2. Within 10 days of the date on which the request for the establishment of an arbitration panel is submitted, the Parties shall consult each other in order to reach an agreement on the composition of the arbitration panel.
3. In the event that the Parties are unable to agree on the panel's composition within the time limit laid down in paragraph 2, either Party may request that the chairperson of the EPA Committee, or his or her delegate, select all three members by lot from the list drawn up under Article 85: one from among the individuals proposed by the complaining Party, one from among the individuals proposed by the Party complained against and one from among the individuals selected by both Parties to act as chairperson. Where the Parties agree on one or more of the members of the arbitration panel, any remaining members shall be selected by the same procedure.
4. The chairperson of the EPA Committee, or his or her delegate, shall select the arbitrators within five days of the request referred to in paragraph 3 being submitted by either Party and in the presence of a representative of each Party.
5. The date of establishment of the arbitration panel shall be the date on which the three arbitrators are selected.
Article 72. Interim Report by the Panel
The arbitration panel shall submit to the Parties an interim report containing both the descriptive sections and the panel's findings and conclusions, as a general rule not later than 120 days from the date of establishment of the arbitration panel. Any Party may submit written comments to the arbitration panel on specific aspects of its interim report within 15 days of submission of the report.
Article 73. Arbitration Panel Ruling
1. The arbitration panel shall notify the Parties and the EPA Committee of its ruling within 150 days from the date on which the arbitration panel is established. Where it considers that this deadline cannot be met, the chairperson of the arbitration panel shall notify the Parties and the EPA Committee in writing, stating the reasons for the delay and the date on which the panel plans to conclude its work. Under no circumstances should the ruling be notified later than 180 days from the date of establishment of the arbitration panel.
2. In urgent cases, including those involving perishable or seasonal goods, the arbitration panel shall make every effort to issue its ruling within 75 days of the date of its establishment. Under no circumstance should it take longer than 90 days from the date of its establishment to issue the ruling. The arbitration panel may give a preliminary ruling within ten days of its establishment on whether it deems the case to be urgent.
3. Either Party may ask an arbitration panel to make recommendations on how the Party complained against could comply.
Section II. Compliance
Article 74. Compliance with the Arbitration Panel Ruling
Each Party or, as appropriate, the signatory Central African States, shall take any measure necessary to implement the arbitration panel ruling, and the Parties shall endeavour to agree on a deadline for compliance with the ruling.
Article 75. Reasonable Period of Time for Compliance
1. No later than 30 days after the Parties have been notified of the arbitration panel ruling, the Party complained against shall notify the complaining Party and the EPA Committee of the time it will require for compliance (reasonable period of time).
2. In the event of disagreement between the Parties on the reasonable period of time to comply with the arbitration panel ruling, the complaining Party shall, within 20 days of the notification made under paragraph 1 by the Party complained against, request in writing that the arbitration panel determine the length of the reasonable period of time. This request shall be communicated simultaneously to the other Party and to the EPA Committee. The arbitration panel shall notify the Parties and the EPA Committee of its ruling within 30 days of the date of submission of the request.
3. In determining the length of the reasonable period of time, the arbitration panel shall take into consideration the length of time that it should take the Party complained against or, as appropriate, the signatory Central African States, to adopt comparable legislative or administrative measures to those identified by the Party complained against or, as appropriate, the signatory Central African States, as being necessary to ensure compliance. The arbitration panel may also take into consideration demonstrable capacity constraints which may affect the adoption of the necessary measures by the Party complained against.
4. In the event of the original arbitration panel, or some of its members, being unable to reconvene, the procedures set out in Article 71 shall apply. The deadline for issuing a ruling shall be 45 days from the date of submission of the request referred to in paragraph 2 of this Article.
5. The reasonable period may be extended by mutual agreement of the Parties.
Article 76. Review of Measures Taken to Comply with the Arbitration Panel Ruling
1. The Party complained against shall notify the other Party and the EPA Committee, before the end of the reasonable period of time, of any measure that it has taken to comply with the arbitration panel ruling.
