2. The Joint Committee shall act by common agreement.
3. If a representative in the Joint Committee of a State Party to this Agreement has accepted a decision subject to the fulfilment of constitutional requirements, the decision shall enter into force, if no later date is contained therein, on the date the lifting of the reservation is notified.
4. For the purpose of this Agreement the Joint Committee shall adopt its rules of procedure which shall, inter alia, contain provisions for convening meetings and for the designation of the Chairman and his/her term of office.
5. The Joint Committee may decide to set up such sub-committees and working parties as it considers necessary to assist it in accomplishing its tasks.
Article 32. Fulfilment of Obligations
1. The States Parties to this Agreement 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 Morocco has, or if Morocco considers that an EFTA State has failed to fulfil an obligation under this Agreement, the State Party concerned may take the appropriate measures under the conditions and in accordance with the procedures laid down in Article 25 (Procedure for the application of safeguard measures).
Article 33. Relation between this Agreement and the Wto Agreement
The States Parties to this Agreement commit themselves to ensure the consistency of the Agreement with their rights and obligations under the WTO. The States Parties shall extend to each other a treatment no less favourable than that granted under the WTO.
Article 34. 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 35. 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, Morocco, but not to the trade relations between individual EFTA States, except if otherwise provided for in this Agreement.
Article 36. Territorial Application
This Agreement shall apply to the territories of the States Parties to this Agreement except as provided for in Protocol E.
Article 37. 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 in accordance with Article XXIV and Part IV of GATT 1994 to the extent that these do not negatively affect the trade regime provided for by this Agreement.
Article 38. Amendments
Amendments to this Agreement other than those referred to in Article 34 (Annexes and Protocols) which are approved by the Joint Committee shall be submitted to the States Parties to this Agreement for acceptance and shall enter into force when they have been accepted by all the States Parties. The text of the amendments as well as the instruments of acceptance shall be deposited with the Depositary.
Article 39. 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 States 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 40. Withdrawal and Expiration
1. Each State Party to this Agreement may withdraw therefrom 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 Morocco withdraws, this Agreement shall expire at the end of the notice period, and if all EFTA States withdraw it shall expire at the end of the latest notice period.
3. Any EFTA Member 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 State Party to this Agreement.
Article 41. Entry Into Force
1. This Agreement is subject to ratification. The instruments of ratification shall be deposited with the Depositary.
2. This Agreement shall enter into force on the first day of the second month following the deposit of all instruments of ratification.
Article 42. 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 38, as well as of the entry into force of this Agreement and amendments thereto made under the procedure laid down in Article 38, of its expiration or of any withdrawal therefrom.
Conclusion
IN WITNESS WHEREOF the undersigned plenipotentiaries, being duly authorized thereto, have signed the present Agreement.
DONE at Geneva, this 19th day of June 1997, in single original in the English and French languages, both texts being equally authentic, 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.
For the Republic of Iceland
For the Kingdom of Morocco
For the Principality of Liechtenstein
For the Kingdom of Norway
For the Swiss Confederation
Attachments
ANNEX VIII. REFERRED TO IN PARAGRAPH 2 OF ARTICLE 24. CONSTITUTION AND FUNCTIONING OF THE ARBITRAL TRIBUNAL
1. In its written notification made pursuant to Article 24 of this Agreement, the State 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 State 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 States parties to the dispute within 15 days. The third member shall not be a national of either State party to the dispute, nor permanently reside on the territory of either State. 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 State 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 State party to the dispute, the designations shall devolve on the VicePresident of the Court. If the latter, in turn, is unable to act or is a national of a State 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 State Party.
5. The tribunal shall lay down its own rules of procedure and take its decisions by majority vote.
6. The Tribunal may, at any stage of the proceedings, propose an amicable settlement to the dispute.
7. 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 State 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.
8. The expenses of the Tribunal, including the remuneration of its members, shall be borne by the parties to the dispute in equal shares.