necessary legislation and take the necessary administrative measures for ensuring joint and effective action against the appearance and spread of contagious diseases of animals.

These measures should more particularly provide for:

(1) Control over farm animals and over establishments which are of special importance in the campaign against animal diseases, such as slaughter-houses, knackers' yards, cattle and meat markets, fattening establishments, dairies, the stables of inns, traders and relay stations, establishments utilising animal products; supervision over the production of and trade in sera, viruses and microbe cultures, whether attenuated or not, and biological diagnostic products; supervision over the means of transport and of loading and unloading places and quarantine stations;

(2) The discovery of any outbreak of contagious disease of animals, together with an indication of the areas infected;

(3) The methods of preventing and dealing with contagious diseases of animals;

(4) The regulation of transport in all its forms, and particularly with a view to the disinfection of vehicles;

(5) The penalties to be imposed in the event of an infringement of the measures enacted.

Article 2.

The High Contracting Parties undertake to establish and maintain in their respective countries, where not already existing, an official veterinary health organisation to ensure the execution of the measures referred to in Article I. In principle, this official organisation should comprise:

(I) Government veterinary health service, the chief functions of which would be:

(a) To supervise the places and establishments referred to in Article I for the purpose of ascertaining the outbreak and development of contagious diseases of animals;

(b) To apply the measures concerning contagious diseases of animals, as well as measures for preventing and combating these diseases;

(c) To inspect animals and animal products;

(d) To issue certificates regarding the origin and health of animals and the origin and soundness of animal products;

(2) Teaching and research institutions for the training of the personnel of veterinary health services; scientific laboratories necessary for the satisfactory working of these services.

Article 3.

The High Contracting Parties undertake to organise their respective veterinary health services on the principles specified hereinafter and recognise as essential for the proper organisation of a veterinary service:

(I) The Government veterinary health service should be under the authority of a chief veterinary officer directly, responsible to the competent Minister.

(2) The number and the duties of Government veterinary officers and of veterinary surgeons approved by the State for certain official duties should, regard being had to the extent of stock-breeding, the area of land under cultivation, and the volume of traffic, be such as to ensure effective and rapid veterinary supervision of the whole territory, which should be divided up into definite geographical sanitary districts, as well as of all the domestic animals.

This veterinary health service should enable the State to determine the origin and, so far as scientific knowledge permits, the state of health of animals and the soundness of animal products intended for export. The personnel should be in proportion to the quantity of live-stock to be supervised.

(3) Government veterinary officers or veterinary surgeons approved for certain duties should hold a State diploma in veterinary medicine or a diploma recognised by the State.

Only veterinary surgeons who are employed and paid by the State may be regarded as Government veterinary officers.

In exceptional cases, other veterinary surgeons may be entrusted with certain duties provided that the State is responsible for any action they may take.

(4) Veterinary inspection at the frontier should be carried out only by Government veterinary officers or veterinary surgeons approved by the State for that purpose.

(5) (a) In principle, the inspection of meat intended for sale and public consumption must be entrusted to approved veterinary surgeons placed under the supervision of the Government veterinary service.

(b) Veterinary health inspection of meat and meat preparations intended for export must be carried out by Government veterinary officers or veterinary surgeons approved by the State for that purpose.

Article 4.

The existence of a veterinary health organisation in conformity with the provisions of Articles 2 and 3 shall be notified by each of the High Contracting Parties by means of a memorandum, summarising the main features of the organisation and forwarded, at latest at the moment of depositing the ratification of the Convention, to the Secretary-General of the League of Nations, who will notify the other High Contracting Parties thereof.

Article 5.

The High Contracting Parties undertake on the basis of the recommendations of the International Office for Contagious Diseases of Animals to publish regularly a veterinary health bulletin in accordance with the rules laid down below:

(1) The veterinary health bulletins should be published on the 1st and 15th of each month and give all information for the previous fortnight.

(2) They should be exchanged between the central veterinary authorities without recourse to diplomatic channels.

(3) They should give all statistical information regarding the following diseases: cattle plague (Pestis bovum), foot-and-mouth disease (Aphtæ epizootiæ), contagious peri-pneumonia (Pleuro-pneumonia bovum contagiosa), anthrax fever (Anthrax), sheep-pox (Variola ovium), rabies, glanders (Malleus), dourine (Exanthema coitale paralyticum), swine fever (Pestis suum).

(4) Each country may also give statistical or other information regarding other diseases.

The veterinary health bulletins should necessarily indicate the veterinary health situation on the date of publication - i.e., the number and names of the large territorial divisions (provinces, departments, districts), the number of communes and premises infected at the date on which the bulletin is published, and the number of communes and premises which have become infected during the period under consideration.

