identifier: ETS No. 024

reference: ETS No. 024

title: European Convention on Extradition

text: European Treaty Series - No. 24

text: European Convention on Extradition

text: Paris, 13.XII.1957

text: The governments signatory hereto, being members of the Council of Europe,

text: Considering that the aim of the Council of Europe is to achieve a greater unity between its members;

text: Considering that this purpose can be attained by the conclusion of agreements and by common action in legal matters;

text: Considering that the acceptance of uniform rules with regard to extradition is likely to assist this work of unification,

text: Have agreed as follows:

text: The Contracting Parties undertake to surrender to each other, subject to the provisions and conditions laid down in this Convention, all persons against whom the competent authorities of the requesting Party are proceeding for an offence or who are wanted by the said authorities for the carrying out of a sentence or detention order.

text: Article 1 – Obligation to extradite

text: Extradition shall be granted in respect of offences punishable under the laws of the requesting Party and of the requested Party by deprivation of liberty or under a detention order for a maximum period of at least one year or by a more severe penalty. Where a conviction and prison sentence have occurred or a detention order has been made in the territory of the requesting Party, the punishment awarded must have been for a period of at least four months.

text: If the request for extradition includes several separate offences each of which is punishable under the laws of the requesting Party and the requested Party by deprivation of liberty or under a detention order, but of which some do not fulfil the condition with regard to the amount of punishment which may be awarded, the requested Party shall also have the right to grant extradition for the latter offences.

text: Any Contracting Party whose law does not allow extradition for certain of the offences referred to in paragraph 1 of this article may, in so far as it is concerned, exclude such offences from the application of this Convention.

text: ETS 24 – Extradition, 13.XII.1957 __________________________________________________________________________________

text: Any Contracting Party which wishes to avail itself of the right provided for in paragraph 3 of this article shall, at the time of deposit of its instrument of ratification or accession, transmit to the Secretary General of the Council of Europe either a list of the offences for which extradition is allowed or a list of those for which it is excluded and shall at the same time indicate the legal provisions which allow or exclude extradition. The Secretary General of the Council shall forward these lists to the other signatories.

text: If extradition is subsequently excluded in respect of other offences by the law of a Contracting Party, that Party shall notify the Secretary General. The Secretary General shall inform the other signatories. Such notification shall not take effect until three months from the date of its receipt by the Secretary General.

text: Any Party which avails itself of the right provided for in paragraphs 4 or 5 of this article may at any time apply this Convention to offences which have been excluded from it. It shall inform the Secretary General of the Council of such changes, and the Secretary General shall inform the other signatories.

text: Any Party may apply reciprocity in respect of any offences excluded from the application of the Convention under this article.

text: Article 2 – Extraditable offences

text: Extradition shall not be granted if the offence in respect of which it is requested is regarded by the requested Party as a political offence or as an offence connected with a political offence.

text: The same rule shall apply if the requested Party has substantial grounds for believing that a request for extradition for an ordinary criminal offence has been made for the purpose of prosecuting or punishing a person on account of his race, religion, nationality or political opinion, or that that person's position may be prejudiced for any of these reasons.

text: The taking or attempted taking of the life of a Head of State or a member of his family shall not be deemed to be a political offence for the purposes of this Convention.

text: This article shall not affect any obligations which the Contracting Parties may have undertaken or may undertake under any other international convention of a multilateral character.

text: Article 3 – Political offences

text: Extradition for offences under military law which are not offences under ordinary criminal law is excluded from the application of this Convention.

text: Article 4 – Military offences

text: Extradition shall be granted, in accordance with the provisions of this Convention, for offences in connection with taxes, duties, customs and exchange only if the Contracting Parties have so decided in respect of any such offence or category of offences.

text: Article 5 – Fiscal offences

text: Each Contracting Party may, by a declaration made at the time of signature or of deposit of its instrument of ratification or accession, define as far as it is concerned the term "nationals" within the meaning of this Convention.

text: Nationality shall be determined as at the time of the decision concerning extradition. If, however, the person claimed is first recognised as a national of the requested Party during the period between the time of the decision and the time contemplated for the surrender, the requested Party may avail itself of the provision contained in subparagraph a of this article.

text: a A Contracting Party shall have the right to refuse extradition of its nationals.

text: If the requested Party does not extradite its national, it shall at the request of the requesting Party submit the case to its competent authorities in order that proceedings may be taken if they are considered appropriate. For this purpose, the files, information and exhibits relating to the offence shall be transmitted without charge by the means provided for in

text: Article 12

text: , paragraph 1. The requesting Party shall be informed of the result of its request.

text: Article 6 – Extradition of nationals

text: The requested Party may refuse to extradite a person claimed for an offence which is regarded by its law as having been committed in whole or in part in its territory or in a place treated as its territory.

text: When the offence for which extradition is requested has been committed outside the territory of the requesting Party, extradition may only be refused if the law of the requested Party does not allow prosecution for the same category of offence when committed outside the latter Party's territory or does not allow extradition for the offence concerned.

text: Article 7 – Place of commission

text: The requested Party may refuse to extradite the person claimed if the competent authorities of such Party are proceeding against him in respect of the offence or offences for which extradition is requested.

text: Article 8 – Pending proceedings for the same offences

text: Extradition shall not be granted if final judgment has been passed by the competent authorities of the requested Party upon the person claimed in respect of the offence or offences for which extradition is requested. Extradition may be refused if the competent authorities of the requested Party have decided either not to institute or to terminate proceedings in respect of the same offence or offences.

text: Article 9 – Non bis in idem

text: Extradition shall not be granted when the person claimed has, according to the law of either the requesting or the requested Party, become immune by reason of lapse of time from prosecution or punishment.

text: Article 10 – Lapse of time

text: If the offence for which extradition is requested is punishable by death under the law of the requesting Party, and if in respect of such offence the death-penalty is not provided for by the law of the requested Party or is not normally carried out, extradition may be refused unless the requesting Party gives such assurance as the requested Party considers sufficient that the death-penalty will not be carried out.

text: Article 11 – Capital punishment

text: The request shall be in writing and shall be communicated through the diplomatic channel. Other means of communication may be arranged by direct agreement between two or more Parties.

text: the original or an authenticated copy of the conviction and sentence or detention order immediately enforceable or of the warrant of arrest or other order having the same effect and issued in accordance with the procedure laid down in the law of the requesting Party;

text: a statement of the offences for which extradition is requested. The time and place of their commission, their legal descriptions and a reference to the relevant legal provisions shall be set out as accurately as possible; and

text: a copy of the relevant enactments or, where this is not possible, a statement of the relevant law and as accurate a description as possible of the person claimed, together with any other information which will help to establish his identity and nationality.

text: The request shall be supported by:

text: Article 12 – The request and supporting documents

text: If the information communicated by the requesting Party is found to be insufficient to allow the requested Party to make a decision in pursuance of this Convention, the latter Party shall request the necessary supplementary information and may fix a time-limit for the receipt thereof.

text: Article 13 – Supplementary information

text: when the Party which surrendered him consents. A request for consent shall be submitted, accompanied by the documents mentioned in

text: Article 12

text: and a legal record of any statement made by the extradited person in respect of the offence concerned. Consent shall be given when the offence for which it is requested is itself subject to extradition in accordance with the provisions of this Convention;

text: when that person, having had an opportunity to leave the territory of the Party to which he has been surrendered, has not done so within 45 days of his final discharge, or has returned to that territory after leaving it.

text: A person who has been extradited shall not be proceeded against, sentenced or detained with a view to the carrying out of a sentence or detention order for any offence committed prior to his surrender other than that for which he was extradited, nor shall he be for any other reason restricted in his personal freedom, except in the following cases:

text: The requesting Party may, however, take any measures necessary to remove the person from its territory, or any measures necessary under its law, including proceedings by default, to prevent any legal effects of lapse of time.

text: When the description of the offence charged is altered in the course of proceedings, the extradited person shall only be proceeded against or sentenced in so far as the offence under its new description is shown by its constituent elements to be an offence which would allow extradition.

text: Article 14 – Rule of speciality

text: Except as provided for in

text: Article 14

text: , paragraph 1.b, the requesting Party shall not, without the consent of the requested Party, surrender to another Party or to a third State a person surrendered to the requesting Party and sought by the said other Party or third State in respect of offences committed before his surrender. The requested Party may request the production of the documents mentioned in

text: Article 12

text: , paragraph 2.

text: Article 15 – Re-extradition to a third state

text: In case of urgency the competent authorities of the requesting Party may request the provisional arrest of the person sought. The competent authorities of the requested Party shall decide the matter in accordance with its law.

text: The request for provisional arrest shall state that one of the documents mentioned in

text: Article 12

text: , paragraph 2.a, exists and that it is intended to send a request for extradition. It shall also state for what offence extradition will be requested and when and where such offence was committed and shall so far as possible give a description of the person sought.

text: A request for provisional arrest shall be sent to the competent authorities of the requested Party either through the diplomatic channel or direct by post or telegraph or through the International Criminal Police Organisation (Interpol) or by any other means affording evidence in writing or accepted by the requested Party. The requesting authority shall be informed without delay of the result of its request.

