7. The award of the arbitral tribunal shall be final and binding upon the Parties to the dispute. 2 A Sub-Committee on Customs and Origin Matters was established by Joint Committee Decision No. 2 of 2003 (30 May 2003)
Article 32. Fulfilment of Obligations
1. The Parties shall take all necessary measures to ensure the achievement of the objectives of this Agreement and the fulfilment of their obligations under this Agreement.
2. If an EFTA State considers that Macedonia has, or if Macedonia considers that an EFTA State has failed to fulfil an obligation under this Agreement, the Party concerned may take the appropriate measures under the conditions and in accordance with the procedures laid down in Article 24 (Procedure for the application of safeguard measures).
Article 33. Annexes and Protocols
The Annexes and the Protocols to this Agreement are an integral part of it. The Joint Committee may decide to amend the Annexes and Protocols.
Article 34. Trade Relations Governed by this Agreement
This Agreement applies to trade relations between, on the one side, the individual EFTA States and, on the other side, Macedonia, but not to the trade relations between individual EFTA States, except if otherwise provided for in this Agreement.
Article 35. Territorial Application
This Agreement shall apply to the territories of the Parties except as provided for in Protocol D.
Article 36. Customs Unions, Free Trade Areas, Frontier Trade and other Preferential Agreements
This Agreement shall not prevent the maintenance or establishment of customs unions, free trade areas, arrangements for frontier trade and other preferential agreements to the extent that these do not negatively affect the trade regime provided for by this Agreement.
Article 37. Amendments
Amendments to this Agreement other than those referred to in Article 33 (Annexes and Protocols) which are approved by the Joint Committee shall be submitted to the Parties for acceptance and shall enter into force when they have been accepted by all the Parties. The text of the amendments as well as the instruments of acceptance shall be deposited with the Depositary.
Article 38. Accession
1. Any State, Member of the European Free Trade Association, may accede to this Agreement, provided that the Joint Committee decides to approve its accession, to be negotiated between the acceding State and the Parties concerned, on such terms and conditions as may be set out in that decision. The instrument of accession shall be deposited with the Depositary.
2. In relation to an acceding State, this Agreement shall enter into force on the first day of the third month following the deposit of its instrument of accession.
Article 39. Withdrawal and Expiration
1. Each Party may withdraw from this Agreement by means of a written notification to the Depositary. The withdrawal shall take effect six months after the date on which the notification is received by the Depositary.
2. If Macedonia withdraws, this Agreement shall expire at the end of the notice period.
3. Any EFTA State which withdraws from the Convention establishing the European Free Trade Association shall ipso facto on the same day as the withdrawal takes effect cease to be a Party to this Agreement.
Article 40. Entry Into Force
1. This Agreement shall enter into force on 1 January 2001 in relation to those Signatories which by then have deposited their instruments of ratification or acceptance with the Depositary, provided that Macedonia has deposited its instrument of ratification or acceptance.
2. In relation to a Signatory depositing its instrument of ratification or acceptance after 1 January 2001, this Agreement shall enter into force on the first day of the third month following the deposit of its instrument, provided that in relation to Macedonia this Agreement enters into force at the latest on the same date.
3. Any Party may, if its constitutional requirements permit, apply this Agreement provisionally during an initial period starting on 1 January 2001, provided that in relation to Macedonia this Agreement has entered into force or is provisionally applied at the latest as of the same date. Provisional application of this Agreement shall be notified to the Depositary.
Article 41. Depositary
The Government of Norway, acting as Depositary, shall notify all States that have signed or acceded to this Agreement of the deposit of any instrument of ratification or accession or of acceptance of amendments under Article 37 (Amendments) as well as of the entry into force of this Agreement and amendments thereto made under the procedure laid down in Article 37 (Amendments), of its expiration or of any withdrawal therefrom.
Conclusion
IN WITNESS WHEREOF the undersigned plenipotentiaries, being duly authorised thereto, have signed the present Agreement.
Done at Zurich, this 19th day of June 2000, in a single authentic copy in the English language which shall be deposited with the Government of Norway. The Depositary shall transmit certified copies to all Signatory States, and States acceding to this Agreement.
Attachments
ANNEX VI.. REFERRED TO IN ARTICLE 31. CONSTITUTION AND FUNCTIONING OF THE ARBITRAL TRIBUNAL
1. In its written notification made pursuant to Article 31 of this Agreement, the Party referring the dispute to arbitration shall designate one member, who may be its national.
2. Within thirty days from the receipt of the notification referred to in paragraph 1, the Party to which it was addressed shall, in turn, designate one member, who may be its national.
3. Within sixty days from the receipt of the notification referred to in paragraph 1, the two members already designated shall agree on the designation of a third member who shall be confirmed by the Parties to the dispute within 15 days. The third member shall not be a national of either Party to the dispute, nor permanently reside on the territory of either Party.
The member thus appointed shall be the President of the arbitral tribunal.
4. If all three members have not been designated or appointed within sixty days from the receipt of the notification referred to in paragraph 1, the necessary designations shall be made, at request of either Party to the dispute, by the President of the International Court of Justice.
If the President is unable to act under this paragraph or is a national of a Party to the dispute, the designations shall devolve on the Vice-President of the Court. If the latter, in turn, is unable to act or is a national of a Party to the dispute, the designations shall be effected by the next senior member of the Court who is neither unable to act nor a national of a Party.
5. The Optional Rules for Arbitrating disputes between two States of the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA), effective 20 October 1992, shall apply to supplement provisions of these Articles. The Joint Committee may adopt supplemental provisions to ensure the smooth functioning of these rules, in particular to clarify the inter-relationship between these rules and the PCA Optional Rules.
6. The tribunal shall take its decisions by majority vote.
7. A Party that is not a disputing Party, on delivery of a written notice to the disputing parties, shall be entitled to make written submissions to the tribunal, to receive written submissions of the disputing parties and if such procedures are applied by the tribunal attend all hearings and make oral submissions
8. The arbitral award shall be rendered within six months of the date at which the President of the Tribunal was appointed. At the request of the tribunal the Joint Committee may grant an extension of this time period up to six additional months. In the event of a dispute over the meaning and scope of the award, any Party to the dispute can, within 60 days from the communication of the arbitral award, ask for clarification by the tribunal. The tribunal shall deliver its clarification within 60 days from the day the issue was brought before it.
9. The expenses of the Tribunal, including the remuneration of its members, shall be borne by the parties to the dispute in equal shares.