9. Only members of the arbitral tribunal may take part in the deliberations of the arbitral tribunal.
10. The arbitral tribunal may, in consultation with the Parties to the dispute, retain such number of assistants, interpreters or translators, or designated note takers as may be required for the proceeding and permit them to be present during its deliberations. Any such arrangements established by the arbitral tribunal may be modified by the agreement of the Parties to the dispute.
11. The arbitral tribunal's deliberations shall be confidential.
The members of the arbitral tribunal and the persons retained by the arbitral tribunal shall maintain the confidentiality of arbitral tribunal proceedings and deliberations.
12. There shall be no ex parte communications with the arbitral tribunal concerning matters under consideration by it.
13. The interests of Third Parties and those of other Parties shall be fully taken into account during the arbitral tribunal proceedings.
Written Submissions and Other Documents
14. Each Party to the dispute shall transmit to the arbitral tribunal a first submission in writing setting out the facts of its case and its arguments. Unless the Parties agree otherwise, a Complaining Party shall deliver its first submission to the arbitral tribunal and to the Responding Party within 14 days after the date of the establishment of the arbitral tribunal. The Responding Party shall deliver its first submission to the arbitral tribunal and to the Complaining Party within 21 days after the date of receipt of the first submission of the Complaining Party. Any subsequent written submissions shall be submitted simultaneously.
15. A Party to the dispute shall deliver no less than four copies of its written submissions to the arbitral tribunal and one copy to the other Parties to the dispute. Third Parties shall receive the submissions of the Parties to the dispute to the first substantive hearing.
16. In respect of any request, notice or other document(s) related to the arbitral tribunal proceeding that is not covered by Rules 14 and 15, each Party to the dispute may deliver a copy of the document(s) to the other Party to the dispute by facsimile, email or other means of electronic transmission.
17. A Party to the dispute may at any time correct minor errors of a clerical nature in any request, notice, written submission or other document(s) related to the arbitral tribunal proceeding by delivering a new document clearly indicating the changes.
Hearings
18. At the first substantive hearing with the Parties to the dispute, each Party to the dispute shall present the facts of its case and its arguments. The Complaining Party shall present its position first. The Parties to the dispute shall be given an opportunity for final statements, with the Complaining Party presenting its statement first.
19. All Third Parties shall be invited to present their views during a separate session of the first substantive hearing of the arbitral tribunal set aside for that purpose. All Third Parties may be present during the entirety of this session.
20. The Parties to the dispute and Third Parties shall make available to the arbitral tribunal written versions of their oral statements and responses to questions made in hearings with the arbitral tribunal.
Availability of Information
21. Written submissions to the arbitral tribunal shall be treated as confidential, but shall be made available to the Parties to the dispute. No Party to the dispute shall be precluded from disclosing statements of its own positions to the public provided that there is no disclosure of information which has been designated as confidential by a Party to the dispute or Third Party. The Parties to the dispute, Third Parties and the arbitral tribunal shall treat as confidential information submitted by a Party to the dispute to the arbitral tribunal which that Party has designated as confidential. A Party to the dispute shall, upon request of another Party, provide a non-confidential summary of the information contained in its written submissions that could be disclosed to the public.
Information Gathering
22. The Parties to the dispute and Third Parties shall respond promptly and fully to any request by an arbitral tribunal for such information as the arbitral tribunal considers necessary and appropriate.
23. An arbitral tribunal may seek information and technical advice from any individual or body which it deems appropriate. However, before doing so the arbitral tribunal shall seek the views of the Parties to the dispute. Where the Parties to the dispute agree that the arbitral tribunal should not seek the additional information or technical advice, the arbitral tribunal shall not proceed. The arbitral tribunal shall provide the Parties to the dispute with any information or technical advice it receives and an opportunity to provide comments.
Reports
24. The arbitral tribunal shall provide to the Parties to the dispute an interim report, meeting the requirements specified in Article 12.3 (Functions of Arbitral Tribunals).
