Convention on Environmental Impact Assessment in a Transboundary Context. February 25, 1991.

Adopted on 25 February 1991

The Parties to this Convention,

Considering the relationship between different economic activities and their environmental consequences,

Affirming the need to ensure environmentally sound and sustainable development

Determined to promote international cooperation in the field of environmental impact assessment, in particular in a transboundary context

Considering the need and importance of developing proactive policies and preventing, reducing and monitoring significant adverse environmental impacts in general and in particular in a transboundary context

Recalling the relevant provisions of the Charter of the United Nations, the Declaration of the Stockholm Conference on the Human Environment, the Final Act of the Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe (CSCE) and the Madrid and Vienna Conclusions of the CSCE participating States

Appreciating the activities undertaken by States to ensure that environmental impact assessments are based on their national legal and administrative provisions and on their national policies,

Cognizant of the need to pay careful attention to environmental factors at an early stage in the decision-making process, applying environmental impact assessment at all appropriate administrative levels as a necessary tool to improve the quality of information provided to decision-makers so that they can make environmentally sound decisions, taking particular account of the need to minimize significant adverse impact, in particular in a transboundary context

Recognizing the efforts of international organizations to promote the use of environmental impact assessment at both the national and international levels, and acknowledging the work in the field of environmental impact assessment carried out under the auspices of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe, in particular the results of the Environmental Impact Assessment Workshop (Warsaw, Poland, September 1987), and noting the Purposes and Principles of Environmental Impact Assessment adopted by the Council of the United Nations

have agreed on the following:

Article 1
Definitions
For the purposes of this Convention:

(i) «Parties,» unless otherwise specified in the text, means the Contracting Parties to this Convention;

(ii) «Party of origin» means Contracting Party(ies) of this Convention, under whose jurisdiction(s) the proposed activity is to take place;

(iii) «Affected Party» means Contracting Party(ies) to this Convention which may be affected by the transboundary effects of a proposed activity;

(iv) «Interested Parties» shall be taken as the Party of origin and the affected Party involved in the application of environmental impact assessment techniques under this Convention

(v) «Planned activity» is understood to mean any activity, or any major change to an activity, which requires a decision by a competent authority in accordance with an applicable national procedure;

(vi) «Environmental impact assessment» means a national procedure for assessing the possible environmental impact of a proposed activity;

(vii) «Impact» means any effect of a proposed activity on the environment, including human health and safety, flora, fauna, soil, air, water, climate, landscape, historical monuments and other physical structures, or the interaction among these factors; it also includes effects on cultural heritage or socio-economic conditions resulting from alterations to those factors

(viii) «Transboundary impact» means any impact, not only of a global nature, within an area under the jurisdiction of a Party, caused by a proposed activity, the physical source of which is situated wholly or in part within an area under the jurisdiction of another Party;

(ix) «Competent authority» means the national authority or authorities designated by a Party as responsible for performing the functions covered by this Convention and/or the authority or authorities entrusted by a Party with decision-making powers in relation to a proposed activity;

(x) «The public» means one or more natural or legal persons.

 

Article 2
General provisions
1. The Parties shall, individually or collectively, take all appropriate and effective measures to prevent, mitigate and control significant adverse transboundary impact from a proposed activity.

2. Each Party shall take the necessary legislative, administrative or other measures to implement the provisions of this Convention, including, with respect to proposed activities listed in Appendix I that are likely to cause significant adverse transboundary impact, the establishment of an environmental impact assessment procedure enabling public participation and the preparation of environmental impact assessment documentation described in Appendix II.

3. The Party of origin shall ensure that an environmental impact assessment under the provisions of this Convention is conducted prior to a decision to authorize or undertake a proposed activity included in Appendix I that is likely to have a significant adverse transboundary impact.

4. The Party of origin shall ensure that affected Parties are notified, in accordance with the provisions of this Convention, of a proposed activity listed in Appendix I which is likely to cause a significant adverse transboundary impact.

5. The Parties concerned shall consult, at the initiative of any such Party, on the possibility that a type or types of proposed activity not specified in Appendix I would cause a significant adverse transboundary impact and whether it or they should therefore be treated as if they were specified in Appendix I. If these Parties agree in the affirmative, the type or activities in question are subject to the specified treatment. General principles for determining criteria to help establish significant adverse impact are set forth in Appendix III.

