(i) damages adequate to compensate for the injury the right holder has suffered as a result of the infringement; and
(ii) at least in the case of copyright or related rights infringement and trademark counterfeiting, the profits of the infringer that are attributable to the infringement and are not taken into account in computing the amount of the damages referred to in clause (i); and
(b) in determining damages for infringement of intellectual property rights, its judicial authorities shall consider, inter alia, the value of the infringed-upon good or service based on the suggested retail price or other legitimate measure of value that the right holder presents.
8. In civil judicial proceedings, each Party shall, at least with respect to civil judicial proceedings concerning copyright or related rights infringement and trademark counterfeiting, establish or maintain pre-established damages as an alternative to actual damages. Such pre- established damages shall be set out in domestic law and determined by the judicial authorities in an amount sufficient to compensate the right holder for the harm caused by the infringement and constitute a deterrent to future infringements.
9. Each Party shall provide that its judicial authorities, except in exceptional circumstances, shall have the authority to order, at the conclusion of civil judicial proceedings concerning copyright or related rights infringement and trademark counterfeiting, that the prevailing party shall be awarded payment of court costs or fees and reasonable attorney’s fees by the losing party. Further, each Party shall provide that its judicial authorities, at least in exceptional circumstances, shall have the authority to order, at the conclusion of civil judicial proceedings concerning patent infringement, that the prevailing party be awarded payment of reasonable attorney’s fees by the losing party.
10. In civil judicial proceedings concerning copyright or related right infringement and trademark counterfeiting, each Party shall provide that its judicial authorities shall have the authority to order the seizure of suspected infringing goods, any related materials and implements, and, at least for trademark counterfeiting, documentary evidence relevant to the infringement.
11. Each Party shall provide that:
(a) its judicial authorities shall have the authority to order, at their discretion, the destruction of the goods that have been found to be pirated or counterfeit;
(b) its judicial authorities shall have the authority to order that materials and implements that have been used in the manufacture or creation of such pirated or counterfeit goods be, without compensation of any sort, promptly destroyed or, in exceptional circumstances, without compensation of any sort, disposed of outside the channels of commerce in such a manner as to minimize the risks of further infringements. In considering requests for such destruction, the Party’s judicial authorities may take into account, inter alia, the gravity of the infringement, as well as the interests of third parties holding ownership, possessory, contractual, or secured interests;
(c) the charitable donation of counterfeit trademark goods and goods that infringe copyright and related rights shall not be ordered by the judicial authorities without the authorization of the right holder, except that counterfeit trademark goods may in appropriate cases be donated to charity for use outside the channels of commerce when the removal of the trademark eliminates the infringing characteristic of the good and the good is no longer identifiable with the removed trademark. In no case shall the simple removal of the trademark unlawfully affixed be sufficient to permit the release of goods into the channels of commerce.
12. Each Party shall provide that in civil judicial proceedings concerning the enforcement of intellectual property rights, its judicial authorities shall have the authority to order the infringer to provide any information that the infringer possesses regarding any person involved in any aspect of the infringement and regarding the means of production or distribution channel for the infringing goods or services, including the identification of third persons that are involved in their production and distribution and their distribution channels, and to provide this information to the right holder. Each Party shall provide that its judicial authorities shall have the authority to impose sanctions, in appropriate cases, on a party to a proceeding that fails to abide by valid orders issued by such authorities.
13. To the extent that any civil remedy can be ordered as a result of administrative procedures on the merits of a case, each Party shall provide that such procedures conform to principles equivalent in substance to those provided for in this Chapter.
14. Each Party shall provide for civil remedies against the acts described in Article 15.5.7 and 15.5.8. Available civil remedies shall include at least:
(a) provisional measures, including seizure of devices and products suspected of being involved in the prohibited activity;
(b) actual damages (plus any profits attributable to the prohibited activity not taken into account in computing the actual damages) or pre-established damages as provided in paragraph 8;
(c) payment to the prevailing right holder, at the conclusion of civil judicial proceedings, of court costs and fees and reasonable attorney’s fees by the party engaged in the prohibited conduct; and
(d) destruction of devices and products found to be involved in the prohibited activity, at the discretion of the judicial authorities, as provided in subparagraphs (a) and (b) of paragraph 11.
