2. Where a consolidation tribunal determines that the claims submitted to arbitration under Article 15-21 raise common questions of law and fact, the consolidation tribunal, in the interest of their fair and efficient resolution, and having heard the disputing Parties, may assume jurisdiction, hear and determine:
(a) all or part of the claims jointly; or
(b) one or more of the claims on the basis that it will contribute to the resolution of the other claims.
3. A disputing party seeking a determination of joinder under paragraph 2 shall request the Secretary-General to establish a joinder tribunal and shall specify in its request:
(a) the name of the disputing Party or disputing investors against which the cumulation agreement is sought;
(b) the nature of the requested cumulation agreement; and
(c) the basis on which the requested request is supported.
4. Within 60 days from the date of the request, the Secretary-General shall set up a consolidation tribunal composed of three arbitrators. The Secretary-General shall appoint the chairman of the consolidation tribunal from the list of arbitrators referred to in article 15-25, paragraph 4. In the event that no arbitrator is available on the list to chair the consolidation tribunal, the Secretary-General shall appoint, from the ICSID Panel of arbitrators, the chair of that tribunal, who shall not be a national of the disputing Party or a national of the Party of the disputing investor. The Secretary-General shall appoint the other two members of the consolidation tribunal from the list referred to in paragraph 4 of Article 15-25 and, where they are not available, shall select them from the ICSID Panel of arbitrators. If no arbitrators are available on that Panel, the Secretary-General shall make the missing appointments at his discretion. One of the members shall be a national of the disputing Party and the other member of the consolidation tribunal shall be a national of the Party of the disputing investor.
5. Where a consolidation tribunal has been established, a disputing investor that has submitted a claim to arbitration and has not been named in the request for consolidation made pursuant to paragraph 3 may request in writing to the consolidation tribunal to be included in the request and shall specify in that request:
(a) the name and address of the disputing investor and, if applicable, the name or business name and address of the enterprise;
(b) the nature of the requested cumulation agreement; and
(c) the grounds on which the request is based.
6. The cumulation tribunal shall provide, at the expense of the interested investor, a copy of the request for cumulation to the disputing investors against whom the cumulation agreement is sought.
7. A tribunal established under Article 15-21 shall not have jurisdiction to adjudicate a claim, or any part thereof, over which a consolidation tribunal has assumed jurisdiction.
8. On the request of a disputing party, a consolidation tribunal may, pending its decision under paragraph 2, order that the proceedings of a tribunal established under Article 15-21 be suspended pending its decision on the merits of the consolidation.
9. A disputing Party shall deliver to its national section of the Secretariat, within 15 days of the date on which the disputing Party receives
(a) a request for arbitration made pursuant to Article 36(1) of the ICSID Convention;
(b) a notice of arbitration under Article 2 of Part C of the ICSID Additional Facility Rules; or
(c) a notice of arbitration under the terms of the UNCITRAL Arbitration Rules.
10. A disputing Party shall deliver to its national section of the Secretariat a copy of the request made under paragraph 3:
(a) within 15 days of receipt of the request, in the case of a request made by the disputing investor; or
(b) within 15 days of the date of the request, in the case of a request made by the disputing Party.
11. A disputing Party shall deliver to its national section of the Secretariat a copy of the request made under paragraph 6 within 15 days of the date of receipt of the request.
12. The Secretariat shall keep a public record of the documents referred to in paragraphs 9 to 11.
Article 15-28. Notification
The disputing Party shall deliver to the other Party:
(a) written notice of the claim that has been submitted to arbitration no later than 30 days after the date of submission of the claim to arbitration; and
b) copies of all submissions made in the arbitration proceedings.
Article 15-29. Participation by a Party
Upon written notice to the disputing parties, a Party may submit submissions to any tribunal established under this Section on a question of interpretation of this Chapter.
Article 15-30. Documentation
1. A Party shall, at its own expense, be entitled to receive from the disputing Party a copy of:
(a) the evidence offered to any tribunal established pursuant to this Section; and
(b) written submissions made by the disputing Parties.
2. A Party that receives information pursuant to paragraph 1 shall treat the information as if it were a disputing Party.
Article 15-31. Place of Arbitration Proceedings
Unless the disputing Parties agree otherwise, any tribunal established under this Section shall conduct the arbitral proceedings in the territory of a Party that is a Party to the New York Convention, which shall be chosen in accordance with:
(a) the ICSID Additional Facility Rules, if the arbitration is governed by those rules or by the ICSID Convention; or
b) the UNCITRAL Arbitration Rules, if the arbitration is governed by those rules.
