Article 207. Regulatory Authorities
1. Each Party shall designate independent regulatory authorities empowered to regulate the gas and electricity markets. These regulatory authorities shall be legally distinct and functionally independent from any other public or private enterprise, market participant or operator.
2. The decisions of and the procedures used by a regulatory authority shall be impartial with respect to all market participants.
3. An operator affected by any decision of a regulatory authority shall have the right to appeal against that decision to an appeal body which is independent of the parties involved. Where the appeal body is not judicial in character, written reasons for its decision shall always be given and its decisions shall also be subject to review by an impartial and independent judicial authority. Decisions taken by appeal bodies shall be effectively enforced.
Article 208. Organisation of Markets
1. The Parties shall ensure that energy markets are operated with a view to achieving competitive, secure and environmentally sustainable conditions and shall not discriminate between enterprises as regards rights or obligations.
2. Notwithstanding paragraph 1, a Party may impose on enterprises, in the general economic interest, obligations which may relate to security, including security of supply; regularity, quality and price of supplies; and environmental protection, including energy efficiency, energy from renewable sources and climate protection. Such obligations shall be clearly defined, transparent, proportionate and verifiable.
3. Where a Party regulates the price at which gas and electricity are sold on the domestic market, that Party shall ensure that the methodology underlying the calculation of the regulated price is published prior to the entry into force of the regulated price.
Article 209. Access to Energy Transport Facilities
1. Each Party shall ensure on its territory the implementation of a system of third party access to energy transport facilities and Liquefied Natural Gas and storage facilities applicable to all users and applied in a transparent, objective and non- discriminatory manner.
2. Each Party shall ensure that the access tariff to energy transport facilities and all other conditions related to access to an energy transport facility are objective, reasonable, transparent and shall not discriminate on the basis of origin, ownership or destination of the energy good.
3. Each Party shall ensure that all technical and contracted capacity, both physical and virtual, is allocated through transparent and non-discriminatory criteria and procedures.
4. In case of refusal to grant third party access, the Parties shall ensure that, upon request, the energy transport facility operators provide a duly substantiated explanation to the requesting party, subject to legal redress.
5. A Party may exceptionally derogate from the provisions in paragraphs 1 to 4 according to objective criteria laid down in its legislation. In particular, a Party may implement in its legislation a possibility to grant, on a case-by-case basis, for a limited period of time, an exemption to the third party access rules for major new energy transport facilities.
Article 210. Relationship with the Energy Community Treaty
1. In relation to Georgia, in the event of a conflict between the provisions of this Chapter and the provisions of the Energy Community Treaty or the provisions of the European Union legislation made applicable under the Energy Community Treaty, the provisions of the Energy Community Treaty or the provisions of the relevant European Union legislation made applicable under the Energy Community Treaty shall prevail to the extent of such conflict.
2. In the implementation of this Chapter by Georgia, preference shall be given to the adoption of legislation or other acts which are consistent with the Energy Community Treaty or are based on the legislation applicable in the European Union. In the event of a dispute as regards this Chapter, legislation or other acts adopted by Georgia which meet these criteria shall be presumed to conform to this Chapter. In assessing whether the legislation or other acts adopted by Georgia meet these criteria, any relevant decision taken under Article 91 of the Energy Community Treaty shall be taken into account.
3. The provisions of paragraphs 1 and 2 of this Article shall not apply to the United Kingdom.
Chapter 12. Transparency
Article 211. Definitions
(a) "measure of general application" includes laws, regulations, judicial decisions, procedures and administrative rulings that may have an impact on any matter covered by Title IV (Trade and Trade-related Matters) of this Agreement. It does not include measures that are addressed to a particular person or a group of persons;
(b) "interested person" means any natural or legal person established in the territory of a Party that may be directly affected by a measure of general application.
Article 212. Objective
Recognising the impact which regulatory environment may have on trade and investment between the Parties, the Parties shall provide a predictable regulatory environment for economic operators and efficient procedures, including for small and medium-sized enterprises, taking due account of the requirements of legal certainty and proportionality.
Article 213. Publication
1. Each Party shall ensure that measures of general application:
(a) are promptly and readily available via an officially designated medium and where feasible, electronic means, in such a manner as to enable any person to become acquainted with them;
(b) provide an explanation of the objective of, and the rationale for, such measures; and
(c) allow for sufficient time between the publication and entry into force of such measures, except in duly justified cases including security or emergency issues.