Neither Party may make damages available against a nonprofit library, archives, educational institution, or public broadcasting entity that sustains the burden of proving that it was not aware and had no reason to believe that its acts constituted a prohibited activity.
15. In civil judicial proceedings concerning the enforcement of intellectual property rights, each Party shall provide that its judicial authorities shall have the authority to order a party to desist from an infringement, inter alia, to prevent the entry into the channels of commerce in their jurisdiction of imported goods that involve the infringement of an intellectual property right, immediately after customs clearance of such goods or to prevent their exportation.
16. In the event that a Party’s judicial or other authorities appoint technical or other experts in civil proceedings concerning the enforcement of intellectual property rights and require that the parties bear the costs of such experts, the Party should seek to ensure that such costs are closely related, inter alia, to the quantity and nature of work to be performed and do not unreasonably deter recourse to such proceedings.
Provisional Measures
17. Each Party shall act on requests for relief inaudita altera parte and execute such requests expeditiously, in accordance with its rules of judicial procedure.
18. Each Party shall provide that its judicial authorities shall have the authority to require the plaintiff to provide any reasonably available evidence in order to satisfy themselves with a sufficient degree of certainty that the plaintiff’s right is being infringed or that such infringement is imminent, and to order the plaintiff to provide a reasonable security or equivalent assurance set at a level sufficient to protect the defendant and to prevent abuse, and so as not to unreasonably deter recourse to such procedures.
19. In proceedings concerning the grant of provisional measures in relation to enforcement of a patent, each Party shall provide for a rebuttable presumption that the patent is valid.
Special Requirements Related to Border Measures
20. Each Party shall provide that any right holder initiating procedures for its competent authorities to suspend the release of suspected counterfeit or confusingly similar trademark goods, or pirated copyright goods (21) into free circulation is required to provide adequate evidence to satisfy the competent authorities that, under the laws of the country of importation, there is prima facie an infringement of the right holder’s intellectual property right and to supply sufficient information that may reasonably be expected to be within the right holder’s knowledge to make the suspected goods reasonably recognizable by the competent authorities. The requirement to provide sufficient information shall not unreasonably deter recourse to these procedures.
21. Each Party shall provide that its competent authorities shall have the authority to require a right holder initiating procedures for suspension to provide a reasonable security or equivalent assurance sufficient to protect the defendant and the competent authorities and to prevent abuse. Such security or equivalent assurance shall not unreasonably deter recourse to these procedures. Each Party shall provide that such security may take a form of an instrument issued by a financial services provider to hold the importer or owner of the imported merchandise harmless from any loss or damage resulting from any suspension of the release of goods in the event the competent authorities determine that the article is not an infringing good.
22. Where its competent authorities have made a determination that goods are counterfeit or pirated, a Party shall grant its competent authorities the authority to inform the right holder of the names and addresses of the consignor, the importer, and the consignee, and of the quantity of the goods in question.
23. Each Party shall provide that its competent authorities may initiate border measures ex officio, with respect to imported, exported, or in-transit merchandise suspected of infringing an intellectual property right, without the need for a formal complaint from a private party or right holder.
24. Each Party shall provide that goods that have been determined to be pirated or counterfeit by its competent authorities shall be destroyed, pursuant as appropriate to judicial order, unless the right holder consents to an alternate disposition, except that counterfeit trademark goods may in appropriate cases be donated to charity for use outside the channels of commerce, when the removal of the trademark eliminates the infringing characteristic of the good and the good is no longer identifiable with the removed trademark. In regard to counterfeit trademark goods, the simple removal of the trademark unlawfully affixed shall not be sufficient to permit the release of the goods into the channels of commerce. In no event shall the competent authorities be authorized to permit the exportation of counterfeit or pirated goods or to permit such goods to be subject to other customs procedures, except in exceptional circumstances.