Article 15-32. Applicable Law.
1. Any tribunal established under this Section shall decide disputes submitted to it in accordance with this Treaty and the applicable rules of international law.
2. An interpretation by the Commission of a provision of this Agreement shall be binding on any tribunal established under this Section to the extent that such interpretation is applicable to this Chapter.
Article 15-33. Interpretation of Annexes
1. Where a Party asserts as a defense that an allegedly violative measure falls within the scope of a reservation or exception set out in any of the annexes, on request of the disputing Party, any tribunal established under this Section shall request the Commission for an interpretation of that matter. The Commission shall, within 60 days of the delivery of the request, submit its interpretation in writing to that tribunal.
2. The Commission's interpretation submitted under paragraph 1 shall be binding on any tribunal established pursuant to this section. If the Commission does not submit an interpretation within 60 days, that tribunal shall decide the matter.
Article 15-34. Provisional or Precautionary Measures.
A tribunal established under this section may order an interim measure of protection to preserve the rights of the disputing party or to ensure that the tribunal's jurisdiction is given full effect. Such tribunal may not order adherence to the measure alleged to be in violation referred to in Article 15-19 or the suspension of the application of the measure alleged to be in violation referred to in Article 15-19.
Article 15-35. Scope of Award
1. Where a tribunal established under this Section makes an award adverse to a Party, that tribunal may award:
(a) compensation for pecuniary damages and interest thereon; or
(b) restitution of property, in which case the award shall provide that the disputing Party may pay monetary damages, plus interest thereon, in lieu of restitution.
2. Where the claim is made by an investor on behalf of an enterprise on the basis of Article 15-19:
(a) the award providing for restitution of property shall provide that restitution shall be awarded to the enterprise;
(b) the award providing for payment of monetary damages and interest thereon shall provide that the sum of money shall be paid to the enterprise; and
(c) the award shall be without prejudice to the rights of any person having a legal interest in the reparation of damages suffered by him, in accordance with the applicable law.
Article 15-36. Finality, Enforceability and Enforcement of the Award
1. The award rendered by any tribunal established under this Section shall be binding only upon the disputing parties and only in respect of the particular case.
2. Subject to paragraph 3 and to the review procedure applicable to an interim award, a disputing party shall comply with and enforce the award without delay.
3. A disputing party may request enforcement of a final award provided that:
(a) in the case of a final award made under the ICSID Convention:
(i) 120 days have elapsed from the date on which the award was rendered without any disputing party having requested revision or annulment of the award; or
(ii) the revision or annulment proceedings have been completed; and
(b) in the case of a final award under the ICSID Additional Facility Rules or the UNCITRAL Arbitration Rules:
(i) three months have elapsed from the date on which the award was rendered without any disputing party having commenced proceedings to revise, set aside or annul the award; or
(ii) a tribunal has dismissed or granted an application for reconsideration, setting aside or annulment of the award and the decision cannot be appealed.
4. Each Party shall provide for the proper enforcement of an award in its territory.
5. Where a disputing Party fails to comply with or abide by a final award, the Commission shall, upon receipt of a request from a Party whose investor was a party to the arbitration proceeding, convene a panel under Chapter XIX (Dispute Settlement). The requesting Party may invoke these procedures to obtain:
(a) a determination that the failure or disregard of the terms of the final award is contrary to the obligations of this Agreement; and
(b) a recommendation that the Party comply with and observe the final award.
6. The disputing investor may seek enforcement of an arbitral award under the ICSID Convention, the New York Convention or the Inter-American Convention, whether or not proceedings under paragraph 5 have been instituted.
7. For the purposes of Article | of the New York Convention and Article | of the Inter-American Convention, a claim submitted to arbitration under this Section shall be deemed to arise out of a commercial relationship or transaction.
Article 15-37. General Provisions
Time at which a claim is deemed to be submitted to arbitration
1. A claim is deemed to be submitted to arbitration under this section when:
(a) the request for arbitration under Article 36(1) of ICSID has been received by the Secretary-General;
(b) the notice of arbitration pursuant to Article 2 of Part C of the ICSID Additional Facility Rules has been received by the Secretary-General; or
(c) the notice of arbitration referred to in the UNCITRAL Arbitration Rules has been received by the disputing Party.
Delivery of Documents
2. Delivery of the notice and other documents to a Party shall be made at the place designated by it upon entry into force of this Agreement.
