Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the North East Atlantic 5

Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the North East Atlantic

 

ARTICLE 33
DUTIES OF THE DEPOSITARY GOVERNMENT

The Depositary Government shall inform the Contracting Parties and the
signatories to the Convention:

(a) of the deposit of instruments of ratification, acceptance, approval
or accession, of declarations of non-acceptance and of notifications
of withdrawal in accordance with Articles 26, 27 and 30;

(b) of the date on which the Convention comes into force in accordance
with Article 29;

(c) of the receipt of notifications of acceptance, of the deposit of
instruments of ratification, acceptance, approval or accession and of
the entry into force of amendments to the Convention and of the
adoption and amendment of Annexes or Appendices, in accordance with
Articles 15, 16, 17, 18 and 19.

ARTICLE 34
ORIGINAL TEXT

The original of the Convention, of which the French and English texts shall
be equally authentic, shall be deposited with the Government of the French
Republic which shall send certified copies thereof to the Contracting
Parties and the signatories to the Convention and shall deposit a certified
copy with 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 authorised by their
respective Governments, have signed this Convention.

DONE at Paris, on the twenty-second day of September 1992

ANNEX I

ON THE PREVENTION AND ELIMINATION OF POLLUTION
FROM LAND-BASED SOURCES

ARTICLE 1

1. When adopting programmes and measures for the purpose of this Annex, the
Contracting Parties shall require, either individually or jointly, the use
of

— best available techniques for point sources

— best environmental practice for point and diffuse sources

including, where appropriate, clean technology.

2. When setting priorities and in assessing the nature and extent of the
programmes and measures and their time scales, the Contracting Parties
shall use the criteria given in Appendix 2.

3. The Contracting Parties shall take preventive measures to minimise the
risk of pollution caused by accidents.

4. When adopting programmes and measures in relation to radioactive
substances, including waste, the Contracting Parties shall also take
account of:

(a) the recommendations of the other appropriate international
organisations and agencies;

(b) the monitoring procedures recommended by these international
organisations and agencies.

ARTICLE 2

1. Point source discharges to the maritime area, and releases into water or
air which reach and may affect the maritime area, shall be strictly subject
to authorisation or regulation by the competent authorities of the
Contracting Parties. Such authorisation or regulation shall, in particular,
implement relevant decisions of the Commission which bind the relevant
Contracting Party.

2. The Contracting Parties shall provide for a system of regular monitoring
and inspection by their competent authorities to assess compliance with
authorisations and regulations of releases into water or air.

ARTICLE 3

For the purposes of this Annex, it shall, inter alia, be the duty of the
Commission to draw up:

(a) plans for the reduction and phasing out of substances that are toxic,
persistent and liable to bioaccumulate arising from land-based
sources;

(b) when appropriate, programmes and measures for the reduction of inputs
of nutrients from urban, municipal, industrial, agricultural and
other sources.

ANNEX II

ON THE PREVENTION AND ELIMINATION OF POLLUTION
BY DUMPING OR INCINERATION

ARTICLE 1

This Annex shall not apply to any deliberate disposal in the maritime area
of:

(a) wastes or other matter from offshore installations;

(b) offshore installations and offshore pipelines.

ARTICLE 2

Incineration is prohibited.

ARTICLE 3

1. The dumping of all wastes or other matter is prohibited, except for
those or other matter listed in paragraphs 2 and 3 of this Article.

2. The list referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article is as follows:

(a) dredged material;

(b) inert materials of natural origin, that is solid, chemically
unprocessed geological material the chemical constituents of which
are unlikely to be released into the marine environment;

(c) sewage sludge until 31st December 1998;

(d) fish waste from industrial fish processing operations;

(e) vessels or aircraft until, at the latest, 31st December 2004.

3.(a)The dumping of low and intermediate level radioactive substances,
including wastes, is prohibited.

(b) As an exception to subparagraph 3(a) of this Article, those
Contracting Parties, the United Kingdom and France, who wish to
retain the option of an exception to subparagraph 3(a) in any case
not before the expiry of a period of 15 years from 1st January 1993,
shall report to the meeting of the Commission at Ministerial level in
1997 on the steps taken to explore alternative land-based options.

(c) Unless, at or before the expiry of this period of 15 years, the
Commission decides by a unanimous vote not to continue the exception
provided in subparagraph 3(b), it shall take a decision pursuant to
Article 13 of the Convention on the prolongation for a period of 10
years after 1st January 2008 of the prohibition, after which another
meeting of the Commission at the Ministerial level shall be held.
Those Contracting Parties mentioned in subparagraph 3(b) of this
Article still wishing to retain the option mentioned in subparagraph
3(b) shall report to the Commission meetings to be held at
Ministerial level at two yearly intervals from 1999 onwards about the
progress in establishing alternative land-based options and on the
results of scientific studies which show that any potential dumping
operations would not result in hazards to human health, harm to
living resources or marine ecosystems, damage to amenities or
interference with other legitimate uses of the sea.

ARTICLE 4

1. The Contracting Parties shall ensure that:

(a) no wastes or other matter listed in paragraph 2 of Article 3 of this
Annex shall be dumped without authorisation by their competent
authorities, or regulation;

(b) such authorisation or regulation is in accordance with the relevant
applicable criteria, guidelines and procedures adopted by the
Commission in accordance with Article 6 of this Annex;

(c) with the aim of avoiding situations in which the same dumping
operation is authorised or regulated by more than one Contracting
Party, their competent authorities shall, as appropriate, consult
before granting an authorisation or applying regulation.

2. Any authorisation or regulation under paragraph 1 of this Article shall
not permit the dumping of vessels or aircraft containing substances which
result or are likely to result in hazards to human health, harm to living
resources and marine ecosystems, damage to amenities or interference with
other legitimate uses of the sea.

3. Each Contracting Party shall keep, and report to the Commission records
of the nature and the quantities of wastes or other matter dumped in
accordance with paragraph 1 of this Article, and of the dates, places and
methods of dumping.

ARTICLE 5

No placement of matter in the maritime area for a purpose other than that
for which it was originally designed or constructed shall take place
without authorisation or regulation by the competent authority of the
relevant Contracting Party. Such authorisation or regulation shall be in
accordance with the relevant applicable criteria, guidelines and procedures
adopted by the Commission in accordance with Article 6 of this Annex. This
provision shall not be taken to permit the dumping of wastes or other
matter otherwise prohibited under this Annex.

 

Conclusion

Notes

See Also

References and Further Reading

About the Author/s and Reviewer/s

Author: international

Mentioned in these Entries

Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the North East Atlantic.


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