text: Provisional arrest may be terminated if, within a period of 18 days after arrest, the requested Party has not received the request for extradition and the documents mentioned in

text: Article 12

text: . It shall not, in any event, exceed 40 days from the date of such arrest. The possibility of provisional release at any time is not excluded, but the requested Party shall take any measures which it considers necessary to prevent the escape of the person sought.

text: Release shall not prejudice re-arrest and extradition if a request for extradition is received subsequently.

text: Article 16 – Provisional arrest

text: If extradition is requested concurrently by more than one State, either for the same offence or for different offences, the requested Party shall make its decision having regard to all the circumstances and especially the relative seriousness and place of commission of the offences, the respective dates of the requests, the nationality of the person claimed and the possibility of subsequent extradition to another State.

text: Article 17 – Conflicting requests

text: The requested Party shall inform the requesting Party by the means mentioned in

text: Article 12

text: , paragraph 1, of its decision with regard to the extradition.

text: Reasons shall be given for any complete or partial rejection.

text: If the request is agreed to, the requesting Party shall be informed of the place and date of surrender and of the length of time for which the person claimed was detained with a view to surrender.

text: Subject to the provisions of paragraph 5 of this article, if the person claimed has not been taken over on the appointed date, he may be released after the expiry of 15 days and shall in any case be released after the expiry of 30 days. The requested Party may refuse to extradite him for the same offence.

text: If circumstances beyond its control prevent a Party from surrendering or taking over the person to be extradited, it shall notify the other Party. The two Parties shall agree a new date for surrender and the provisions of paragraph 4 of this article shall apply.

text: Article 18 – Surrender of the person to be extradited

text: The requested Party may, after making its decision on the request for extradition, postpone the surrender of the person claimed in order that he may be proceeded against by that Party or, if he has already been convicted, in order that he may serve his sentence in the territory of that Party for an offence other than that for which extradition is requested.

text: The requested Party may, instead of postponing surrender, temporarily surrender the person claimed to the requesting Party in accordance with conditions to be determined by mutual agreement between the Parties.

text: Article 19 – Postponed or conditional surrender

text: which may be required as evidence, or

text: which has been acquired as a result of the offence and which, at the time of the arrest, is found in the possession of the person claimed or is discovered subsequently.

text: The requested Party shall, in so far as its law permits and at the request of the requesting Party, seize and hand over property:

text: The property mentioned in paragraph 1 of this article shall be handed over even if extradition, having been agreed to, cannot be carried out owing to the death or escape of the person claimed.

text: When the said property is liable to seizure or confiscation in the territory of the requested Party, the latter may, in connection with pending criminal proceedings, temporarily retain it or hand it over on condition that it is returned.

text: Any rights which the requested Party or third parties may have acquired in the said property shall be preserved. Where these rights exist, the property shall be returned without charge to the requested Party as soon as possible after the trial.

text: Article 20 – Handing over of property

text: Transit through the territory of one of the Contracting Parties shall be granted on submission of a request by the means mentioned in

text: Article 12

text: , paragraph 1, provided that the offence concerned is not considered by the Party requested to grant transit as an offence of a political or purely military character having regard to

text: Articles 3

text: and 4 of this Convention.

text: Transit of a national, within the meaning of

text: Article 6

text: , of a country requested to grant transit may be refused.

text: Subject to the provisions of paragraph 4 of this article, it shall be necessary to produce the documents mentioned in

text: Article 12

text: , paragraph 2.

text: when it is not intended to land, the requesting Party shall notify the Party over whose territory the flight is to be made and shall certify that one of the documents mentioned in

text: Article 12

text: , paragraph 2.a exists. In the case of an unscheduled landing, such notification shall have the effect of a request for provisional arrest as provided for in

text: Article 16

text: , and the requesting Party shall submit a formal request for transit;

text: when it is intended to land, the requesting Party shall submit a formal request for transit.

text: If air transport is used, the following provisions shall apply:

text: A Party may, however, at the time of signature or of the deposit of its instrument of ratification of, or accession to, this Convention, declare that it will only grant transit of a person on some or all of the conditions on which it grants extradition. In that event, reciprocity may be applied.

text: The transit of the extradited person shall not be carried out through any territory where there is reason to believe that his life or his freedom may be threatened by reason of his race, religion, nationality or political opinion.

text: Article 21 – Transit

text: Except where this Convention otherwise provides, the procedure with regard to extradition and provisional arrest shall be governed solely by the law of the requested Party.

text: Article 22 – Procedure

text: The documents to be produced shall be in the language of the requesting or requested Party. The requested Party may require a translation into one of the official languages of the Council of Europe to be chosen by it.

text: Article 23 – Language to be used

text: Expenses incurred in the territory of the requested Party by reason of extradition shall be borne by that Party.

text: Expenses incurred by reason of transit through the territory of a Party requested to grant transit shall be borne by the requesting Party.

text: In the event of extradition from a non-metropolitan territory of the requested Party, the expenses occasioned by travel between that territory and the metropolitan territory of the requesting Party shall be borne by the latter. The same rule shall apply to expenses occasioned by travel between the non-metropolitan territory of the requested Party and its metropolitan territory.

text: Article 24 – Expenses

text: For the purposes of this Convention, the expression "detention order" means any order involving deprivation of liberty which has been made by a criminal court in addition to or instead of a prison sentence.

text: Article 25 – Definition of "detention order"

text: Any Contracting Party may, when signing this Convention or when depositing its instrument of ratification or accession, make a reservation in respect of any provision or provisions of the Convention.

text: Any Contracting Party which has made a reservation shall withdraw it as soon as circumstances permit. Such withdrawal shall be made by notification to the Secretary General of the Council of Europe.

text: A Contracting Party which has made a reservation in respect of a provision of the Convention may not claim application of the said provision by another Party save in so far as it has itself accepted the provision.

text: Article 26 – Reservations

text: This Convention shall apply to the metropolitan territories of the Contracting Parties.

text: In respect of France, it shall also apply to Algeria and to the overseas Departments and, in respect of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, to the Channel Islands and to the Isle of Man.

text: The Federal Republic of Germany may extend the application of this Convention to the Land of Berlin by notice addressed to the Secretary General of the Council of Europe, who shall notify the other Parties of such declaration.

text: By direct arrangement between two or more Contracting Parties, the application of this Convention may be extended, subject to the conditions laid down in the arrangement, to any territory of such Parties, other than the territories mentioned in paragraphs 1, 2 and 3 of this article, for whose international relations any such Party is responsible.

text: Article 27 – Territorial application

text: This Convention shall, in respect of those countries to which it applies, supersede the provisions of any bilateral treaties, conventions or agreements governing extradition between any two Contracting Parties.

text: The Contracting Parties may conclude between themselves bilateral or multilateral agreements only in order to supplement the provisions of this Convention or to facilitate the application of the principles contained therein.

text: Where, as between two or more Contracting Parties, extradition takes place on the basis of a uniform law, the Parties shall be free to regulate their mutual relations in respect of extradition exclusively in accordance with such a system notwithstanding the provisions of this Convention. The same principle shall apply as between two or more Contracting Parties each of which has in force a law providing for the execution in its territory of warrants of arrest issued in the territory of the other Party or Parties. Contracting Parties which exclude or may in the future exclude the application of this Convention as between themselves in accordance with this paragraph shall notify the Secretary General of the Council of Europe accordingly. The Secretary General shall inform the other Contracting Parties of any notification received in accordance with this paragraph.

text: Article 28 – Relations between this Convention and bilateral Agreements

text: This Convention shall be open to signature by the members of the Council of Europe. It shall be ratified. The instruments of ratification shall be deposited with the Secretary General of the Council.

text: The Convention shall come into force 90 days after the date of deposit of the third instrument of ratification.

text: As regards any signatory ratifying subsequently the Convention shall come into force 90 days after the date of the deposit of its instrument of ratification.

text: Article 29 – Signature, ratification and entry into force

text: The Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe may invite any State not a member of the Council to accede to this Convention, provided that the resolution containing such invitation receives the unanimous agreement of the members of the Council who have ratified the Convention. 2 Accession shall be by deposit with the Secretary General of the Council of an instrument of accession, which shall take effect 90 days after the date of its deposit.

text: Article 30 – Accession

text: Any Contracting Party may denounce this Convention in so far as it is concerned by giving notice to the Secretary General of the Council of Europe. Denunciation shall take effect six months after the date when the Secretary General of the Council received such notification.

text: Article 31 – Denunciation

text: The Secretary General of the Council of Europe shall notify the members of the Council and the government of any State which has acceded to this Convention of: a the deposit of any instrument of ratification or accession; b the date of entry into force of this Convention; c any declaration made in accordance with the provisions of

text: Article 6

text: , paragraph 1, and of

text: Article 21

text: , paragraph 5; d any reservation made in accordance with

text: Article 26

text: , paragraph 1; e the withdrawal of any reservation in accordance with

text: Article 26

text: , paragraph 2; f any notification of denunciation received in accordance with the provisions of

text: Article 31

text: and by the date on which such denunciation will take effect.