25. Each Party shall provide that where an application fee or merchandise storage fee is assessed in connection with border measures to enforce an intellectual property right, the fee shall not be set at an amount that unreasonably deters recourse to such measures.
Criminal Procedures and Remedies
26. (a) Each Party shall provide for criminal procedures and penalties to be applied at least in cases of willful trademark counterfeiting or copyright or related rights piracy on a commercial scale. Willful copyright or related rights piracy on a commercial scale includes significant willful infringements of copyright or related rights, for purposes of commercial advantage or private financial gain, as well as willful infringements that have no direct or indirect motivation of financial gain, provided that there is more than a de minimis financial harm. Each Party shall treat willful importation or exportation of counterfeit or pirated goods as unlawful activities and provide for criminal penalties to the same extent as the trafficking or distribution of such goods in domestic commerce. (22)
(b) Specifically, each Party shall provide:
(i) remedies that include sentences of imprisonment or monetary fines, or both, sufficient to provide a deterrent to future acts of infringement. Each Party shall establish policies or guidelines that encourage penalties to be imposed by judicial authorities at levels sufficient to provide a deterrent to future infringements;
(ii) that its judicial authorities shall have the authority to order the seizure of suspected counterfeit or pirated goods, any related materials and implements that have been used in the commission of the offense, any assets traceable to the infringing activity, and any documentary evidence relevant to the offense. Each Party shall provide that items that are subject to seizure pursuant to any such judicial order need not be individually identified so long as they fall within general categories specified in the order;
(iii) that its judicial authorities shall have the authority to order, among other measures, (1) the forfeiture of any assets traceable to the infringing activity, (2) the forfeiture and destruction of all counterfeit or pirated goods, without compensation of any kind to the defendant, in order to prevent the re-entry of counterfeit and pirated goods into channels of commerce, and (3) with respect to willful copyright or related rights piracy, the forfeiture and destruction of materials and implements that have been used in the creation of the infringing goods; and
(iv) that its authorities may, at least in cases of suspected trademark counterfeiting or copyright piracy, conduct investigations or exercise other enforcement measures ex officio, without the need for a formal complaint by a private party or right holder, at least for the purpose of preserving evidence or preventing the continuation of the infringing activity.
Limitations on Liability for Service Providers
27. For the purpose of providing enforcement procedures that permit effective action against any act of infringement of copyright (23) covered under this Chapter, including expeditious remedies to prevent infringements, and criminal and civil remedies that constitute a deterrent to further infringements, each Party shall provide, consistent with the framework set out in this Article:
(a) legal incentives for service providers to cooperate with copyright owners in deterring the unauthorized storage and transmission of copyrighted materials; and
(b) limitations in its law regarding the scope of remedies available against service providers for copyright infringements that they do not control, initiate or direct, and that take place through systems or networks controlled or operated by them or on their behalf, as set out in this subparagraph. (24)
(i) These limitations shall preclude monetary relief and provide reasonable restrictions on court-ordered relief to compel or restrain certain actions for the following functions and shall be confined to those functions:
(A) transmitting, routing, or providing connections for material without modification of its content, or the intermediate and transient storage of such material in the course thereof;
(B) caching carried out through an automatic process;
(C) storage at the direction of a user of material residing on a system or network controlled or operated by or for the service provider; and
(D) referring or linking users to an on-line location by using information location tools, including hyperlinks and directories.
(ii) These limitations shall apply only where the service provider does not initiate the chain of transmission of the material and does not select the material or its recipients (except to the extent that a function described in clause (i)(D) in itself entails some form of selection).
