Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movement of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal

 

Article 19
Verification

Any Party which has reason to believe that another Party is acting or has
acted in breach of its obligations under this Convention may inform the
Secretariat thereof, and in such an event, shall simultaneously and
immediately inform, directly or through the Secretariat, the Party against
whom the allegations are made. All relevant information should be submitted
by the Secretariat to the Parties.

Article 20
Settlement of Disputes

1. In case of a dispute between Parties as to the interpretation or
application of, or compliance with, this Convention or any protocol
thereto, they shall seek a settlement of the dispute through negotiation or
any other peaceful means of their own choice.

2. If the Parties concerned cannot settle their dispute through the means
mentioned in the preceding paragraph, the dispute, if the parties to the
dispute agree, shall be submitted to the International Court of Justice or
to arbitration under the conditions set out in Annex VI on Arbitration.
However, failure to reach common agreement on submission of the dispute to
the International Court of Justice or to arbitration shall not absolve the
Parties from the responsibility of continuing to seek to resolve it by the
means referred to in paragraph 1.

3. When ratifying, accepting, approving, formally confirming or acceding to
this Convention, or at any time thereafter, a State or political and/or
economic integration organization may declare that it recognizes as
compulsory ipso facto and without special agreement, in relation to any
Party accepting the same obligation:

(a) submission of the dispute to the International Court of Justice;
and/or

(b) arbitration in accordance with the procedures set out in Annex VI.
Such declaration shall be notified in writing to the Secretariat which
shall communicate it to the Parties.

Article 21
Signature

This Convention shall be open for signature by States, by Namibia
represented by the United Nations Council for Namibia and by political
and/or economic integration organizations, in Basel on 22 March 1989, at
the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs of Switzerland in Berne from 23
March 1989 to 30 June 1989, and at United Nations Headquarters in New York
from 1 July 1989 to 22 March 1990.

Article 22
Ratification, Acceptance, Formal Confirmation or Approval

1. This Convention shall be subject to ratification, acceptance or approval
by States and by Namibia, represented by the United Nations Council for
Namibia and to formal confirmation or approval by political and/or economic
integration organizations. Instruments of ratification, acceptance, formal
confirmation, or approval shall be deposited with the Depositary.

2. Any organization referred to in paragraph 1 above which becomes a Party
to this Convention without any of its member States being a Party shall be
bound by all the obligations under the Convention. In the case of such
organizations, one or more of whose member States is a Party to the
Convention, the organization and its member States shall decide on their
respective responsibilities for the performance of their obligations under
the Convention. In such cases, the organization and the member States shall
not be entitled to exercise rights under the Convention concurrently.

3. In their instruments of formal confirmation or approval, the
organizations referred to in paragraph 1 above shall declare the extent of
their competence with respect to the matters governed by the Convention.
These organizations shall also inform the Depositary, who will inform the
Parties of any substantial modification in the extent of their competence.

Article 23
Accession

1. This Convention shall be open for accession by States, by Namibia,
represented by the United Nations Council for Namibia, and by political
and/or economic integration organizations from the day after the date on
which the Convention is closed for signature. The instruments of accession
shall be deposited with the Depositary.

2. In their instruments of accession, the organizations referred to in
paragraph 1 above shall declare the extent of their competence with respect
to the matters governed by the Convention. These organizations shall also
inform the Depositary of any substantial modification in the extent of
their competence.

3. The provisions of Article 22 paragraph 2, shall apply to political
and/or economic integration organizations which accede to this Convention.

Article 24
Right to Vote

1. Except as provided for in paragraph 2 below, each Contracting Party to
this Convention shall have one vote.

2. Political and/or economic integration organizations, in matters within
their competence, in accordance with Article 22, paragraph 3, and Article
23, paragraph 2, shall exercise their right to vote with a number of votes
equal to the number of their member States which are Parties to the
Convention or the relevant protocol. Such organizations shall not exercise
their right to vote if their member States exercise theirs, and vice versa.

Article 25
Entry into Force

1. This Convention shall enter into force on the ninetieth day after the
date of deposit of the twentieth instrument of ratification, acceptance,
formal confirmation, approval or accession.

2. For each State or political and/or economic integration organization
which ratifies, accepts, approves or formally confirms this Convention or
accedes thereto after the date of the deposit of the twentieth instrument
of ratification, acceptance, approval, formal confirmation or accession, it
shall enter into force on the ninetieth day after the date of deposit by
such State or political and/or economic integration organization of its
instrument of ratification, acceptance, approval, formal confirmation or
accession.