Article 6.

When an outbreak of cattle plague, swine fever or fowl plague, foot-and-mouth disease, rabies, contagious peri-pneumonia of bovines or dourine is first discovered in the territory of one of the High Contracting Parties, the central veterinary authorities of the other High Contracting Parties must immediately be notified by the chief of the veterinary service of the outbreak of the disease and the position of the various infected centres. Such notification shall be made by telegraph or wireless to all contiguous States and in all cases in which an exchange of animals or animal products takes place between the High Contracting Parties.

The High Contracting Parties further undertake to require their veterinary health authorities of the first instance who are posted at the frontier to notify directly and without delay the corresponding authorities of the other neighbouring High Contracting Parties of the outbreak and extent of the diseases mentioned in the above paragraph and, in addition, of the outbreak and extent of sheep-pox, glanders, and fowl cholera. Such communications must in all urgent cases be made by telegraph without prejudice to the special provisions arising out of bilateral agreements in force between any of the High Contracting Parties.

Article 7.

The High Contracting Parties undertake to give favourable consideration to:

(a) The admission of students, professors, lecturers and assistants of the countries of the other High Contracting Parties to the institutions and laboratories of their countries;

(b) Temporary exchanges of veterinary officers between their various administrations;

(c) The permanent or temporary establishment of veterinary officers of one High Contracting Party in the territory of another if, in view of the special relations between the countries concerned, substantial advantages might be derived therefrom;

(d) The organisation of missions for study composed of veterinary officers of one or more of the High Contracting Parties for the purpose of enquiring into the research work or methods pursued in one or other of the countries of the High Contracting Parties, and, on the request of one of the High Contracting Parties, to negotiate direct on such questions.

Article 8.

The High Contracting Parties recognise the right of the chiefs of veterinary health services to communicate with one another direct, when difficulties of a veterinary nature arise in connection with the trade in animals and animal products. Copies of all such communications shall be forwarded through diplomatic channels.

The High Contracting Parties undertake to require the chiefs of their veterinary health services to get into touch with the corresponding chiefs of another High Contracting Party if serious difficulties should arise in connection with the trade in live-stock or animal products with such country.

FINAL PROVISIONS.

Article 9 (Settlement of Disputes).

1. If there should arise between the High Contracting Parties a dispute of any kind relating to the interpretation or application of the present Convention, and if such dispute cannot be satisfactorily settled by diplomacy, it shall be settled in accordance with any applicable agreements in force between the Parties providing for the settlement of international disputes.

2. In case there is no such agreement in force between the Parties, the dispute shall be referred to arbitration or judicial settlement. In the absence of agreement on the choice of another tribunal, the dispute shall, at the request of any one of the Parties, be referred to the Permanent Court of International Justice if all the Parties to the dispute are Parties to the Protocol[1] of December 16th, 1920, relating to the Statute of that Court and, if any of the Parties to the dispute is not a Party to the Protocol of December 16th, 1920, to an arbitral tribunal constituted in accordance with the Hague Convention [2] of October 18th, 1907, for the Pacific Settlement of International Disputes.

Article I0 (Languages and Date).

The present Convention, of which the English and French texts are both authoritative, shall bear this day's date.

Article II (Signature and Ratification).

1. The present Convention may be signed until February 15th, 1936, on behalf of any Member of the League of Nations or any non-member State to which the Council of the League of Nations shall have communicated a copy of the present Convention for the purpose.

2. The present Convention shall be ratified. The instruments of ratification shall be deposited with the Secretary-General of the League of Nations, who will notify the deposit thereof to all the Members of the League of Nations and to the non-member States referred to in the preceding paragraph.

Article 12 (Accession).

1. On and after February 16th, 1936, any Member of the League of Nations and any non-member State to which the Council of the League of Nations shall have communicated a copy of the present Convention may accede to it.

2. The instruments of accession shall be deposited with the Secretary-General of the League of Nations, who will notify such deposit to all the Members of the League of Nations and to the non-member States referred to in the preceding paragraph.

Article 13 (Entry into Force).

1. The Secretary-General of the League of Nations will draw up a procès-verbal when five ratifications or accessions have been received.

2. A certified true copy of this procès-verbal shall be transmitted by the Secretary-General of the League of Nations to all the Members of the League and to all non-member States mentioned in Article II.

Article 14.

1. The present Convention shall be registered by the Secretary-General of the League of Nations ninety days after the date of the procès-verbal mentioned in Article 13. It will come into force on that date.

2. In respect of each Member or non-member State on whose behalf any instrument of ratification or accession is subsequently deposited, the Convention shall come into force ninety days after the date of the deposit of such instrument.

