Agreement Concerning Co-operation in the Quarantine of Plants and their Protection Against Pests an Diseases

 

Article I

The Contracting Parties shall take such measures as may be
necessary for the control of the plant pests and diseases and
weeds specified in the list annexed to the Agreement. The said
list may be modified by decision of the international conference
on the quarantine and protection of plants convened pursuant to
article VIII of this Agreement.

Article II

The Contracting Parties shall regularly exchange information
concerning the spread of dangerous plant pests and diseases and
the measures being taken for their control. The form and
frequency of such exchanges of information shall be determined by
the international conference on the quarantine and protection of
plants provided for in article VIII of this Agreement.

In the event of the outbreak of especially dangerous
quarantinable plant pests and diseases, centres of infection of
which are discovered for the first time, the relevant information
shall be transmitted immediately.

Article III

The Contracting Parties agree to render one another the
requisite technical assistance in the control of pests, diseases
and weeds, through sales of machinery, equipment, appliances,
chemical weed-killers and pesticides and other materials for the
control of plant pests and diseases and by undertaking joint
measures for the control of plant pests and diseases, on
conditions to be determined in each case by special agreement
between the parties concerned.

Article IV

The Contracting Parties shall:

1. Exchange copies of legislative provisions relating to plant
quarantine and protection, instructions, directives, specialist
literature information on the methods employed by scientific
research institutes, curricula and programmes, and statistical
and other material relating to plant quarantine and protection.

2. Notify one another of the most important conferences on
questions of plant quarantine and protection and advanced
training courses for plant quarantine and protection specialists
in course of preparation, so that specialists from the
Contracting Parties may be given opportunity to take part in
them.

3. Provide for exchanges of professors and teachers, scientists,
and plant quarantine and protection specialists, with a view to
the study of scientific achievements and the exchange of
experience in the work of plant quarantine and protection.

4. Ensure co-operation between scientific institutes in the study
of diseases and pests and the improvement of diagnostic methods
and means of controlling plant pests and diseases.

5. Dispatch, at the request of any Contracting Party, teams of
plant quarantine and protection specialists of one or more
Contracting Parties with a view to the study of dangerous plant
pests and diseases, research into methods of controlling them and
the organization of measures for the quarantine of plants and
their protection from pests and diseases.

Article V

The Contracting Parties undertake to apply uniform phytosanitary
regulations for the import, export and transit of consignments of
vegetable origin dispatched from one country to another. The
aforesaid regulations shall be formulated at the international
conference provided for in article VIII of this Agreement.

Article VI

The Contracting Parties undertake to apply measures to prevent
the introduction from one country into another, in exported
consignments of goods or by any other means, of quarantinable
plant pests and diseases and weeds specified in lists to be drawn
up by agreement between the parties concerned.

To this end the Contracting Parties undertake:

To carry out the necessary measures in the areas adjoining their
respective frontiers for the eradication of quarantinable plant
pests and diseases and weeds by means of chemical, biological,
agro-technical and all other methods;

To establish in their territories specific frontier posts
through which consignments of vegetable origin may be imported or
exported and to equip the said frontier posts with disinfestation
chambers for the disinfection of consignments and with means for
carrying out analyses of samples of consignments with a view to
testing them for infection by quarantinable plant pests and
diseases and weeds;

To carry out careful quarantine inspections of consignments of
vegetable origin exported from one country to another and of
means of transport and to furnish consignments with quarantine
certificates issued by the State plant quarantine and protection
services of the exporting country attesting their freedom from
infection by quarantinable plant pests and diseases and weeds.

To avoid the use of straw, leaves and other waste products of
agricultural plants as packing material and to substitute for
them sawdust, wood shavings, moss and other packing materials,
according to the conditions prevailing in the exporting country.
In the event of absolute necessity, it shall be permissible to
use straw and leaves, after disinfection, as packing material.

Article VII

With a view to co-ordinating their activities in the field of
quarantine enforcement and to supervising the application of the
measures necessary for the control of quarantinable plant pests
and diseases in frontier areas, the Contracting Parties agree to
establish, where necessary, special commissions consisting of
representatives of the countries concerned, the members of such
commissions being granted the right of repeated frontier crossing
and of remaining in the territory of other States for such time
as may be necessary for the fulfilment of the functions assigned
to them.

Article VIII

The Contracting Parties have agreed to convene whenever
necessary, and not less than once every three years,
international conferences on the quarantine and protection of
plants, for the purpose of resolving practical problems connected
with the fulfilment of the obligations arising from this
Agreement and with a view to the exchange of information and of
experience gained in carrying out the measures provided for in
this Agreement.

The date and place of meeting of each international conference
and the topics to be discussed shall be determined by the
Contracting Parties.

Communications between the competent authorities of the
Contracting Parties on matters arising from this Agreement shall
be effected both directly and through the secretariat of the
Standing Commission of the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance
for economic, scientific and technical co-operation in
agriculture.

With a view to the preparation of proposals on the most urgent
questions relating to plant quarantine and protection arising
during the intervals between conferences, special working groups
consisting of representatives of the countries concerned may be
established by agreement between them.

Article IX

Expenses incurred in carrying out the provisions of this
Agreement shall be allocated as follows:

1. Expenses incurred in carrying out the measures provided for in
article II and article IV, sub-paragraph 1, shall be borne by the
Contracting Party sending the information and material referred
to in the said articles.

2. Travel and subsistence expenses of persons referred to in
article IV, sub-paragraphs 2 and 3, and article VIII shall be
borne by the Contracting Party sending these persons.

3. Expenses incurred in carrying out the measures provided for in
article IV, subparagraphs 4 and 5, and article VII shall be
allocated by agreement between the parties concerned.

4. Expenses incurred in the organization and conduct of the
international conferences provided for in article VIII shall be
borne by the States in whose territories they are held.

Article X

This Agreement shall be open for signature in Moscow until 1
July 1960.

The Agreement shall be subject to ratification.

The instruments of ratification shall be deposited with the
Secretariat of the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance, which
shall act as the depositary of the Agreement.

The Agreement shall enter into force on the date of the deposit
of the fifth instrument of ratification, and notice of its entry
into force shall be communicated by the depositary to the States
signatories to this Agreement.

Article XI

After its entry into force, the Agreement shall be open to
accession by any State.

For each State acceding to this Agreement, and for States
depositing their instruments of ratification after the entry into
force of the Agreement, the Agreement shall enter into force on
the date of the deposit by the State concerned of its instrument
of ratification or accession.

Article XII

After the expiry of a five-year period from the date of entry
into force of this Agreement, any Contracting Party may denounce
it by notice in writing to the depositary.

The Agreement shall cease to take effect in respect of such
Party six months after the depositary’s receipt of the notice of
denunciation.

Article XIII

This Agreement has been drawn up in the Russian language in one
copy, which shall be deposited with the Secretariat of the
Council for Mutual Economic Assistance.

The Secretariat of the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance
shall send the Contracting Parties duly certified copies of the
Agreement, and shall notify the States signatories to this
Agreement and States acceding thereto of the deposit with it of
instruments of ratification, accession or denunciation.

Done at Sofia on 14 December 1959.

Author: international

Mentioned in these Entries

Other Environmental conventions, country.