text: In witness whereof the undersigned, being duly authorised thereto, have signed this Convention. Done at Paris, this 13th day of December 1957, in English and French, both texts being equally authentic, in a single copy which shall remain deposited in the archives of the Council of Europe. The Secretary General of the Council of Europe shall transmit certified copies to the signatory governments.

text: Article 32 – Notifications

title: European Convention on Extradition


doctype: treaty

identifier: ETS No. 025

openingPlace: Paris

publisher: Council of Europe Treaty Office

reference: ETS No. 025

title: European Agreement on Regulations governing the Movement of Persons between Member States of the Council of Europe

text: European Treaty Series - No. 25

type: stycke

text: Paris, 13.XII.1957

text: The governments signatory hereto, being members of the Council of Europe, Desirous of facilitating personal travel between their countries, Have agreed as follows:

text: Nationals of the Contracting Parties, whatever their country of residence, may enter or leave the territory of another Party by all frontiers on presentation of one of the documents listed in the Appendix to this Agreement, which is an integral part thereof. 2 The facilities mentioned in paragraph 1 above shall be available only for visits of not more than three months' duration. 3 Valid passports and visas may be required for all visits of more than three months' duration or whenever the territory of another Party is entered for the purpose of pursuing a gainful activity. 4 For the purposes of this Agreement, the term "territory" of a Contracting Party shall have the meaning assigned to it by such a Party in a declaration addressed to the Secretary General of the Council of Europe for communication to all other Contracting Parties.

text: Article 1

type: artikel

text: To the extent that one or more Contracting Parties deem necessary, the frontier shall be crossed only at authorised points.

text: Article 2

text: The foregoing provisions shall in no way prejudice the laws and regulations governing visits by aliens to the territory of any Contracting Party.

text: Article 3

text: This Agreement shall not prejudice the provisions of any domestic law and bilateral or multilateral treaties, conventions or agreements now in force or which may hereafter enter into force, whereby more favourable terms are applied to the nationals of other Contracting Parties in respect of the crossing of frontiers.

text: ETS 25 – Movement of Persons, 13.XII.1957 __________________________________________________________________________________

text: Article 4

text: Each Contracting Party shall allow the holder of any of the documents mentioned in the list drawn up by it and embodied in the Appendix to this Agreement to re-enter its territory without formality even if his nationality is under dispute.

text: Article 5

text: Each Contracting Party reserves the right to forbid nationals of another Party whom it considers undesirable to enter or stay in its territory.

text: Article 6

text: Each Contracting Party reserves the option, on grounds relating to ordre public, security or public health, to delay the entry into force of this Agreement or order the temporary suspension thereof in respect of all or some of the other Parties, except insofar as the provisions of

text: Article 5

text: are concerned. This measure shall immediately be notified to the Secretary General of the Council of Europe, who shall inform the other Parties. The same procedure shall apply as soon as this measure ceases to be operative.

text: A Contracting Party which avails itself of either of the options mentioned in the preceding paragraph may not claim the application of this Agreement by another Party save insofar as it also applies it in respect of that Party.

text: Article 7

text: This Agreement shall be open to the signature of the members of the Council of Europe, who may become Parties to it either by:

ordinal: a

text: signature without reservation in respect of ratification; b signature with reservation in respect of ratification followed by ratification.

type: punkt

text: Instruments of ratification shall be deposited with the Secretary General of the Council of Europe.

text: Article 8

text: This Agreement shall enter into force on the first day of the month following the date on which three members of the Council shall, in accordance with

text: Article 8

text: , have signed the Agreement without reservation in respect of ratification or shall have ratified it.

text: In the case of any member who shall subsequently sign the Agreement without reservation in respect of ratification or shall ratify it, the Agreement shall enter into force on the first day of the month following such signature or the deposit of the instrument of ratification.

text: Article 9

text: After entry into force of this Agreement, the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe may invite any non-member State to accede to it. Such accession shall take effect on the first day of the month following the deposit of the instrument of accession with the Secretary General of the Council of Europe.

text: Article 10

text: Any government wishing to sign or accede to this Agreement which has not yet drawn up its list of the documents mentioned in

text: Article 1

text: , paragraph 1, and appearing in the appendix, shall submit a list of such documents to the Contracting Parties through the Secretary General of the Council of Europe. This list shall be considered to be approved by all the Contracting Parties and shall be added to the appendix to this Agreement if no objection is raised within two months of its transmission by the Secretary General.

text: The same procedure shall apply if a signatory government wishes to alter the list of documents drawn up by it and embodied in the appendix.

text: Article 11

text: The Secretary General of the Council of Europe shall notify members of the Council and acceding States:

text: of the date of entry into force of this Agreement and the names of any members who have signed without reservation in respect of ratification or who have ratified it;

ordinal: b

text: of the deposit of any instrument of accession in accordance with

text: Article 10

ordinal: c

text: of any notification received in accordance with

text: Article 13

text: and of its effective date.

text: Article 12

text: Any Contracting Party may terminate its own application of the Agreement by giving three months' notice to that effect to the Secretary General of the Council of Europe.

text: In witness whereof the undersigned, being duly authorised thereto, have signed this Agreement.

text: Done at Paris, this 13th day of December 1957, in English and French, both texts being equally authentic, in a single copy which shall remain deposited in the archives of the Council of Europe. The Secretary General of the Council of Europe shall transmit certified copies to the signatory governments.

text: Article 13

type: internationell-overenskommelse


identifier: ETS No. 026

reference: ETS No. 026

title: European Agreement on the Exchange of Therapeutic Substances of Human Origin

text: European Treaty Series - No. 26

text: European Agreement on the Exchange of Therapeutic Substances of Human

text: origin and Protocol thereto

text: Paris, 15.XII.1958

text: Preamble

text: The governments signatory hereto, being members of the Council of Europe,

text: Considering that therapeutic substances of human origin are by their very nature the result of an act of the human donor and therefore not available in unlimited quantities;

text: Considering that it is most desirable that member countries, in a spirit of European solidarity, should assist one another in the supply of these therapeutic substances, should the need arise;

text: Considering that such mutual assistance is only possible if the character and use of such therapeutic substances are subject to rules laid down jointly by the member countries and if the necessary import facilities and exemptions are granted,

text: Have agreed as follows:

text: For the purposes of this Agreement, the expression "therapeutic substances of human origin" refers to human blood and its derivatives.

text: The provisions of this Agreement may be extended to cover other therapeutic substances of human origin by exchange of letters between two or more of the Contracting Parties.

text: Article 1

text: The Contracting Parties undertake, provided that they have sufficient stocks for their own needs, to make therapeutic substances of human origin available to other Parties who are in urgent need of them and to charge only those costs involved in the collection, processing and carriage of such substances.

text: _____ (*) Text amended pursuant to the provisions of the Additional Protocol to the European Agreement on the Exchange of Therapeutic Substances of Human origin (ETS No. 109) as from its entry into force, on 1 January 1985. The Treaty of Lisbon amending the Treaty on European Union and the Treaty establishing the European Community entered into force on 1 December 2009. As a consequence, as from that date, any reference to the European Economic Community shall be read as the European Union.

text: ETS 26 – Exchange of Therapeutic Substances, 15.XII.1958 __________________________________________________________________________________

text: Article 2

text: Therapeutic substances of human origin shall be made available to the other Contracting Parties subject to the express condition that no profit is made on them, that they shall be used solely for medical purposes and shall be delivered only to bodies designated by the governments concerned.

text: Article 3

text: The Contracting Parties shall certify that the minimum requirements with regard to the properties of the therapeutic substances, and the regulations on labelling, packing and dispatch, as laid down in the Protocol to this Agreement, have been observed.

text: They shall also comply with any rules to which they have subscribed with regard to international standardisation in this field.

text: All consignments of therapeutic substances of human origin shall be accompanied by a certificate to the effect that they were prepared in accordance with the specifications in the Protocol. This certificate shall be based on the model to be found in Annex 1 to the Protocol.

text: The Protocol and its annexes may be amended or supplemented by the governments of the Parties to this Agreement.

text: Article 4

text: The Contracting Parties shall take all necessary measures to exempt from all import duties the therapeutic substances of human origin placed at their disposal by the other Parties.

text: They shall also take all necessary measures to provide for the speedy delivery of these substances, by the most direct route, to the consignees referred to in

text: Article 3

text: of this Agreement.

text: Article 5

text: The Contracting Parties shall forward to one another, through the Secretary General of the Council of Europe, a list of the bodies empowered to issue certificates as provided in

text: Article 4

text: of this Agreement.

text: They shall also forward a list of bodies empowered to distribute imported therapeutic substances of human origin.

text: Article 6

text: The present Agreement shall be open to the signature of members of the Council of Europe, who may become Parties to it either by:

text: signature without reservation in respect of ratification, or b signature with reservation in respect of ratification followed by ratification.

text: The European Economic Community may become a Contracting Party to the Agreement by signing it. In respect of the Community, the Agreement shall enter into force on the first day of the month following such signature.