25. The interim report shall be provided at least four weeks before the deadline for completion of the final report. The arbitral tribunal shall accord adequate opportunity to the Parties to the dispute to review the entirety of its interim report prior to its finalisation and shall include a discussion of any comments made by the Parties to the dispute in its final report.
26. The interim report and final report of the arbitral tribunal shall be drafted without the presence of the Parties to the dispute. Opinions expressed in the reports of the arbitral tribunal by its individual members shall be anonymous.
Venue
27. The venue for the arbitral tribunal hearings shall be decided by mutual agreement between the Parties to the dispute. If there is no agreement, the venue shall alternate between the capitals of the Parties to the dispute with the first hearing to be held in the capital of the Responding Party.
Remuneration and Payment of Expenses
28. The arbitral tribunal shall keep a record and render a final account of all general expenses incurred in connection with the proceedings, including those paid to its assistants, designated note takers or other individuals that it retains pursuant to Rule 10.
Annex on optional procedures for composing arbitral tribunals
As provided in Article 11.3 (Establishment and Re-convening of Arbitral Tribunals), the Parties to the dispute may agree to use any of the following optional procedures, or variations thereof, for the purpose of composing an arbitral tribunal.
Optional Procedure A
1. The Complaining Party and the Responding Party shall each appoint one arbitrator within (period to be agreed by the Parties to the dispute) of the date of the receipt of a request to establish an arbitral tribunal. If either Party fails to appoint an arbitrator within such period, then the arbitrator appointed by the other Party shall act as the sole arbitrator of the arbitral tribunal.
2. Where two arbitrators are appointed in accordance with Paragraph 1, the Parties to the dispute shall designate by common agreement the third arbitrator who shall chair the arbitral tribunal. If the Parties to the dispute have not designated the chair of the arbitral tribunal within (period to be agreed by the Parties to the dispute) of the appointment of the second arbitrator, the two arbitrators appointed in accordance with Paragraph 1 shall designate by common agreement the third arbitrator who shall chair the tribunal. If the chair of the arbitral tribunal has not been designated by the arbitrators within (period to be agreed by the Parties to the dispute) of the appointment of the second arbitrator, the Director-General of the WTO shall, at the request of any Party to the dispute, appoint the chair of the arbitral tribunal within (period to be agreed by the Parties to the dispute) of that request.
Optional Procedure B
1. The Complaining Party and the Responding Party shall each appoint one arbitrator within (period to be agreed by the Parties to the dispute) of the date of the receipt of a request to establish an arbitral tribunal.
2. The Parties to the dispute shall agree on the appointment of the third arbitrator within (period to be agreed by the Parties to the dispute) of the appointment of the third arbitrator who shall serve as chair of the arbitral tribunal. If all three appointments have not been made within (period to be agreed by the Parties to the dispute), the necessary appointments shall be made at the request of any Party to the dispute by the Director-General of the WTO within a further (period to be agreed by the Parties to the dispute).
Optional Procedure C
1. Within (period to be agreed by the Parties to the dispute) of the date of the receipt of a request to establish an arbitral tribunal, each Party to the dispute shall provide to the other Parties to the dispute a list of up to (number to be agreed by the Parties to the dispute) nominees for appointment as arbitrators, including at least two individuals suitable for appointment as chair. The Parties to the dispute shall then consult with each other on the composition of the arbitral tribunal with the objective of appointing the arbitrators drawing as appropriate on the lists of nominees.
2. If all of the arbitrators have not been appointed within (period to be agreed by the Parties to the dispute) of the request to establish an arbitral tribunal, any of the remaining arbitrators shall be appointed at the request of any Party to the dispute by random drawing from the lists of nominees separated for this purpose into separate lists of nominations for appointment as chair or as a regular arbitrator.
Chapter 18. Final Provisions
Article 1. Annexes, Appendices and Footnotes
The Annexes, Appendices and footnotes to this Agreement shall constitute an integral part of this Agreement.
