Article 5.1. Definitions
1. For the purposes of this Chapter, Article 3.3 (Definitions) applies.
2. For the purposes of this Chapter:
(a) “electronic signature” means data in electronic which is attached to or logically associated with other data in electronic form and used for authentication of the signatory;
(b) “electronic transmissions” means transmissions of electronic data through the Internet;
(c) “electronic trust service” means an electronic service consisting of:
(i) the creation, verification and validation of electronic signatures, electronic seals, electronic time stamps, electronic registered delivery services and certificates related to those services;
(ii) the creation, verification and validation of certificates for website authentication; or
(iii) the preservation of electronic signatures, electronic seals or certificates related to those services;
(d) “end-user” means a user not providing public communications networks or publicly available electronic communications services;
(e) “market surveillance” means activities carried out and measures taken by public authorities to ensure that goods and services comply with domestic laws and regulations and do not endanger health, safety or any other aspect of public interest protection;
(f) “market surveillance authority” means an authority responsible for carrying out market surveillance;
(g) “personal data” means any information relating to an identified or identifiable natural person;
(h) "processing" of personal data means any operation or set of operations which is performed on personal data or on sets of personal data, whether or not by automated means, such as collection, recording, organisation, structuring, storage, adaptation or alteration, retrieval, consultation, use, disclosure by transmission, dissemination or otherwise making available, alignment or combination, restriction, erasure or destruction;
(i) "trade administration documents" means documents, forms or other information, including in electronic formats, as required by a Party's domestic legislation on commercial trade transactions;
(j) "unsolicited commercial electronic messages" means electronic messages for commercial purposes without the consent of the recipient or against the explicit rejection of the recipient.
Article 5.2. Scope
1. This Chapter applies to measures of the Parties affecting trade enabled by electronic means.
2. In the event of any inconsistency between this Chapter and Annex X (Financial Services), Annex X (Financial Services) shall prevail to the extent of the inconsistency.
3. This Chapter shall not apply to audio-visual services.
Article 5.3. General Provisions
The Parties recognise:
(a) the economic growth and opportunities that electronic commerce in goods and services provides, in particular for businesses and consumers as well as the potential for enhancing international trade;
(b) the importance of avoiding barriers to the use and development of electronic commerce in goods and services; and
(c) the need to create an environment of trust and confidence in as well as security for electronic commerce, in particular:
(i) protection of privacy of natural persons in relation to the processing of personal data;
(ii) protection of confidentiality of individual records and accounts, and commercial secrets;
(ii) measures to prevent and fight deceptive and fraudulent practices or to deal with the effects of a default on contracts; and
(iv) measures against unsolicited commercial electronic messages.
Article 5.4. Right to Regulate
The Parties reaffirm the right to regulate in the area of electronic commerce in conformity with this Chapter to achieve legitimate policy objectives.
Article 5.5. Customs Duties (6)
1. No Party shall impose customs duties on electronic transmissions.
2. For greater certainty, paragraph 1 shall not preclude a Party from imposing internal taxes, fees, or other charges on electronic transmissions, provided that they are imposed in a manner consistent with this Agreement.
Article 5.6. Electronic Authentication, Trust Services and Contracts by Electronic Means
1. No Party shall deny the legal effect and admissibility as evidence in legal proceedings of an electronic document, electronic signature, electronic seal, electronic time stamp or of data sent and received using an electronic registered delivery service, solely on the ground that it is in electronic form.
2. No Party shall adopt or maintain measures that would:
(a) prohibit parties to an electronic transaction from mutually determining the appropriate electronic authentication methods for their transaction; or
(b) prevent parties to an electronic transaction from being able to prove to judicial or administrative authorities that the use of electronic authentication or an electronic trust service in that transaction complies with the applicable legal requirements.
3. Notwithstanding paragraph 2, each Party may require that for a particular category of transactions, the method of electronic authentication or trust service is either certified by an authority accredited in accordance with its domestic laws and regulations or that the method meets certain performance standards which shall be objective, transparent and non-discriminatory and shall only relate to the specific characteristics of the category of transactions concerned.