text: Article 7

text: The present Agreement shall enter into force on the first day of the month following the date on which three members of the Council shall, in accordance with

text: Article 7

text: In the case of any member of the Council who shall subsequently sign the Agreement without reservation in respect of ratification, or who shall ratify it, the Agreement shall enter into force on the first day of the month following such signature or deposit of the instrument of ratification.

text: Article 8

text: The Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe may invite any non-member State to accede to the present Agreement. Such accession shall take effect on the first day of the month following the deposit of the instrument of accession with the Secretary General of the Council of Europe.

text: Article 9

text: of the date of entry into force of this Agreement and of the names of any members who have signed without reservation in respect of ratification or who have ratified it;

text: Article 9

text: Article 11

text: and its effective date;

ordinal: d

text: of any amendment to the Protocol or its annexes under

text: Article 4

text: , paragraph 4.

text: Article 10

text: The present Agreement shall remain in force indefinitely.

text: Any Contracting Party may terminate its own application of the Agreement by giving one year's notice to that effect to the Secretary General of the Council of Europe.

text: In witness whereof the undersigned, duly authorised thereto by their respective governments, have signed the present Agreement.

text: Done at Paris, this 15th day of December 1958, in the English and French languages, both texts being equally authoritative, in a single copy which shall remain deposited in the archives of the Council of Europe. The Secretary General shall transmit certified copies to each of the signatory and acceding governments.

text: _____ (1) Text amended pursuant to the provisions of the Additional Protocol to the Convention (ETS No. 109).

text: Protocol to the European Agreement on the Exchange of Therapeutic

text: Substances of Human origin

text: Part I

text: General provisions

text: A. Labelling

text: A label printed in English and French, based on the appropriate model to be found in Annexe 2 to 10 to the Protocol, shall be affixed to each container or giving-set.

text: B. Packing and dispatch

text: Whole human blood shall be dispatched in containers in which a temperature of 4° to 6°C is maintained throughout the period of transport. This condition is not required for the derivatives mentioned in the Protocol.

text: C. Products and apparatus

text: The products and apparatus referred to in Part II of this Protocol shall be sterile, non pyrogenic and non-toxic. It is recommended that the giving-set, as well as the solvents required for the dried products, be sent with each consignment.

text: D. Freedom from toxicity of plastic blood transfusion equipment

text: Equipment shall comply with the provisions set out in Annex 11 to this Protocol. Part II

text: Special provisions

text: I. Whole Human Blood

text: Whole Human Blood is blood which has been mixted with a suitable anti-coagulant, after collection from a human subject in normal health. The blodd shall not be obtained from a human subject : a) who is known to be suffering from or to have suffered from syphyllis or hepatitis, b) whose blood has bot been tested with negative results for evidence of syphillitic infection, or

text: _____ (1) Revised text as adopted by the Committee of Ministers at its 318th meeting (28-30 April 1980).

text: who is not, as far as can be ascertained after medical examination and the study of his antecedents, free from disease transmissible by blood transfusion

text: The blood shall be withdrawn aseptically through a closed system of sterile tubing into a sterile container in which the anticoagulant solution has been placed before the container is sterilised. The equipment used must be pyrogen-free. When withdrawal is complete, the container shall be immediately sealed and cooled up to 4° to 6° C and not opened thereafter until immediately before the blood is to be used.

text: The blood will be collected into a citrate solution of acid reaction containing dextrose. No antiseptic or bacteriostatic substance shall be added. The volume of the anticoagulant solution must not exceed 220 ml per litre of the Whole Human Blood and the haemoglobin concentration must not less than 97 gram per litre.

text: Blood group – The blood group under the ABO system shall have been determined by examination of both corpuscles and serum and that under the Th system by examination of the corpuscles, using a separate sample of the donor's blood. When there is a national standard, or nationaly recommended technique of blood grouping, that technique shall be used.

text: The term Rh negative is only to be used when specific tests have shown the absence of the u antigens C, D, D and E. All other blood must be labelled Rh positive.

text: Blood exchange under this agreement should only be used for recipients of the corresponding ABO group.

text: Storage –Whole human blood shall be kept in a sterile container sealed so as to exclude micro-organisms and stored at a temperature of 4° to 6° C until required or use, except during any period necessary for examination and transport at higher temperatures, any such period not to exceed thirty minutes after which the blood must immediately be cooled again to 4° to 6° C.

text: Labelling – The label on the container shall give all the information shown on the model label (Annex 2). The Rhesus group shall be written as "Positive" or "Negative" or, in abbreviated form, "POS" or "NEG".

text: 1bis. Human red cell concentrate

text: A human red cell concentrate is a unit of Whole Human Blood from which most of the plasma has been removed.

text: It contains most of the red cells of the unit from which it has been prepared ; other cell components may be present or may have been partially removed.

text: The liquid content of the concentrate will consist either of the residual plasma, or of an appropriate isotonic artificial aqueous solution added after the plasma was removed. The volume of red cells should constitute between 65 and 75 % of the total volume of the product, but if a greater red cell concentration is applied the approximate percentage of erythrocyte volume (haematocrit) shall be indicated on the label.

text: All operations required in the preparation shall be carried out under aseptic conditions: decantation shall be carried out using a sterile, closed system and by compression only. No antiseptic or bacteriostatic agents should be added.

text: Blood group and storage – as for Whole Human Blood.

text: Labelling – The label on the container shall give all the information shown on the model label (Annex 2bis). The Rhesus group shall be written as "Positive" or "Negative" or, in abbreviated form, "POS" or "NEG". If an artificial aqueous solution has been added, the label shall also indicate its volume and composition.

ordinal: i

text: by precipitation tests with specific antisera, it must be shown to contain only human plasma proteins;

text: Dried Human Plasma

text: Dried Human Plasma is prepared by drying the supernatant fluids which are separated by centrifuging or by sedimentation from quantities of Whole Human Blood.

text: During preparation no antiseptic or bacteriostatic or other substances shall be added. Dried Human Plasma shall be obtained by freeze-drying or by any other method which will avoid denaturation of proteins. The dried product shall be readily soluble in a quantity of water equal to the volume of the liquid from which the substance was prepared. The protein concentration of the solution thus obtained must not be less than 45 gram per litre, and must not show visible evidence of the products of haemolysis. The haemaglutinin titre shall not be greater than 1:32.

text: Dried Human Plasma prepared from one or two donations of blood

text: Donations shown to contains dangerous levels of iso-haemolysins (determined using a sample of fresh serum) or any immune haemaglutinins shall be excluded. Unless the plasma is pooled and frozen within 48 hours of collecting the blood, the sterility of each unit shall be tested by culturing not less than 10 ml.

text: Dried Human Plasma prepared from pools of more than two donations

text: Pools shown to contain dangerous levels of immune haemaglutinis or of iso-haemolysins shall be excluded. To avoid untoward effects due to the products of bacterial growth in the plasma no individual donation shall be used if there is any evidence of bacterial contamination, and the sterility of each pool shall be tested by culturing not less than 10 ml. To minimize the risk of transmitting serum hepatitis, plasma should be prepared from pools which should contain not more than twelve donations, or by any other method that has been shown to diminish the risk in comparative manner.

text: Solubility in water – Add a quantity of water equal to the volume of the liquid from which the sample was prepared; the substance dissolves completely within 10 minutes at 15° to 20° C.

text: Identification – Dissolve a known quantity of the product in a volume of water equal to the volume of the liquid from which it was prepared; the solution passes the following tests :

text: ii) to 1 ml add a suitable amount of thrombin or calcium chloride; coagulation occurs, which can be accelerated by incubation at 37° C.

text: Loss of mass on drying – When dried over phosphorus pentoxide at a pressure not exceeding 0.02 mm of mercury for 24 hours, Dried Human Plasma must not lose more than 0.5 % of its weight.

text: Sterility – The final product, after reconstitution, shall be sterile when examined by a suitable bacteriological method.

text: Storage – Dried Human Plasma must be kept in an atmosphere of nitrogen or in a vacuum in a sterile container sealed so as to exclude micro-organisms and, as far as possible, moisture, protected from light and stored at a temperature below 20° C.

text: Labelling – The label on the container shall give all the information shown on the model label (Annex 3).

text: By precipitation tests with specific antisera, both preparations must be shown to contain only human plasma proteins.

text: Human Albumin and Human Plasma Protein Fraction

text: Human Albumin and Human Plasma Protein Fraction are preparations of that protein component which forms about 60% of the total protein mass in the plasma of Whole Human Blood.

text: The method of preparation used shall be one which produces a material meeting the requirements herein described. Regardless of whether the final product is liquid or dried, the preparation, after the addition of a suitable stabilising agent or agents, must have been heated in the liquid state in the final container at 60° C ± 0.5° C for 10 hours, in order to inactivate the agent causing serum hepatitis. During preparation no antiseptic or bacteriostatic substance shall be addd.

text: In preparations of Human Albumin, not less than 95 % of the mass of the proteins present shall be albumin. In preparations of Human Plasma Protein Fraction, not less than 85% of the protein shall be albumin. In both preparations, more than 10 milligram immunoglobulin G per gram product shall be present.

text: When the final product is freeze-dried, it must contain not less than 950 milligram of protein per gram product.