2. In the event of disagreement between the Parties concerning the compatibility of any measure notified under paragraph 1 with the provisions of this Agreement, the complaining Party may request in writing that the arbitration panel rule on the matter. Such request shall identify the specific measure at issue and explain how such measure is incompatible with the provisions of this Agreement. The arbitration panel shall issue its ruling within 90 days of the date of submission of the request. In urgent cases, including those involving perishable or seasonal goods, the arbitration panel shall issue its ruling within 45 days of the date of submission of the request.
3. In the event of the original arbitration panel, or some of its members, being unable to reconvene, the procedures set out in Article 71 shall apply. The period for issuing the ruling shall be 105 days from the date of submission of the request referred to in paragraph 2 of this Article.
Article 77. Temporary Provisions In Case of Non-compliance
1. If the Party complained against fails to give notification of any measure taken to comply with the arbitration panel ruling before the expiry of the reasonable period of time, or if the arbitration panel rules that the measures notified under Article 76(1) are not compatible with that Party's obligations under the provisions of this Agreement, the Party complained against or, as appropriate, the signatory Central African State concerned shall, if so requested by the complaining Party, present an offer for temporary compensation. This compensation may include or consist of financial compensation. However, nothing in this Agreement shall oblige the Party complained against or, as appropriate, the signatory Central African State concerned, to offer such financial compensation.
2. If no agreement on compensation is reached within 30 days of the end of the reasonable period of time or of the arbitration panel's ruling under Article 76 that a measure taken to comply is not compatible with the provisions of this Agreement, the complaining Party shall be entitled, after notifying the other Party, to adopt appropriate measures. These measures may be adopted by the complaining Party or, as appropriate, the signatory Central African State concerned.
3. In adopting these measures, the complaining Party or, as appropriate, the signatory Central African State concerned, shall aim to select measures proportionate to the infringement which least affect the achievement of this Agreement's objectives and take into consideration their impact on the economy of the Party complained against and on the various signatory Central African States.
4. The EC Party shall show restraint when asking for compensation or adopting appropriate measures in accordance with paragraph 1 or 2 of this Article.
5. The compensation or appropriate measures shall be temporary and shall be applied only until any measure found to violate the provisions of this Agreement has been withdrawn or amended so as to bring it into conformity with those provisions or until the Parties have agreed to settle the dispute.
Article 78. Review of Measures Taken to Comply Following the Adoption of Appropriate Measures
1. The Party complained against shall notify the other Party and the EPA Committee of any measure it has taken to comply with the arbitration panel ruling and, in that notification, request an end to the application of appropriate measures by the complaining Party or, as appropriate, the signatory Central African State concerned.
2. If the Parties do not reach an agreement, within 30 days of the date of submission of the notification, on the compatibility of the notified measures with the provisions of this Agreement, the complaining Party shall request in writing that the arbitration panel rule on the matter. The other Party and the EPA Committee shall be notified of the request. The Parties and the EPA Committee shall be notified of the arbitration panel ruling within 45 days of submission of the request. If the arbitration panel rules that any measure taken to comply is not in conformity with the relevant provisions of this Agreement, the arbitration panel shall determine whether the complaining Party or, as appropriate, the signatory Central African State concerned may continue to apply appropriate measures. If the arbitration panel rules that any measure taken to comply is in conformity with the provisions referred to in Article 67, the appropriate measures shall be terminated.
3. In the event of the original arbitration panel, or some of its members, being unable to reconvene, the procedures laid down in Article 71 shall apply. The period for issuing the ruling shall be 60 days from the date of submission of the request referred to in paragraph 2 of this Article.
Section III. Common Provisions
Article 79. Mutually Agreed Solution
Under this Title the Parties may at any time reach a mutually agreed solution to a dispute. They shall notify the EPA Committee of any such solution. When a mutually agreed solution is adopted, the procedure must be terminated.
