CONVENTION
FOR THE PREVENTION OF MARINE POLLUTION
FROM LAND-BASED SOURCES
(Paris, 4.VI.1974)
The Contracting Parties:
Recognizing that the marine environment and the fauna and
flora which it supports are of vital importance to all nations;
Mindful that the ecological equilibrium and the legitimate
uses of the sea are increasingly threatened by pollution;
Considering the recommendations of the United Nations
Conference on the Human Environment, held in Stockholm in June
1972; <*>
--------------------------------
<*> Report of the United Nations Conference on the Human
Environment, Stockholm, 5 - 16 June 1972 (document
A/CONF.48/14/Rev.1 or United Nations publication, Sales No.
E.73.II.A.14).
Recognizing that concerted action at national, regional and
global levels is essential to prevent and combat marine pollution;
Convinced that international action to control the pollution
of the sea from land-based sources can and should be taken without
delay, as part of progressive and coherent measures to protect the
marine environment from pollution, whatever its origin, including
current efforts to combat the pollution of international
waterways;
Considering that the common interests of States concerned with
the same marine area should induce them to cooperate at regional
or sub-regional levels;
Recalling the Convention for the Prevention of Marine
Pollution by Dumping from Ships and Aircraft concluded in Oslo on
15 February 1972, <*>
--------------------------------
<*> United Nations, Treaty Series, vol. 932, p. 3.
Have agreed as follows:
Article 1
1. The Contracting Parties pledge themselves to take all
possible steps to prevent pollution of the sea, by which is meant
the introduction by man, directly or indirectly, of substances or
energy into the marine environment (including estuaries) resulting
in such deleterious effects as hazards to human health, harm to
living resources and to marine eco-systems, damage to amenities or
interference with other legitimate uses of the sea.
2. The Contracting Parties shall adopt individually and
jointly measures to combat marine pollution from land-based
sources in accordance with the provisions of the present
Convention and shall harmonize their policies in this regard.
Article 2
The present Convention shall apply to the maritime area within
the following limits:
a) Those parts of the Atlantic and Arctic Oceans and the
dependent seas which lie North of 36 deg. north latitude and
between 42 deg. west longitude and 51 deg. east longitude, but
excluding:
i) The Baltic Sea and Belts lying to the south and east of
lines drawn from Hasenore Head to Gniben Point, from Korshage to
Spodsbjerg and from Gilbjerg Head to Kullen, and
ii) The Mediterranean Sea and its dependent seas as far as the
point of intersection of the parallel of 36 deg. north latitude
and the meridian of 5 deg. 36 min. west longitude;
b) That part of the Atlantic Ocean north of 59 deg. north
latitude and between 44 deg. west longitude and 42 deg. west
longitude.
Article 3
For the purpose of the present Convention:
a) "Maritime area" means: the high seas, the territorial seas
of Contracting Parties and waters on the landward side of the base
lines from which the breadth of the territorial sea is measured
and extending in the case of watercourses, unless otherwise
decided under article 16 "c" of the present Convention, up to the
freshwater limit;
b) "Freshwater limit" means: the place in the watercourse
where, at low tide and in a period of low freshwater flow, there
is an appreciable increase in salinity due to the presence of
seawater;
c) "Pollution from land-based sources" means: the pollution of
the maritime area
i) Through watercourses,
ii) From the coast, including introduction through
underwater or other pipelines,
iii) From man-made structures placed under the
jurisdiction of a Contracting Party within the limits of the
area to which the present Convention applies.
Article 4
1. The Contracting Parties undertake:
a) To eliminate, if necessary by stages, pollution of the
maritime area from land-based sources by substances listed in
Part I of Annex A to the present Convention;
b) To limit strictly pollution of the maritime area from
land-based sources by substances listed in Part II of Annex A to
the present Convention.
2. In order to carry out the undertakings in paragraph 1 of
this Article, the Contracting Parties, jointly or individually as
appropriate, shall implement programmes and measures:
a) For the elimination, as a matter of urgency, of pollution
of the maritime area from landbased sources by substances listed
in Part I of Annex A to the present Convention;
b) For the reduction or, as appropriate, elimination of
pollution of the maritime area from land-based sources by
substances listed in Part II of Annex A to the present Convention.
These substances shall be discharged only after approval has been
granted by the appropriate authorities within each contracting
State. Such approval shall be periodically reviewed.