text: When Human Plasma Protein Fraction is prepared as a solution it shall have a total protein concentration between 45 and 50 grams per litre.

text: When Human Albumin is prepared as a solution it shall have a total protein concentration not less than 45 gram per litre.

text: Solubility of the dried product – Add water to the recommended volume; the dried preparation must be completely soluble.

text: Stability – By comparison of the solutions before and after heat treatment no evidence of significant denaturation of the proteins in solution shall have been detected as estimated by viscosity and turbidity measurements, ultracentrifugation and electrophoresis. The solution shall be substantially free from visible particles after heating at 57° C and after agitation in a mechanical shaker for 6 hours at this temperature.

text: Identification –

text: ii) By electrophoresis, using the moving boundary technique under acceptable and appropriate conditions, it must be shown that the protein fraction having the mobility of the albumin component of normal human plasma, is not less than 95 % of the protein mass in preparations of Human Albumin, or not less than 85% of the protein mass in preparations of Human Plasma Protein Fraction.

text: Sodium content and sodium concentration – The sodium content of salt-poor Human Albumin must not exceed 0.61 millimole per gram of albumin. In other preparations of Human Albumin and in Human Plasma Protein Fraction, the sodium concentration must not exceed 0.15 mole per litre of solution or reconstituted dried product.

text: Potassium concentration – The potassium concentration of Human Plasma Protein Fraction must not exceed 2 millimole per litre of solution or reconsituted dried product

text: Acidity – The pH of either preparation shall be 6.8 ± 0.2 when measured at a temperature of 15 to 25° C in a solution diluted to a protein concentration of 10 gram per litre by means of a solution containing 0.15 mole sodium chloride per litre.

text: Loss of mass on drying – Dried preparations, when dried over phosphorus pentoxide at a pressure not exceeding 0.02 mm of mercury for 24 hours, must not lose more than 0.5 % of their weight.

text: Sterility – The final product shall be sterile when examined by a suitable bacteriological method.

text: Storage – Dried Human Albumin must be kept in an atmosphere of nitrogen or in a vacuum in a sterile container, sealed so as to exclude micro-organisms and, as far as possible, moisture, protected from light and stored at a temperature below 20° C.

text: Solutions of Human Albumin and Human Plasma Protein Fraction must be kept in sterile containers, sealed so as to exclude micro-organisms, protected from light and stored at a temperature of 4° to 6° C.

text: Labelling – The label on the container shall give all the information shown on the appropriate model label (Annex 4). For solutions, the date of preparation is the date of heat treatment in the final container.

text: By precipitation tests with specific antisera, it must be shown to contain only human plasma proteins.

text: Human Normal Immunoglobulin

text: Human Normal Immunoglobulin is a preparation of the plasma proteins prepared from Whole Human Blood, containing the antibodies of normal adults. It is obtained from pooled liquid human plasma from not less than 1000 donors.

text: The method of preparation used should be one which produces a material meeting the requirements herein prescribed and which prevents the transmission of serum hepatitis by the final product. In addition the method of preparation shall be such that the antibodies contained in the starting material shall be concentrated in an adequate amount in the final product. The procedure shall be shown, for each final preparation, to be satisfactory in this respect by titrating in the starting material and in the final product antibodies to at least one virus and one bacterial toxin. The antibodies chosen shall be those for which there are recognised methods of titration.

text: During preparation no antiseptic or bacteriostatic substance shall be added; a suitable preservative and a stabilising agent may be added to the final preparation to maintain bacterial sterility and stability of the final product.

text: The final product is issued as a solution in which the immunoglobulin concentration shall be between 100 and 170 gram per litre.

text: Identification

text: ii) By electrophoresis, using the moving boundary technique under acceptable and appropriate conditions, not less than 90 % of the mass of the proteins have the mobility of the gamma component of the globulins of normal human plasma.

text: Stability – Both before and after heating the final solution at 37°C for 7 days there should be no visible evidence of precipitation or turbidity. It is advisable also to carry out tests using an ultracentrifugation method to determine the extent of degradation of the product to smaller molecular weight components. The method used should be one approved by the national control authority.

text: Acidity – The pH of the final solution shall be 6.8 ± 0.4 when measured at a temperature of 15 to 25° C in a solution diluted to a protein concentration of 10 gram per litre by means of a solution containing 0.15 mole sodium chloride per litre.

text: Storage – Human Immunoglobulin solution must be kept in a sterile container, sealed so as to exclude micro-organisms, protected from light and stored at a temperature of 4° to 6° C.

text: Labelling – The label on the container shall give all the information shown on the model label (Annex 5). The date of preparation is the date of filling the final container.

text: Human Specific Immunoglobulins

text: Human Specific Immunoglobulins contain antibodies against designated viral or bacterial agents. Therefore they may be prepared from pools of a limited number of donations.

text: The following human spectific immunoglobulins are included in there requirements:

text: – Human Immunoglobulin Anti-Tetanus – Human Immunoglobulin Anti-Vaccinia.

text: Other specific immunoglobulins may be developed and when the appropriate international standard is in existence, they should be assayed in relation to that standard and their potency expressed in international units.

text: Human Immunoglobulin Anti-Vaccinia shall contain not less than 500 IU per ml of vaccinia antibody as determined by a neutralisation test on chorio-allantoic membranes or in tissue culture. Human Immunoglobulin Anti-Tetanus shall contain not less than 50 IU per ml of tetanus antitoxin as determined by a neutralisation test in animals.

text: Human Specific Immunoglobulins must further meet the requirements as described in section 4, Human Normal Immunoglobulin.

text: Depending on the antibody content, the immunoglobulin concentration of the final solution may vary between 100 and 170 gram per litre.

text: Labelling – The label on the container shall give all the information shown on the model label (Annex 5). In addition, the label shall state the potency in international units in terms of the appropriate International Standard or International Reference Preparation.

text: Dried Human Fibrinogen

text: Dried Human Fibrinogen is a dried preparation which contains the soluble constitutent of liquid human plasma which, on the addition of thrombin, is transformed to fibrin. The method of preparation used should be one which produces a material meeting the requirements herein prescribed and which minimieses the risk of transmitting serum hepatitis. Plasma pools used in the preparation of fibrinogen should contain as few donations as possible.

text: During preparation no antiseptic or bacteriostatic substance shall be added. The final product shall be freeze-dried.

text: Solubility – Add water to the recommended volume; the dried preparation must be completely soluble. No precipitation shall occur within 60 minutes of reconstitution.

text: Identification

text: ii) The freshly reconstituted product has the property of clotting on the addition of thrombin. When thrombin is added to a solution of Human Fibrinogen of the same concentration as that in fresh normal plasma, clotting shall occur in not more than twice the time taken for clotting to occur in fresh normal plasma after the addition of thrombin.

text: iii) Clottable protein. Not less than 50% of the total protein shall be clottable by thrombin.

text: Loss of mass on drying – Preparations, when dried over phosphorus pentoxide at a pressure not exceeding 0.02 mm of mercury for 24 hours, must not lose more thant 0.5 % of their weight.

text: Sterility – The final product after reconstitution shall be sterile when examined by a suitable bacteriological method.

text: Storage – Human Fibrinogen shall be kept in an atmosphere of nitrogen or in a vacuum in a sterile container, sealed so as to exclude micro-organisms and, as far as possible, moisture, protected from light and stored at the temperature recommended.

text: Labelling – The label on the container shall give all the information shown on the model label (Annex 6). The date of preparation is the date of placing into final solution before freezedrying.

text: Dried or frozen human coagulation Factor VIII

text: I. Requirements applying to donors

text: Donors must be in good health and, in particular, free of any communicable disease, in accordance with the criteria adopted for dried human plasma.

text: II. Requirements applying to preparations

text: Sterility and atoxicity – The final product must be sterile and pyrogen-free. Where cryoprecipitation is performed in plastic bags, the product must not contain organic solvent or other foreign substances present in the freezing mixture. The passage of such products through the walls of the plastic bag can be prevented by placing the bag in a second impermeable bag during the whole period of immersion. The risk of the plastic bag tearing during storage in the frozen state can be reduced by keeping each bag in a protective box.

text: Erythrocytes, leukocytes and platelets – Centrifuging should be such as to eliminate the formed elements of the blood as soon and as completely as possible after its collection.

text: Solubility – The addition of the indicated uantity of appropriate solvent must result in the complete solution of the dry product in less than 30 minutes at 37° C. Small and easily separable aggregates of fibrinogen may persist.

text: Stability – The preparation conserved at 20° C must not show any sign of precipitation within three hours after it has been dissolved.

text: Potency – The reconstituted preparation should contain the indicated minimum quantity of factor VIII, one unit corresponding to the potency of 1 ml of average normal fresh plasma, the potency being determined by a method approved by the competent national authority.

text: Absence of irregular antibodies eand, if the preparation is intended for patients of any ABO group, a titre of anti-A and anti-B antibodies not exceeding 32.

text: Identification – Precipitation tests with specific antisera shall show that the product contains only human plasma proteins.

