Convention on the Protection of the Rhine Against Chemical Pollution in the United States

Article 7

1. The Contracting Parties will take all the legislative and regulatory measures guaranteeing that the storage of Annex I and II substances shall be done in such a way that there is no danger of pollution for the waters of the Rhine.

2. The International Commission shall, if necessary, propose appropriate measures to the Contracting Parties regarding the protection of underground waters so as to prevent the pollution of the Rhine waters by Annex I and II substances.

Article 8

1. The Contracting Parties will ensure that discharges are controlled in application of this Convention.

2. They will report yearly to the International Commission on the data obtained.

Article 9

The application of the measures taken in pursuance of this Convention shall under no circumstances have the effect of directly or indirectly increasing the pollution of the waters of the Rhine.

Article 10

1. In order to control the Rhine water content of Annex I and II substances each Government will assume responsibility at the measuring stations on the Rhine for the installation and operation of measuring instruments and systems serving to determine the concentration of the aforementioned substances.

2. Each Government concerned will report regularly and at least once a year to the International Commission on the results of these controls.

3. The International Commission shall prepare an annual report summarizing the results of the controls and making it possible to follow changes in the quality of the Rhine waters.

Article 11

When a Government Party to this Convention notes a sudden and sizeable increase in Annex I and II substances in the waters of the Rhine or has knowledge of an accident that may result in seriously endangering the quality of those waters, it will inform without delay the International Commission and the Contracting Parties likely to be affected according to a procedure to be established by the International Commission.

Article 12

1. The Contracting Parties will report regularly to the International
Commission on the data obtained in the application of this Convention.

2. When necessary, the International Commission shall prepare recommendations to improve gradually the application of this Convention.

Article 13

The International Commission shall prepare recommendations in order to achieve comparable results for the use of appropriate methods of measurement and analysis.

Article 14

1. Annexes I and IV, which are an integral part of this Convention, may be amended and expanded in order to adapt them to scientific and technical advances or to improve the effectiveness of the fight against the chemical pollution of the Rhine waters.

2. To this end, the International Commission shall recommend the amendments or additions it deems useful.

3. The amended or expanded texts shall enter into force upon their unanimous approval by the Contracting Parties.

Article 15

Any dispute between the Contracting Parties as to the interpretation or application of this Convention that cannot be resolved through negotiation shall, unless the parties to the dispute decide otherwise, be submitted at the request of one of the parties to arbitration in accordance with the provisions of Annex B, which is an integral part of this Convention.

Article 16

For purposes of the application of this Convention, the European Economic Community and its Member States will act in the fields coming under their respective jurisdictions.

Article 17

1. Each Signatory Party will notify the Government of the Swiss Confederation of the execution of the procedures required for the entry into force of this Convention.

2. Contingent on the notification by each Party of the completion of the procedures required for the entry into force of the Supplementary Agreement to the Agreement concerning the International Commission for the Protection of the Rhine against Pollution, this Convention shall enter into force on the first day of the second month following the receipt of the last notification provided for in the preceding paragraph.

Article 18

At the end of three years following its entry into force, this Convention may be denounced at any time by any of the Contracting Parties by means of a statement addressed to the Government of the Swiss Confederation. The denunciation shall take effect, for the denouncing Party, six months following receipt of the statement by the Government of the Swiss Confederation.

Article 19

The Government of the Swiss Confederation will inform the Contracting Parties of the date of receipt of any notification or statement received pursuant to Articles 14, 17, and 18.

Article 20

1. If the April 29, 1963 Agreement concerning the International Commission for the Protection of the Rhine against Pollution is denounced by one of the Parties to the aforementioned Agreement, the Contracting Parties will consult without delay on the measures necessary to ensure the continued execution of the tasks that, under this Convention, are the responsibility of the International Commission.

2. If an agreement is not reached in the six months following the opening of consultations, each of the Contracting Parties may denounce this Convention at any time in accordance with Article 18, without waiting for the three-year period to elapse.

Article 21

This Convention, drawn up in a single copy in German, French, and Dutch, the three texts being equally authentic, shall be deposited in the Archives of the Government of the Swiss Confederation, which shall transmit a certified copy to each of the Contracting Parties.

Done at Bonn on December 3, 1976.

Annex A

For the purposes of this Convention, the Rhine begins at the outlet from the lower lake and includes its branches up to the coastline, from which its waters flow freely into the North Sea, and includes the IJssel up to Kampen.

In establishing the national programs referred to in Article 6 of the
Convention, with respect to objectives of quality and the coordination of the programs to be carried out within the International Commission, the distinction between the fresh and brackish waters of the river will be taken into account.

Annex B

ARBITRATION

1. Unless the parties to the dispute decide otherwise, the procedure for arbitration shall be conducted in accordance with the provisions contained in this annex.

2. The Arbitral Tribunal shall be composed of three members: each of the parties to the dispute shall name an arbitrator and the two arbitrators thus appointed shall appoint by common accord a third arbitrator, who will become the Chief Arbitrator of the Tribunal.

If at the end of two months following the appointment of the second
arbitrator the Chief Arbitrator of the Tribunal has not been appointed, the President of the European Court of Human Rights shall, at the request of the most diligent party, appoint one within a new two-month period.

3. If, within two months following the receipt of the request referred to in Article 15 of the Convention, one of the parties to the dispute does not appoint a member of the Tribunal, the other party may request the President of the European Court of Human Rights to appoint the Chief Arbitrator of the Arbitral Tribunal within a new two-month period. Upon his designation, the Chief Arbitrator of the Arbitral Tribunal shall request the party that has not named an arbitrator to do so within two months. If no action has been taken during that time, he shall then request the President of the European Court of Human
Rights to make the appointment within a new two-month time limit.

4. If, in the cases referred to in the preceding paragraphs, the President of the European Court of Human Rights is unavoidably absent or if he is a national of one of the parties to the dispute, the designation of the Chief Arbitrator of the Arbitral Tribunal or the naming of an arbitrator shall fall to the Vice President of the Court, or to the oldest member of the Court who is able to do so and who is not a national of one of the parties to the dispute.

5. The foregoing provisions shall apply, according to the case, in order to fill seats that have become vacant.

6. The Arbitral Tribunal shall hand down a decision according to the
rules of international law and, in particular, according to the provisions of this Convention.

7. The decisions of the Arbitral Tribunal, on procedure as well as on the merits of the case, shall be adopted by a majority vote of its members, the absence or abstention of one of the members of the tribunal designated by the parties not precluding a decision on the part of the Tribunal. In the event of a tie vote, the Chief Arbitrator’s vote shall prevail. The decisions of the Tribunal shall be binding on the parties. The latter shall bear the expenses of the arbitrator they have appointed and shall divide the other expenses equally among themselves. On other points, the Arbitral Tribunal itself shall decide the procedure it will follow.

8. In the event of a dispute between two Contracting Parties of which only one is a Member State of the European Economic Community, itself a Contracting Party, the other party will request both that Member State and the Community notify it jointly within a period of two months following the receipt of the request whether the Member State, the Community, or the Member State and the Community together constitute a party to the dispute. Without such notification within the aforemention time period, the Member State and the Community will be considered one single party to the dispute for the purposes of application of the provisions of this Annex. The same holds true when the Member State and the Community together constitute a party to the dispute.