1. Where a party recognise unilaterally or by agreement with another country, titles or academic degrees obtained in the territory of the other party or non-party country, nothing in Article 4.02, shall be construed as requiring a party to recognition of qualifications obtained in the territory of the other party.
2. Notwithstanding paragraph 1:
i) A Party that is a party to an agreement or arrangement with the other country shall afford adequate opportunity for other interested parties to negotiate their accession to such an agreement or arrangement to negotiate or comparable with other.
ii) Where a Party grants recognition autonomously, another party to provide an adequate opportunity to demonstrate that the education or experience obtained licenses or certifications or requirements met in that other party territory should be recognized.
3. The parties reaffirm article 31 of Protocol to the Central American Economic Integration (Guatemala) protocol.
Foundation for the recognition of qualifications and authorisation to practise
4. The parties agree that the processes of mutual recognition of qualifications and the granting of waivers to the Bar, shall be made on the basis of improving the quality of professional services through the establishment of standards and criteria for those processes, while protecting consumers and safeguarding the public interest.
5. The Parties shall encourage the relevant agencies, inter alia, to the competent governmental authorities and professional associations and bodies, where appropriate, to:
a) Such criteria and standards; and
b) Formulate and to provide recommendations on mutual recognition of professional qualifications and licensing of professional practice.
6. The standards and criteria referred to in paragraph 4 may consider the legislation of each Party and an indication of the following elements: education, reviews, experience, conduct and ethics, professional development and recertification, scope, local knowledge, monitoring and consumer protection.
Review
7. The Parties shall review at least once a year, the implementation of the provisions of this annex.
Chapter 5. Telecommunications
501. Exclusion
This chapter does not apply to Costa Rica.
502. Definitions
For purposes of this chapter:
A telecommunications company internal communications means through which an enterprise communicates:
a) Internally or with or among its subsidiaries and branches and subsidiaries, as defined by each Party; or
b) A non-commercial basis with other persons that are fundamental to the economic activity of the enterprise and that have a continuing contractual relationship with it;
But does not include telecommunications services supplied to persons other than those described in this definition;
Authorized: the terminal equipment or other equipment that has been adopted to connect to the public telecommunications network in accordance with the conformity assessment procedures of a party;
Terminal equipment means any device capable of analogue or digital processing, commute, marking, receiving or transmitting signals by electromagnetic means and be connected to the public telecommunications network, through broadcast or cable connections, at a terminal;
Action on standardisation standards: technical regulations and conformity assessment procedures;
Monopoly means an entity, including a consortium or government agency that is maintained or designated according to its legislation, if it so permits, as the sole supplier of public telecommunications networks or services in any relevant market in the territory of a party;
Conformity assessment procedure procedure used any means, directly or indirectly, to determine whether the relevant procedures established by technical regulations or standards are fulfilled, including sampling, inspection, verification and security; evaluation of conformity; registration, accreditation and adoption, separately or in different combinations, and includes the procedures referred to in annex 5.02;
Protocol: a set of rules and formats governing the exchange of information between two peer entities for the purposes of transfer of information and data;
Main incumbent provider or operator: a supplier which has the ability to materially affect the terms of participation (having regard to price and supply) in the relevant market for telecommunications services as a result of control over essential facilities or use of its position in the market;
The network of terminal point: the final demarcation of the public telecommunications network user facilities;
Private telecommunication network means the telecommunications network used exclusively for internal communications between persons of a company or predetermined;
Public telecommunications network means the telecommunications network used to exploit commercially telecommunications services designed to meet the needs of the general public, excluding telecommunications terminal equipment or users of telecommunications networks that are beyond the point of the network;
Telecommunications service means a service provided by means of transmission and reception of signals by physical line, radioelectricidad, optical or other electromagnetic systems, but does not mean cable broadcasting or other electromagnetic distribution of radio or television programming;
Public telecommunications service telecommunications means any service that requires a party explicitly or indeed to be offered to the public generally, including telegraph, telex, telephone and data transmission typically involves real-time transmission of information provided by the user between two or more points without any change of end-to-end "" in the form or content of the information of the user;
Enhanced or value added services: telecommunications services employing computer processing systems that:
a) Acting on the format, content and protocol, code or similar aspects of information transmitted user;
b) Additional information provided to the client, or different restructured; or
c) Involve user interaction with the stored information; and
Telecommunications means any emission, transmission or reception of signs, signals, writings, images and sounds and information on any kind of physical line, radioelectricidad, optical or other electromagnetic systems.