text: Loss of mass on drying – Freeze-dried preparations, when dried ober phosphorus pentoxide at a pressure not exceeding 0.02 mm of mercury for 24 hours must not lose more than 1.5 per cent of their weight.

text: Storage – Human factor VIII shall be stored in deep frozen state at a temperature under – 30° C, and in the freeze-dried state below 5° C, and protected from light. The dried preparation shall be kept in an atmosphere of nitrogen or in vacuo, in a sterile vial, stoppered so as to exclude all micro-organisms and, as far as possible, all humidity. Storage in the frozen state shall not exceed six months, in the dried state one year, unless the preparation has been retested for minimum required potency.

text: III. Labelling

text: The label on the preparation shall give all the information shown on the model label (Annex 7).

text: Dried human coagulation Factor IX

text: I. Requirements applying to donors

text: Donors must be in good health and, in particular, free from any communicable disease in accordance with the criteria adopted for dried human plasma.

text: II. Requirements applying to the concentrate

text: Sterility and atoxicity – The final product tested by appropriate methods must be sterile, pyrogen-free and free from undesirable vaso-depressor or respiratory effects. The test for absence of vaso-depressor effects should be performed on a dog or cat.

text: Solubility – The addition of the indicated quantity of the solvent must result in complete solution in 10 minutes at 37° C.

text: Thromboplastin activity and absence of free thrombin – The recalcification time of a normal plasma measured at 37° C in the presence of an equal volume of various dilutions of the reconstituted product, must not be less than 40 seconds. The reconstituted product, with an equal volume of fibrinogen (3 g/l) added to it, must not coagulate within six hours at 37° C.

text: Potency – The reconstituted preparation must contain the indicated minimum quantity of factor IX, 1 unit corresponding to the potency of 1 ml of average normal fresh plasma, the potency being determined by a method approved by the competent national authority.

text: Yield and stability in vivo – The method of preparation must be such that the injection of a dose of 50 units per kg body weight, rapidly administered intravenously, using several batches of material given to several patients, shall cause, in 15 minutes, in the absence of a specific inhibitor and in basal conditions, an average rise of not less than 300 units per litre plasma, and of the persistence, after 24 hours of an average rise of not less than 60 units per litre plasma.

text: Identification – Precipitation tests with specific antisera shall show that the product contains solely human plasma proteins.

text: Loss of mass on drying – When dried over phosphorus pentoxide at a pressure not exceeding 0.02 mm of mercury for 24 hours, the product must not lose more than 1.5 per cent of its weight.

text: Storage – The preparations must be stored dry at a temperature below 5° C. The period of storage must not exceed two years, unless the potency of the preparation has been re-tested.

text: III. Labelling

text: The label on the preparation shall give all the information shown on the model label (Annex 8).

text: Article 11


identifier: ETS No. 027

reference: ETS No. 027

title: European Agreement concerning Programme Exchanges by means of Television Films

text: European Treaty Series - No. 27

text: Paris, 15.XII.1958

text: Preamble

text: The governments signatory hereto, being members of the Council of Europe, Considering that the aim of the Council of Europe is to achieve a greater unity between its members; Considering that it is important in the interests of European cultural and economic unity that programmes may be exchanged by means of television films between the member countries of the Council of Europe as freely as possible; Considering that national legislations allow different conclusions as regards the legal nature of television films and as regards the rights which they grant in respect of such films; Considering that it is necessary to resolve the difficulties arising from this situation; Having regard to Article 20 of the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works, by the terms of which the governments of the countries of the Union reserve to themselves the right to enter into special arrangements which do not embody stipulations contrary to that Convention, Have agreed as follows:

text: In the absence of any contrary or special stipulation within the meaning of

text: Article 4

text: of the present Agreement, a broadcasting organisation under the jurisdiction of a country which is a Party to this Agreement has the right to authorise in the other countries which are Parties thereto the exploitation for television of television films of which it is the maker.

text: Article 1

text: All visual or sound and visual recordings intended for television shall be deemed to be television films within the meaning of the present Agreement. 2 A broadcasting organisation shall be deemed to be the maker if it has taken the initiative in, and responsibility for, the making of a television film.

text: ETS 27 – Exchange of Television Films, 15.XII.1958 __________________________________________________________________________________

text: Article 2

text: If the television film has been made by a maker other than the one defined in

text: Article 2

text: , paragraph 2, the latter is entitled, in the absence of contrary or special stipulations within the meaning of

text: Article 4

text: , to transfer to a broadcasting organisation the right provided in

text: Article 1

text: . 2 The provision contained in the preceding paragraph applies only if the maker and the broadcasting organisation are under the jurisdiction of countries which are Parties to the present Agreement.

text: Article 3

text: By "contrary or special stipulation" is meant any restrictive condition agreed between the maker and persons who contribute to the making of the television film.

text: Article 4

text: This Agreement shall not affect the following rights, which shall be entirely reserved: a any moral right recognised in relation to films; b the copyright in literary, dramatic or artistic works from which the television film is derived; c the copyright in a musical work, with or without words, accompanying a television film; d the copyright in films other than television films; e the copyright in the exploitation of television films otherwise than on television.

text: Article 5

text: This Agreement shall be open to signature by the members of the Council of Europe, who may accede to it either by: a signature without reservation in respect of ratification; or b signature with reservation in respect of ratification, followed by the deposit of an instrument of ratification. 2 Instruments of ratification shall be deposited with the Secretary General of the Council of Europe.

text: Article 6

text: This Agreement shall enter into force thirty days after the date on which three members of the Council shall, in accordance with

text: Article 6

text: thereof, have signed it without reservation in respect of ratification or shall have ratified it. 2 In the case of any member of the Council who shall subsequently sign the Agreement without reservation in respect of ratification or who shall ratify it, the Agreement shall enter into force thirty days after the date of such signature or deposit of the instrument of ratification.

text: Article 7

text: After this Agreement has come into force, any country which is not a member of the Council of Europe may accede to it, subject to the prior approval of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe. 2 Such accession shall be effected by the deposit of an instrument of accession with the Secretary General of the Council of Europe, and shall take effect thirty days after the date of deposit.

text: Article 8

text: Signature without reservation in respect of ratification, ratification or accession shall imply full acceptance of all the provisions of this Agreement.

text: Article 9

text: The Secretary General of the Council of Europe shall notify members of the Council, the governments of any countries which may have acceded to this Agreement and the Director of the Bureau of the International Union for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works: a of the date of entry into force of this Agreement and the names of any members of the Council which have become Parties thereto; b of the deposit of any instruments of accession in accordance with

text: Article 8

text: of the present Agreement; c of any declaration or notification received in accordance with

text: Articles 11

text: and 12 thereof.

text: Article 10

text: This Agreement shall apply to the metropolitan territories of the Contracting Parties. 2 Any Contracting Party may, at the time of signature, ratification or accession, or at any later date, declare by notice addressed to the Secretary General of the Council of Europe that this Agreement shall apply to any territory or territories mentioned in the said declaration and for whose international relations it is responsible. 3 Any declaration made in accordance with the preceding paragraph may, in respect of any territory mentioned in such a declaration, be withdrawn under the conditions laid down in

text: Article 12

text: of this Agreement.

text: Article 11

text: This Agreement shall remain in force for an unlimited period. 2 Any Contracting Party may denounce this Agreement at one year's notice by notification to this effect to the Secretary General of the Council of Europe.

text: In witness whereof, the undersigned, being duly authorised thereto, have signed this Agreement.

text: Done at Paris, this 15th day of December 1958, in English and French, both texts being equally authoritative, in a single copy, which shall remain in the archives of the Council of Europe and of which the Secretary General shall send certified copies to each of the signatory and acceding governments and to the Director of the International Bureau for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works.

text: Article 12


doctype: protocol

identifier: ETS No. 028

openingPlace: Strasbourg

reference: ETS No. 028

title: Third Protocol to the General Agreement on Privileges and Immunities of the Council of Europe

text: European Treaty Series - No. 28

text: Strasbourg, 6.III.1959

text: The governments signatory hereto, being members of the Council of Europe, signatories of the General Agreement on Privileges and Immunities of the Council of Europe or Parties to the said Agreement and, at the same time, members of the Council of Europe Resettlement Fund for National Refugees and Over-population,

text: Having regard to the provisions of

text: Articles 1

text: and 9.g of the articles of Agreement of the aforesaid Fund;

text: Having regard to Article 40 of the Statute of the Council of Europe;

text: Desirous of defining the legal regime of the property, assets and operations of the Resettlement Fund, and the legal status of its organs and officials;

text: Considering that it is necessary to facilitate the realisation of the statutory purposes of the Fund by the most generous possible reduction in direct or indirect taxation affecting the operations of the Fund and borne ultimately by the beneficiaries of loans granted by the Fund;

text: Desirous of supplementing, in respect of the Resettlement Fund, the provisions of the General Agreement on Privileges and Immunities of the Council of Europe,

text: Have agreed as follows:

text: Part I – Articles of Agreement, personality, capacity

type: rubrik

text: The articles of Agreement of the Council of Europe Resettlement Fund, as approved by the Committee of Ministers in Resolution (56) 9, or as amended by the aforesaid Committee, or by the Governing Body acting within the limits laid down in

text: Article 9

text: .h of the said articles of Agreement, shall be an integral part of the present Protocol.