Article 2. Relation to other Agreements
1. Each Party reaffirms its rights and obligations under the WTO Agreement and other agreements to which the Parties are party.
2. Nothing in this Agreement shall be construed to derogate from any right or obligation of a Party under the WTO Agreement and other agreements to which the Parties are party.
3. In the event of any inconsistency between this Agreement and any other agreement to which two or more Parties are party, such Parties shall immediately consult with a view to finding a mutually satisfactory solution.
4. Nothing in this Agreement shall prevent any individual ASEAN Member State from entering into any agreement with any one or more ASEAN Member State and/or Australia and/or New Zealand relating to trade in goods, trade in services, investment, and/or other areas of economic co- operation.
5. The provisions of this Agreement shall not apply to any agreement among ASEAN Member States. The provisions of this Agreement shall also not apply to any agreement involving any ASEAN Member State and/or Australia and/or New Zealand unless otherwise agreed by the parties to that agreement. (1)
Article 3. Amended or Successor International Agreements
If any international agreement, or a provision therein, referred to in this Agreement (or incorporated into this Agreement) is amended, the Parties shall consult on whether it is necessary to amend this Agreement, unless this Agreement provides otherwise.
Article 4. Disclosure of Information
Unless otherwise provided in this Agreement, nothing in this Agreement shall require any Party to provide confidential information, the disclosure of which would impede law enforcement, or otherwise be contrary to the public interest, or which would prejudice legitimate commercial interests of particular enterprises, public or private.
Article 5. Confidentiality
Unless otherwise provided in this Agreement, where a Party provides information to another Party in accordance with this Agreement and designates the information as confidential, the other Party shall maintain the confidentiality of the information. Such information shall be used only for the purposes specified, and shall not be otherwise disclosed without the specific permission of the Party providing the information, except to the extent that the Party receiving the information is required under its domestic law to provide the information to judicial proceedings.
Article 6. Amendments
This Agreement may be amended by agreement in writing by the Parties and such amendments shall come into force on such date or dates as may be agreed among them.
Article 7. Entry Into Force
1. Each Party shall notify each other Party in writing upon completion of its internal requirements (2) necessary for entry into force of this Agreement. This Agreement shall enter into force on 1 July 2009 for any Party that has made such notifications provided that Australia, New Zealand and at least four ASEAN Member States have made such notifications by that date.
2. If this Agreement does not enter into force on 1 July 2009 it shall enter into force, for any Party that has made the notification referred to in Paragraph 1, 60 days after the date by which Australia, New Zealand and at least four ASEAN Member States have made the notifications referred to in Paragraph 1.
3. After the entry into force of this Agreement pursuant to Paragraph 1 or 2, this Agreement shall enter into force for any Party 60 days after the date of its notification referred to in Paragraph 1.
Article 8. Withdrawal and Termination
1. Any Party may withdraw from this Agreement by giving six months advance notice in writing to the other Parties.
2. This Agreement shall terminate if, pursuant to Paragraph 1:
(b) Australia withdraws;
(c) New Zealand withdraws; or
(d) this Agreement is in force for less than four ASEAN Member States.
Article 9. Review
The Parties shall undertake a general review of this Agreement with a view to furthering its objectives in 2016, and every five years thereafter, unless otherwise agreed by the Parties.
SIGNED at Cha-am, Petchaburi, Thailand, this 27" day of February, two thousand and nine, in three copies in the English language.
For the Government of Brunei Darussalam:
For the Government of Australia:
For the Government of New Zealand:
For the Government of the Kingdom of Cambodia:
For the Government of the Republic of Indonesia:
For the Government of the Lao People's Democratic Republic:
For the Government of Malaysia:
For the Government of the Union of Myanmar:
For the Government of the Republic of the Philippines:
For the Government of the Republic of Singapore:
For the Government of the Kingdom of Thailand:
For the Government of the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam: