1. The Committees shall meet by agreement of the Parties or by instructions of the Council and shall adopt their recommendations in accordance with the instruments of Central American economic integration.
2. The Committees shall inform the authorities listed in Annex 9.03.2 on the results of each meeting for proper follow-up.
3. The Council may establish such Committees as may be necessary to deal with the various aspects related to this Treaty.
9.04. Functions of the Committees
1. The Committees shall have, among others, the following functions:
a) to monitor the implementation of the chapters of this Treaty that are within its competence;
b) to recommend to the Council proposals for amendments to the provisions of this Treaty; and
c) fulfill the other tasks entrusted to it by the Council.
2. All decisions of the Committees shall be adopted by consensus, unless the Committees decide otherwise.
Annex 9.03.2.
The competent authorities shall be:
a) in the case of Costa Rica, the Director General of Foreign Trade, or the authority designated;
b) in the case of El Salvador, the Director of the Administration of Commercial Treaties of the Ministry of Economy, or the authority to be designated;
c) in the case of Guatemala, the Director of Administration of Foreign Trade, or the authority that is designated;
d) in the case of Honduras, the Director General of Economic Integration and Trade Policy of the Secretariat of State in the Offices of Industry and Commerce;
e) in the case of Nicaragua, the Director General of Foreign Trade of the Ministry of Development, Industry and Commerce, or the authority that is designated;
Or their successors.
Chapter 10. Transparency
10.01. Definitions
For the purposes of this Chapter, "administrative resolution of general application" means an administrative resolution or interpretation that applies to all persons and situations of fact that generally fall within its scope, and which establishes a norm of conduct, but not It includes:
a) Resolutions or rulings in administrative proceedings that apply to a particular person, merchandise or service of another Party in a specific case; or
b) a ruling that decides on a particular act or practice.
10.02. Information Center
1. Each Party shall designate a unit or office as an Information Center to facilitate communication between the Parties on any matter covered by this Treaty.
2. When a Party so requests, the Information Center of another Party shall indicate the dependency or official responsible for the matter and shall provide such support as may be required to facilitate communication with the requesting Party.
10.03. Publication
1. Each Party shall ensure that its laws, regulations, procedures and administrative rulings of general application relating to any matter covered by this Agreement are published as soon as possible or made available to the Parties and to any interested party.
2. To the extent possible, each Party shall:
a) make any proposed measures known in advance; and
b) provide the persons and other Party with a reasonable opportunity to comment on the proposed measure (s).
10.04. Provision of Information
1. Each Party shall notify to the other Party, to the extent possible, any measures in force or in draft which it considers might materially affect or affect the interests of that other Party under the terms of this Agreement.
2. Each Party, at the request of another Party, shall provide information and promptly answer any questions it may have regarding any measures in force or under consideration.
3. The notification or provision of information referred to in this Article shall be made without prejudice to whether or not the measure is compatible with this Treaty.
10.05. Guarantees of Hearing, Legality and Due Process
1. The Parties reaffirm the assurances of fairness, due process and due process enshrined in their respective legislations within the meaning of articles 10.06 and 10.07.
2. Each Party shall ensure that, in its judicial and administrative proceedings relating to the application of any measure referred to in Article 10.03 (1), which affects the rules of this Treaty, the essential procedural formalities are observed, and Motivate the legal cause of it.
10.06. Administrative Procedures for the Adoption of Measures of General Application
In order to administer in a compatible, impartial and reasonable manner all measures of general application affecting the aspects covered by this Agreement, each Party shall ensure that in its administrative procedures in which the measures referred to in Article 10.03 are applied 1) In respect of persons, goods or services in particular of another Party in specific cases:
a) where possible, persons of that other Party who are directly affected by a proceeding receive, in accordance with domestic provisions, a reasonable notice of commencement of the proceedings, including a description of their nature, the declaration of authority to the Which is legally responsible for initiating it and a general description of all the issues at issue;
b) where the time, nature of the proceedings and the public interest permit, such persons are given a reasonable opportunity to present facts and arguments in support of their claims, prior to any final administrative action; and
c) its procedures are in accordance with its legislation.
10.07. Review and Challenge
1. Each Party shall maintain judicial or administrative courts or proceedings for the purpose of prompt review and, where appropriate, the correction of definitive administrative actions related to matters covered by this Agreement. These courts shall be impartial and shall not be bound by the agency or the authority responsible for administrative enforcement of the law and shall have no material interest in the outcome of the case.