2. Each Party shall:
(a) endeavour to make publicly available at an appropriate carly stage any proposal to adopt or to amend any measure of general application, including an explanation of the objective of, and rationale for such proposal;
(b) provide reasonable opportunities for interested persons to comment on such proposal, allowing, in particular, for sufficient time for such opportunities; and
(c) endeavour to take into consideration the comments received from interested persons with respect to such proposal.
Article 214. Enquiries and Contact Points
1. In order to facilitate the communication between the Parties on any matter covered by Title IV (Trade and Trade-related Matters) of this Agreement, each Party shall designate a contact point acting as coordinator.
2. Each Party shall establish or maintain appropriate mechanisms for responding to enquiries from any person regarding any measure of general application which is proposed or in force, and its application. Enquiries may be addressed through the contact point established under paragraph 1 or through any other mechanism, as appropriate.
3. The Parties recognise that any response provided for in paragraph 2 may not be definitive or legally binding but for information purposes only, unless otherwise provided for in their respective laws and regulations.
4. Upon request of a Party, the other Party shall promptly provide information and respond to questions pertaining to any measure of general application or any proposal to adopt or to amend any measure of general application that the requesting Party considers might affect the operation of Title IV (Trade and Trade-related Matters) of this Agreement, regardless of whether the requesting Party has been previously notified of that measure.
Article 215. Administration of Measures of General Application
1. Each Party shall administer in an objective, impartial and reasonable manner all measures of general application.
2. To that end, each Party, in applying such measures to particular persons, goods or services of the other Party in specific cases, shall:
(a) endeavour to provide interested persons, that are directly affected by an administrative proceeding, with a reasonable notice, in accordance with its procedures, when a proceeding is initiated, including a description of the nature of the proceeding, a statement of the legal authority under which the proceeding is initiated and a general description of any issues in controversy;
(b) afford such interested persons a reasonable opportunity to present facts and arguments in support of their positions prior to any final administrative action, in so far as the time, the nature of the proceeding and the public interest permit; and
(c) ensure that its procedures are based on and carried out in accordance with its law.
Article 216. Review and Appeal
1. Each Party shall establish or maintain judicial, arbitral or administrative tribunals or procedures for the purpose of the prompt review and, where warranted, correction of administrative action relating to matters covered by Title IV (Trade and Trade-related Matters) of this Agreement. Such tribunals or procedures shall be impartial and independent of the office or authority entrusted with administrative enforcement and those responsible for them shall not have any substantial interest in the outcome of the matter.
2. Each Party shall ensure that, in any such tribunals or procedures, the parties to the proceeding are provided with the right to:
(a) a reasonable opportunity to support or defend their respective positions; and
(b) a decision based on the evidence and the submissions of record or, where required by its law, the record compiled by the administrative authority.
3. Each Party shall ensure that, subject to appeal or further review as provided for in its law, such decision shall be implemented by, and shall govern the practice of, the office or the authority with respect to the administrative action at issue.
Article 217. Regulatory Quality and Performance and Good Administrative Behaviour
1. The Parties agree to cooperate in promoting regulatory quality and performance, including through exchange of information and best practices on their respective regulatory policies and regulatory impact assessments.
2. The Parties recognise the importance of the principles of good administrative behaviour and agree to cooperate in promoting such principles, including through exchange of information and best practices.
Article 218. Specific Rules
The provisions of this Chapter shall apply without prejudice to any specific rules on transparency established in other Chapters of Title IV (Trade and Trade-related Matters) of this Agreement.
Chapter 13. Trade and Sustainable Development
Article 219. Context and Objectives
1. The Parties recall the Agenda 21 of the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development of 1992, the International Labour Organisation's (ILO) Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work of 1998, the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation on Sustainable Development of 2002, the Ministerial Declaration of the United Nations Economic and Social Council on Generating Full and Productive Employment and Decent Work for All of 2006, and the ILO Declaration on Social Justice for a Fair Globalisation of 2008. The Parties reaffirm their commitment to promote the development of international trade in such a way as to contribute to the objective of sustainable development, for the welfare of present and future generations, and to ensure that this objective is integrated and reflected at every level of their trade relationship.
2. The Parties reaffirm their commitment to pursue sustainable development and recognise that economic development, social development and environmental protection are its interdependent and mutually reinforcing pillars. They underline the benefit of considering trade-related labour (1) and environmental issues as part of a global approach to trade and sustainable development.
Article 220. Right to Regulate and Levels of Protection
1. The Parties recognise the right of each Party to determine its sustainable development policies and priorities, to establish its own levels of domestic environmental and labour protection, and to adopt or modify accordingly its relevant law and policies, consistently with their commitment to the internationally recognised standards and agreements referred to in Articles 221 and 222 of this Agreement.