6. The Party of origin shall, in accordance with the provisions of this Convention, provide the public in the areas likely to be affected with an opportunity to participate in the relevant procedures for assessing the environmental impact of the proposed activity and shall ensure that the opportunity provided to the public of the affected Party is equivalent to that provided to the public of the Party of origin.

7. In accordance with the provisions of this Convention, environmental impact assessments shall, as a minimum requirement, be conducted at the project level of planned activities. Where possible, Parties shall endeavor to apply the principles of environmental impact assessment to policies, plans and programs.

8. The provisions of this Convention shall not affect the right of Parties to apply national laws, regulations, administrative provisions or accepted legal practices protecting information the release of which would be prejudicial to industrial and commercial secrecy or national security interests.

9. The provisions of this Convention shall not affect the right of particular Parties to apply, where necessary by bilateral or multilateral agreement, more stringent measures than those contained in this Convention.

10. The provisions of this Convention shall be without prejudice to any obligations of the Parties under international law with respect to activities which have or may have a transboundary impact.

 

Article 3
Notification
1. With respect to a proposed activity specified in Appendix I which is likely to cause a significant adverse transboundary impact, a Party of origin shall, in order to ensure appropriate and effective consultation under Article 5, notify any Party which it considers may be an affected Party as soon as possible and no later than it informs the public of its own country about the proposed activity.

(2) This notification shall, inter alia, contain:

(a) Information on the proposed activity, including any available information on its possible transboundary impact;

(b) Information as to the nature of the possible decision; and

(c) An indication of a reasonable time frame within which a response is required under paragraph 3 of this Article, taking into account the nature of the proposed activity;

and may include the information referred to in paragraph 5 of this Article.

3. The affected Party shall respond to the Party of origin within the time period specified in the notification by acknowledging receipt of the notification and by indicating whether it intends to participate in the environmental impact assessment procedure.

4. If the Party concerned indicates that it does not intend to participate in the environmental impact assessment procedure or if it does not reply within the time period specified in the notification, the provisions of paragraphs 5, 6, 7 and 8 of this Article and of articles 4 to 7 shall not apply. In such circumstances, a Party of origin shall not be prejudiced in determining the need for an environmental impact assessment on the basis of its national law and practice.

5. Upon receipt of a response from the affected Party indicating its intention to participate in the environmental impact assessment procedure, the Party of origin shall, if it has not already done so, provide the affected Party with:

(a) Relevant information regarding the environmental impact assessment procedure, including an indication of the timing of comments; and

(b) Relevant information on the proposed activity and its possible significant adverse transboundary impact.

6. At the request of the Party of origin, the affected Party shall provide the first reasonably available information on the potentially affected environment under the jurisdiction of the affected Party if such information is necessary for the preparation of the environmental impact assessment documentation. This information shall be provided promptly and, if necessary, through a joint body, if one exists.

7. If a Party considers that it would be affected by a significant adverse transboundary impact of a proposed activity specified in Appendix I, and if no notification has been received pursuant to paragraph 1 of this Article, at the request of the affected Party, the Parties concerned shall exchange sufficient information to discuss the likelihood of a significant adverse transboundary impact. If those Parties agree that a significant adverse transboundary impact is likely to occur, the provisions of this Convention shall apply accordingly. If those Parties cannot agree that a significant adverse transboundary impact is likely to occur, any such Party may submit the matter to a request panel under the provisions of Appendix IV for its opinion on the likelihood of a significant adverse transboundary impact, unless the Parties agree on another way to resolve the matter.

8. The Parties concerned shall ensure that the public of the affected Party in the areas likely to be affected have information and opportunities to submit comments or objections on the proposed activity and that these comments or objections are communicated to the competent authority of the Party of origin either directly or, where appropriate, through the Party of origin.

 

Article 4
Preparation of environmental impact assessment documentation
1. The environmental impact assessment documentation to be submitted to the competent authority of the Party of origin shall contain, as a minimum, the information described in Appendix II.