text: The Council of Europe Resettlement Fund shall possess juridical personality and, in particular, the capacity:

text: to contract; ii to acquire and dispose of immovable and movable property; iii to institute legal proceedings; iv to carry out any transaction related to its statutory purposes.

text: ETS 28 – Privileges and Immunities (Third Protocol), 6.III.1959 __________________________________________________________________________________

text: The operations, acts and contracts of the Resettlement Fund shall be governed by this Protocol, by the articles of Agreement of the Fund and by regulations issued in pursuance of the said articles of Agreement. In addition, a national law may be applied in a particular case, provided that the Fund expressly agrees thereto and that such law does not derogate from this Protocol nor from the said articles of Agreement.

text: Article 1

text: Part II – Courts, property, assets, operations

text: Any competent court of a member of the Fund or of a State in whose territory the Fund has contracted or guaranteed a loan may hear suits in which the Fund is a defendant.

text: Nevertheless:

text: No action shall be brought in such courts, either against the Fund by a member or persons acting for or deriving claims from a member, or by the Fund against a member or the persons aforesaid;

text: ii Differences arising out of any loan or guarantee contract concluded by the Fund with a member or with any other borrower approved by that member shall be settled by arbitration in accordance with procedure laid down in the said contract. Differences arising out of any loan or guarantee contract signed by the Fund shall be settled by arbitration procedure under arrangements specified in the Loan Regulations drawn up in pursuance of

text: Article 10

text: , Section 1.d, of the articles of Agreement of the Fund.

text: Article 2

text: The property and assets of the Fund, wheresoever located and by whomsoever held, shall be immune from all forms of seizure, attachment or execution before the delivery against the Fund of an enforceable judgment which can no longer be disputed by common remedies at law.

text: Enforcement of awards by execution, where such awards result from arbitration in accordance with the third paragraph of

text: Article 2

text: shall, in the territory of members of the Fund, take place through the legal channels prescribed in each such member State and after endorsement with the executory formula customary in the State in whose territory the award is to be executed; for the purpose of such endorsement, no check shall be required other than verification that the award is authentic, that it conforms to the rules concerning competence and procedure set forth in the Loan Regulations of the Fund and that it does not conflict with a final judgment passed in the country concerned. Each signatory shall, on deposit of its instrument of ratification, notify the other signatories through the Secretary General of the Council of Europe what authority is competent under its laws to discharge this formality.

text: Article 3

text: The property and assets of the Fund, wheresoever located and by whomsoever held, shall be immune from search, requisition, confiscation, expropriation or any other form of distraint by executive or legislative action.

text: The buildings and premises used for the operations of the Fund, and also its archives, shall be inviolable.

text: Article 4

text: To the extent necessary to the achievement of its statutory purposes the Fund may:

text: hold currency of any kind and operate accounts in any currency;

text: freely transfer its funds through banking channels from one country to another or within any country and convert any currency held by it into any other currency.

text: In exercising its rights under this article, the Fund shall pay due regard to any representations made to it by the government of any member.

text: Article 5

text: The property and assets of the Fund shall be free from restrictions, regulations, controls and moratoria of any nature.

text: Article 6

text: The Resettlement Fund and its assets, income and other property shall be exempt from all direct taxes.

text: The Resettlement Fund shall be exempt from all taxes in the territory of members of the Fund in respect of transactions and operations relating to loans contracted by the Fund with a view to applying their proceeds, in accordance with its purpose, to the needs of refugees and surplus population or relating to loans granted or guaranteed by the Fund in accordance with its statutory provisions.

text: The Fund shall not be granted exemption from any rates, taxes or dues which are merely charges for public utility services.

text: Member governments shall, whenever possible, make appropriate arrangements for:

text: exemption from taxes on income derived from interest on bonds issued or loans contracted by the Fund;

text: the remission or return of excise duties and taxes which form part of the price to be paid for movable or immovable property or of the payment for services rendered, when the Fund, for official purposes, is making substantial purchases or procuring services the total cost of which includes such excise duties and taxes.

text: No tax of any kind shall be levied on any security or bond issued or guaranteed by the Fund (or any dividend or interest thereon) by whomsoever held:

text: which discriminates against such security or bond solely because it is issued or guaranteed by the Fund; or

text: if the sole legal basis for such tax is the place or currency in which the security or bond is issued, guaranteed, made payable or paid, or the location of the headquarters or of any office or place of business maintained by the Fund.

text: Article 7

text: The Fund shall be exempt from all customs duties, prohibitions and restrictions on imports and exports in respect of articles required for its official use, unless such prohibition or restrictions have been imposed for reasons of ordre public, safety or health. Articles imported under exemption will not be disposed of in any way in the country into which they are imported, except under conditions approved by the government of that country.

text: Article 8

text: Part III – Organs

text: The organs referred to in

text: Article 8

text: of the articles of Agreement of the Fund shall enjoy in the territory of each member State, for their official communications, treatment at least as favourable as that accorded by that member to diplomatic missions of any other government. No censorship shall be applied to the official correspondence and other official communications of the organs of the Fund.

text: Article 9

text: Members of the Governing Body, the Administrative Council and the Auditing Board shall be immune from legal process in respect of words spoken or written and all acts performed by them in their official capacity and within the limit of their authority. They shall continue to enjoy such immunity after their terms of office have expired. In addition, they shall be accorded the same immunities from immigration restrictions and alien registration requirements and the same exchange and travel facilities as are accorded by members to representatives of other governments of the Fund having comparable rank. Sums paid to them in respect of expenses necessarily incurred in the discharge of their duties shall be exempt from taxation.

text: Article 10

text: The privileges and immunities are accorded to the individuals mentioned in

text: Article 10

text: not for their own personal benefit, but in order to safeguard the independent exercise of their functions. Consequently, a member not only has the right, but is in duty bound, to waive the immunity of its representatives in any case where, in the opinion of the member, immunity would impede the course of justice, and where it can be waived without prejudice to the purpose for which it is accorded.

text: Article 11

text: The provisions of

text: Articles 10

text: and 11 may not be invoked by a representative against the authorities of the State of which he is or has been the representative.

text: Articles 10

text: , 11 and 12.a shall apply equally to deputy representatives, advisers, technical experts and secretaries of delegations.

text: Article 12

text: Part IV – Officials

text: The Governor and officials of the Fund shall be accorded the privileges and immunities specified in Article 18 of the General Agreement on Privileges and Immunities of the Council of Europe.

text: The Governor will specify the categories of officials to which the provisions of the aforesaid article shall apply.

text: The communications specified in

text: Article 17

text: of the General Agreement on Privileges and Immunities of the Council of Europe shall be made by the Secretary General of the Council in respect of the Governor and also of the officials referred to in the preceding paragraph.

text: The Secretary General, after consulting the Governor, shall have the right and the duty to waive the immunity of any official in any case where he considers that immunity would impede the course of justice and can be waived without prejudice to the satisfactory operation of the Fund. In the case of the Governor, the Governing Body of the Fund shall have the right to waive immunity.

text: Article 13

text: Part V – Application of the Agreement

text: The governments of member States of the Fund undertake to seek such constitutional authority as may be necessary to fulfil the statutory obligations assumed by those States visà-vis the Resettlement Fund. They undertake likewise to seek such authority in good time in order to be able to fulfil any undertakings into which they may have entered as borrower or guarantor, in accordance with

text: Article 6

text: , Section 3, of the articles of Agreement of the Resettlement Fund.

text: Article 14

text: The Fund may conclude with any member State special agreements on the detailed application of the provisions of the present Protocol, supplementing the said provisions or derogating from those of

text: Article 13

text: above. It may likewise conclude agreements with any State which is not a member of the Fund, modifying the application of the provisions of the present Protocol so far as that State is concerned.

text: Article 15

text: Part VI – Final clauses

text: The present Protocol shall be ratified and the instruments of ratification deposited with the Secretary General of the Council of Europe. It shall enter into force as soon as three signatories representing at least one-third of the Fund's holdings have deposited their instruments of ratification. For the other members of the Fund it shall enter into force on the date when their respective instruments of ratification are deposited.

text: Nevertheless, pending the entry into force of this Protocol in accordance with the foregoing paragraph, the signatories agree, in order not to delay the satisfactory operation of the Fund, to apply the Protocol provisionally from 1 September 1958, or, at latest, from the date of signature, to the extent compatible with their constitutional rules.

text: Article 16

text: Any government which becomes a member of the Resettlement Fund after the signature of the present Protocol may accede thereto by depositing an instrument of accession with the Secretary General of the Council of Europe. Such accession shall become effective on the date of deposit if this takes place after the Protocol has entered into force, and upon the date of such entry into force if the accession takes place prior to that date.

text: Any government which has deposited an instrument of accession before the entry into force of the Protocol shall immediately apply the latter provisionally, to the extent compatible with its constitutional rules.

text: In witness whereof the undersigned plenipotentiaries have signed the present Protocol.