2. In that context, each Party shall strive to ensure that its law and policies provide for and encourage high levels of environmental and labour protection and shall strive to continue to improve its law and policies and the underlying levels of protection.
Article 221. Multilateral Labour Standards and Agreements
1. The Parties recognise full and productive employment and decent work for all as key elements for managing globalisation, and reaffirm their commitment to promote the development of international trade ina way that is conducive to full and productive employment and decent work for all. In this context, the Parties commit to consulting and cooperating as appropriate on trade-related labour issues of mutual interest.
2. In accordance with their obligations as members of the ILO and the ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work and its Follow-up, adopted by the International Labour Conference at its 86th Session in 1998, the Parties commit to respecting, promoting and realising in their law and practice and in their whole territory the inter- nationally recognised core labour standards, as embodied in the fundamental ILO conventions, and in particular:
(a) the freedom of association and the effective recognition of the right to collective bargaining;
(b) the elimination of all forms of forced or compulsory labour; (c) _ the effective abolition of child labour; and (d) _ the elimination of discrimination in respect of employment and occupation.
3. The Parties reaffirm their commitment to effectively implement in their law and practice the fundamental, the priority and other ILO conventions ratified by Georgia and the United Kingdom respectively.
4. The Parties will also consider the ratification of the remaining priority and other conventions that are classified as up-to-date by the ILO. The Parties shall regularly exchange information on their respective situation and developments in this regard.
5. The Parties recognise that the violation of fundamental principles and rights at work cannot be invoked or otherwise used as a legitimate comparative advantage and that labour standards should not be used for protectionist trade purposes.
Article 222. Multilateral Environmental Governance and Agreements
1. The Parties recognise the value of multilateral environmental governance and agreements as a response of the international community to global or regional environmental problems, and stress the need to enhance the mutual supportiveness between trade and environmental policies. In this context, the Parties commit to consult and cooperate as appropriate with respect to negotiations on trade-related environmental issues and with respect to other trade-related environmental matters of mutual interest.
2. The Parties reaffirm their commitment to effectively implement in their law and practice the multilateral environmental agreements (MEAs) to which they are party.
3. The Parties shall regularly exchange information on their respective situation and advancements as regards ratifications of MEAs or amendments to such agreements.
4. The Parties reaffirm their commitment to reaching the ultimate objective of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the Protocol thereto (Kyoto Protocol). They commit to cooperate on the development of the future international climate change framework under the UNFCCC and its related agreements and decisions.
5. Nothing in this Agreement shall prevent the Parties from adopting or maintaining measures to implement the MEAs to which they are party, provided that such measures are not applied in a manner that would constitute a means of arbitrary or unjustifiable discrimination between the Parties or a disguised restriction on trade.
Article 223. Trade and Investment Promoting Sustainable Development
The Parties reconfirm their commitment to enhance the contribution of trade to the goal of sustainable development in its economic, social and environmental dimensions. Accordingly:
(a) the Parties recognise the beneficial role that core labour standards and decent work can have on economic efficiency, innovation and productivity, and they shall seck greater policy coherence between trade policies, on the one hand, and labour policies on the other;
(b) the Parties shall strive to facilitate and promote trade and investment in environmental goods and services, including through addressing related non-tariff barriers;
(c) the Parties shall strive to facilitate the removal of obstacles to trade or investment concerning goods and services of particular relevance to climate change mitigation, such as sustainable renewable energy and energy efficient products and services. This may include the adoption of appropriate technologies and the promotion of standards that respond to environmental and economic needs and minimise technical obstacles to trade;
(d) the Parties agree to promote trade in goods that contribute to enhanced social conditions and environmentally sound practices, including goods that are the subject of voluntary sustainability assurance schemes such as fair and ethical trade schemes and eco-labels;
(e) the Parties agree to promote corporate social responsibility, including through exchange of information and best practices. In this regard, the Parties refer to the relevant internationally recognised principles and guidelines, especially the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises.
Article 224. Biological Diversity
1. The Parties recognise the importance of ensuring the conservation and the sustainable use of biological diversity as a key element for the achievement of sustainable development, and reaffirm their commitment to conserve and sustainably use biological diversity, in accordance with the Convention on Biological Diversity and other relevant international instruments to which they are party.