(iii) Qualification by a service provider for the limitations as to each function in clauses (i)(A) through (D) shall be considered separately from qualification for the limitations as to each other function, in accordance with the conditions for qualification set forth in clauses (iv) through (vii).
(iv) With respect to the function referred to in clause (i)(B), the limitations shall be conditioned on the service provider:
(A) permitting access to cached material in significant part only to users of its system or network who have met conditions on user access to that material;
(B) complying with rules concerning the refreshing, reloading, or other updating of the cached material when specified by the person making the material available on-line in accordance with a generally accepted industry standard data communications protocol for the system or network through which that person makes the material available;
(C) not interfering with technology consistent with industry standards accepted in the Party’s territory used at the originating site to obtain information about the use of the material, and not modifying its content in transmission to subsequent users; and
(D) expeditiously removing or disabling access, on receipt of an effective notification of claimed infringement, to cached material that has been removed or access to which has been disabled at the originating site.
(v) With respect to functions referred to in clauses (i)(C) and (D), the limitations shall be conditioned on the service provider:
(A) not receiving a financial benefit directly attributable to the infringing activity, in circumstances where it has the right and ability to control such activity;
(B) expeditiously removing or disabling access to the material residing on its system or network on obtaining actual knowledge of the infringement or becoming aware of facts or circumstances from which the infringement was apparent, such as through effective notifications of claimed infringement in accordance with clause (ix); and
(C) publicly designating a representative to receive such notifications.
(vi) Eligibility for the limitations in this subparagraph shall be conditioned on the service provider:
(A) adopting and reasonably implementing a policy that provides for termination in appropriate circumstances of the accounts of repeat infringers; and
(B) accommodating and not interfering with standard technical measures accepted in the Party’s territory that protect and identify copyrighted material, that are developed through an open, voluntary process by a broad consensus of copyright owners and service providers, that are available on reasonable and nondiscriminatory terms, and that do not impose substantial costs on service providers or substantial burdens on their systems or networks.
(vii) Eligibility for the limitations in this subparagraph may not be conditioned on the service provider monitoring its service, or affirmatively seeking facts indicating infringing activity, except to the extent consistent with such technical measures.
(viii) If the service provider qualifies for the limitations with respect to the function referred to in clause (i)(A), court-ordered relief to compel or restrain certain actions shall be limited to terminating specified accounts, or to taking reasonable steps to block access to a specific, non-domestic on-line location. If the service provider qualifies for the limitations with respect to any other function in clause (i), court-ordered relief to compel or restrain certain actions shall be limited to removing or disabling access to the infringing material, terminating specified accounts, and other remedies that a court may find necessary provided that such other remedies are the least burdensome to the service provider among comparably effective forms of relief. Each Party shall provide that any such relief shall be issued with due regard for the relative burden to the service provider and harm to the copyright owner, the technical feasibility and effectiveness of the remedy and whether less burdensome, comparably effective enforcement methods are available. Except for orders ensuring the preservation of evidence, or other orders having no material adverse effect on the operation of the service provider’s communications network, each Party shall provide that such relief shall be available only where the service provider has received notice and an opportunity to appear before the Party’s judicial authority.
(ix) For purposes of the notice and take down process for the functions referred to in clauses (i)(C) and (D), each Party shall establish appropriate procedures for effective notifications of claimed infringement, and effective counter-notifications by those whose material is removed or disabled through mistake or misidentification. At a minimum, each Party shall require that an effective notification of claimed infringement be a written communication, physically or electronically signed by a person who represents, under penalty of perjury or other criminal penalty, that he is an authorized representative of a right holder in the material that is claimed to have been infringed, and containing information that is reasonably sufficient to enable the service provider to identify and locate material that the complaining party claims in good faith to be infringing and to contact that complaining party. At a minimum, each Party shall require that an effective counter-notification contain the same information, mutatis mutandis, as a notification of claimed infringement, and contain a statement that the subscriber making the counter-notification consents to the jurisdiction of the courts of the Party. Each Party shall also provide for
monetary remedies against any person who makes a knowing material misrepresentation in a notification or counter-notification that causes injury to any interested party as a result of a service provider relying on the misrepresentation.