Payments under insurance or guarantee contracts
3. In an arbitration proceeding under this Section, a Party shall not assert as a defense, counterclaim, right of set-off, or otherwise, that the disputing investor received or will receive, pursuant to an insurance or guarantee contract, indemnification or other compensation for all or part of the alleged damages for which restitution is sought.
Publication of awards
4. Final awards shall be published only in the event of written agreement between the Parties.
Article 15-38. Exclusions
The dispute settlement provisions of this Section and those of Chapter XIX (Dispute Settlement) do not apply to the cases contained in the Annex to this Article.
Annex 1 to Article 15-07. Reservations and Exceptions
The Parties shall list in this Annex the measures inconsistent with Articles 15-03 to 15-06, in accordance with the provisions of paragraph 1 of Article 15-07.
Annex 2 to Article 15-07. Schedule of Activities. Bolivia
1. Energy and Hydrocarbons.
2. Foundries.
3. Telecommunications (except value added services).
4. Transportation:
(a) maritime transportation.
(b) air transport
(c) rail transport
(d) road transport
(e) transport by pipeline
(f) services auxiliary to the means of transport referred to in subparagraphs (a) to (e)
Annex to Article 15-38. Exclusions of Mexico
Resolutions adopted by the National Commission on Foreign Investment, whether under paragraph 3(c) of Article 15-02, or under the resolution prohibiting or restricting the acquisition of an investment in the territory of the United Mexican States owned or controlled by its nationals, or by one or more investors of the other Party, shall not be subject to the dispute settlement mechanisms provided for in Section B, nor to those of Chapter XIX (Dispute Settlement).
Chapter XVI. Intellectual Property
Section A. General Provisions and Basic Principles
Article 16-01. Definitions.
For the purposes of this Chapter, the following definitions shall apply:
intellectual property rights: all categories of intellectual property that are the object of protection in this Chapter, in the terms indicated;
nationals of the other Party: in respect of the relevant intellectual property right, persons who would meet the eligibility criteria for protection provided by the Lisbon Agreement for the Protection of Appellations of Origin and their International Registration, 1967 (Lisbon Agreement); the International Convention for the
Protection of Performers, Producers of Phonograms and Broadcasting Organizations, 1961 (Rome Convention); the Convention Relating to the Distribution of Programme-carrying Signals Transmitted by Satellite, 1974 (Brussels Convention); the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works, 1971 (Berne Convention); the Geneva Convention for the Protection of Producers of Phonograms Against Unauthorized Duplication of their Phonograms, 1971 (Geneva Convention); the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property, 1967 (Paris Convention); and the International Convention for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants, 1978 or 1991 (UPOV Convention); as if each Party were a party to those conventions;
public: for the purposes of copyright and related rights in connection with the rights of communication and performance of the works provided for in Articles 11, 11bis.1 y 14.1.2 of the Berne Convention, with respect to at least dramatic, dramatico-musical, musical, literary, artistic or cinematographic works, includes any group of individuals who are intended and capable of perceiving communications or performances of works, regardless of whether they may do so at the same time and place or at different times and places, provided that such a grouping is larger than a family and its immediate circle of acquaintances or is not a group consisting of a limited number of individuals having the same type of close relationships, which has not been formed for the primary purpose of receiving such performances and communications of works;
encrypted program-carrying satellite signal: that which is transmitted in such a way that the auditory or visual characteristics, or both, are modified or altered to prevent unauthorized reception by persons lacking authorized equipment that is designed to eliminate the effects of such modification or alteration of the program carried in that signal.
Article 16-02. Protection of Intellectual Property Rights.
1. Each Party shall afford in its territory to nationals of the other Party adequate and effective protection and defense of intellectual property rights and shall ensure that measures to defend such rights do not, in turn, become barriers to legitimate trade.
2. Each Party may provide in its law broader protection for intellectual property rights than is required by this Chapter, provided that such protection is not inconsistent with this Chapter.
Article 16-03. Basic Principles.
1. In order to provide adequate and effective protection and enforcement of intellectual property rights, the Parties shall apply, at a minimum, the provisions contained in this Chapter and the substantive provisions of the Lisbon Agreement, the Brussels Convention, the Rome Convention, the Berne Convention, the Geneva Convention and the Paris Convention.
2. Each Party shall make every effort to accede to the conventions referred to in paragraph 1, if it is not already a party to them at the entry into force of this Treaty.
Article 16-04. National Treatment.
1. Each Party shall accord to nationals of the other Party treatment no less favorable than that it accords to its own nationals with respect to the protection and enforcement of all intellectual property rights, subject to the exceptions already provided for in the Rome Convention, the Berne Convention and the Paris Convention.