4, Except to the extent provided under a Partyâs domestic laws and regulations in relation to certain types of contracts, a Party shall not deny that contracts may be concluded by electronic means.
5. Each Party shall ensure that its domestic laws and regulations do not deprive electronic contracts of legal effect and validity solely on the ground that contracts have been made by electronic means.
Article 5.7. Paperless Trade Administration
1. Each Party shall make all trade administration documents publicly available in electronic form.
2. Each Party shall accept electronic versions of trade administration documents as legal equivalents of paper documents except if:
(a) there is a domestic or international legal requirement to the contrary; or
(b) doing so would reduce the effectiveness of the trade administration process.
Article 5.8. Open Internet Access
Subject to applicable domestic laws and regulations, each Party shall adopt or maintain appropriate measures to ensure that end-users in its territory are able to:
(a) access, distribute and use services and applications of their choice available through the Internet, subject to reasonable and non-discriminatory network management;
(b) connect devices of their choice to the Internet, provided that such devices comply with the requirements in the territory where they are used and do not harm the network; and
(c) have access to information on the network management practices of their Internet access service supplier.
Article 5.9. Online Consumer Trust
1. Each Party shall adopt or maintain measures to ensure the effective protection of consumers engaging in electronic commerce transactions, including but not limited to measures that:
(a) proscribe fraudulent and deceptive commercial practices;
(b) require suppliers of goods and services to act in good faith and abide by fair commercial practices, including through the prohibition of charging consumers for unsolicited goods and services;
(c) require suppliers of goods and services to provide consumers with clear and thorough information regarding their identity and contact details,(7) as well as information regarding the goods and services, the transaction and the applicable consumer rights; and
(d) grant consumers access to redress to claim their rights, including a right to remedies in cases where goods or services are paid and not delivered or provided as agreed.
2. The Parties recognise the importance of entrusting their consumer protection agencies or other relevant bodies with adequate enforcement powers and the importance of cooperation between their agencies in the enforcement of their respective domestic laws and regulations related to consumer protection and online consumer trust.
3. The Parties recognise the importance of promoting effective policy frameworks relating to consumer product safety.
Article 5.10. Unsolicited Commercial Electronic Messages
1. In order to protect users effectively against unsolicited commercial electronic messages, each Party shall adopt or maintain measures that:
(a) require suppliers of unsolicited commercial electronic messages to facilitate the ability of recipients to stop the sending of such messages; and
(b) require the consent, as specified according to the domestic laws and regulations of each Party, of recipients to receive commercial electronic messages.
2. Each Party shall provide access to recourse against suppliers of unsolicited commercial electronic messages who do not comply with its measures implemented pursuant to paragraph 1.
Article 5.11. Cross-border Data Flows
1. The Parties commit to ensuring cross-border data flows to facilitate digital trade. To that end, cross-border data flows shall not be restricted between the Parties by: (8)
(a) requiring the use of computing facilities or network elements in the Party's territory for processing, including by imposing the use of computing facilities or network elements that are certified or approved in the territory of the Party;
(b) requiring the localisation of data in the Party's territory for storage or processing.
(c) prohibiting storage or processing in the territory of the other Party; or
(d) making the cross-border transfer of data contingent upon use of computing facilities or network elements in the Party's territory or upon localisation requirements in the Party's territory.
2. Between Norway and the Republic of Moldova, nothing in this Article shall be construed to prevent Norway or the Republic of Moldova from taking any action which it considers necessary for the protection of its essential security interests.
3. The Parties shall review the implementation of this Article and assess its functioning in the Joint Committee. The first such review shall take place no later than three years from the entry into force of this Agreement.
Article 5.12. Electronic Payments and Invoicing
1. The Parties recognise the pivotal role of electronic payments in enabling electronic commerce and the rapid growth of electronic payments. The Parties agree to support the development of efficient, safe and secure cross-border electronic payments by fostering the adoption and use of internationally accepted standards, promoting interoperability and the interlinking of payment infrastructures, and encouraging useful innovation and competition in the payments ecosystem.
2. The Parties recognise the importance of e-invoicing which increases the efficiency, accuracy and reliability of commercial transactions and agree to promote the adoption of interoperable systems for e-invoicing.