(x) If the service provider removes or disables access to material in good faith based on claimed or apparent infringement, each Party shall provide that the service provider shall be exempted from liability for any resulting claims, provided that, in the case of material residing on its system or network, it takes reasonable steps promptly to notify the person making the material available on its system or network that it has done so and, if such person makes an effective counter-notification and is subject to jurisdiction in an infringement suit, to restore the material on-line unless the person giving the original effective notification seeks judicial relief within a reasonable time.
(xi) Each Party shall establish an administrative or judicial procedure enabling copyright owners who have given effective notification of claimed infringement to obtain expeditiously from a service provider information in its possession identifying the alleged infringer.
(xii) Service provider means:
(A) for purposes of the function referred to in clause (i)(A), a provider of transmission, routing, or connections for digital on-line communications without modification of their content between or among points specified by the user of material of the user’s choosing; and
(B) for purposes of the functions referred to in clause (i)(B) through (D), a provider or operator of facilities for on-line services or network access.
counterfeit trademark goods means any goods, including packaging, bearing without authorization a trademark which is identical to the trademark validly registered in respect of such goods, or which cannot be distinguished in its essential aspects from such a trademark, and which thereby infringes the rights of the owner of the trademark in question under the law of the country of importation; and
pirated copyright goods means any goods which are copies made without the consent of the right holder or person duly authorized by the right holder in the country of production and which are made directly or indirectly from an article where the making of that copy would have constituted an infringement of a copyright or a related right under the law of the country of importation.
Article 15.12. Understandings Regarding Certain Public Health Measures
1. The Parties affirm their commitment to the Declaration on the TRIPS Agreement and Public Health (WT/MIN(01)/DEC/2).
2. The Parties have reached the following understandings regarding this Chapter.
(a) The obligations of this Chapter do not and should not prevent a Party from taking measures to protect public health by promoting access to medicines for all, in particular concerning cases such as HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria, and other epidemics as well as circumstances of extreme urgency or national emergency.
Accordingly, while reiterating their commitment to this Chapter, the Parties affirm that this Chapter can and should be interpreted and implemented in a manner supportive of each Party’s right to protect public health and, in particular, to promote access to medicines for all.
(b) In recognition of the commitment to access to medicines that are supplied in accordance with the Decision of the General Council of 30 August 2003 on the Implementation of Paragraph Six of the Doha Declaration on the TRIPS Agreement and Public Health (WT/L/540) and the WTO General Council Chairman’s statement accompanying the Decision (JOB(03)/177, WT/GC/M/82) (collectively, the “TRIPS/health solution”), this Chapter does not and should not prevent the effective utilization of the TRIPS/health solution.
(c) With respect to the aforementioned matters, if an amendment of the TRIPS Agreement enters into force with respect to the Parties and a Party’s application of a measure in conformity with that amendment violates this Chapter, the Parties shall immediately consult in order to adapt this Chapter as appropriate in the light of the amendment.
Article 15.13. Final Provisions
1. Except as otherwise provided in paragraph 2 and Article 15.1, each Party shall give effect to this Chapter on the date of entry into force of this Agreement.
2. Panama may delay giving effect to:
(a) Article 15.2.1 for a period of no longer than two years;
(b) Article 15.2.5 for a period of no longer than one year;
(c) Article 15.2.10 for a period of no longer than one year;
(d) Article 15.3.7 for a period of no longer than two years;
(e) Article 15.4 for a period of no longer than 18 months;
(f) Articles 15.5.7(a)(ii), 15.5.7(e), and 15.5.7(f) for a period of no longer than three years;
(g) Article 15.5.8(a)(ii) for a period of no longer than 30 months;
(h) Article 15.8 for a period of no longer than 18 months;
(i) Article 15.5.4 for a period of no longer than six months;
(j) Article 15.5.9 for a period of no longer than one year;
(k) Article 15.9.6 for a period of no longer than one year;
(l) Article 15.10.1(a) for a period of no longer than one year; and
(m) Articles 15.11.8, 15.11.14, 15.11.24, and 15.11.27 for a period of no longer than three years beginning on the date of entry into force of this Agreement.