2. Each Party shall ensure that, before such courts or in such proceedings, the parties have the right to:
a) a reasonable opportunity to support or defend their respective positions; and
b) a resolution based on the evidence and arguments presented by them.
3. The Party shall ensure that, subject to the means of challenge or review, or that it may be brought in accordance with its legislation, such resolutions shall be implemented by the authorities or authorities.
Chapter 11. Final Provisions
11.01. Amendments
1. The Parties may agree by mutual agreement on any amendment to this Agreement. The original texts of any amendment shall be deposited with the Depositary, which shall deliver a certified copy to each Party without delay.
2. Amendments shall form an integral part of this Agreement and shall enter into force on the date on which all Parties have notified in writing to the Depositary that they have been adopted in accordance with domestic legal procedures or on such other date as the Parties may agree.
11.02. Amendments to the WTO Agreement
If any provision of the WTO Agreement that the Parties have incorporated into this Agreement is amended, the Parties shall consult with a view to amending the appropriate provision of this Agreement, as appropriate, in accordance with Article 11.01.
11.03. Reservations
This Treaty shall not be subject to reservations or unilateral interpretative declarations.
11.04. Duration
This Treaty shall have an indefinite duration and shall enter into force thirty (30) days after the date of deposit of the second instrument of ratification for the first two (2) depositors, and for the remainder, eight (8) days after Date of deposit of its respective instrument.
11.05. Denunciation
1. This instrument may be denounced by any of the Parties and the denunciation shall take effect one hundred and eighty (180) days after its submission to SG-SICA, without prejudice to the parties being able to agree on a different term.
2. The Treaty shall remain in force between the other Parties, as long as they remain attached to it, at least two of them.
11.06. Deposit
SG-SICA shall be the depositary of this Treaty, of which it shall send certified copies to the Foreign Ministries of each Contracting State, the Ministry of Foreign Trade of Costa Rica and the Secretariat of Central American Economic Integration (SIECA). It shall also notify them immediately of the deposit of each of the instruments of ratification. Upon the entry into force of this Agreement, SG-SICA shall proceed to send
A certified copy thereof to the General Secretariat of the United Nations for the purpose of the registration referred to in Article 102 of the Charter of that Organization.
11.07. Annexes, Appendices and Footnotes
The annexes, appendices and footnotes to this Treaty form an integral part of it.
11.08. Replacement
This Treaty replaces in its entirety the Treaty on Investment and Trade in Services between the Republics of El Salvador and Guatemala, signed in Guatemala City, Republic of Guatemala, on January 13, 2000.
Attachments
Annex I. Non-conforming Measures
Explanatory Note
1. A Party's Schedule to this Annex sets out, in accordance with Articles 3.09 (Reservations and Exceptions) and 4.07 (Reservations and Exceptions), a Party's existing measures that are not subject to some or all of the obligations imposed by:
(a) Articles 3.04 (National Treatment);6 4.04 (National Treatment);
b) Articles 3.05 (Most-Favored-Nation Treatment); or 4.03 (Most-Favored-Nation Treatment);
c) Article 3.07 (Performance Requirements);
d) Article 3.08 (Senior Corporate Management and Boards of Directors);
e) Article 4.
2. Each Schedule entry sets out the following elements:
a) Sector refers to the sector for which the entry has been made;
b) Obligations Affected specifies the obligation or obligations referred to in paragraph 1 that, under Articles 3.09 (Reservations and Exceptions) and 4.07 (Reservations and Exceptions), do not apply to the measure or measures listed;
c) Measures identifies the laws, regulations or other measures in respect of which the entry has been made. A measure cited in the Measures element:
(i) means the measure as modified, continued or renewed, as of the date of entry into force of this Agreement, and
(ii) includes any measure subordinated to, adopted or maintained under the authority of, and consistent with, that measure; and
(d) Description sets out the liberalization commitments, if any, as of the date of entry into force of this Agreement and the remaining non-conforming aspects of the existing measures in respect of which the record has been made.
3 In interpreting a schedule to the List, all elements of the schedule shall be considered. A fiche shall be interpreted in the light of the relevant obligations of the Chapters in respect of which the fiche has been made. To the extent that:
a) the Measures element is qualified by a commitment to liberalize the Description element, the Measures element is qualified, it shall prevail over any other element; and
b) the Measures element is not qualified, the Measures element shall prevail over any other element, except where any discrepancy between the Measures element and the other elements considered in their totality is so substantial and material that it would be unreasonable to conclude that the Measures element would not be considered to be a commitment to liberalize the Description element.