3. The Parties shall support and facilitate the adoption of e-invoicing by undertakings. To this end, the Parties shall endeavour to:
(a) promote the existence of underlying infrastructure to support e-invoicing; and
(b) generate awareness of and build capacity for e-invoicing.
Article 5.13. Protection of Personal Data and Privacy
1. The Parties recognise that the protection of personal data and privacy is a fundamental right and that high standards in this regard contribute to the development of digital trade and trust therein.
2. Each Party shall adopt or maintain safeguards it deems appropriate to ensure a high level of protection of personal data and privacy, including through the adoption and application of rules for the cross-border transfer of personal data. Nothing in this Agreement shall affect the protection of personal data and privacy afforded by the Parties' respective safeguards.
3. The Parties shall inform each other about any safeguards they adopt or maintain according to paragraph 2.
Article 5.14. Transfer of or Access to Source Code
1. No Party shall require the transfer of, or access to, the source code of software or parts thereof owned by a natural or juridical person of another Party.
2. This Article shall not apply to:
(a) requirements by a court or administrative tribunal;
(b) intellectual property rights and their protection and enforcement;
(c) competition law and its enforcement;
(d) the right of a Party to take measures in accordance with Chapter 7 (Government Procurement);
(e) requirements by market surveillance authorities in order to verify the conformity of goods and services with legal requirements; or
(f) voluntary transfer or granting of access to source code on a commercial basis by a natural or juridical person of a Party.
Article 5.15. Cooperation on Electronic Commerce
1. The Parties may engage in a dialogue on regulatory issues raised in relation to electronic commerce, which could, inter alia, address the following issues:
(a) the liability of intermediary service providers with respect to the transmission and storage of information;
(b) the treatment of unsolicited commercial electronic messages;
(c) interoperability of infrastructures, such as secure electronic authentication and payments;
(d) consumer protection; and
(e) other issues relevant for the development of electronic commerce.
2. Such a dialogue may include exchange of information on the Partiesâ respective domestic laws and regulations on these issues as well as on the implementation of such domestic laws and regulations.
Article 5.16. General Exceptions
For the purposes of this Chapter, Article XX of the GATT 1994 and Article XIV of the GATS apply and are hereby incorporated into and made part of this Agreement, mutatis mutandis.
Article 5.17. Security Exceptions
For the purposes of this Chapter, Article XXI of the GATT 1994 and Article XIVbis of the GATS apply and are hereby incorporated into and made part of this Agreement, mutatis mutandis.
Chapter 6. PROTECTION OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
Article 6.1. Protection of Intellectual Property
1. The Parties shall grant and ensure adequate, effective and non-discriminatory protection of intellectual property rights, and provide for measures for the enforcement of such rights against infringement thereof, including counterfeiting and piracy, in accordance with this Chapter and Annex XV (Protection of Intellectual Property), and the international agreements referred to therein.
2. The Parties shall accord to each other's nationals treatment no less favourable than that they accord to their own nationals. Exemptions from this obligation must be in accordance with the substantive provisions of Articles 3 and 5 of the WTO Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS Agreement).
3. The Parties shall grant to each otherâs nationals treatment no less favourable than that accorded to nationals of a non-party. If a Party concludes a trade agreement containing provisions on the protection of intellectual property rights with a non-Party, notified under Article XXIV of the GATT 1994, it shall notify the other Parties without delay and accord to them treatment no less favourable than that provided under such agreement. The Party concluding such an agreement shall, on request by another Party, negotiate the incorporation of provisions of the agreement granting a treatment no less favourable than that provided under that agreement into this Agreement. Exemptions from this obligation must be in accordance with the substantive provisions of the TRIPS Agreement, in particular Articles 4 and 5.
4. On request of a Party, the Joint Committee shall review this Chapter and Annex XV (Protection of Intellectual Property), with a view to further improving the levels of protection and to avoiding or remedying trade distortions caused by actual levels of protection of intellectual property rights.