Article 80. Rules of Procedure and Code of Conduct
1. Dispute settlement procedures under Chapter 3 shall be governed by the rules of procedure and code of conduct to be adopted by the EPA Committee.
2. Meetings of the arbitration panel shall be open to the public in accordance with the rules of procedure, which also provide for the protection of confidential business information.
Article 81. Information and Technical Advice
At the request of a Party, or upon its own initiative, the arbitration panel may obtain information from any source, including the Parties involved in the dispute, which it deems appropriate for the arbitration procedure. The arbitration panel also has the right to seek the opinion of experts as it deems appropriate. Any information obtained in this manner must be disclosed to each of the Parties and submitted for their comments. Interested parties are authorised to submit amicus curiae briefs to the arbitration panel in accordance with the rules of procedure.
Article 82. Languages for Communications
The written and oral submissions of the Central Africa Party shall be made in French and English, and those of the European Communities in any of the official languages of the institutions of the European Union.
Article 83. Rules of Interpretation
Any arbitration panel shall interpret the provisions of this Agreement in accordance with customary rules of interpretation of public international law, including the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties. The rulings of the arbitration panel cannot add to or diminish the rights and obligations provided for in this Agreement.
Article 84. Arbitration Panel Rulings
1. The arbitration panel shall make every effort to reach its decisions by consensus. Where, nevertheless, a decision cannot be arrived at by consensus, the matter at issue shall be decided by majority vote. However, under no circumstances shall the dissenting opinions of arbitrators be published.
2. The ruling shall set out the findings of fact, the applicability of the relevant provisions of this Agreement and the basic rationale behind any findings and conclusions of the arbitration panel. The EPA Committee shall make the arbitration panel ruling publicly available unless it decides not to do so.
Chapter 4. General Provisions
Article 85. List of Arbitrators
1. The EPA Committee shall, no later than six months after this Agreement's entry into force, establish a list of 15 individuals who are willing and able to serve as arbitrators. Each of the Parties shall select five individuals to serve as arbitrators. The two Parties shall also agree on five individuals who are not nationals of either Party and who may be called upon to act as chairperson to the arbitration panel. The EPA Committee shall ensure that a full list is always maintained.
2. Arbitrators shall have specialised knowledge or experience of law and international trade. They shall be independent, serve in their individual capacities and not take instructions from any organisation or government or be affiliated with the government of any of the Parties, and shall comply with the code of conduct adopted by the EPA Committee.
3. The EPA Committee may draw up an additional list of 15 individuals with sectoral expertise in specific matters covered by the Agreement. Where recourse is made to the selection procedure under Article 71(2), the chairperson of the EPA Committee may use this type of sectoral list with the agreement of both Parties.
Article 86. Relationship to Wto Obligations
1. Arbitration bodies set up under this Agreement shall not adjudicate disputes concerning each Party's rights and obligations under the Agreement establishing the WTO.
2. Recourse to the dispute settlement provisions of this Agreement shall be without prejudice to any action in the WTO framework, including dispute settlement action. However, where a Party or, as appropriate, the signatory Central African States has/have instituted a dispute settlement proceeding with regard to a particular measure, either under Article 70(1) or under the WTO Agreement, it/they may not institute a dispute settlement proceeding with regard to the same measure in the other forum until the first proceeding has ended. For the purposes of this paragraph, dispute settlement proceedings under the WTO Agreement shall be deemed to be initiated by the request of a Party or, as appropriate, of the signatory Central African States for the establishment of a panel under Article 6 of the Understanding on Rules and Procedures Governing the Settlement of Disputes of the WTO.
3. Nothing in this Agreement shall preclude a Party or, as appropriate, the signatory Central African States from implementing the suspension of obligations authorised by the Dispute Settlement Body of the WTO.
