Not less than 50 % of the entire staff must be Georgian citizens.
Distribution Services
No national treatment and most favoured nation treatment obligations with respect to other distribution services (4,E)*.
Educational Services
— No national treatment and most favoured nation treatment obligations with respect to publicly funded secondary education services (CPC 922).
— No national treatment and most favoured nation treatment obligations with respect to publicly funded higher education services (CPC 923).
— No national treatment and most favoured nation treatment obligations with respect to other education services (CPC 929).
Financial Services
— No national treatment and most favoured nation treatment obligations with respect to other financial services, including workers compensation (7,C)*.
Health related and Social Services
— The knowledge of Georgian language (the State language) is obligatory for doctors working in Georgia.
— No national treatment and most favoured nation treatment obligations with respect to other health related and social services (8,D)*.
Tourism and Travel related Services
No national treatment and most favoured nation treatment obligations with respect to other tourism and travel related services (9,D)*.
Recreational, Cultural and Sporting Services
No national treatment and most favoured nation treatment obligations with respect to other recreational, cultural and sporting services (10,E)*.
Transport Services
— No national treatment and most favoured nation treatment obligations with respect to passenger transportation by maritime transport (CPC 7211) and supporting services for maritime transport (part of CPC 745).
— No national treatment and most favoured nation treatment obligations with respect to air transport services, including passenger transportation (CPC 731), freight transportation (CPC 732), rental of aircraft with crew (CPC 734) and supporting services for air transport (CPC 746).
— Rail Transport Services (CPC 7111, CPC 7112 and CPC 7113) - Railroad infrastructure is the state property and its exploitation is a monopoly. None for rail transport.
— No national treatment and most favoured nation treatment obligations with respect to supporting services for rail transport services (CPC 743).
— No national treatment and most favoured nation treatment obligations with respect to road transport services, including passenger transportation (CPC 7121 and CPC 7122), rental of commercial vehicles with operator (CPC 7124) and supporting services for road transport (CPC 744). Bilateral road transport agreements on the basis of reciprocity, which allow the respective countries to carry out international transportation of passengers and cargo.
— No national treatment and most favoured nation treatment obligations with respect to pipeline transport, including transportation of fuels (CPC 7131) and transportation of other goods (CPC 7139).
— No national treatment and most favoured nation treatment obligations with respect to other transport services (11,I)*.
— No national treatment and most favoured nation treatment obligations with respect to other services not included elsewhere (CPC 95, CPC 97, CPC 98 and CPC99).
ANNEX XIX. MEDIATION MECHANISM
1. Objective
The objective of this Annex is to facilitate the finding of a mutually agreed solution through a comprehensive and expeditious procedure with the assistance of a mediator.
Section 1. PROCEDURE UNDER THE MEDIATION MECHANISM
2. Request for Information
1. Before the initiation of the mediation procedure, a Party may request at any time in writing information regarding a measure adversely affecting its trade interests. The Party to which such request is made shall provide, within 20 days, a written response containing its comments on the information contained in the request.
2. Where the responding Party considers that a response within 20 days is not practicable, it shall inform the requesting Party of the reasons for the delay, together with an estimate of the shortest period within which it will be able to provide its response.
3. Initiation of the Procedure
1. A Party may request, at any time, that the Parties enter into a mediation procedure. Such request shall be addressed to the other Party in writing. The request shall be sufficiently detailed to present clearly the concerns of the requesting Party and shall:
(a) identify the specific measure at issue;
(b) provide a statement of the alleged adverse effects that the requesting Party believes the measure has, or will have, on its trade interests, and
(c) explain how the requesting Party considers that those effects are linked to the measure.
2. The mediation procedure may only be initiated by mutual agreement of the Parties. The Party to which a request pursuant to paragraph 1 is addressed shall give sympathetic consideration to the request and reply by accepting or rejecting it in writing within ten days of its receipt.
4. Selection of the Mediator
1. Upon launch of the mediation procedure, the Parties shall endeavour to agree on a mediator no later than 15 days after the receipt of the reply to the request referred to in Article 3 of this Annex.
2. In the event that the Parties are unable to agree on the mediator within the time frame laid down in paragraph 1, either Party may request the chair or co-chairs of the Association Committee in Trade configuration, as set out in Article 408(4) of this Agreement, or their delegates, to select the mediator by lot from the list established under Article 268 of this Agreement. Representatives of both Parties shall be invited, with sufficient advance notice, to be present when lots are drawn. In any event, the lot shall be carried out with the Party/Parties that are present.