2. The Party of origin shall make the environmental impact assessment documentation available to the affected Party in an appropriate manner through a joint body, if one exists. The Parties concerned shall ensure that this documentation is distributed to the authorities and the public of the affected Party in the areas likely to be affected and that comments are submitted to the competent authority of the Party of origin, either directly or, where appropriate, through the Party of origin, within a reasonable time before a final decision on the proposed activity is taken.

 

Article 5
Consultations conducted on the basis of the environmental impact assessment documentation
The Party of origin shall, upon completion of the environmental impact assessment documentation and without undue delay, consult with the affected Party concerned on, inter alia, the potential transboundary impact of the proposed activity and measures to mitigate or eliminate its impact. Consultations may concern:

(a) Possible alternatives to the proposed activity, including the alternative of taking no action, and possible measures to reduce the significant adverse transboundary impact of the proposed activity and to monitor the effects of such measures at the expense of the Party of origin;

(b) Other forms of possible mutual assistance in reducing any significant adverse transboundary impact of the proposed activity; and

(c) Any other relevant matters relating to the proposed activity.

The Parties shall agree at the outset on the duration of such consultations within an acceptable time frame. Any such consultations may be held through an appropriate joint body, where one exists.

 

Article 6
Final decision
1. The Parties shall ensure that the final decision on a proposed activity shall take due account of the results of the environmental impact assessment, including environmental impact assessment documentation, as well as comments on that documentation received in accordance with Article 3, paragraph 8 and Article 4, paragraph 2, and the outcome of the consultations referred to in Article 5.

2. The Party of origin shall communicate to the affected Party the final decision regarding the proposed activity, together with the reasons and considerations on which it is based.

(3) If additional information about a significant transboundary impact of a proposed activity, which was not available at the time the decision on the activity was made and which could significantly affect the decision, becomes known to the Party concerned before the activity is undertaken, that Party shall promptly inform the other Party or Parties concerned. If one of the Parties concerned so requests, consultations shall be held as to whether the decision should be reconsidered.

Article 7
Post-project analysis
1. In view of the likely significant adverse transboundary impact of an activity affected by an environmental impact assessment under this Convention, the Parties concerned shall, at the request of any such Party, determine whether and to what extent a post-project analysis shall be conducted. Any post-project analysis to be undertaken shall include, inter alia, observation of the activity in question and the determination of any adverse transboundary impact. Such monitoring and determination may be conducted to achieve the purposes set forth in Appendix V.

2. If, as a result of the post-project analysis, a Party of origin or an affected Party has reasonable grounds to believe that a significant adverse transboundary impact is occurring or is found to result in such an impact, it shall immediately inform the other Party. The Parties concerned shall then consult on the measures to be taken to reduce or eliminate the impact.

 

Article 8
Bilateral and multilateral cooperation
Parties may continue to implement existing agreements or enter into new bilateral or multilateral agreements or other arrangements to comply with their obligations under this Convention. Such agreements or other arrangements may be based on the elements listed in Appendix VI.

 

Article 9
Research programmes
The Parties shall pay particular attention to the development or enhanced implementation of specific research programmes aimed at:

(a) Improving existing methods for qualitative and quantitative assessment of the effects of planned activities;

(b) Improve the understanding of causal linkages and their role in integrated environmental management;

(c) Analysis and monitoring of the effectiveness of the implementation of decisions on planned activities in order to minimize or avoid impacts;

(d) Development of methods to stimulate innovative approaches to finding environmentally sound alternatives to planned activities, production and consumption patterns

(e) Development of a methodology for applying the principles of environmental impact assessment at the macroeconomic level.

The Parties shall share the results of the implementation of the above programmes.

Article 10
Status of Appendices
The Appendices to this Convention shall form an integral part of the Convention.

Article 11
Meeting of the Parties
1. The Parties shall meet, if possible, in conjunction with the annual sessions of the Senior Advisers to ECE Governments on Environment and Water. The first meeting of the Parties shall be held no later than one year after the date of the entry into force of this Convention. Thereafter, the need for, and dates of, meetings shall be determined by a meeting of the Parties or at the written request of any Party, provided that, within six months of the request being communicated to the Parties by the secretariat, it is supported by at least one third of the Parties.

