Article 20-01 : The Administrative Commission.
1. The Parties create the Administrative Commission, composed of the heads of the responsible national bodies indicated in Annex 1 to this article, or by the persons designated by them. 2. It shall be the responsibility of the Commission:
a) to ensure compliance with and the correct application of the provisions of this Treaty;
b) evaluate the results achieved in the implementation of this Agreement, monitor its development and recommend to the Parties such modifications as it deems appropriate;
c) to intervene in disputes under the terms established in Chapter XIX;
d) supervise the work of all committees and working groups established in this Treaty and included in Annex 2 to this Article, which shall report to the Commission;
e) to monitor pricing practices and policies in specific sectors in order to detect those cases that could cause distortions in trade between the Parties;
f) recommend to the Parties the adoption of the necessary measures to implement its decisions; and
g) to deal with any other matter that may affect the operation of this Treaty or that may be attributed to it by any provision of this Treaty.
3. The Commission may:
a) establish and delegate responsibilities to ad hoc or standing committees, working groups and expert groups and supervise their work;
b) to seek the advice of individuals or groups with no governmental connection; and c) if agreed by the Parties, take any other action for the exercise of its functions.
4. The Commission shall establish its rules and procedures and all decisions shall be made unanimously. 5. The Commission shall meet at least once a year in regular session, which shall be chaired successively by each Party.
Article 20. National Sections.
1. The responsible national body of each Party shall designate its permanent official office or unit that shall act as the national section of that Party and shall communicate it to the other Parties:
a) the name and position of the officer in charge of its national section; and b) the address of its national section, to which communications are to be addressed.
2. The Commission shall supervise the coordinated operation of the national sections of the Parties.
3. It will correspond to the national sections:
a) to provide assistance to the Commission;
b) to provide administrative support to the arbitration tribunals;
c) on the instructions of the Commission, support the work of the other committees and groups established under this Treaty; and
d) to perform such other duties as may be entrusted to it by the Commission.
Annex 1 to Article 20-01. National Responsible National Bodies
The responsible national body of each Party shall be:
(a) in the case of Colombia, the Ministry of Foreign Trade or the body that replaces it;
(b) in the case of Mexico, the Secretaria de Comercio y Fomento Industrial or the body replacing it; and
(c) in the case of Venezuela, the Foreign Trade Institute or the body that replaces it.
Annex 2 to Article 20-01. Committees, Subcommittees and Working Groups
Committees:
-Committee on the Automotive Sector (Article 4-03)
-Committee on Agricultural Trade (Article 5-10)
-Committee on Phytosanitary and Zoosanitary Measures (Article 5-29)
-Committee on Sugar Analysis (Annex 3 to Article 5-04)
-Committee on Financial Services (Article 12-11)
-Committee on Standardization Measures (Article 14-17)
-Committee on Micro, Small and Medium Industry Committee (article 15-22)-Committee on Procurement (annex 8 to article 15-02)
-Committee on Competition (article 16-03)
-Committee on State Enterprise Practices (article 16-03)
Subcommittees
Subcommittee on Health Standardization Measures (article 14-17)
Working Groups:
-Working Group on Technical Standards and Agricultural Marketing Standards (article 5-09)
-Working Group on Rules of Origin (article 6-17)
-Working Group on Customs Procedures (7-11)
-Working Group on Professional Services (annex 1 to article 10-02)
-Temporary Entry Working Group (article 13-06)
Chapter XXI. Transparency
Article 21-01. Information Center.
1. Each Party shall designate a unit or office as an information center to facilitate communication between the Parties on any matter covered by this Agreement.
2. When requested by a Party, the information center of another Party shall indicate the unit or official responsible for the matter and provide such support as may be required to facilitate communication with the requesting Party.
Article 21-02. Publication.
1. Each Party shall ensure that its laws, regulations, procedures and administrative rulings of general application that relate to any matter covered by this Agreement are promptly published or made available for the information of the Parties and any interested party.
2. Each Party shall endeavor to:
a) publish in advance any measure; and
b) give the Parties and any interested party a reasonable opportunity to comment on the measure.
Article 21-03. Provision of Information.
1. Each Party shall, to the extent possible, communicate to any other Party having an interest in the matter, any measure that the Party considers may substantially affect or affect the interests of that other Party under the terms of this Agreement.
2. Each Party shall, at the request of another Party, provide it with information and promptly respond to its questions concerning any measure, whether or not that other Party has previously been informed of that measure.
