Convention for Co-operation in the Protection and Development of the Marine

 

Article 19
AMENDMENT OF THE CONVENTION OR PROTOCOLS

1. Any Contracting Party to this Convention may propose amendments to the
Convention or to any of the protocols. The texts of any such draft
amendments shall be communicated to the Contracting Parties by the
Organization six months before their submission to an ordinary meeting of
the Contracting Parties for examination.

2. Any amendment shall be adopted by a two-thirds majority of the
Contracting Parties and shall enter into force twelve months after its
approval.

Article 20
ANNEXES AND AMENDMENTS TO ANNEXES

1. Annexes to this Convention or to any of its protocols shall form an
integral part of the Convention or such protocol.

2. Except as may be otherwise provided in any protocol, the procedure
foreseen in article 19 shall apply to the adoption and entry into force
of any amendments to annexes to this Convention or to any protocol.

3. The adoption and entry into force of a new annex to this Convention or
to any protocol shall be subject to the same procedure as the adoption
and entry into force of an amendment to an annex in accordance with the
provisions of paragraph 2 of this article provided that, if any amendment
to the Convention or the protocol concerned is involved, the new annex
shall not enter into force until such time as the amendment to the
Convention or the protocol concerned enters into force.

Article 21
RULES OF PROCEDURE AND FINANCIAL RULES

1. The Contracting Parties shall adopt rules of procedure for their
meetings and conferences envisaged in articles 17 and 18 above.

2. The Contracting Parties shall adopt financial rules, prepared in
consultation with the Organization, to determine, in particular, their
financial participation.

Article 22
REPORTS

The Contracting Parties shall transmit to the Organization reports on the
measures adopted in the implementation of this Convention and of
protocols to which they are Parties, in such form and at such intervals
as the meetings of Contracting Parties may determine.

Article 23
COMPLIANCE CONTROL

The Contracting Parties undertake to co-operate in the development of
procedures enabling them to control the application of this Convention
and its related protocols.

Article 24
Settlement of Disputes

1. In case of a dispute between Contracting Parties as to the
interpretation or application of this Convention or its related
protocols, 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 shall be submitted to
arbitration under conditions to be adopted by the Contracting Parties in
an annex to this Convention.

Article 25
RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE CONVENTION AND ITS RELATED PROTOCOLS

1. No State may become a Contracting Party to this Convention unless it
becomes at the same time a Contracting Party to at least one protocol. No
State may become a Contracting Party to a protocol unless it is, or
becomes at the same time, a Contracting Party to this Convention.

2. Any protocol to this Convention shall be binding only on the
Contracting Parties to the protocol in question.

3. Decisions concerning any protocol pursuant to articles 17, 19 and 20
of this Convention shall be taken only by the Parties to the protocol
concerned.

Article 26
SIGNATURE

This Convention and the Protocol on Cooperation in Combating Pollution in
Cases of Emergency shall be in Abidjan from 23 March to 22 June 1981 for
signature by any coastal or island State, from Mauritania to Namibia
inclusive.

Article 27
RATIFICATION, ACCEPTANCE AND APPROVAL

This Convention and any protocol thereto shall be subject to
ratification, acceptance, or approval. Instruments of ratification,
acceptance or approval shall be deposited with the Government of the
Ivory Coast, which will assume the functions of Depositary.

Article 28
ACCESSION

1. As from 23 June 1981, the present Convention and the Protocol
concerning Co-operation in Combating Pollution in Cases of Emergency
shall be open for accession by the States referred to in article 26.

2. After the entry into force of this Convention and any protocol
thereto, any African State not referred to in article 26 may accede to
them.

3. This Convention and any protocol thereto shall also remain open after
the entry into force for accession by any other State, subject to the
prior approval of three quarters of the States referred to in article 26
which have become Contracting Parties.

4. Instruments of accession shall be deposited with the Depositary.

Article 29
ENTRY INTO FORCE

1. This Convention and the first of its protocols shall enter into force
on the same date, in accordance with the following paragraph 2.

2. The Convention and any of its protocols shall enter into force on the
sixtieth day following the date of deposit of at least six instruments of
ratification acceptance or approval of, or accession to, such Convention
and protocol by the Parties referred to in article 26.

3. Thereafter, this Convention and any protocol thereto shall enter into
force with respect to any State referred to in article 26 on the sixtieth
day following the date of deposit of the instruments of ratification,
acceptance, approval or accession.

Article 30
WITHDRAWAL

1. At any time after five years from the date of entry into force of this
Convention, any Contracting Party may withdraw from this Convention by
giving written notification of withdrawal.

2. Except as may be otherwise provided in any protocol to this
Convention, any Contracting Party may, at any time after five years from
the date of entry into force of such protocol, withdraw from such
protocol by giving written notification of withdrawal.

3. Withdrawal shall take effect ninety days after the date on which
notification of withdrawal is received by the Depositary.

4. Any Contracting Party which withdraws from this Convention shall be
considered as also having withdrawn from any protocol to which it was a
Party.

5. Any Contracting Party which, upon its withdrawal from a protocol, is
no longer a Party to any protocol to this Convention, shall be considered
as also having withdrawn from this Convention.

Article 31
RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE DEPOSITARY

1. The Depositary shall inform the Contracting Parties, any other Party
referred to in article 26, and the Organization:

(i) Of the signature of this Convention and any protocol thereto,
and of the deposit of instruments of ratification, acceptance,
approval or accession in accordance with articles 26, 27 and
28;

(ii) Of the date on which the Convention and any protocol will come
into force in accordance with the provisions of article 29;

(iii) Of notifications of withdrawal made in accordance with article
30;

(iv) Of the amendments adopted with respect to the Convention and to
any protocol, their acceptance by the Contracting Parties and
the date of entry into force of these amendments in accordance
with the provisions of article 19;

(v) Of the adoption of new annexes and of the amendment of any
annex in accordance with article 20.

2. The original of this Convention and of any protocol thereto shall be
deposited with the Depositary, the Government of the Ivory Coast which
shall send certified copies thereof to the Contracting Parties, to the
Organization of African Unity, to the Organization, and to the Secretary-
General of the United Nations for registration and publication in
accordance with Article 102 of the United Nations Charter.

In witness whereof the undersigned, being duly authorized by their
respective Governments, have signed this Convention.

Done at Abidjan on this twenty-third day of March one thousand nine
hundred and eighty-one in a single copy in the English, French and
Spanish languages, the three texts being equally authentic.

Author: international

Mentioned in these Entries

Settlement of Disputes.