3. The chair or co-chairs of the Association Committee in Trade configuration, or their delegates, shall select the mediator within five working days of the request made by either Party under paragraph 2 of this Article.
4. Should the list provided for in Article 268 of this Agreement not be established at the time a request is made pursuant to Article 3 of this Annex, the mediator shall be drawn by lot from the individuals which have been formally proposed by one or both of the Parties.
5. A mediator shall not be a citizen of either Party, unless the Parties agree otherwise.
6. The mediator shall assist, in an impartial and transparent manner, the Parties in bringing clarity to the measure and its possible trade effects, and in reaching a mutually agreed solution. The Code of Conduct for Arbitrators and Mediators set out in Annex XXI to this Agreement shall apply to mediators, mutatis mutandis. Rules 3 through 7 (notifications) and 41 through 45 (translation and interpretation) of the Rules of Procedure of Annex XX to this Agreement shall also apply, mutatis mutandis.
5. Rules of the Mediation Procedure
1. Within ten days after the appointment of the mediator, the Party having invoked the mediation procedure shall present, in writing, a detailed description of the problem to the mediator and to the other Party, in particular of the operation of the measure at issue and its trade effects. Within 20 days after the date of delivery of this submission, the other Party may provide, in writing, its comments to the description of the problem. Either Party may include in its description or comments any information that it deems relevant.
2. The mediator may decide on the most appropriate way of bringing clarity to the measure concerned and its possible trade effects. In particular, the mediator may organise meetings between the Parties, consult the Parties jointly or individually, seek the assistance of, or consult with, relevant experts and stakeholders and provide any additional support requested by the Parties. However, before seeking the assistance of or consulting with relevant experts and stakeholders, the mediator shall consult with the Parties.
3. The mediator may offer advice and propose a solution for the consideration of the Parties which may accept or reject the proposed solution or may agree on a different solution. However, the mediator shall not advise or give comments on the consistency of the measure at issue with this Agreement.
4. The procedure shall take place in the territory of the Party to which the request was addressed, or by mutual agreement in any other location or by any other means.
5. The Parties shall endeavour to reach a mutually agreed solution within 60 days from the appointment of the mediator. Pending a final agreement, the Parties may consider possible interim solutions, especially if the measure relates to perishable goods.
6. The solution may be adopted by means of a decision of the Association Committee in Trade configuration as set out in Article 408(4) of this Agreement. Either Party may make such solution subject to the completion of any necessary internal procedures. Mutually agreed solutions shall be made publicly available. The version disclosed to the public may not contain any information that a Party has designated as confidential.
7. On request of the Parties, the mediator shall notify to the Parties, in writing, a draft factual report, providing a brief summary of (a) the measure at issue in these procedures; (b) the procedures followed; and (c) any mutually agreed solution reached as the final outcome of these procedures, including possible interim solutions. The mediator shall provide the Parties 15 days to comment on the draft report. After considering the comments of the Parties submitted within the period, the mediator shall submit, in writing, a final factual report to the Parties within 15 days. The factual report shall not include any interpretation of this Agreement.
8. The procedure shall be terminated:
(a) by the adoption of a mutually agreed solution by the Parties, on the date of the adoption thereof;
(b) by a mutual agreement of the Parties at any stage of the procedure, on the date of that agreement;
(c) by a written declaration of the mediator, after consultation with the Parties, that further efforts at mediation would be to no avail, on the date of that declaration, or
(d) by a written declaration of a Party after exploring mutually agreed solutions under the mediation procedure and after having considered any advice and proposed solutions by the mediator, on the date of that declaration.
Section 2. IMPLEMENTATION
6. Implementation of a Mutually Agreed Solution
1. Where the Parties have agreed to a solution, each Party shall take the measures necessary to implement the mutually agreed solution within the agreed timeframe.
2. The implementing Party shall inform the other Party in writing of any steps or measures taken to implement the mutually agreed solution.
Section 3. GENERAL PROVISIONS
7. Confidentiality and Relationship to Dispute Settlement
1. Unless the Parties agree otherwise, and without prejudice to Article 5(6) of this Annex, all steps of the procedure, including any advice or proposed solution, are confidential. However, any Party may disclose to the public that mediation is taking place.