3. The programmes and measures adopted under paragraph 2 of
this article shall include, as appropriate, specific regulations
or standards governing the quality of the environment, discharges
into the maritime area, such discharges into watercourses as
affect the maritime area, and the composition and use of
substances and products. These programmes and measures shall take
into account the latest technical developments.
The programmes shall contain time-limits for their completion.
4. The Contracting Parties may, furthermore, jointly or
individually as appropriate, implement programmes or measures to
forestall, reduce or eliminate pollution of the maritime area from
land-based sources by a substance not then listed in Annex A to
the present Convention, if scientific evidence has established
that a serious hazard may be created in the maritime area by that
substance and if urgent action is necessary.
Article 5
1. The Contracting Parties undertake to adopt measures to
forestall and, as appropriate, eliminate pollution of the maritime
area from land-based sources by radio-active substances referred
to in Part III of Annex A of the present Convention.
2. Without prejudice to their obligations under other treaties
and conventions in implementing this undertaking, the Contracting
Parties shall:
a) Take full account of the recommendations of the appropriate
international organisations and agencies;
b) Take account of the monitoring procedures recommended by
these international organisations and agencies;
c) Coordinate their monitoring and study of radioactive
substances in accordance with Articles 10 and 11 of the present
Convention.
Article 6
1. With a view to preserving and enhancing the quality of the
marine environment, the Contracting Parties, without prejudice to
the provisions of Article 4, shall endeavour:
a) To reduce existing pollution from land-based sources;
b) To forestall any new pollution from land-based sources,
including that which derives from new substances.
2. In implementing this undertaking, the Contracting Parties
shall take account of:
a) The nature and quantities of the pollutants under
consideration;
b) The level of existing pollution;
c) The quality and absorptive capacity of the receiving waters
of the maritime area;
d) The need for an integrated planning policy consistent with
the requirement of environmental protection.
Article 7
The Contracting Parties agree to apply the measures they adopt
in such a way as to avoid increasing pollution:
- In the seas outside the area to which the present Convention
applies;
- In the maritime area covered by the present Convention,
originating otherwise than from land-based sources.
Article 8
No provision of the present Convention shall be interpreted as
preventing the Contracting Parties from taking more stringent
measures to combat marine pollution from land-based sources.
Article 9
1. When pollution from land-based sources originating from the
territory of a Contracting Party by substances not listed in
Part I of Annex A of the present Convention is likely to prejudice
the interests of one or more of the other Parties to the present
Convention, the Contracting Parties concerned undertake to enter
into consultation, at the request of any one of them, with a view
to negotiating a cooperation agreement.
2. At the request of any Contracting Party concerned, the
Commission referred to in Article 15 of the present Convention
shall consider the question and may make recommendations with a
view to reaching a satisfactory solution.
3. The special agreements specified in paragraph 1 of this
Article may, among other things, define the areas to which they
shall apply, the quality objectives to be achieved, and the
methods for achieving these objectives including methods for the
application of appropriate standards and the scientific and
technical information to be collected.
4. The Contracting Parties signatory to these special
agreements shall, through the medium of the Commission, inform the
other Contracting Parties of their purport and of the progress
made in putting them into effect.
Article 10
The Contracting Parties agree to establish complementary or
joint programmes of scientific and technical research, including
research into the best methods of eliminating or replacing noxious
substances so as to reduce marine pollution from land-based
sources, and to transmit to each other the information so
obtained. In doing so they shall have regard to the work carried
out, in these fields, by the appropriate international
organizations and agencies.
Article 11
The Contracting Parties agree to set up progressively and to
operate within the area covered by the present Convention a
permanent monitoring system allowing:
- The earliest possible assessment of the existing level of
marine pollution;
- The assessment of the effectiveness of measures for the
reduction of marine pollution from land-based sources taken under
the terms of the present Convention.
For this purpose the Contracting Parties shall lay down the
ways and means of pursuing individually or jointly systematic and
ad hoc monitoring programmes. These programmes shall take into
account the deployment of research vessels and other facilities in
the monitoring area.
The programmes shall take into account similar programmes
pursued in accordance with conventions already in force and by the
appropriate international organisations and agencies.
Article 12
1. Each Contracting Party undertakes to ensure compliance with
the provisions of this Convention and to take in its territory
appropriate measures to prevent and punish conduct in
contravention of the provisions of the present Convention.
2. The Contracting Parties shall inform the Commission of the
legislative and administrative measures they have taken to
implement the provisions of the preceding paragraph.