1. This chapter applies to:
a) Measures adopted or maintained by a Party relating to the provision of public services
Telecommunications;
b) Measures adopted or maintained by a Party relating to access to and use of networks or
Public telecommunications services by persons of another party, including access and use by private persons operating such networks so as to carry out their internal communications of enterprises;
c) Measures adopted or maintained by a Party relating to the provision of value-added services enhanced or by persons of another party in the territory of the first or across its borders; and
d) Standardization measures relating to the attachment of terminal or other equipment to the public telecommunications networks.
2. Except to ensure that persons operating broadcast stations and cable systems have access to and use of public telecommunications networks and services this chapter does not apply to measures that a party adopts or maintains relating to broadcast or cable distribution of radio or television programming.
3. Nothing in this chapter shall be construed as:
a) To require a party to authorize a person of another party to establish, construction, acquisition, leases, operate or supply telecommunications networks or services;
b) Oblige a party or that it may require a person to establish, construction, acquisition, leases, operate or supply telecommunications networks or services not offered to the public generally;
c) Prevent a Party from prohibiting persons operating private networks from using their telecommunications networks or to supply public telecommunications networks or services to third persons; or
d) To require a party to compel any person engaged in the broadcast or cable distribution of radio or television programming to make available its cable broadcast or as a public telecommunications network.
504. Access to Public Telecommunications Networks and Services and Its Use
1. For the purposes of this article, non-discriminatory terms and conditions no less favourable than those accorded to any other customer or user of public telecommunications networks or services in like circumstances.
2. Each Party shall ensure that persons of the other party have access to and use of any public telecommunications network or service offered in its territory or across borders, including private leased circuits on reasonable and non-discriminatory terms and conditions, for the conduct of business, including as set out in the other paragraphs of this article.
3. Subject to paragraphs 7 and 8, each Party shall ensure that persons of the other party are permitted to:
a) Purchase or lease and interconnect terminal equipment or other equipment that interfaces with the public telecommunications network;
b) Interconnect private owned or leased circuits with public telecommunications networks in the territory of that Party or across its borders through marking including direct access to and from their customers or users or with leased circuits or owned by another person on mutually agreed terms and conditions by those persons, in accordance with annex 5.04;
c) Functions switching, marking and processing; and
d) Operating protocols use of their choice in accordance with the technical plans of each party.
4. Each Party shall ensure that the pricing of public telecommunications services reflects economic costs directly related to providing the services, without prejudice to the applicable legislation. Nothing in this paragraph shall be construed as to prevent cross-subsidization between public telecommunications services.
5. Each Party shall ensure that persons of another Party may use public telecommunications networks or services to transmit the information in its territory or across its borders including for internal communications of enterprises, and for access to information contained in databases or otherwise stored in machine-readable form by a machine in the territory of the other party.
6. In addition to the provisions of article 8.02, nothing in this chapter shall be construed as preventing a Party may adopt or apply any measure necessary to:
a) To ensure the security and confidentiality of messages; or
b) Protect the privacy of subscribers public telecommunications networks or services.
7. In addition to the provisions of article 5.06, each Party shall ensure that no condition is imposed more access to public telecommunications networks or services and their use, that necessary to:
a) Safeguard the public service responsibilities of providers of public telecommunications networks or services. in particular their ability to make their networks or services available to the public generally or;
b) Protect the technical integrity of public telecommunications networks or services.