2. The mediation procedure is without prejudice to the Parties' rights and obligations under the provisions on Dispute Settlement of Chapter 14 (Dispute Settlement) of Title IV (Trade and Trade-related Matters) of this Agreement or any other agreement.
3. Consultations under Chapter 14 (Dispute Settlement) of Title IV (Trade and Trade-related Matters) of this Agreement are not required before initiating the mediation procedure. However, a Party should normally avail itself of the other available cooperation or consultation provisions in this Agreement before initiating the mediation procedure.
4. A Party shall not rely on or introduce as evidence in other dispute settlement procedures under this Agreement or any other agreement, nor shall a panel take into consideration:
(a) positions taken by the other Party in the course of the mediation procedure or information gathered under Article 5(1) and (2) of this Annex;
(b) the fact that the other Party has indicated its willingness to accept a solution to the measure subject to mediation or
(c) advice given or proposals made by the mediator.
5. A mediator may not serve as a panellist in a dispute settlement proceeding under this Agreement or under the WTO Agreement involving the same matter for which he/she has been a mediator.
8. Time-limits
Any time-limit referred to in this Annex may be modified by mutual agreement between the Parties involved in these procedures.
9. Costs
1. Each Party shall bear its own expenses derived from its participation in the mediation procedure.
2. The Parties shall share jointly and equally the expenses derived from organisational matters, including the remuneration and expenses of the mediator. The remuneration of the mediator shall be in accordance with that foreseen for the chairperson of an arbitration panel in accordance with Rule 8(e) of the Rules of Procedure.
ANNEX XX. RULES OF PROCEDURE FOR DISPUTE SETTLEMENT
General provisions
1. In Chapter 14 (Dispute Settlement) of Title IV (Trade and Trade-related Matters) of this Agreement and under these Rules:
(a) ‘adviser’ means a person retained by a Party to the dispute to advise or assist that Party in connection with the arbitration panel proceeding;
(b)'arbitrator’ means a member of an arbitration panel established under Article 249 of this Agreement;
(c) ‘assistant’ means a person who, under the terms of appointment of an arbitrator, conducts research or provides assistance to that arbitrator (1);
(d) ‘complaining Party’ means any Party that requests the establishment of an arbitration panel under Article 248 of this Agreement;
(e) ‘party complained against’ means the Party that is alleged to be in violation of the provisions referred to in Article 245 of this Agreement;
(f) ‘arbitration panel’ means a panel established under Article 249 of this Agreement;
(g) ‘representative of a Party’ means an employee or any person appointed by a government department or agency or any other public entity of a Party who represents the Party for the purposes of a dispute under this Agreement;
(h) ‘day’ means a calendar day.
2. The Party complained against shall be in charge of the logistical administration of dispute settlement proceedings, in particular the organisation of hearings, unless otherwise agreed. The Parties shall share the expenses derived from organisational matters, including the remuneration and the expenses of the arbitrators.
Notifications
3. Each Party to the dispute and the arbitration panel shall transmit any request, notice, written submission or other document by e-mail to the other Party, and as regards written submissions and requests in the context of arbitration to each of the arbitrators. The arbitration panel shall circulate documents to the Parties also by e-mail. Unless proven otherwise, an e-mail message shall be deemed to be received on the date of its sending. If any of the supporting documents are above ten megabytes, they shall be provided in another electronic format to the other Party and where relevant to each of the arbitrators within two days from the sending of the e-mail.
4. A copy of the documents transmitted in accordance with rule 3 above shall be submitted to the other Party and where relevant to each of the arbitrators on the day of sending the e-mail by either facsimile transmission, registered post, courier, delivery against receipt or any other means of telecommunication that provides a record of the sending thereof.
5. All notifications shall be addressed to the Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development of Georgia and to the Directorate-General for Trade of the Commission of the European Union, respectively.
6. Minor errors of a clerical nature in any request, notice, written submission or other document related to the arbitration panel proceeding may be corrected by delivery of a new document clearly indicating the changes.
7. If the last day for delivery of a document falls on an official legal holiday of Georgia or of the EU, the document shall be deemed delivered within the deadline on the next business day.