Chapter 7. GOVERNMENT PROCUREMENT
Article 7.1. Scope and Coverage
1. The WTO Revised Agreement on Government Procurement 2012 (GPA 2012) applies and is hereby incorporated into and made part of this Agreement, mutatis mutandis.
2. For the purposes of this Chapter, "covered procurement" means procurement in accordance with Article II of the GPA and, in addition, works concessions as defined in Annex XVI (Government Procurement).
3. The Parties shall cooperate in the Joint Committee with the aim of increasing the understanding of their respective public procurement systems and achieving further liberalisation and mutual opening up of public procurement markets.
Article 7.2. Exchange of Information
To facilitate communication between the Parties on government procurement, Appendix 2 to Annex XVI (Government Procurement) lists contact points which shall, upon request, provide information on the Parties' domestic laws, regulations and practices in the field of government procurement.
Article 7.3. Sustainable Public Procurement
1. The Parties recognise the importance of promoting sustainable public procurement in its economic, environmental and social dimensions to contribute to the proper functioning of competition and sustainable economic growth.
2. Each Party shall allow procuring entities to take into account environmental, labour and social considerations throughout the procurement procedure, provided they are non-discriminatory and are not applied in a discriminatory manner.
3. Each Party shall take appropriate measures to ensure compliance with its obligations under environmental, social and labour laws and regulations, including those established under Chapter 9 (Trade and Sustainable Development).
Article 7.4. Facilitation of Participation of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises
1. The Parties recognise the important contribution of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) to economic growth and employment and the importance of facilitating their participation in government procurement.
2. If available, a Party shall, upon request of another Party, provide information regarding its measures aimed at promoting, encouraging and facilitating the participation of SMEs in government procurement.
3. With a view to facilitating participation by SMEs in government procurement, each Party shall, to the extent possible, and if appropriate:
(a) share information and best practices related to the participation of SMEs in government procurement;
(b) to make all tender documentation available free of charge; and (c) undertake activities aimed at facilitating the participation of SMEs in government procurement.
Article 7.5. Further Negotiations
If a Party grants after the entry into force of this Agreement, additional benefits with regard to access to its public procurement markets to a non-Party, it shall, upon request of another Party, enter into negotiations with a view to extending these benefits to that Party on a reciprocal basis.
Chapter 8. COMPETITION
Article 8.1. Rules of Competition
1. The following practices of enterprises are incompatible with the proper functioning of this Agreement in so far as they may affect trade between the Parties:
(a) agreements between enterprises, decisions by associations of enterprises and concerted practices between enterprises which have as their object or effect the prevention, restriction or distortion of competition; and
(b) abuse by one or more enterprises of a dominant position in the territory of a Party as a whole or in a substantial part thereof.
2. Paragraph 1 shall also apply to the activities of public enterprises, and enterprises to which the Parties grant special or exclusive rights, in so far as the application of these provisions does not obstruct the performance, in law or in fact, of the particular public tasks assigned to them.
3. This Chapter shall be without prejudice to the autonomy of each Party to develop, maintain and enforce its competition laws and regulations.
4. This Article shall not be construed to create any direct obligations for enterprises.
Article 8.2. Cooperation
1. The Parties shall cooperate and consult in their dealings with anti-competitive ptactices referred to in paragraph 1 of Article 8.1 (Rules of Competition), with the aim of putting an end to such practices or their adverse effects on trade.
2. Cooperation may include the exchange of pertinent information that is available to the Parties. No Party shall be required to disclose information that is confidential according to its domestic laws and regulations.
Article 8.3. Consultations
1. If a Party considers that a given practice continues to affect trade in the sense of paragraph 1 of Article 8.1 (Rules of Competition), after cooperation or consultations in accordance with Article 8.2 (Cooperation), it may request consultations in the Joint Committee.
2. The Parties concerned shall provide the Joint Committee with all the support and available information in order to examine the case and, where appropriate, eliminate the ptactice objected to.
3. The Joint Committee shall, within 60 days from the receipt of the request, examine the information provided in order to facilitate a mutually acceptable solution of the matter.
Article 8.4. Dispute Settlement
No Party may have recourse to Chapter 11 (Dispute Settlement) for any matter arising under this Chapter.