3. For the purposes of paragraphs 1 and 2 above, any instrument deposited
by a political and/or economic integration organization shall not be
counted as additional to those deposited by member States of such
organization.

Article 26
Reservations and Declarations

1. No reservation or exception may be made to this Convention.

2. Paragraph 1 of this Article does not preclude a State or political
and/or economic integration organizations, when signing, ratifying,
accepting, approving, formally confirming or acceding to this Convention,
from making declarations or statements, however phrased or named, with a
view, inter alia, to the harmonization of its laws and regulations with the
provisions of this Convention, provided that such declarations or
statements do not purport to exclude or to modify the legal effects of the
provisions of the Convention in their application to that State.

Article 27
Withdrawal

1. At any time after three years from the date on which this Convention has
entered into force for a Party, that Party may withdraw from the Convention
by giving written notification to the Depositary.

2. Withdrawal shall be effective one year from receipt of notification by
the Depositary, or on such later date as may be specified in the
notification.

Article 28
Depository

The Secretary-General of the United Nations shall be the Depository of this
Convention and of any protocol thereto.

Article 29
Authentic texts

The original Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish texts of
this Convention are equally authentic.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF the undersigned, being duly authorized to that effect,
have signed this Convention.

Done at on the day of 1989

Annex I
CATEGORIES OF WASTES TO BE CONTROLLED

Waste Streams

Y1 Clinical wastes from medical care in hospitals, medical centers and
clinics
Y2 Wastes from the production and preparation of pharmaceutical products
Y3 Waste pharmaceuticals, drugs and medicines
Y4 Wastes from the production, formulation and use of biocides and
phytopharmaceuticals
Y5 Wastes from the manufacture, formulation and use of wood preserving
chemicals
Y6 Wastes from the production, formulation and use of organic solvents
Y7 Wastes from heat treatment and tempering operations containing
cyanides
Y8 Waste mineral oils unfit for their originally intended use
Y9 Waste oils/water, hydrocarbons/water mixtures, emulsions
Y10 Waste substances and articles containing or contaminated with
polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and/or polychlorinated terphenyls
(PCTs) and/or polybrominated biphenyls (PBBs)
Y11 Waste tarry residues arising from refining, distillation and any
pyrolytic treatment
Y12 Wastes from production, formulation and use of inks, dyes, pigments,
paints, lacquers, varnish
Y13 Wastes frorn production, formulation and use of resins, latex,
plasticizers, glues/adhesives
Y14 Waste chemical substances arising from research and development or
teaching activities which are not identified and/or are new and whose
effects on man and/or the environment are not known
Y15 Wastes of an explosive nature not subject to other legislation
Y16 Wastes from production, formulation and use of photographic chemicals
and processing materials
Y17 Wastes resulting from surface treatment of metals and plastics
Y18 Residues arising from industrial waste disposal operations

Wastes having as constituents:

Y19 Metal carbonyls
Y20 Beryllium; beryllium compounds
Y21 Hexavalent chromium compounds
Y22 Copper compounds
Y23 Zinc compounds
Y24 Arsenic; arsenic compounds
Y25 Selenium, selenium compounds
Y26 Cadmium; cadmium compounds
Y27 Antimony; antimony compounds
Y28 Tellurium; tellurium compounds
Y29 Mercury; mercury compounds
Y30 Thallium; thallium compounds
Y31 Lead, lead compounds
Y32 Inorganic fluorine compounds excluding calcium fluoride
Y33 Inorganic cyanides
Y34 Acidic solutions or acids in solid form
Y35 Basic solutions or bases in solid form
Y36 Asbestos (dust and fibres)
Y37 Organic phosphorous compounds
Y38 Organic cyanides
Y39 Phenols; phenol compounds including chlorophenols
Y40 Ethers
Y41 Halogenated organic solvents
Y42 Organic solvents excluding halogenated solvents
Y43 Any congenor of polychlorinated dibenzo-furan
Y44 Any congenor of polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxin
Y45 Organohalogen compounds other than substances referred to in this
Annex (e.g. Y39, Y41, Y42, Y43, Y44).

 

Author: international

Mentioned in these Entries

Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movement of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal, International Court of Justice, Settlement of Disputes.