8. Provided that conditions for access to public telecommunications networks or services and their use fulfil the criteria set out in paragraph 7, such conditions may include:
a) Restrictions on resale or shared use of such services;
b) Requirements for the use of specific technical interfaces, interface, including protocols for interconnection with such networks or services;
c) Restrictions on interconnection of private owned or leased circuits with such networks or services or with leased circuits or owned by another person; and when they are used for the supply of public telecommunications networks or services; and
d) Procedures for licensing, permitting, concessions, records or notifications, adopted or maintained, are transparent and to the processing of applications is expeditiously resolved.
505. Conditions for the Provision of Value-added or Enhanced Services
1. Each Party shall ensure that:
a) Any procedure that it adopts or maintains for licensing, permitting, concessions, records or notifications relating to the provision of value-added services enhanced or is transparent and non-discriminatory and that applications are resolved expeditiously; and
b) The information required under such procedures is limited to that necessary to demonstrate that the applicant has the financial solvency to begin providing services or facilities or equipment or other terminal equipment the applicant to comply with applicable technical standards or regulations of the Party, or the requirements related to the legal constitution of the applicant.
2. Without prejudice to the laws of each party, no Party shall require a person providing enhanced or value-added services to:
a) Such services to the public generally;
b) Justify their tariffs according to its costs;
c) A fee;
d) Its interconnect networks with any particular customer or network; or
e) Satisfy any standard or technical regulation for interconnection other than for interconnection to a public telecommunications network.
3. Notwithstanding paragraph 2 (c), a Party may require the filing of a tariff by:
a) A service provider to remedy a practice that of provider has found that the Party in a particular case as anti-competitive, in accordance with its laws; or
b) A monopoly, main provider or incumbent operator to implement the provisions of article 5.07.
1. Each Party shall ensure that its measures relating to the normalization relating to the attachment of terminal or other equipment to the public telecommunications networks, including those measures relating to the use of measuring equipment for testing and conformity assessment procedure, are adopted or maintained only to the extent necessary to:
a) Technical prevent damage to public telecommunications networks;
b) Technical prevent interference with public telecommunications services, or deterioration;
c) Prevent electromagnetic interference, and ensure compatibility with other uses of spectrum;
d) Prevent the malfunctioning of valuation, collection and invoicing;
e) User ensuring safety and access to public telecommunications networks or services; or
f) To ensure the efficient use of spectrum.
2. Each Party may establish the approval requirement for the attachment to the public telecommunications network of terminal or other equipment that is not authorized, provided that the criteria for approval are consistent with paragraph 1.
3. Each Party shall ensure that the endpoints of public telecommunications networks are defined on a reasonable and transparent basis.
4. Neither party may require separate authorization for equipment that is connected on customer side of the authorized equipment that serves as a protective device fulfilling the criteria of paragraph 1.
5. Each Party shall:
a) Ensure that its conformity assessment procedures are transparent and non-discriminatory and that applications filed in effect are diligently processed;
b) Permit any technically qualified entity to perform the required testing to terminal equipment or other equipment to be attached to the public telecommunications network, in accordance with the conformity assessment procedures of that Party, subject to the right of the same to review the accuracy and completeness of the test results; and
c) It shall ensure that are not discriminatory measures it adopts or maintains to authorize individuals as agents for suppliers of telecommunications equipment before the competent authorities of that Party for conformity assessment.
6. Not later than twelve (12) months after the date of Entry into Force of this Treaty, each Party shall, as part of its conformity assessment procedures, the provisions necessary to accept the test results from laboratories or testing facilities in the territory of the other party, in accordance with the measures and procedures relating to the standardization of the Party to which it relates to accept.
507. Monopolies or Anticompetitive Practices
1. Where a party maintains or designates a monopoly or a main provider or incumbent operator to provide public telecommunications networks and services and it competes directly or through a branch in the provision of enhanced or value-added services or other goods or services associated with telecommunications, that Party shall seek to ensure that the monopoly supplier
Main or operator does not use its dominant position to engage in anticompetitive practices in these markets, either directly or through its dealings with its subsidiaries, so that affects desventajosamente to a person of the other party. Such practices may include predatory conduct and cross-subsidization or discrimination in access to public telecommunications networks and services.