4. Pursuant to Articles 3.09 (Reservations and Exceptions) and 4.07 (Reservations and Exceptions), the Articles of this Agreement specified in the Affected Obligations element of a schedule do not apply to the law, regulation or other measure identified in the Measures element of that schedule.
5. Where a Party maintains a measure that requires a service supplier to be a national, permanent resident or resident in its territory as a condition for the supply of a service in its territory, a Schedule entry made for that measure in connection with Articles 4. 03 (Most-favored-nation treatment), 4.04 (National treatment) or 4.05 (Local presence) shall operate as a Schedule entry in relation to Articles 3.04 (National treatment), 3.05 (Most-favored-nation treatment) or 3.07 (Performance requirements) with respect to such measure.
6. For greater certainty, Article 4.06 (Market Access) refers to non-discriminatory measures.
7. For the purposes of this Agreement, the Parties agree on the following understandings:
a) Articles 7 and 10 of the Labor Code of El Salvador, Article 11 of the Labor Code of Honduras, and Article 14 of the Labor Code of Nicaragua are not inconsistent with Chapter 4 (Cross-Border Trade in Services) of the Agreement.
b) With respect to Chapter 3 (Investment) and for greater certainty, nothing in this Agreement shall be construed to require a Party to privatize public services provided in the exercise of governmental authority.
c) Nothing in Chapter 3 (Investment) and Chapter 4 (Cross-Border Trade in Services) prevents the Parties from adopting, maintaining or applying any measure that is consistent with the Agreement relating to electronic betting and other gambling activities within their respective national territories.
d) The extraction of natural resources (extraction of minerals and hydrocarbons), the generation of electricity, the refining of crude oil and petroleum products, hunting and fishing shall not be considered services for the purposes of this Agreement.
e) Nothing in Chapter 3 (Investment) and Chapter 4 (Cross-Border Trade in Services) precludes the Parties from adopting, maintaining or applying any measure that is consistent with the Agreement relating to the following activities:
i. the use of wildlife genetic material (flora and fauna), wildlife products and wildlife by-products;
ii. the exploration or use of forestry, hydrological, soil, archaeological or zoological resources; and
iii. urban and land use planning.
f) A non-discriminatory indefinite moratorium on open-pit mining activities declared in the territory of Costa Rica shall not be considered a non-conforming measure subject to the disciplines of Chapter 3 (Investment). Chapter 3 (Investment) and Chapter 4 (Cross-Border Trade in Services).
g) The requirement under Honduran law that no more than five percent of the nurses employed in a hospital facility may be foreign nationals is not inconsistent with the market access obligation (Article 4.06) of Chapter 4 (Cross-Border Trade in Services).
8. For greater certainty, nothing in this Annex affects the commitments assumed by the Parties within the framework of the Central American Economic Integration Subsystem.
Annex I. Schedule of Costa Rica
Sector: Irrigation and Drainage Services
Obligations Concerned: Market Access (Article 4.06)
Measures: Law No. 7593 of August 9, 1996 - Law of the Public Services Regulatory Authority - Articles 5, 9 and 13
Description: Cross Border Trade in Services
Costa Rica reserves the right to limit the number of concessions for the supply of irrigation services based on the demand for such services. Priority will be given to concessionaires that are already providing the service.
Sector: Solid Waste Treatment Services
Obligations Concerned: Market Access (Article 4.06)
Measures: Law No. 7593 of August 9, 1996 - Ley de la Autoridad Reguladora de las Servicios Publicos - Articles 5, 9 and 13
Description: Cross Border Trade in Services
Costa Rica reserves the right to limit the number of concessions for the supply of solid waste treatment services based on the demand for such services. Priority will be given to concessionaires that are already supplying the service.
Sector: Maritime Services and Specialized Air Services
Obligations Concerned: Market Access (Article 4.06)
Measures: Law No. 7593 of August 9, 1996 - Law of the Public Services Regulatory Authority - Articles 5, 9 and 13
Description: Cross-Border Trade in Services
Costa Rica reserves the right to limit the number of concessions for the supply of specialized maritime and air services in domestic ports based on the demand for such services. Priority will be given to concessionaires that are already supplying the service.