text: Done at Strasbourg, this 6th day of March 1959, in English and in French, both texts being equally authentic, in a single copy which shall remain in the archives of the Council of Europe. The Secretary General shall transmit certified copies to each of the signatories or States acceding.

text: Article 17


identifier: ETS No. 029

reference: ETS No. 029

text: European Treaty Series - No. 29

text: Strasbourg, 20.IV.1959

text: The governments signatory hereto, being members of the Council of Europe,

text: Considering that the aim of the Council of Europe is to achieve greater unity among its members for the purpose, among others, of facilitating their economic and social progress by the conclusion of agreements and common action in economic, social, cultural, scientific, legal and administrative matters;

text: Considering it necessary to safeguard the rights of victims of motor accidents in their territories by the introduction of a system of compulsory insurance;

text: Considering that it would be difficult to secure the complete unification of their laws in this matter and that it would suffice if such basic rules as are considered essential were standardised in the member countries of the Council of Europe, each country remaining free to apply in its territory provisions affording greater protection to injured parties;

text: Considering it necessary, moreover, to promote the establishment and operation of international insurance bureaux and guarantee funds, or to take equivalent measures,

text: Have agreed as follows:

text: Each Contracting Party undertakes to ensure that, within six months of the date of entry into force of this Convention in respect of that Party, the rights of persons suffering damage caused by motor vehicles in its territory shall be protected through the introduction of a system of compulsory insurance complying with the provisions annexed to this Convention (Annex I).

text: Each Contracting Party shall, however, retain the option of adopting provisions affording greater protection to injured parties.

text: Each of the Contracting Parties shall communicate to the Secretary General of the Council of Europe the official texts of the legislation and principal regulations establishing its system of compulsory motor insurance. The Secretary General shall transmit these texts to the other Parties and to the other members of the Council of Europe.

text: Article 1

text: Each Contracting Party shall retain the option:

text: to exempt from compulsory insurance certain motor vehicles, the use of which it considers to present little if any danger;

text: ETS 29 – Insurance Motor Vehicles, 20.IV.1959 __________________________________________________________________________________

text: to exempt from compulsory insurance motor vehicles owned by its public authorities or those of other countries or by inter-governmental organisations;

text: to determine the minimum amounts of insurance cover necessary; in this case, the application of the annexed provisions may be limited to these amounts.

text: Article 2

text: Any Contracting Party may, when signing this Convention or on depositing its instrument of ratification or accession, declare that it avails itself of one or more of the reservations provided for in Annex II to the Convention.

text: Any Contracting Party may wholly or partly withdraw a reservation it has made in accordance with the foregoing paragraph by means of a notification addressed to the Secretary General of the Council of Europe which shall become effective as from the date of its receipt. The Secretary General shall communicate the notification to the other Parties and to the other members of the Council of Europe.

text: Article 3

text: Options exercised and reservations made by a Contracting Party in pursuance of

text: Articles 2

text: and 3 of this Convention shall be valid only in its territory and shall not prejudice the full application of the compulsory insurance law of other Parties in whose territory the vehicle is used.

text: Each Contracting Party shall inform the Secretary General of the Council of Europe of the content of its legal provisions relating to the options and reservations referred to in

text: Articles 2

text: and 3 of this Convention. The said Party shall keep the Secretary General informed of any changes made therein at a later date. The Secretary General shall transmit all such information to the other Parties and to the other members of the Council of Europe.

text: Article 4

text: When compensation for injury caused by a motor vehicle involves both compulsory motor insurance and social security schemes, the rights of the injured party and the arrangements to be made between the two systems shall be determined under municipal law.

text: Article 5

text: Should the option of exclusion from normal insurance referred to in paragraph 2 of

text: Article 4

text: of the annexed provisions be provided for in its municipal law, each Contracting Party undertakes to make the holding in its territory of motor races or competitions, whether for speed, reliability or skill, subject to official authorisation. Such authorisation shall be granted only if the civil liability of the organisers and persons referred to in

text: Article 3

text: of the annexed provisions is covered by special insurance complying with those provisions.

text: Compensation for damage suffered by the occupants of vehicles taking part in races or competitions such as are referred to in the foregoing paragraph may, however, be excluded.

text: Article 6

text: Motor vehicles normally stationed outside the territory of a Contracting State shall be exempt in that territory from the application of

text: Article 2

text: of the annexed provisions if they are provided with a certificate issued by the government of another Contracting State stating that the vehicle belongs to that State, or, in the case of a Federal State, to the Federal State or one of its constituent members; in the latter case, the certificate shall be issued by the Federal Government.

text: The certificate shall indicate the authority or body responsible for paying compensation in accordance with the law of the country visited and which may be sued in the courts competent in such matters under the law. The State or constituent member to which the vehicle belongs shall guarantee such payment.

text: Article 7

text: The Contracting Parties shall promote the establishment and operation of Bureaux for the issue of international insurance certificates and for meeting claims for damages in the circumstances specified in paragraph 2 of

text: Article 2

text: of the annexed provisions.

text: Article 8

text: Each of the Contracting Parties undertakes either to establish a guarantee fund or to make other equivalent arrangements in order to compensate injured parties for damage caused in such circumstances that a civil liability is incurred, where the obligation to be insured has not been complied with or the person liable has not been identified, or the case is one excepted from insurance in accordance with the first sentence of paragraph 1 of

text: Article 3

text: of the annexed provisions. The conditions for granting compensation and the extent of such right shall be determined by the Contracting Party concerned.

text: Nationals of any Contracting Party shall be entitled to bring the claim provided for in the foregoing paragraph in any other Contracting State on equal terms with the nationals of that State.

text: Article 9

text: The Contracting Parties undertake to determine in their municipal law the persons who shall be responsible for having the motor vehicle insured and to take all appropriate measures, accompanied where necessary by penal or administrative sanctions, to enforce the obligations resulting from the annexed provisions.

text: With a view to the application of the annexed provisions, the Contracting Parties undertake to make appropriate provisions in their municipal law relating to the approval, or the expiry or withdrawal of the approval, of insurers and, if necessary, of the Guarantee Fund and the Bureau, and also relating to control of their operations.

text: Article 10

text: Each Contracting Party shall determine, as may be necessary, the authority or person to whom the notification mentioned in

text: Article 9

text: of the annexed provisions is to be made.

text: Each Contracting Party shall determine what effect the insurance contract shall have in the case of a change of ownership of the insured vehicle.

text: Article 11

text: Except in case of emergency, a Contracting Party may not denounce this Convention within less than two years from the date on which the Convention entered into force in respect of that Party. Denunciation shall be effected by written notification to the Secretary General of the Council of Europe, who shall inform the other Contracting Parties thereof; it shall take effect three months after the date on which the Secretary General received such notification.

text: Article 12

text: If, after the entry into force of the Convention in respect of a Contracting Party, that Party deems it necessary to make a reservation, either not provided for in Annex II to this Convention or, if provided for in that annex, a reservation which it has not made previously or has withdrawn, it shall inform the Secretary General of the Council of Europe of its precise proposal, of which the Secretary General shall then notify the other Contracting Parties.

text: If, within the six months following the notification by the Secretary General, the Contracting Parties signify in writing their agreement to the proposal, the Contracting Party which has made the proposal may amend its legislation accordingly. The Secretary General shall bring the notifications made to him under this paragraph to the knowledge of the Contracting Parties.

text: Article 13

text: This Convention shall not apply to overseas territories of the Contracting Parties.

text: Article 14

text: This Convention shall be open to the signature of the members of the Council of Europe. It shall be ratified. Instruments of ratification shall be deposited with the Secretary General of the Council of Europe.

text: This Convention shall come into force 90 days after the date of deposit of the fourth instrument of ratification.

text: In respect of any signatory ratifying subsequently, the Convention shall come into force 90 days after the date of deposit of its instrument of ratification.

text: The Secretary General shall notify all the members of the Council and acceding States of the names of the signatories, of the entry into force of the Convention, the names of the Contracting Parties who have ratified it and the subsequent deposit of any instrument of ratification or accession.

text: Article 15

text: After this Convention has come into force the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe may invite any State which is not a member of the Council to accede to it. Any State so invited may accede by depositing its instrument of accession with the Secretary General of the Council, who shall notify all the Contracting Parties and the other members of the Council of Europe of such deposit. The Convention shall come into force in respect of any State acceding thereto 90 days after the date of deposit of its instrument of accession.

text: In witness whereof, the undersigned, being duly authorised thereto, have signed this convention.

text: Done at Strasbourg, this 20th day of April 1959, in the English and French languages, both texts being equally authoritative, in a single copy which shall remain in the archives of the Council of Europe and of which the Secretary General shall send certified copies to each of the signatories.

text: Protocol of signature

text: When signing the European Convention on Compulsory Insurance against Civil Liability in respect of Motor Vehicles, the signatory governments recognise that the term "motor vehicles" contained in the first paragraph of

text: Article 1

text: of the provisions annexed to the said Convention shall be understood to include all mechanically-propelled vehicles which are intended to be driven on the ground other than vehicles running on rails, even if they are connected to electric conductors, and also cycles fitted with an auxiliary engine.

text: Article 16