2. Each Party shall adopt or maintain effective measures to prevent anticompetitive conduct referred to in paragraph 1, such as:
a) Accounting requirements;
b) Requirements for structural separation;
c) Rules to ensure that monopoly, the main provider or incumbent operator accorded to its competitors access to and use of their networks or its public telecommunications services on terms and conditions no less favourable than those it accords to itself or its affiliates; or
d) Rules to ensure the timely disclosure of technical changes to public telecommunications networks and their interfaces.
508. Transparency
In addition to the provisions of article 10.02, each Party shall make publicly available its measures relating to access to public telecommunications networks or services and its use, including measures relating to:
a) Tariffs and other terms and conditions of service;
b) Technical specifications of interfaces with such networks and services;
c) Information on bodies responsible for the preparation and adoption of standards affecting such access and use;
d) Conditions for the attachment of terminal or other equipment to public telecommunications networks; and
e) Notification requirements, licensing or permit registration certificate concession.
509. Relationship to other Chapters
In the event of incompatibility between any provision of this chapter and any other provision of the chapter shall prevail to the extent of the inconsistency.
510. Relationship with Organizations and International Treaties
The Parties recognise the importance of international standards for global compatibility and interoperability of networks or telecommunications services and undertake to promote such standards through the work of relevant international bodies, including the International Telecommunication Union and the International Organization for Standardization and the Inter-American Commission telecommunications.
1. In order to encourage the development of interoperable telecommunications services, the Parties shall cooperate in the good functioning of the spectrum, exchange of technical information in the development of training programs and other related intergovernmental activities. In pursuance of this obligation, the Parties shall put special emphasis to existing exchange programs.
2. The Parties shall endeavour to deepen the trade of all telecommunications services, including public telecommunications networks and services.
For purposes of this chapter, the conformity assessment procedures include:
a) In the case of El Salvador:
i) Decreto Legislativo No. 142 of 6 November 1997, Telecommunications Act; and
ii) Executive Decree No. 64 of 15 May 1998, the regulation of the Telecommunications Act;
b) In the case of Guatemala:
i) Decree No. 94-96 of 17 October 1996 Congressional Ley General de Telecomunicaciones;
ii) Decree No. 115-97 of 19 November 1997 congressional amendments to the Ley General de Telecomunicaciones;
iii) Governmental Agreement No. 574-98 of 2 September 1998 rules for the use of satellite systems in Guatemala; and
(IV) Government Agreement No. 408-99 of 25 June 1999, rules for the provision of international telephone service;
c) In the case of Honduras:
i) Decree No 185-95, framework Act of the telecommunications sector, the Official Gazette published in Diario "31 October 1995;
ii) No 89-97 agreement, the telecommunications sector, published in the Diario "Official Gazette on 27 May 1997;
iii) Decree No 244-98, published in Diario "The Official Gazette 19 September 1998;
(IV) Decree No 89-99, published in the Diario "Official Gazette on 25 May 1999;
v) Resolution 003 OD / 99, published in the Diario "Official Gazette on 26 February 1999; and
(VI) Resolution 105 / 98, published in the Diario "Official Gazette on 11 July 1998; and
d) In the case of Nicaragua:
i) Law No. 200 of 8 August 1995, general act of telecommunications and postal services, published in the Official Gazette No Diario "154 of 18 August 1995;
ii) Law No. 210 of 30 November 1995, act of incorporation of individuals in the operation and expansion of public telecommunications, published in Diario "The Official Gazette No 231 of 7 December 1995;
iii) Decree No 19-96 of 12 September 1996, regulations of telecommunications and postal services, published in Diario The Official Gazette, No "177 of 19 September 1996;
(IV) Law No 293 of 1 July 1998, amending Act No. 210, published in the Official Gazette No 123 Diario "of 2 July 1998; and
v) Nicaragua Commercial Code of 1916.
For purposes of section 5.04, in the case of El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua means
The interconnection of private circuits with public telecommunications networks, shall not
Access to such traffic from private circuits with public networks or vice versa, whether such circuits
Private owned or leased.