3. The communication or provision of information referred to in this Article shall be made without prejudice to whether or not the measure is compatible with this Treaty.
Article 21-04. Guarantees of Hearing, Legality and Due Process.
1. The Parties reaffirm the guarantees of hearing, legality and due process enshrined in their respective legislation.
2. Each Party shall maintain judicial or administrative tribunals and procedures for the review and, where appropriate, correction of final acts relating to this Agreement.
3. Each Party shall ensure that in judicial and administrative proceedings relating to the application of any measure affecting the operation of this Agreement, the essential procedural formalities are complied with, and the legal basis and grounds thereof are established.
Chapter XXII. Exceptions
Article 22-01. General Exceptions.
1. Article XX of the GATT and its interpretative notes are incorporated into and form an integral part of this Agreement for the purposes of:
(a) Chapters III through IX, except to the extent that any of their provisions apply to services or investment; and
(b) Chapter XIV, except to the extent that any of its provisions apply to services,
2. Nothing in:
(a) Chapters Ill to IX, insofar as any of their provisions apply to services;
(b) Chapter XIV, to the extent that any of its provisions apply to services; and
c) Chapters X and XI,
shall be construed to prevent any Party from adopting or enforcing measures necessary to secure compliance with laws or regulations not inconsistent with the provisions of this Agreement, including those relating to health and safety and consumer protection; provided that such measures are not applied in a manner which would constitute a means of arbitrary or unjustifiable discrimination between countries where the same conditions prevail, or a disguised restriction on trade between the Parties.
Article 22-02. National Security.
1. In addition to the provisions of Article 15-19, nothing in this Agreement shall be construed to mean:
a) oblige a Party to provide or give access to information the disclosure of which it considers contrary to its essential security interests;
b) prevent a Party from taking any action it considers necessary to protect its essential security interests:
(i) relating to trade in armaments, munitions and war materiel and to trade and transactions in goods, materials, services and technology carried out for the direct or indirect purpose of supplying a military institution or other defense establishment;
(ii) adopted in time of war or other emergency in international relations; or
(iii) relating to the implementation of national policies or international agreements on the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons or other nuclear explosive devices; or
c) prevent any Party from taking action in accordance with its obligations under the United Nations Charter for the Maintenance of International Peace and Security.
Article 22-03. Disclosure of Information.
Nothing in this Agreement shall be construed to require a Party to furnish or give access to information the disclosure of which would impede compliance with the laws of the Party or would be contrary to its Constitution or
laws regarding, inter alia, the protection of privacy of individuals, financial affairs and bank accounts of individual customers of financial institutions.
Chapter XXIII. Final Provisions
Article 23-01. Annexes.
The annexes to this Agreement constitute an integral part of this Agreement.
Article 23-02. Amendments.
1. The Parties may agree on any modification or addition to this Agreement. 2. The agreed modifications and additions shall enter into force once they are approved according to the corresponding legal procedures of each Party and shall constitute an integral part of this Agreement.
Article 23-03. Convergence.
The Parties shall promote the convergence of this Treaty with other integration agreements of Latin American countries, in accordance with the mechanisms established in the Treaty of Montevideo 1980.
Article 23-04. Entry Into Force.
1. This Agreement shall enter into force on January 1, 1995, once the communications certifying that the necessary legal formalities have been completed have been exchanged.
2. Paragraph 1 does not preclude a Party, in accordance with its law, from giving provisional application to this Agreement.
Article 23-05. Validity.
This Treaty shall have a minimum term of three years. Once this period has elapsed, its duration shall be indefinite.
Article 23-06. Reservations.
This Treaty shall not be subject to reservations or interpretative declarations at the time of its ratification.
Article 23-07. Accession.
1. This Treaty shall be open to accession by the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean, either for a country or group of countries, subject to prior negotiation between that country or group of countries and the Parties.
2. The accession will enter into force once the communications certifying that the legal formalities have been completed have been exchanged.
Article 23-08. Denounciation.
1. Any Party may denounce this Agreement. Such denunciation shall take effect 180 days after communicating it to the other Parties and communicating the denunciation to the General Secretariat of LAIA, without prejudice that the Parties may agree on a different term.
2. The denunciation of this Agreement by a Party does not affect its effectiveness between the other Parties.
Article 23-09. Evaluation of the Treaty.
The Parties shall periodically evaluate the development of this Agreement in order to seek its improvement and consolidate the integration process in the region, promoting an active participation of the productive sectors.