Commencing the arbitration
8.(a) If pursuant to Article 249 of this Agreement or to rules 19, 20 or 46 of these Rules, an arbitrator is selected by lot, the lot shall be carried out at a time and place decided by the complaining Party to be promptly communicated to the Party complained against. The Party complained against may, if it so chooses, be present during the lot. In any event, the lot shall be carried out with the Party/Parties that are present.
(b) If pursuant to Article 249 of this Agreement or to rules 19, 20 or 46 of these Rules an arbitrator is to be selected by lot and there are two chairpersons of the Association Committee in Trade configuration as set out in Article 408(4) of this Agreement, the lot shall be performed by both chairpersons, or their delegates. However, in cases where one chairperson or his delegate does not accept to participate in the lot, the selection by lot shall be performed by the other chairperson alone.
(c) The Parties shall notify the selected arbitrators regarding their appointment.
(d) An arbitrator who has been appointed according to the procedure established in Article 249 of this Agreement shall confirm his/her availability to serve as member of the arbitration panel to the Association Committee in Trade configuration within five days of the date in which he/she was informed of his/her appointment.
(e) Unless the Parties to the dispute agree otherwise, they shall meet the arbitration panel within seven days of its establishment in order to determine such matters that the Parties or the arbitration panel deem appropriate, including the remuneration and expenses to be paid to the arbitrators, which will be in accordance with WTO standards. The remuneration for each arbitrator's assistant shall not exceed 50 % of the remuneration of that arbitrator. Arbitrators and representatives of the Parties to the dispute may take part in this meeting via telephone or video conference.
9. (a) Unless the Parties agree otherwise within five days from the date of the selection of the arbitrators, the terms of reference of the arbitration panel shall be: ‘To examine, in the light of the relevant provisions of the Agreement invoked by the parties to the dispute, the matter referred to in the request for establishment of the arbitration panel, to rule on the compatibility of the measure in question with the provisions referred to in Article 245 of the Association Agreement and to make a ruling in accordance with Article 251 of that Agreement’.
(b) The Parties shall notify the agreed terms of reference to the arbitration panel within three days of their agreement.
Initial submissions
10. The complaining Party shall deliver its initial written submission no later than 20 days after the date of establishment of the arbitration panel. The Party complained against shall deliver its written counter-submission no later than 20 days after the date of receipt of the initial written submission.
Working of arbitration panels
11. The chairperson of the arbitration panel shall preside at all its meetings. An arbitration panel may delegate to the chairperson authority to make administrative and procedural decisions.
12. Unless otherwise provided in Chapter 14 (Dispute Settlement) of Title IV (Trade and Trade-related Matters) of this Agreement, the arbitration panel may conduct its activities by any means, including telephone, facsimile transmissions or computer links.
13. Only arbitrators may take part in the deliberations of the arbitration panel, but the arbitration panel may permit its assistants to be present at its deliberations.
14. The drafting of any ruling shall remain the exclusive responsibility of the arbitration panel and shall not be delegated.
15. Where a procedural question arises that is not addressed by Chapter 14 (Dispute Settlement) of Title IV (Trade and Trade-related Matters) of this Agreement and its annexes, the arbitration panel, after consulting the Parties, may adopt an appropriate procedure that is compatible with those provisions.
16. When the arbitration panel considers that there is a need to modify any of the time-limits for its proceedings other than the time-limits set out in Chapter 14 (Dispute Settlement) of Title IV (Trade and Trade-related Matters) of this Agreement or to make any other procedural or administrative adjustment, it shall inform the Parties to the dispute in writing of the reasons for the change or the adjustment and of the period of time or adjustment needed.
Replacement
17. If in an arbitration proceeding an arbitrator is unable to participate, withdraws, or must be replaced because of non-compliance with the requirements of the Code of Conduct, a replacement shall be selected in accordance with Article 249 of this Agreement and Rule 8 of these Rules.
18. Where a Party to the dispute considers that an arbitrator does not comply with the requirements of the Code of Conduct and for this reason should be replaced, that Party shall notify the other Party to the dispute within 15 days from the time at which it obtained evidence of the circumstances underlying the arbitrator's material violation of the Code of Conduct.
19. Where a Party to the dispute considers that an arbitrator other than the chairperson does not comply with the requirements of the Code of Conduct, the Parties to the dispute shall consult and, if they so agree, select a new arbitrator in accordance with Article 249 of this Agreement and Rule 8 of these Rules.