Article 87. Time Limits
1. All time limits laid down in this Title, including the deadlines for the arbitration panels to issue their rulings, shall be counted in calendar days from the day following the act or fact to which they refer. 2. Any time limit provided for in this Title may be extended by mutual agreement of the Parties.
Article 88. Amendment of Title Vi
The EPA Committee may decide to amend this Title and its Annexes.
Title VII. General Exceptions
Article 89. General Exception Clause
Subject to the requirement that such measures are not to be applied in a manner which would constitute a means of arbitrary or unjustifiable discrimination between the Parties where like conditions must prevail, or a disguised restriction on trade in goods, services or establishment, nothing in this Agreement shall be construed to prevent the adoption or enforcement by the Parties of measures which:
(a) are necessary to protect public security or public morality or to maintain public order;
(b) are necessary to protect the health or life of humans, animals or plants;
(c) are necessary to secure compliance with laws or regulations which are not inconsistent with the provisions of this Agreement, including those relating to:
(i) prevention of deceptive and fraudulent practices or ways of dealing with the effects of a default on contracts;
(ii) protection of the privacy of individuals in relation to the processing and dissemination of personal data and the protection of confidentiality of individual records and accounts;
(iii) security;
(iv) the application of customs regulations and procedures; or
(v) protection of intellectual property rights;
(d) relate to imports or exports of gold or silver;
(e) are necessary to protect national treasures of artistic, historical or archaeological value;
(f) relate to the conservation of exhaustible natural resources if such measures involve restrictions on domestic production or consumption of goods or the provision or consumption of domestic services, and on domestic investors;
(g) relate to the products of prison labour; or
(h) are inconsistent with the articles of this Agreement on national treatment, provided that the difference in treatment is intended to ensure the effective or equitable imposition or collection of direct taxes in respect of the economic activities of investors or of service providers of the other Party (5).
Article 90. Security Exceptions
1. Nothing in this Agreement shall be construed:
(a) to require the Parties to furnish any information the disclosure of which they consider contrary to their essential security interests;
(b) to prevent the Parties from taking any action which they consider necessary for the protection of their essential security interests:
(i) relating to fissionable and fusionable materials or the materials from which they are derived;
(ii) relating to economic activities carried out directly or indirectly for the purpose of supplying or provisioning a military establishment;
(iii) relating to the production of, or trade in, arms, munitions or war materials;
(iv) relating to government procurement indispensable for national security or for national defence purposes; or
(v) taken in time of war or other emergency in international relations; or
(c) to prevent the Parties from taking any action in pursuance of the obligations they accepted in order to maintain international peace and security.
2. The EPA Committee shall be informed to the fullest extent possible of measures taken under paragraphs 1(b) and 1(c) and of their termination.
Article 91. Taxation
1. Nothing in this Agreement or in any agreement adopted in implementation of this Agreement shall be construed to prevent the Parties from distinguishing, in the application of the relevant provisions of their fiscal legislation, between taxpayers who are not in the same situation, in particular with regard to their place of residence or with regard to the place where their capital is invested.
2. Nothing in this Agreement or in any agreement adopted in implementation of this Agreement shall be construed to prevent the adoption or enforcement of any measure intended to prevent the avoidance or evasion of taxes pursuant to the tax provisions of agreements to avoid double taxation or other tax agreements or domestic fiscal legislation.
3. Nothing in this Agreement shall affect the rights and obligations of the Parties under any tax convention. In the event of any inconsistency between this Agreement and any such convention, that convention shall prevail to the extent of the inconsistency.
Title VIII. General and Final Provisions
Article 92. EPa Committee
1. To implement this Agreement, an EPA Committee shall be set up within three months of the signature of this Agreement.
2. The Parties agree on the composition, organisation and functioning of the EPA Committee.
3. The EPA Committee shall be responsible for the administration of all areas covered by this Agreement and for the completion of all tasks referred to in this Agreement.
