Convention on Volatile Organic Compounds, 1991

Article 8
Information Exchange and Annual Reporting

1. The Parties shall exchange information by notifying the Executive Body
of the national programmes, policies and strategies that they develop in
accordance with article 7, and by reporting to it progress achieved
under, and any changes to, those programmes, policies and strategies. In
the first year after entry into force of this Protocol, each Party shall
report on the level of emissions of VOCs in its territory and any TOMA in
its territory, by total and, to the extent feasible, by sector of origin
and by individual VOC, according to guidelines to be specified by the
Executive Body for 1988 or any other year taken as the base year for
article 2.2 and on the basis upon which these levels have been
calculated.

2. Furthermore each Party shall report annually:

(a) On the matters specified in paragraph 1 for the previous calendar
year, and on any revision which may be necessary to the reports already
made for earlier years;

(b) On progress in applying national or international emission
standards and the control techniques required under article 2, paragraph
3;

(c) On measures taken to facilitate the exchange of technology.

3. In addition, Parties within the geographical scope of EMEP shall
report, at intervals to be specified by the Executive Body, information
on VOC emissions by sector of origin, with a spatial resolution, to be
specified by the Executive Body, appropriate for purposes of modeling the
formation and transport of secondary photochemical oxidant products.

4. Such information shall, as far as possible, be submitted in accordance
with a uniform reporting framework.

Article 9
Calculations

EMEP shall, utilizing appropriate models and measurements, provide to the
annual meetings of the Executive Body relevant information on the
long-range transport of ozone in Europe. In areas outside the
geographical scope of EMEP, models appropriate to the particular
circumstances of Parties to the Convention therein shall be used.

Article 10
Annexes

The annexes to the present Protocol shall form an integral part of the
Protocol. Annex I is mandatory while annexes II, III and IV are
recommendatory.

Article 11
Amendments to the Protocol

1. Any Party may propose amendments to the present Protocol.

2. Proposed amendments shall be submitted in writing to the Executive
Secretary of the Commission, who shall communicate them to all Parties.
The Executive Body shall discuss the proposed amendments at its next
annual meeting, provided that those proposals have been circulated by the
Executive Secretary to the Parties at least 90 days in advance.

3. Amendments to the Protocol, other than amendments to its annexes,
shall be adopted by consensus of the Parties present at a meeting of the
Executive Body, and shall enter into force for the Parties which have
accepted them on the ninetieth day after the date on which two thirds of
the Parties have deposited their instruments of acceptance thereof.
Amendments shall enter into force for any Party which has accepted them
after two thirds of the Parties have deposited their instruments of
acceptance of the amendment, on the ninetieth day after the date on which
that Party deposited its instrument of acceptance of the amendments.

4. Amendments to the annexes shall be adopted by consensus of the Parties
present at a meeting of the Executive Body and shall become effective 30
days after the date on which they have been communicated, in accordance
with paragraph 5 of this article.

5. Amendments under paragraphs 3 and 4 of this article shall, as soon as
possible after their adoption, be communicated by the Executive Secretary
to all Parties.

Article 12
Settlement of Disputes

If a dispute arises between two or more Parties as to the interpretation
or application of the present Protocol, they shall seek a solution by
negotiation or by any other method of dispute settlement acceptable to
the parties to the dispute.

Article 13
Signature

1. The present Protocol shall be open for signature at Geneva from 18
November 1991 until 22 November 1991 inclusive, then at the United
Nations Headquarters in New York until 22 May 1992, by the States members
of the Commission as well as States having consultative status with the
Commission, pursuant to paragraph 8 of Economic and Social Council
resolution 36 (IV) of 28 March 1947, and by regional economic integration
organizations, constituted by sovereign States members of the Commission,
which have competence in respect of the negotiation, conclusion and
application of international agreements in matters covered by the
Protocol, provided that the States and organizations concerned are
Parties to the Convention.

2. In matters within their competence, such regional economic integration
organizations shall, on their own behalf, exercise the rights and fulfill
the responsibilities which the present Protocol attributes to their
member States. In such cases, the member States of these organizations
shall not be entitled to exercise such rights individually.

Article 14
Ratification, Acceptance, Approval and Accession

1. The present Protocol shall be subject to ratification, acceptance or
approval by Signatories.

2. The present Protocol shall be open for accession as from 22 May 1992
by the States and organizations referred to in article 13, paragraph 1.

Author: international

Mentioned in these Entries

Settlement of Disputes.