Article 13
The Contracting Parties undertake to assist one another as
appropriate to prevent incidents which may result in pollution
from land-based sources, to minimize and eliminate the
consequences of such incidents, and to exchange information to
that end.
Article 14
1. The provisions of the present Convention may not be invoked
against a Contracting Party to the extent that the latter is
prevented, as a result of pollution having its origin in the
territory of a non-Contracting State, from ensuring their full
application.
2. However, the said Contracting Party shall endeavour to
cooperate with the non-Contracting State so as to make possible
the full application of the present Convention.
Article 15
A Commission composed of representatives of each of the
Contracting Parties is hereby established. The Commission shall
meet at regular intervals and at any time when due to special
circumstances it is so decided in accordance with its rules of
procedure.
Article 16
It shall be the duty of the Commission:
a) To exercise overall supervision over the implementation of
the present Convention;
b) To review generally the condition of the seas within the
area to which the present Convention applies, the effectiveness of
the control measures being adopted and the need for any additional
or different measures;
c) To fix, if necessary, on the proposal of the Contracting
Party or Parties bordering on the same watercourse and following a
standard procedure, the limit to which the maritime area shall
extend in that watercourse;
d) To draw up, in accordance with Article 4 of the present
Convention, programmes and measures for the elimination or
reduction of pollution from land-based sources;
e) To make recommendations in accordance with the provisions
of Article 9;
f) To receive and review information and distribute it to the
Contracting Parties in accordance with the provisions of
Articles 11, 12 and 17 of the present Convention;
g) To make, in accordance with Article 18, recommendations
regarding any amendment to the lists of substances included in
Annex A to the present Convention;
h) To discharge such other functions, as may be appropriate,
under the terms of the present Convention.
Article 17
The Contracting Parties, in accordance with a standard
procedure, shall transmit to the Commission:
a) The results of monitoring pursuant to Article 11;
b) The most detailed information available on the substances
listed in the Annexes to the present Convention and liable to find
their way into the maritime area.
The Contracting Parties shall endeavour to improve
progressively techniques for gathering such information which can
contribute to the revision of the pollution reduction programmes
drawn up in accordance with Article 4 of the present Convention.
Article 18
1. The Commission shall draw up its own Rules of Procedure
which shall be adopted by unanimous vote.
2. The Commission shall draw up its own Financial Regulations
which shall be adopted by unanimous vote.
3. The Commission shall adopt, by unanimous vote, programmes
and measures for the reduction or elimination of pollution from
land-based sources as provided for in Article 4, programmes for
scientific research and monitoring as provided for in Articles 10
and 11, and decisions under Article 16 "c".
The programmes and measures shall commence for and be applied
by all Contracting Parties two hundred days after their adoption,
unless the Commission specifies another date.
Should unanimity not be attainable, the Commission may
nonetheless adopt a programme or measures by a three quarters
majority vote of its members. The programme or measures shall
commence for those Contracting Parties which voted for them two
hundred days after their adoption, unless the Commission specifies
another date, and for any other Contracting Party after it has
explicitly accepted the programme or measures, which it may do at
any time.
4. The Commission may adopt recommendations for amendments to
Annex A to the present Convention by a three quarters majority
vote of its members and shall submit them for the approval of the
Governments of the Contracting Parties. Any Government of a
Contracting Party that is unable to approve an amendment shall
notify the depositary Government in writing within a period of two
hundred days after the adoption of the Recommendation of amendment
in the Commission. Should no such notification be received, the
amendment shall enter into force for all Contracting Parties two
hundred and thirty days after the vote in the Commission. The
depositary Government shall notify the Contracting Parties as soon
as possible of the receipt of any notification.
Article 19
Within the areas of its competence, the European Economic
Community is entitled to a number of votes equal to the number of
its member States which are Contracting Parties to the present
Convention.
The European Economic Community shall not exercise its right
to vote in cases where its member States exercise theirs and
conversely.
Article 20
The depositary Government shall convene the first meeting of
the Commission as soon as possible after the coming into force of
the present Convention.
Article 21
Any dispute between Contracting Parties relating to the
interpretation or application of the present Convention, wich
cannot be settled otherwise by the Parties concerned, for instance
by means of inquiry or conciliation within the Commission, shall,
at the request of any of those Parties, be submitted to
arbitration under the conditions laid down in Annex B to the
present Convention.