2. To that end, the Parties commit to:
(a) promoting trade in natural resource-based products obtained through a sustainable use of biological resources and contributing to the conservation of biodiversity;
(b) exchanging information on actions on trade in natural resource-based products aimed at halting the loss of biological diversity and reducing pressures on biodiversity and, where relevant, cooperating to maximise the impact and ensure the mutual supportiveness of their respective policies;
(c) promoting the listing of species under Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) where the conservation status of those species is considered at risk; and
(d) cooperating at the regional and global levels with the aim of promoting the conservation and the sustainable use of biological diversity in natural or agricultural ecosystems, including endangered species, their habitat, specially protected natural areas and genetic diversity; the restoration of ecosystems, and the elimination or the reduction of negative environmental impacts resulting from the use of living and non-living natural resources or of ecosystems.
Article 225. Sustainable Management of Forests and Trade In Forest Products
1. The Parties recognise the importance of ensuring the conservation and the sustainable management of forests and of forestsâ contribution to the Parties! economic, environmental and social objectives.
2. To that end, the Parties commit to:
(a) promoting trade in forest products derived from sustainably managed forests, harvested in accordance with the domestic legislation of the country of harvest, which could include bilateral or regional agreements to that end;
(b) exchanging information on measures to promote the consumption of timber and timber products from sustainably managed forests and, where relevant, cooperate to developing such measures;
(c) adopting measures to promote the conservation of forest cover and combat illegal logging and related trade, including with respect to third countries, as appropriate;
(d) exchanging information on actions for improving forest governance and where relevant cooperating to maximise the impact and ensure the mutual supportiveness of their respective policies aiming at excluding illegally harvested timber and timber products from trade flows;
(e) promoting the listing of timber species under CITES where the conservation status of those species is considered at risk; and
(f} cooperating at the regional and the global levels with the aim of promoting the conservation of forest cover and the sustainable management of all types of forests.
Article 226. Trade In Fish Products
Taking into account the importance of ensuring responsible management of fish stocks in a sustainable manner as well as promoting good governance in trade, the Parties commit to:
(a) promoting best practices in fisheries management with a view to ensuring the conservation and the management of fish stocks in a sustainable manner, and based on the ecosystem approach;
(b) taking effective measures to monitor and control fishing activities;
(c) complying with long-term conservation measures and sustainable exploitation of marine living resources as defined in the main UN and FAO instruments relating to these issues;
(d) promoting coordinated data collection schemes and scientific cooperation between the Parties in order to improve current scientific advice for fisheries management,
(e) cooperating with and within relevant Regional Fisheries Management Organisations as widely as possible; and
(f) cooperating in the fight against illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing and fishing related activities with comprehensive, effective and transparent measures. The Parties shall also implement policies and measures to exclude IUU products from trade flows and their markets.
Article 227. Upholding Levels of Protection
1. The Parties recognise that it is inappropriate to encourage trade or investment by lowering the levels of protection afforded in domestic environmental or labour law.
2. A Party shall not waive or derogate from, or offer to waive or derogate from, its environmental or labour law as an encouragement for trade or the establishment, the acquisition, the expansion or the retention of an investment of an investor in its territory.
3. A Party shall not, through a sustained or recurring course of action or inaction, fail to effectively enforce its environmental and labour law, as an encouragement for trade or investment.
Article 228. Scientific Information
When preparing and implementing measures aimed at protecting the environment or labour conditions that may affect trade or investment, the Parties shall take account of available scientific and technical information, and relevant inter- national standards, guidelines or recommendations if they exist. In this regard, the Parties may also use the precautionary principle.
Article 229. Transparency
Each Party, in accordance with its domestic law and Chapter 12 (Transparency) of Title IV (Trade and Trade-related Matters) of this Agreement, shall ensure that any measure aimed at protecting the environment or labour conditions that may affect trade or investment is developed, introduced and implemented in a transparent manner, with due notice and public consultation, and with appropriate and timely communication to and consultation of non-state actors.
Article 230. Review of Sustainability Impacts
The Parties commit to reviewing, monitoring and assessing the impact of the implementation of Title IV (Trade and Trade-related Matters) of this Agreement on sustainable development through their respective participative processes and institutions, as well as those set up under this Agreement, for instance through trade- related sustainability impact assessments.