2. No Party may require holders of intellectual property rights to comply with any formality or condition for acquiring copyright and related rights as a condition for the granting of national treatment under this Article.
Article 16-05. Most Favored Nation Treatment.
With respect to the protection of intellectual property rights, any advantage, favor, privilege or immunity granted by a Party to nationals of any other country shall be accorded immediately and unconditionally to nationals of the other Party. Exempt from this obligation shall be any advantage, favor, privilege or immunity granted by a Party which:
(a) derive from international agreements of a general character on judicial assistance and law enforcement and not limited, in particular, to the protection of intellectual property rights;
(b) are granted in accordance with the provisions of the Berne Convention or the Rome Convention authorizing that the treatment accorded is not a function of national treatment but of the treatment accorded in the other country; and
(c) relate to the rights of performers, producers of phonograms and broadcasting organizations, which are not provided for in this Chapter.
Article 16-06. Exceptions.
Each Party may have recourse to the exceptions set out in Article 16-04, in connection with administrative and judicial procedures for the protection and enforcement of intellectual property rights, including any procedure that requires a national of the other Party to establish a legal domicile or appoint an agent in the territory of that Party, provided that such exception:
(a) is necessary to secure compliance with measures not inconsistent with this Chapter; and
(b) is not applied in such a manner as to constitute a disguised restriction on trade.
Article 16-07. Control of Abusive or Anticompetitive Practices and Conditions.
Nothing in this Chapter shall prevent each Party from providing in its law for licensing practices or conditions that, in particular cases, may constitute an abuse of intellectual property rights with an adverse effect on competition in the relevant market. Each Party may adopt or maintain, in accordance with other provisions of this Agreement, appropriate measures to prevent or control such practices or conditions.
Article 16-08. Cooperation to Eliminate Trade In Infringing Goods.
The Parties shall cooperate with a view to eliminating trade in infringing goods. To that end, each Party shall
designate a competent office for the purpose of exchanging information relating to trade in such goods.
Article 16-09. Promotion of Innovation and Technology Transfer.
The Parties shall contribute to the promotion of technological innovation and the transfer and dissemination of technology through government regulations favorable to industry and trade that are not contrary to free competition.
Section B. Copyright and Related Rights
Article 16-10. Copyright.
1. Each Party shall protect works covered by Article 2 of the Berne Convention, including any other works embodying an original expression within the meaning of that Convention, such as computer programs or compilations of data which, by reason of their arrangement, selection, selection, arrangement or arrangement of their contents, constitute intellectual creations. The protection conferred on compilations of data shall not extend to the data or materials themselves, nor shall it be granted to the detriment of any copyright that may exist in such data or materials.
2. Each Party shall grant to authors or their successors in title the rights set forth in the Berne Convention with respect to the works referred to in paragraph 1, including the right to authorize or prohibit:
(a) the importation into their territory of copies of the work made without the authorization of the right holder;
(b) the first public distribution of the original and each copy of the work by sale, rental or any other means;
(c) the communication of the work to the public; and
(d) the rental of the original or a copy of a computer program.
3. Paragraph 2(d) does not apply where the copy of the computer program does not itself constitute an essential object of the rental. Each Party shall provide that the introduction of the original or a copy of the computer program on the market, with the consent of the right holder, does not exhaust the lease right.
4. Each Party shall provide that for copyright and related rights:
(a) any person acquiring or holding economic rights may freely and separately transfer them by contract for the purpose of exploitation and enjoyment by the transferee; and
(b) any person acquiring and holding such economic rights, by virtue of a contract, including phonogram contracts and employment contracts involving the creation of any kind of work, has the capacity to exercise those rights in his own name and to enjoy fully the benefits derived therefrom.
5. Each Party shall confine limitations or exceptions to the rights provided for in this Article to specific special cases that do not prevent the normal exploitation of the work and do not unreasonably prejudice the legitimate interests of the right holder.
6. No Party shall grant licenses for reproduction and translation permitted under the Appendix to the Berne Convention, where the legitimate need for copies or translations of the work in the territory of that Party could be met by voluntary actions of the right holder, but for obstacles created by the Party's measures.
7. Copyright is permanent for the life of the author. After his death, those who have legitimately acquired such rights shall enjoy them for a term of at least 50 years. Where the term of protection of a work is calculated on a basis other than the life of a natural person, that term shall be:
(a) not less than 50 years counted from the end of the year of the authorized publication or disclosure of the work; or