Article 22
The present Convention shall be open for signature at Paris,
from 4th June 1974 to 30th June 1975, by the States invited to the
Diplomatic Conference on the Convention for the prevention of
Marine Pollution from Land-Based Sources, held at Paris, and by
the European Economic Community.
Article 23
The present Convention shall be subject to ratification,
acceptance and approval. The instruments of ratification,
acceptance or approval shall be deposited with the Government of
the French Republic.
Article 24
1. After 30th June 1975, the present Convention shall be open
for accession by States referred to in Article 22 and by the
European Economic Community.
2. The present Convention shall also be open for accession
from the same date by any other Contracting Party to the
Convention for the Prevention of Marine Pollution by Dumping from
Ships and Aircraft, opened for signature at Oslo on 15th February
1972.
3. From the date of its entry into force, the present
Convention shall be open for accession by any State not referred
to in Article 22, located upstream on watercourses crossing the
territory of one or more Contracting Parties to the present
Convention and reaching the maritime area defined in Article 2.
4. The Contracting Parties may unanimously invite other States
to accede to the present Convention. In that case the maritime
area in Article 2 may, if necessary, be amended in accordance with
Article 27 of the present Convention.
5. The instruments of accession shall be deposited with the
Government of the French Republic.
Article 25
1. The present Convention shall come into force on the
thirtieth day following the date of deposit of the seventh
instrument of ratification, acceptance, approval or accession.
2. For each Party ratifying, accepting or approving the
present Convention or acceding to it after the deposit of the
seventh instrument of ratification, acceptance, approval or
accession, the present Convention shall enter into force on the
thirtieth day after the date of deposit by that Party of its
instrument of ratification, acceptance, approval or accession.
Article 26
At any time after the expiry of two years from the date of
coming into force of the present Convention in relation to any
Contracting Party such Party may withdraw from the Convention by
notice in writing to the depositary Government. Such notice shall
take effect one year after the date on which it is received.
Article 27
1. The depositary Government shall, at the request of the
Commission on a decision taken by a two-thirds majority of its
members, call a Conference for the purpose of revising or amending
the present Convention.
2. Upon accession by a State as provided for in paragraphs 2,
3 and 4 of Article 24, the maritime area in Article 2 may be
amended upon a proposal by the Commission adopted by a unanimous
vote. These amendments shall enter into force after unanimous
approval by the Contracting Parties.
Article 28
The depositary Government shall inform the Contracting Parties
and those referred to in Article 22:
a) Of signatures to the present Convention, of the deposit of
instruments of ratification, acceptance, approval or accession,
and of notices of withdrawal in accordance, with Articles 22, 23,
24 and 26;
b) Of the date on which the present Convention comes into
force in accordance with Article 25;
c) Of the receipt of notifications of approval or objection,
and of the entry into force of amendments to the present
Convention and its Annexes, in accordance with Articles 18 and 27.
Article 29
The original of the present Convention of which the French and
English texts shall be equally authentic, shall be deposited with
the Government of the French Republic which shall send certified
copies thereof to the Contracting Parties and the States referred
to in Article 22 and shall deposit a certified copy with the
Secretary General of the United Nations for registration and
publication in accordance with i Article 102 of the United Nations
Charter.
In witness whereof, the undersigned, duly authorized to their
respective Governments, have signed this Convention.
Done at Paris, this 4th day of June 1974.
Annex A
The allocation of substances to Parts I, II and III below
takes account of the following criteria:
a) Persistence;
b) Toxicity or other noxious properties;
c) Tendency to bio-accumulation.
These criteria are not necessarily of equal importance for a
particular substance or group of substances, and other factors,
such as the location and quantities of the discharge, may need to
be considered.
Part I
The following substances are included in this Part:
i) Because they are not readily degradable or rendered
harmless by natural processes; and
ii) Because they may either
a) Give rise to dangerous accumulation of harmful material
in the food chain, or
b) Endanger the welfare of living organisms causing
undesirable changes in the marine eco-systems, or
c) Interfere seriously with the harvesting of sea foods or
with other legitimate uses of the sea; and
iii) Because it is considered that pollution by these
substances necessitates urgent action:
1. Organohalogen compounds and substances which may form
such compounds in the marine environment, excluding those
which are biologically harmless, or which are rapidly
converted in the sea into substances which are biologically
harmless;
2. Mercury and mercury compounds;
3. Cadmium and cadmium compounds;
4. Persistent synthetic materials which may float, remain
in suspension or sink, and which may seriously interfere with
any legitimate use of the sea;
