This Agreement shall apply to the territories of the EFTA States and the territory of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, except as provided for in Protocol E.
Article 34. Customs Unions, Free Trade Areas and Frontier Trade
This Agreement shall not prevent the Parties to maintain or establish customs unions, free trade areas or arrangements for frontier trade to the extent that these do not negatively affect the trade regime.
Article 35. Amendments
Amendments to this Agreement other than those referred to in Article 31 (Annexes and Protocols) which are approved by the Joint Committee shall be submitted to the Parties to this Agreement for acceptance and shall enter into force when they have been accepted and/or ratified by all the Parties. The text of the amendments as well as the instruments of acceptance or ratification shall be deposited with the Depositary.
Article 36. Accession
1. Any new Member of the European Free Trade Association may accede to this Agreement, provided that the Joint Committee decides to approve its accession, to be negotiated between the acceding State and the Parties concerned, on such terms and conditions as may be set out in that decision. The instrument of accession shall be deposited with the Depositary.
2. In relation to an acceding State, this Agreement shall enter into force on the first day of the third month following the deposit of its instrument of accession.
Article 37. Review Clause
In order to reach a final Agreement the Parties to this Agreement undertake to review this Agreement and its implementation in the light of further developments in international economic relations and the Middle East peace process. Furthermore, the Parties may instruct the Joint Committee to examine and make recommendations for developing and deepening the co-operation under this Agreement and to extend it to areas not covered therein.
Article 38. Withdrawal and Expiration
1. Each Party to this Agreement may withdraw therefrom by means of a written notification to the Depositary. The withdrawal shall take effect six months after the date on which the notification is received by the Depositary.
2. If the Palestinian Authority withdraws, this Agreement shall expire at the end of the notice period, and if all EFTA States withdraw it shall expire at the end of the latest notice period.
3. Any EFTA Member State which withdraws from the Convention establishing the European Free Trade Association shall ipso facto on the same day as the withdrawal takes effect cease to be a Party to this Agreement.
Article 39. Entry Into Force
1. This Agreement shall enter into force on 1 July 1999 in relation to those Signatories which by then have deposited their instruments of ratification or acceptance with the Depositary, provided that the Palestinian Authority has deposited its instrument of ratification or acceptance.
2. In relation to a Signatory depositing its instrument of ratification or acceptance after 1 July 1999, this Agreement shall enter into force on the first day of the third month following the deposit of its instrument, provided that in relation to the Palestinian Authority this Agreement enters into force at the latest on the same date.
3. Any Signatory may already at the time of signature declare that, during an initial phase, it shall apply this Agreement provisionally if this Agreement cannot enter into force in relation to that Signatory by 1 July 1999. For an EFTA State provisional application is only possible provided that in relation to the Palestinian Authority this Agreement has entered into force, or that the Palestinian Authority is applying this Agreement provisionally.
Article 40. Depositary
The Government of Norway, acting as Depositary, shall notify all Parties that have signed or acceded to this Agreement of the deposit of any instrument of ratification or provisional application, accession, acceptance of amendments under Article 35 (Amendments), as well as of the entry into force of this Agreement and amendments thereto made under the procedure laid down in Article 35 (Amendments), of its expiration or of any withdrawal therefrom.
Conclusion
IN WITNESS WHEREOF the undersigned plenipotentiaries, being duly authorized thereto, have signed the present Agreement.
DONE at Leukerbad, this 30th day of November 1998, in a single original in the English language, which shall be deposited with the Government of Norway. The Depositary shall transmit certified copies to all Signatories, and Parties acceding to this Agreement.
Attachments
ANNEX VI.. REFERRED TO IN PARAGRAPH 2 OF ARTICLE 29. CONSTITUTION AND FUNCTIONING OF THE ARBITRAL TRIBUNAL
1. In its written notification made pursuant to Article 29 of this Agreement, the Party referring the dispute to arbitration shall designate one member, who may be its national.
2. Within thirty days from the receipt of the notification referred to in paragraph 1, the Party to which it was addressed shall, in turn, designate one member, who may be its national.
3. Within sixty days from the receipt of the notification referred to in paragraph 1, the two members already designated shall agree on the designation of a third member who shall be confirmed by the parties to the dispute within 15 days. The third member shall not be a national of either party to the dispute, nor permanently reside on the territory of either Party. The member thus appointed shall be the President of the arbitral tribunal.
4. If all three members have not been designated or appointed within sixty days from the receipt of the notification referred to in paragraph 1, the necessary designations shall be made, at request of either party to the dispute, by the President of the International Court of Justice. If the President is unable to act under this paragraph or is a national of a party to the dispute, the designations shall devolve on the Vice-President of the Court. If the latter, in turn, is unable to act or is a national of a party to the dispute, the designations shall be effected by the next senior member of the Court who is neither unable to act nor a national of a Party.
5. The tribunal shall lay down its own rules of procedure and take its decisions by majority vote.
6. The arbitral award shall be rendered within six months of the date at which the President of the tribunal was appointed. At the request of the tribunal the Joint Committee may grant an extension of this time period up to six additional months. In the event of a dispute over the meaning and scope of the award, any party to the dispute can, within 60 days from the communication of the arbitral award, ask for clarification by the tribunal. The tribunal shall deliver its clarification within 60 days from the day the issue was brought before it.
7. The expenses of the tribunal, including the remuneration of its members, shall be borne by the parties to the dispute in equal shares.