4. The EPA Committee shall reach its decisions by consensus. 5. In order to facilitate communication and ensure the effective implementation of this Agreement, each Party shall designate a focal point.
Article 93. Regional Organisations
The Commission of the Economic and Monetary Community of Central Africa (CEMAC) and the General Secretariat of the Economic Community of Central African States (CEEAC) shall be invited to attend all meetings of the EPA Committee.
Article 94. Continuation of Negotiations and Implementation of the Agreement
1. The Parties shall continue the negotiations in accordance with the schedule set out in this Agreement, within the existing negotiation structures.
2. When the negotiations are concluded, the resulting draft amendments shall be submitted to the relevant national authorities for approval.
3. Pending the establishment of the EPA Committee and of other institutions and committees of relevance for the full EPA referred to in Article 1, the Parties shall take the necessary measures for the administration and implementation of this Agreement and carry out the tasks of the EPA Committee each time reference is made to this Committee in this Agreement.
Article 95. Definition of the Parties and Fulfilment of Obligations
1. The Contracting Parties to this Agreement shall be the Republic of Cameroon [hereinafter "Central Africa Party"], of the one part, and the European Community or its Member States or the European Community and its Member States, within their respective areas of competence as derived from the Treaty establishing the European Community [hereinafter "EC Party"], of the other part.
2. For the purposes of this Agreement, the Central Africa Party agrees to act collectively.
3. For the purposes of this Agreement, "Party" shall refer to the Central African States acting collectively or the EC Party, as appropriate. "Parties" shall refer to the Central African States acting collectively and the EC Party.
4. In cases where individual action is provided for or required to exercise rights or comply with obligations under this Agreement, reference is made to the "signatory Central African States".
5. The Parties or the signatory Central African States, as appropriate, shall adopt any general or specific measures required for them to fulfil their obligations under this Agreement and shall ensure that they comply with the objectives laid down in this Agreement.
Article 96. Coordinators and Exchange of Information
1. In order to facilitate communication and ensure the effective implementation of this Agreement, each Party shall designate a coordinator upon this Agreement's entry into force. The designation of coordinators shall be without prejudice to the specific designation of competent authorities under specific titles or chapters of this Agreement.
2. At the request of either Party, the coordinator of the other Party shall indicate the office or official responsible for any matter pertaining to the implementation of the Agreement and provide the support necessary to facilitate communication with the requesting Party.
3. At the request of either Party, and to the extent legally possible, each Party through its coordinator shall provide information and reply promptly to any question from the other Party relating to an actual or proposed measure or an international agreement that might affect trade between the Parties.
4. Each Party shall ensure that its laws, regulations, procedures and administrative rulings of general application relating to any trade matter covered by this Agreement are promptly published or made publicly available and brought to the attention of the other Party.
5. Without prejudice to specific transparency provisions in this Agreement, the information referred to under this Article shall be considered to have been provided when the information has been made available by appropriate notification to the WTO or when the information has been made available on the official, public and fee-free website of the Party concerned.
Article 97. Regional Preference
1. Nothing in this Agreement shall oblige a Party to extend to the other Party to this Agreement any more favourable treatment than that applied within each of the Parties as part of its respective regional integration process.
2. Any more favourable treatment or advantage that may be granted under this Agreement by any signatory Central African State to the European Community shall immediately and unconditionally also be enjoyed by each signatory Central African State.
Article 98. Entry Into Force
1. This Agreement shall be signed, ratified or approved in accordance with constitutional or domestic rules and applicable procedures.
2. This Agreement shall enter into force on the first day of the month following that in which the depositories of the Agreement have been notified of the last instrument of ratification, acceptance or approval.
3. Notifications shall be sent to the Secretary-General of the Council of the European Union and the President of the Commission of the Economic and Monetary Community of Central Africa, who shall be the depositories of this Agreement.