Article 231. Working Together on Trade and Sustainable Development
The Parties recognise the importance of working together on trade-related aspects of environmental and labour policies in order to achieve the objectives of Title IV (Trade and Trade-related Matters) of this Agreement. They may cooperate in, inter alia, the following areas:
(a) labour or environmental aspects of trade and sustainable development in international fora, including in particular the WTO, the ILO, United Nations Environment Programme, and MEAs;
(b) methodologies and indicators for trade sustainability impact assessments;
(c) the impact of labour and environment regulations, norms and standards on trade, as well as the impact of trade and investment rules on labour and environmental law, including on the development of labour and environmental regulations and policy;
(d) the positive and negative impacts of Title IV (Trade and Trade-related Matters) of this Agreement on sustainable development and ways to enhance, prevent or mitigate them, respectively, also taking into account the sustainability impact assessments carried out by either or both Parties;
(e) exchanging views and best practices on promoting the ratification and the effective implementation of fundamental, priority and other up-to-date ILO conventions and MEAs of relevance in a trade context;
(f) promoting private and public certification, traceability and labelling schemes, including eco-labelling;
(g) promoting corporate social responsibility, for instance through actions concerning awareness raising, implementation and dissemination of internationally recognised guidelines and principles;
(h) trade related aspects of the ILO Decent Work Agenda, including on the interlink between trade and full and productive employment, labour market adjustment, core labour standards, labour statistics, human resources development and lifelong learning, social protection and social inclusion, social dialogue and gender equality;
(i) trade-related aspects of MEAs, including customs cooperation;
(j) trade-related aspects of the current and future international climate change regime, including means to promote low- carbon technologies and energy efficiency;
(k) trade-related measures to promote the conservation and the sustainable use of biological diversity;
(l) trade-related measures to promote the conservation and sustainable management of forests, thereby reducing pressure on deforestation including with regard to illegal logging; and
(m) trade-related measures to promote sustainable fishing practices and trade in sustainably managed fish products.
Article 232. Institutional Set-up and Overseeing Mechanisms
1. Each Party shall designate a contact point within its administration that shall serve as the contact point with the other Party for purposes of implementing this Chapter.
2. The Trade and Sustainable Development Sub-Committee is hereby established. It shall report on its activities to the Strategic Partnership and Cooperation Forum in Trade configuration, as set out in Article 354(3) of this Agreement. It shall comprise senior officials from within the administrations of each Party.
3. The Trade and Sustainable Development Sub-Committee shall meet within the first year after the date this Agreement enters into force, and thereafter as necessary, to oversee the implementation of this Chapter, including cooperative activities undertaken under Article 231 of this Agreement. That Sub-Committee shall establish its own rules of procedure.
4. Each Party shall convene new or consult existing domestic advisory group(s) on sustainable development with the task of advising on issues relating to this Chapter. Such group(s) may submit views or recommendations on the implementation of this Chapter, including on its (their) own initiative.
5. The domestic advisory group(s) shall comprise independent representative organisations of civil society in a balanced representation of economic, social, and environmental stakeholders, including, among others, employers and workers organisations, non-governmental organisations, business groups, as well as other relevant stakeholders.
Article 233. Joint Civil Society Dialogue Forum
1. The Parties shall facilitate a joint forum with civil society organisations established in their territories, including members of their domestic advisory group(s), and the public at large to conduct a dialogue on sustainable development aspects of this Agreement. The Parties shall promote a balanced representation of relevant interests, including independent representative organisations of employers, workers, environmental interests and business groups, as well as other relevant stakeholders, as appropriate.
2. The joint civil society dialogue forum shall be convened once a year unless otherwise agreed by the Parties. The Parties shall agree on the operation of the joint civil society dialogue forum no later than one year after the entry into force of this Agreement.
3. The Parties shall present an update on the implementation of this Chapter to the joint civil society dialogue forum. The views and the opinions of a joint civil society dialogue forum shall be submitted to the Parties and shall be publicly available.
Article 234. Government Consultations
1. For any matter arising under this Chapter the Parties shall only have recourse to the procedures established under this Article and Article 235 of this Agreement.
2. 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 of the other Party. The request shall present the matter clearly, identifying the problem at issue and providing a brief summary of the claims under this Chapter. Consultations shall start promptly after a Party delivers a request for consultations.
3. The Parties shall make every attempt to arrive at a mutually satisfactory resolution of the matter. The Parties shall take into account the activities of the ILO or relevant multilateral environmental organisations or bodies so as to promote greater cooperation and coherence between the work of the Parties and these organisations. Where relevant, the Parties may seek advice from these organisations or bodies, or any person or body they deem appropriate, in order to fully examine the matter.
4. Ifa Party considers that the matter needs further discussion, that Party may request that the Trade and Sustainable Development Sub-Committee be convened to consider the matter by delivering a written request to the contact point of the other Party. That Sub-Committee shall convene promptly and endeavour to agree on a resolution of the matter.
5. Where appropriate, that Sub-Committee may seek the advice of the domestic advisory group(s) of either or both Party(ies) or other expert assistance.
6. Any resolution reached by the consulting Parties on the matter shall be made publicly available.