Sector: Professional Services
Obligations Concerned: Most-favored-nation treatment (Article 4.03) National treatment (Article 4.04) Local presence (Article 4.05)
Measures: Law No. 7221 of April 6, 1991 - Ley Organica del Colegio de Ingenieros Agrónomos - Articles 5, 6, 8, 10, 15, 16, 18, 19, 20, 23, 24 and 25
Executive Decree No. 22688-MAG-MIRENEM of November 22, 1993 - Reglamento General de la Ley Organica del Colegio de Ingenieros Agrónomos de Costa Rica - Articles 6, 7 and 9
Executive Decree No. 29410 of March 2, 2001 - Regulations of the Registry of Experts-Assessors of the Colegio de Ingenieros Agrónomos - Articles 6, 20 and 22
Law No. 5230 of July 2, 1973 - Organic Law of the College of Geologists of Costa Rica - Articles 3 and 9
Executive Decree No. 6419-MEIC of October 18, 1976 - Regulations of the College of Geologists of Costa Rica - Articles 4, 5 and 37
Law No. 5142 of November 30, 1972 - Organic Law of the College of Pharmacists of Costa Rica - Articles 2, 9 and 10
Executive Decree No. 3503-S of February 6, 1974 - General Organic Regulations or Internal Regulations of the College of Pharmacists of Costa Rica - Articles 2 and 6
Law No. 5784 of August 19, 1975 - Organic Law of the College of Dental Surgeons of Costa Rica - Articles 2, 6, 9, 10, 14 and 15
Law No. 4925 of December 17, 1971 - Comprehensive Reform to the Organic Law of the Federated College of Engineers and Architects - Articles 5, 9, 11, 13, 14 and 52
Executive Decree No. 3414-T of December 3, 1973- General Internal Regulations of the Federated College of Engineers and Architects of Costa Rica - Articles 1, 3, 7, 9 and 54
Special Regulations of Incorporation to the Federated College of Engineers and Architects of Costa Rica, approved in Session 4-82-A.E.R., of 6 December 1982 - Articles 7 and 8
Special Regulations to Determine the list of Professionals for the Effects of Temporary Membership or Incorporation of Foreigners to the Colegio Federado de Ingenieros y de Arquitectos de Costa Rica, approved in Session 45-82-GE of December, 1982 - Articles 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8
Law No. 1038 of August 19, 1947 - Law of Creation of the College of Public Accountants - Articles 3, 4, 12 and 15
Law No. 3455 of November 14, 1964 - Organic Law of the College of Veterinarians - Articles 2, 4, 5, 7 and 27
Executive Decree No. 19184-MAG of July 10, 1989 - Regulations to the Organic Law of the College of Veterinarians - Articles 6, 7, 10, 11, 19 and 24
Law No. 2343 of May 4, 1959 - Organic Law of the College of Nurses of Costa Rica - Articles 2, 22, 23, 24 and 28
Executive Decree No. 11 of August 1, 1961 - Articles 2, 22, 23, 24 and 28
Executive Decree No. 11 of August 1, 1961 - Articles 2, 22, 23, 23, 24 and 27 11 of August 10, 1961
Regulation of Law No. 2343 of May 4, 1959 that Creates the College of Nurses of Costa Rica - Articles 9, 10, 53, 54 and 67
Law No. 7764 of April 17, 1998 - Notarial Code - Articles 3 and 10
Law No. 1269 of March 2, 1951 - Organic Law of the College of Private Accountants of Costa Rica - Articles 2 and 4
Law No. 6038 of January 13, 1977 - Organic Law of the College of Chemists and Chemical Engineers of Costa Rica - Articles 1, 2, 3, 8, 9 and 83
Law No. 3019 of August 9, 1962 - Organic Law of the College of Physicians and Surgeons - Articles 4, 5 and 7
Executive Decree No. 23110-S of March 22, 1991 - Regulations to the Organizational Law of the College of Physicians and Surgeons - Article 10
Executive Decree No. 2613-SPSS of March 3, 1991. 2613-SPSS of November 3, 1972 - General Regulations to Authorize the Practice of Professionals of Dependent Branches of the Medical Sciences and Technicians in Medical and Surgical Matters - Articles 1 and 4
Law No. 3838 of December 19, 1966 - Organizational Law of the College of Optometrists of Costa Rica - Articles 6 and 7
Law No. 4420 of September 18, 1969 - Organizational Law of the College of Journalists of Costa Rica - Articles 2, 24, 25 and 27