Council of Europe: Convention on Human Rights and Biomedicine

 

Chapter XIII – Amendments to the Convention

Article 32 – Amendments to the Convention

1 The tasks assigned to “the Committee”in the present article and in Article 29
shall be carried out by the Steering Committee on Bioethics (CDBI), or by any
other committee designated to do so by the Committee of Ministers.

2 Without prejudice to the specific provisions of Article 29, each member State
of the Council of Europe, as well as each Party to the present Convention which
is not a member of the Council of Europe, may be represented and have one vote
in the Committee when the Committee carries out the tasks assigned to it by the
present Convention.

3 Any State referred to in Article 33 or invited to accede to the Convention in
accordance with the provisions of Article 34 which is not Party to this
Convention may be represented on the Committee by an observer. If the European
Community is not a Party it may be represented on the Committee by an observer.

4 In order to monitor scientific developments, the present Convention shall be
examined within the Committee no later than five years from its entry into force
and thereafter at such intervals as the Committee may determine.

5 Any proposal for an amendment to this Convention, and any proposal for a
Protocol or for an amendment to a Protocol, presented by a Party, the Committee
of the Committee of Ministers shall be communicated to the Secretary General of
the Council of Europe and forwarded by him to the member States of the Council
of Europe, to the European Community, to any Signatory, to any Party, to any
State invited to sign this Convention in accordance with the provisions of
Article 33 and to any State invited to accede to it in accordance with the
provisions of Article 34.

6 The Committee shall examine the proposal not earlier than two months after it
has been forwarded by the Secretary General in accordance with paragraph 5. The
Committee shall submit the text adopted by a two-thirds majority of the votes
cast to the Committee of Ministers for approval. After its approval, this text
shall be forwarded to the Parties for ratification, acceptance or approval.

7 Any amendment shall enter into force, in respect of those Parties which have
accepted it, on the first day of the month following the expiration of a period
of one month after the date on which five Parties, including at least four
member States of the Council of Europe, have informed the Secretary General that
they have accepted it.

In respect of any Party which subsequently accepts it, the amendment shall enter
into force on the first day of the month following the expiration of a period
of one month after the date on which that Party has informed the Secretary
General of its acceptance.

Chapter XIV – Final clauses

Article 33 – Signature, ratification and entry into force

1 This Convention shall be open for signature by the member States of the
Council of Europe, the non-member States which have participated in its
elaboration and by the European Community.

2 Instruments of ratification, acceptance or approval shall be deposited with the
Secretary General of the Council of Europe.

3 This Convention shall enter into force on the first day of the month following
the expiration of a period of three months after the date on which five States,
including at least four member States of the Council of Europe, have expressed
their consent to be bound by the Convention in accordance with the provisions of
paragraph 2 of the present article.

4 In respect of any Signatory which subsequently expresses its consent to be
bound by it, the Convention shall enter into force on the first day of the month
following the expiration of a period of three months after the date of the
deposit of its instrument of ratification, acceptance or approval.

Article 34 – Non-member States

1 After the entry into force of this Convention, the Committee of Ministers of
the Council of Europe may, after consultation of the Parties, invite any
non-member State of the Council of Europe to accede to this Convention by a
decision taken by the majority provided for in Article 20, sub-paragraph d, of
the Statute of the Council of Europe, and by the unanimous vote of the
representatives of the Contracting States entitled to sit on the Committee of
Ministers.

2 In respect of any acceding State, the Convention shall enter into force on the
first day of the month following the expiration of a period of three months
after the date of deposit of the instrument of accession with the Secretary
General of the Council of Europe.

Article 35 – Territories

1 Any Signatory may, at the time of signature or when depositing its instrument
of ratification, acceptance or approval, specify the territory or territories to
which this Convention shall apply. Any other State may formulate the same
declaration when depositing its instrument of accession.

2 Any Party may, at any later date, by a declaration addressed to the Secretary
General of the Council of Europe, extend the application of this Convention to
any other territory specified in the declaration and for whose international
relations it is responsible or on whose behalf it is authorised to give
undertakings. In respect of such territory the Convention shall enter into force
on the first day of the month following the expirati;on of a period of three
months after the date of receipt of such declaration by the Secretary General.

3 Any declaration made under the two preceding paragraphs may, in respect of any
territory specified in such declaration, be withdrawn by a notification
addressed to the Secretary General. The withdrawal shall become effective on the
first day of the month following the expiration of a period of three months
after the date of receipt of such notification by the Secretary General.

Article 36 – Reservations

1 Any State and the European Community may, when signing this Convention or when
depositing the instrument of ratification, acceptance, approval or accession,
make a reservation in respect of any particular provision of the Convention to
the extent that any law then in force in its territory is not in conformity with
the provision. Reservations of a general character shall not be permitted under
this article.

2 Any reservation made under this article shall contain a brief statement of the
relevant law.

3 Any Party which extends the application of this Convention to a territory
mentioned in the declaration referred to in Article 35, paragraph 2, may, in
respect of the territory concerned, make a reservation in accordance with the
provisions of the preceding paragraphs.

4. Any Party which has made the reservation mentioned in this Article may
withdraw it by means of a declaration addressed to the Secretary General of the
Council of Europe. The withdrawal shall become effective on the first day of the
month following the expiration of a period of one month after the date of its
receipt by the Secretary General.

Article 37 – Denunciation

1 Any Party may at any time denounce this Convention by means of a notification
addressed to the Secretary General of the Council of Europe.

2 Such denunciation shall become effective on the first day of the month
following the expiration of a period of three months after the date of receipt
of the notification by the Secretary General.

Article 38 – Notifications

The Secretary General of the Council of Europe shall notify the member States of
the Council, the European Community, any Signatory, any Party and any other
State which has been invited to accede to this Convention of:

a any signature;

b the deposit of any instrument of ratification, acceptance, approval or
accession;

c any date of entry into force of this Convention in accordance with Articles 33
or 34;

d any amendment or Protocol adopted in accordance with Article 32, and the
date on which such an amendment or Protocol enters into force;

e any declaration made under the provisions of Article 35;

f any reservation and withdrawal of reservation made in pursuance of the
provisions of Article 36;

g any other act, notification or communication relating to this Convention.

In witness whereof the undersigned, being duly authorised thereto, have signed
this Convention.

Done at Oviedo (Asturias), this 4th day of April 1997, in English and French,
both texts being equally authentic, in a single copy which shall be deposited in
the archives of the Council of Europe. The Secretary General of the Council of
Europe shall transmit certified copies to each member State of the Council of
Europe, to the European Community, to the non-member States which have
participated in the elaboration of this Convention, and to any State invited to
accede to this Convention.

Author: international

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