3. The Parties shall periodically review the implementation and operation of this Chapter and shall have the opportunity to undertake further negotiations to modify any of its provisions, including, as appropriate, consideration of an improvement in a Party’s level of economic development.
Chapter Sixteen . Labor
Article 16.1. Statement of Shared Commitment
The Parties reaffirm their obligations as members of the International Labor Organization (ILO).
Article 16.2. Fundamental Labor Rights
1. Each Party shall adopt and maintain in its statutes and regulations, and practices thereunder, the following rights, as stated in the ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work and its Follow-up (1998) (ILO Declaration):(1) (2)
(a) freedom of association;
(b) the effective recognition of the right to collective bargaining;
(c) the elimination of all forms of compulsory or forced labor;
(d) the effective abolition of child labor and, for purposes of this Agreement, a prohibition on the worst forms of child labor; and
(e) the elimination of discrimination in respect of employment and occupation.
2. Neither Party shall waive or otherwise derogate from, or offer to waive or otherwise derogate from, its statutes or regulations implementing paragraph 1 in a manner affecting trade or investment between the Parties, where the waiver or derogation would be inconsistent with a fundamental right set out in that paragraph.
Article 16.3. Enforcement of Labor Laws
1. (a) A Party shall not fail to effectively enforce its labor laws, including those it adopts or maintains in accordance with Article 16.2.1, through a sustained or recurring course of action or inaction, in a manner affecting trade or investment between the Parties, after the date of entry into force of this Agreement.
(b) A decision a Party makes on the distribution of enforcement resources shall not be a reason for not complying with the provisions of this Chapter. Each Party retains the right to the reasonable exercise of discretion and to bona fide decisions with regard to the allocation of resources between labor enforcement activities among the fundamental labor rights enumerated in Article 16.2.1, provided the exercise of such discretion and such decisions are not inconsistent with the obligations of this Chapter. (3)
2. Nothing in this Chapter shall be construed to empower a Party’s authorities to undertake labor law enforcement activities in the territory of the other Party.
Article 16.4. Procedural Guarantees and Public Awareness
1. Each Party shall ensure that persons with a recognized interest under its law in a particular matter have appropriate access to tribunals for the enforcement of the Party’s labor laws. Such tribunals may include administrative, quasi-judicial, judicial, or labor tribunals, as provided in the Party’s law.
2. Each Party shall ensure that proceedings before such tribunals for the enforcement of its labor laws are fair, equitable, and transparent and, to this end, each Party shall ensure that such proceedings comply with due process of law.
3. Each Party shall provide that final decisions on the merits of the case in such proceedings are:
(a) in writing and state the reasons on which the decisions are based;
(b) made available without undue delay to the parties to the proceedings and, consistent with its law, to the public; and
(c) based on information or evidence, obtained and presented in accordance with its law, in respect of which the parties were offered the opportunity to be heard.
4. Each Party shall provide, as appropriate, that parties to such proceedings have the right to request review and, where warranted, correction of final decisions issued in such proceedings.
5. Each Party shall ensure that tribunals that conduct or review such proceedings are impartial and independent.
6. Each Party shall provide that the parties to such proceedings may seek remedies to ensure the enforcement of their rights under its labor laws. Such remedies may include measures such as orders, fines, penalties, or temporary closures of workplaces that present a serious and immediate health or safety hazard, as provided in the Party’s laws.
7. Each Party shall promote public awareness of its labor laws, including by:
(a) ensuring that information related to its labor laws and enforcement and compliance procedures is publicly available; and
(b) encouraging education of the public regarding its labor laws.