If the Parties to the dispute fail to agree on the need to replace an arbitrator, any Party to the dispute may request that such matter be referred to the chairperson of the arbitration panel, whose decision shall be final.
If, pursuant to such a request, the chairperson finds that an arbitrator does not comply with the requirements of the Code of Conduct, the new arbitrator shall be selected in accordance with Article 249 of this Agreement and Rule 8 of these Rules.
20. Where a Party considers that the chairperson of the arbitration panel does not comply with the requirements of the Code of Conduct, the Parties shall consult and, if they so agree, select a new chairperson in accordance with Article 249 of this Agreement and Rule 8 of these Rules.
If the Parties fail to agree on the need to replace the chairperson, any Party may request that such matter be referred to one of the remaining members of the pool of individuals from the sub-list of chairpersons established under paragraph 1 of Article 268 of this Agreement. Within five days from the request, his/her name shall be drawn by lot in accordance with Rule 8 of these Rules. The decision by the selected person on the need to replace the chairperson shall be final.
If the selected person decides that the original chairperson does not comply with the requirements of the Code of Conduct, he/she shall select a new chairperson by lot among the remaining pool of individuals from the sub-list of chairpersons referred to under paragraph 1 of Article 268 of this Agreement. The selection of the new chairperson shall be carried out within five days of the date of the decision by the selected person that the original chairperson does not comply with the requirements of the Code of Conduct.
21. The arbitration panel proceedings shall be suspended for the period taken to carry out the procedures provided for in rules 18, 19 and 20 of these Rules.
Hearings
22. The chairperson of the arbitration panel shall fix the date and the time of the hearing in consultation with the Parties to the dispute and the other arbitrators, and shall confirm this in writing to the Parties to the dispute. This information shall also be made publicly available by the Party in charge of the logistical administration of the proceedings, unless the hearing is closed to the public. Unless a Party disagrees, the arbitration panel may decide not to convene a hearing.
The hearing shall be open to the public, unless it must be partially or fully closed in order to ensure the confidentiality of confidential information. In addition, the Parties may, by mutual agreement, decide that the hearing be partially or fully closed to the public on the basis of other objective considerations.
23. Unless the Parties agree otherwise, the hearing shall be held in Brussels, if the complaining Party is Georgia and in Tbilisi, if the complaining Party is the EU.
24. The arbitration panel may convene additional hearings, if the Parties so agree.
25. All arbitrators shall be present during the entirety of any hearings.
26. The following persons may attend the hearing, irrespective of whether the proceedings are open to the public or not:
(a) representatives of the Parties to the dispute;
(b) advisers to the Parties to the dispute;
(c) administrative staff, interpreters, translators and court reporters and
(d) arbitrators' assistants.
Only the representatives and advisers of the Parties to the dispute may address the arbitration panel.
27. No later than five days before the date of a hearing, each Party to the dispute shall deliver to the arbitration panel a list of the names of individuals who will make oral arguments or presentations at the hearing on behalf of that Party and of other representatives or advisers who will be attending the hearing.
28. The arbitration panel shall conduct the hearing in the following manner, ensuring that the complaining Party and the Party complained against are afforded equal time:
Argument
(a) argument of the complaining Party
(b) counter-argument of the Party complained against
Rebuttal Argument
(a) argument of the complaining Party
(b) counter-argument of the Party complained against
29. The arbitration panel may direct questions to either Party to the dispute at any time during the hearing.
30. The arbitration panel shall arrange for a transcript of each hearing to be prepared and delivered as soon as possible to the Parties to the dispute. The Parties to the dispute may comment on the transcript and the arbitration panel may consider those comments.
31. Each Party to the dispute may deliver a supplementary written submission concerning any matter that arose during the hearing within ten days of the date of the hearing.
Questions in writing
32. The arbitration panel may at any time during the proceedings address questions in writing to one or both Parties to the dispute. Each of the Parties to the dispute shall receive a copy of any questions put by the arbitration panel.
33. A Party to the dispute shall also provide a copy of its written response to the arbitration panel's questions to the other Party to the dispute. Each Party to the dispute shall be given the opportunity to provide written comments on the other Party's reply within five days of the date of receipt of such reply.
Confidentiality