4. Pending this Agreement's entry into force, the EC Party and the Central Africa Party agree to apply the provisions of this Agreement in accordance with their respective powers ("provisional application"). This may be done either by provisional application, where such application is possible, or via ratification of the Agreement.
5. The depositories of the Agreement shall be notified of such provisional application. The Agreement shall be applied provisionally 10 days after receipt of this notification of provisional application by the European Community and after receipt of the notification, either by ratification or by provisional application, by all signatory Central African States.
6. Notwithstanding paragraph 4, the EC Party and the signatory Central African States may unilaterally take measures to apply the Agreement, before provisional application, to the extent that this is possible.
Article 99. Duration
1. This Agreement is concluded for an unlimited period.
2. Either Party, or a signatory Central African State, may give written notice to the other Party of its intention to denounce this Agreement.
3. Denunciation shall take effect six months after the other Party has been notified.
Article 100. Territorial Application
This Agreement shall apply to the territories in which the Treaty establishing the European Community is applied and under the conditions laid down in that Treaty, and to the territories of the signatory Central African States.
Article 101. Accession of States or of Regional Organisations In Central Africa
1. This Agreement shall be open to accession by any State or regional organisation in Central Africa. A request for accession shall be submitted to the EPA Committee. Any State which submits a request for accession shall attend the meetings of the EPA Committee as an observer.
2. The request shall be examined and negotiations begun in order to propose the necessary amendments to this Agreement. The accession protocol shall be submitted to the competent authorities for approval.
3. The Parties shall examine the effects of the accession on this Agreement. The EPA Committee may rule on the transitional measures or the necessary amendments.
Article 102. Accession of New Member States to the European Union
1. The EPA Committee shall be informed of any application from a third country to join the European Union. During the negotiations between the European Union and the candidate country, the EC Party shall provide the Central Africa Party with any relevant information, and the Central Africa Party shall inform the EC Party of its concerns so that they can be taken fully into account. The Central Africa Party shall be notified of any accession to the European Union (EU).
2. Any new Member State of the European Union shall accede to this Agreement as of the date of its accession to the European Union by means of a clause to this effect in the Act of Accession. If the act of accession to the European Union does not provide for such automatic accession of the new EU Member State to this Agreement, the Member State concerned shall accede to this Agreement by depositing an act of accession with the General Secretariat of the Council of the European Union, which shall send certified copies to the Central Africa Party.
3. The Parties shall review the effects of the accession of new Member States of the European Union on this Agreement. The EPA Committee may rule on any transitional measures or amendments necessary.
Article 103. Outermost Regions of the European Community
Nothing in this Agreement shall prevent the EC Party from applying existing measures to improve the structural, social and economic situation of the outermost regions in accordance with Article 299(2) of the Treaty establishing the European Community.
Article 104. Dialogue on Financial Matters
The Parties and the signatory Central African States agree to promote dialogue and transparency and to share best practice on tax policy and administration.
Article 105. Collaboration In Tackling Illegal Financial Activities
The Parties undertake to prevent and tackle fraudulent and corrupt illegal activities, money laundering and the financing of terrorism, and shall take the necessary legislative and administrative measures to comply with international standards, including those set out in the United Nations Convention against Corruption, the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organised Crime and its Protocols, the United Nations Convention for the Suppression of the Financing of Terrorism and the recommendations of the Financial Action Task Force. The Parties agree to exchange information and to cooperate in these areas.
Article 106. Relationship to other Agreements
1. With the exception of the Articles on development cooperation provided for in Part III, Title II, of the Cotonou Agreement, in the event of inconsistency between the provisions of this Agreement and the provisions of Part III, Title II, of the Cotonou Agreement, the provisions of this Agreement shall take precedence.
2. Nothing in this Agreement shall be construed so as to prevent the adoption by the European Community or by one of the signatory Central African States of any measures, including trade measures, deemed appropriate as provided for under Articles 11b, 96 and 97 of the Cotonou Agreement.