Article 15 (Duration and Denunciation).

1. The duration of the present Convention shall be for two years from its entry into force.

2. It shall remain in force for a further period of four years, and subsequently in respect of such Contracting Parties as have not denounced it at least six months before the expiry of the period.

3. The denunciation shall be effected by a written notification addressed to the Secretary-General of the League of Nations, who will inform all the Members of the League and the non-member States referred to in Article II.

Article 16 (Application to Colonies, Protectorates, etc.).

1. In the absence of a contrary declaration by one of the High Contracting Parties at the time of signature, ratification or accession, the provisions of the present Convention shall not apply to colonies, protectorates, overseas territories, territories under its suzerainty or territories in respect of which a mandate has been entrusted to it.

2. Nevertheless, the High Contracting Parties reserve the right to sign the Convention or to accede thereto, in accordance with the provisions of Articles 11 and 12, for their colonies, protectorates, overseas territories, territories under their suzerainty or territories in respect of which a mandate has been entrusted to them.

3. They further reserve the right to denounce the Convention separately, in accordance with the provisions of Article 15.

Article 17 (Revision).

1. Conferences for the revision of the present Convention may be called with a view to making such changes therein as experience may have shown to be useful.

2. A Conference for the revision of the present Convention shall be called by the Secretary-General of the League of Nations whenever so requested by not less than five of the High Contracting Parties.

The latter shall indicate succinctly the changes they propose and the reasons for such changes.

3. In default of the unanimous consent of the High Contracting Parties, no demand for the calling of a conference for the revision of the present Convention within less than two years from the entry into force of the Convention or four years from the end of a previous Conference for its revision shall be admissible.

4. The Secretary-General of the League of Nations shall prepare the work of conferences for the revision of the present Convention with the co-operation of the International Office for Contagious Diseases of Animals.

In faith whereof the above-mentioned Plenipotentiaries have signed the present Convention.

Done at Geneva on the twentieth day of February, one thousand nine hundred and thirty-five, in a single copy, which shall he kept in the archives of the Secretariat of the League of Nations, and of which a certified true copy shall be delivered to all the Members of the League and to the non-member States referred to in Article II.

Austria:

E. PFLÜGL.

Belgium:

[ED: Belgian Reservation is an official English Translation.]

On signing the present Convention, I declare on behalf of my Government that it does not regard the mere fact that in Belgium the inspection of meat, while carried out by Government veterinary surgeons or by veterinary surgeons approved by the Government, is placed under the supervision of the Minister of the Interior (Inspection of Foodstuffs), as being contrary to the provisions of Article 3, paragraph 5, of the present Convention; particularly since all the requirements of the said Article are observed in Belgium.

Paul VAN ZEELAND.

Bulgaria: N. ANTONOFF. Spain: J. LÓPEZ OLIVÁN. France: V. DROUIN. Greece: Raoul BIBICA-ROSETTI. Italy: C. BISANTI. Latvia: J. FELDMANS. The Netherlands: For the Kingdom of Europe [1] C. VAN RAPPARD. Poland: Titus KOMARNICKI. Roumania: C. ANTONIADE. Switzerland: FLÜCKIGER. Czechoslovakia: Rodolphe KÜNZL-JIZERSKÝ. Turkey: Cemal HÜSNÜ TARÂY. Union of Soviet Socialist Republics: V. POTEMKINE.

DECLARATION ATTACHED.

In proceeding to the signature of the International Convention for the Campaign against Contagious Diseases of Animals dated February 20th, 1935, the undersigned declare on behalf of their respective Governments that they regard the Government Veterinary Health Service as at present organised in Italy as complying, as an exceptional case, with the requirements of Article 3, paragraph (1), of the said Convention.

In faith whereof the undersigned have signed the present Declaration.

Done at Geneva on the twentieth day of February, one thousand nine hundred and thirty-five, in a single copy, which shall be kept in the archives of the Secretariat of the League of Nations, and of which a certified true copy shall be delivered to all the Members of the League and to the non-member States referred to in Article II.

Austria: E. PFLÜGL. Belgium: Paul VAN ZEELAND. Bulgaria: N. ANTONOFF. Spain: J. LÓPEZ OLIVÁN. France: V. DROUIN. Greece: Raoul BIBICA-ROSETTI. Italy: C. BISANTI. Latvia: J. FELDMANS. The Netherlands: C. VAN RAPPARD. Poland: Titus KOMARNICKI. Roumania: C. ANTONIADE. Switzerland: FLÜCKIGER. Czechoslovakia: Rodolphe KÜNZL-JIZERSKÝ; Turkey: Cemal HÜSNÜ TARÂY. Union of Soviet Socialist Republics: V. POTEMKINE.