5. Persistent oils and hydrocarbons of petroleum origin.
Part II
The following substances are included in this Part because,
although exhibiting similar characteristics to the substances in
Part I and requiring strict control, they seem less noxious or are
more readily rendered harmless by natural processes:
1. Organic compounds of phosphorous, silicon, and tin and
substances which may form such compounds in the marine
environment, excluding those which are biologically harmless, or
which are rapidly converted in the sea into substances which are
biologically harmless;
2. Elemental phosporus;
3. Non-persistent oils and hydrocarbons of petroleum origin;
4. The following elements and their compounds:
Arsenic
Chromium
Copper
Lead
Nickel
Zinc
5. Substances which have been agreed by the Commission as
having a deleterious effect on the taste and / or smell of
products derived from the marine environment for human
consumption.
Part III
The following substances are included in this Part because,
although they display characteristics similar to those of
substances listed in Part I and should be subject to stringent
controls with the aim of preventing and, as appropriate,
eliminating the pollution which they cause, they are already the
subject of research, recommendations and, in some cases, measures
under the auspices of several international organisations and
institutions; those substances are subject to the provisions of
Article 5:
- Radioactive substances, including wastes.
Annex B
Article 1
Unless the parties to the dispute decide otherwise, the
arbitration procedure shall be in accordance with the provisions
of this Annex.
Article 2
1. At the request addressed by one Contracting Party to
another Contracting Party in accordance with Article 21 of the
Convention, an arbitral tribunal shall be constituted. The request
for arbitration shall state the subject matter of the application
including in particular the Articles of the Convention, the
interpretation or application of which is in dispute.
2. The claimant shall inform the Commission that he has
requested the setting up of an arbitral tribunal, stating the name
of the other party to the dispute and the Articles of the
Convention the interpretation or application of which is in his
opinion in dispute. The Commission shall forward the information
thus received to all Contracting Parties to the Convention.
Article 3
The arbitral tribunal shall consist of three members: each of
the parties to the dispute shall appoint an arbitrator; the two
arbitrators so appointed shall designate by common agreement the
third arbitrator who shall be the chairman of the tribunal. The
latter shall not be a national of one of the parties to the
dispute, nor have his usual place of residence in the territory of
one of these parties, nor be employed by any of them, nor have
dealt with the case in any other capacity.
Article 4
1. If the chairman of the arbitral tribunal has not been
designated within two months of the appointment of the second
arbitrator, the Secretary General of the United Nations shall, at
the request of either party, designate him within a further two
months' period.
2. If one the parties to the dispute does not appoint an
arbitrator within two months of receipt of the request, the other
party may inform the Secretary General of the United Nations who
shall designate the chairman of the arbitral tribunal within a
further two months' period. Upon designation, the chairman of the
arbitral tribunal shall request the party which has not appointed
an arbitrator to do so within two months. After such period, he
shall inform the Secretary General of the United Nations who shall
make this appointment within a further two months' period.
Article 5
1. The arbitral tribunal shall decide according to the rules
of international law and, in particular, those of this Convention.
2. Any arbitral tribunal constituted under the provisions of
this Annex shall draw up its own rules of procedure.
Article 6
1. The decisions of the arbitral tribunal, both on procedure
and on substance, shall be taken by majority voting of its
members.
2. The tribunal may take all appropriate measures in order to
establish the facts. It may, at the request of one of the Parties,
recommend essential interim measures of protection.
3. If two or more arbitral tribunals constituted under the
provisions of this Annex are seized of requests with identical or
similar subjects, they may inform themselves of the procedures for
establishing the facts and take them into account as far as
possible.
4. The parties to the dispute shall provide all facilities
necessary for the effective conduct of the proceedings.
5. The absence or default of a party to the dispute shall not
constitute an impediment to the proceedings.
Article 7
1. The award of the arbitral tribunal shall be accompanied by
a statement of reasons. It shall be final and binding upon the
parties to the dispute.
2. Any dispute which may arise between the parties concerning
the interpretation or execution of the award may be submitted by
either party to the arbitral tribunal which made the award or, if
the latter cannot be seized thereof, to another arbitral tribunal
constituted for this purpose in the same manner as the first.
Article 8
The European Economic Community, like any Contracting Party to
the present Convention, has the right to appear as applicant or
respondent before the arbitral tribunal.
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