8. For greater certainty, decisions or pending decisions by each Party’s tribunals, as well as
related proceedings, shall not be subject to revision or be reopened under this Chapter.
Article 16.5. Institutional Arrangements
1. The Parties hereby establish a Labor Affairs Council, comprising cabinet-level or equivalent representatives of the Parties, or their designees.
2. The Council shall meet within the first year after the date of entry into force of this Agreement and thereafter as often as it considers necessary to oversee the implementation of and review progress under this Chapter, including the activities of the Labor Cooperation and Capacity Building Mechanism established under Article 16.6, and to pursue the labor objectives of this Agreement. Unless the Parties otherwise agree, each meeting of the Council shall include a session at which members of the Council have an opportunity to meet with the public to discuss matters relating to the implementation of this Chapter.
3. Each Party shall designate an office within its labor ministry that shall serve as a contact point with the other Party, and with the public, for purposes of carrying out the work of the Council, including coordination of the Labor Cooperation and Capacity Building Mechanism. Each Party’s contact point shall provide for the submission, receipt, and consideration of communications from persons of a Party on matters related to the provisions of this Chapter, and shall make such communications available to the other Party and, as appropriate, to the public. Each Party shall review such communications, as appropriate, in accordance with domestic procedures. The Council shall develop general guidelines for considering such communications.
4. Each Party may convene a new, or consult an existing, national labor advisory or consultative committee, comprising members of its public, including representatives of its labor and business organizations, to provide views on any issues related to this Chapter.
5. All decisions of the Council shall be taken by mutual agreement. All decisions of the Council shall be made public, unless otherwise provided in this Agreement, or unless the Council otherwise decides.
6. The Council may prepare reports on matters related to the implementation of this Chapter and shall make any such reports public.
Article 16.6. Labor Cooperation and Capacity Building Mechanism
1. Recognizing that cooperation on labor issues can play an important role in advancing development in the territory of the Parties and in providing opportunities to improve labor standards, and to further advance common commitments regarding labor matters, including the principles embodied in the ILO Declaration and ILO Convention No. 182 Concerning the Prohibition and Immediate Action for the Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labour (1999) (ILO Convention 182), the Parties hereby establish a Labor Cooperation and Capacity Building Mechanism, as set out in Annex 16.6.
2. The Parties shall strive to ensure that the objectives of the Labor Cooperation and Capacity Building Mechanism and the activities undertaken through that Mechanism:
(a) are consistent with each Party’s national programs, development strategies, and priorities;
(b) provide opportunities for public participation in the development and implementation of such objectives and activities; and
(c) take into account each Party’s economy, culture, and legal system.
Article 16.7. Cooperative Labor Consultations
1. A Party may request consultations with the other Party regarding any matter arising under this Chapter by delivering a written request to the contact point that the other Party has designated under Article 16.5.3.
2. The consultations shall begin promptly after delivery of the request. The request shall contain information that is specific and sufficient to enable the Party receiving the request to respond.
3. The Parties shall make every attempt to arrive at a mutually satisfactory resolution of the matter and may seek advice or assistance from any person or body they deem appropriate in order to fully examine the matter.
4. If the Parties fail to resolve the matter pursuant to paragraph 3, either Party may request that the Council be convened to consider the matter by delivering a written request to the contact point of the other Party.
5. The Council shall promptly convene and shall endeavor to resolve the matter, including, where appropriate, by consulting outside experts and having recourse to such procedures as good offices, conciliation, or mediation.
6. If the Parties have failed to resolve the matter within 60 days of a request under paragraph 1, the complaining Party may request consultations under Article 20.4 (Consultations) or a meeting of the Commission under Article 20.5 (Commission – Good Offices, Conciliation, and Mediation) and, as provided in Chapter Twenty (Dispute Settlement), thereafter have recourse to the other provisions of that Chapter.