2. The Parties shall keep under continuous review the implementation of this Convention and, to that end:

(a) Review the policies and methodological approaches of the Parties to environmental impact assessment with a view to further improving environmental impact assessment procedures in a transboundary context;

(b) Exchange information concerning experience gained in the conclusion and implementation of bilateral and multilateral agreements or other arrangements concerning the use of environmental impact assessment in a transboundary context to which one or more Parties are parties;

(c) Where appropriate, call upon competent international bodies or scientific committees to address methodological or technical issues that arise in the pursuit of the objectives of this Convention;

(d) At their first meeting, consider and by consensus adopt rules of procedure for their meetings;

(e) Consider and, if necessary, adopt proposals for amendments to this Convention;

(f) Consider and adopt any additional measures that may be necessary for the achievement of the objectives of this Convention.

Article 12
Voting rights
1. Each Party to this Convention shall have one vote.

2. As an exception to the general rule provided for in paragraph 1 of this Article, regional economic integration organizations, in matters within their competence, shall exercise their right to vote with a number of votes equal to the number of their member States which are Parties to this Convention. Such organizations shall lose their right to vote if their member States exercise theirs, and vice versa.

Article 13
Secretariat
The Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Europe shall perform the following secretariat functions:

(a) Convene and prepare meetings of the Parties;

(b) Transmit to the Parties reports and other information received in accordance with the provisions of this Convention; and

(c) Perform such other functions as may be provided for in this Convention or as may be determined by the Parties.

Article 14
Amendments to the Convention
(1) Any Party may propose amendments to this Convention.

2. 2. Proposed amendments shall be submitted in writing to the secretariat, which shall communicate them to all Parties. The proposed amendments shall be discussed at an ordinary meeting of the Parties, provided that those amendments have been communicated by the Secretariat to the Parties at least ninety days in advance.

3. The Parties shall make every effort to reach agreement on any proposed amendment to this Convention by consensus. If all efforts to reach consensus have been exhausted and no agreement has been reached, the amendment shall as a last resort be adopted by a three-fourths majority vote of the Parties present and voting at the meeting.

4. 4. Amendments to this Convention adopted in accordance with paragraph 3 of this Article shall be submitted by the Depositary to all Parties for ratification, approval or acceptance. They shall enter into force for Parties having ratified, approved or accepted them on the ninetieth day after at least three-fourths of the Parties have received notification of their ratification, approval or acceptance by the Depositary. Thereafter, for any other Party, the amendments shall enter into force on the ninetieth day after the date on which that Party deposits its instrument of ratification, approval or acceptance of the amendments.

5. For the purposes of this Article, «Parties present and voting» means Parties present and casting an affirmative or negative vote.

6. The voting procedure set out in paragraph 3 of this Article shall not constitute a precedent for future agreements which may be concluded within the Economic Commission for Europe.

Article 15
Settlement of disputes
1. If a dispute arises between two or more Parties as to the interpretation or observance of this Convention, they shall seek a settlement of the dispute by negotiation or by any other means of dispute settlement at their discretion.

2. When signing, ratifying, accepting, approving or acceding to this Convention, or at any time thereafter, a Party may declare in writing to the Depositary that, for a dispute not resolved in accordance with paragraph 1 of this Article, it accepts one or both of the following means of dispute settlement as binding on any Party accepting the same obligation

(a) Submission of the dispute to the International Court of Justice;

(b) Submission of the dispute to arbitration in accordance with the procedure set out in Appendix VII.

(3) If the parties to the dispute have accepted both procedures for the settlement of the dispute set out in paragraph 2 of this Article, the dispute may be submitted only to the International Court of Justice, unless the parties agree otherwise.

Article 16
Signature
This Convention shall be open for signature at Espoo, Finland, from 25 February to 1 March 1991 and thereafter at United Nations Headquarters in New York until 2 September 1991 by States members of the Economic Commission for Europe, as well as States having consultative status with the Economic Commission for Europe pursuant to paragraph 8 of Economic and Social Council resolution 36 (IV) of 28 March 1947, and by regional economic integration organizations constituted by sovereign States members of the Economic

Article 17
Ratification, acceptance, approval and accession
1. This Convention shall be subject to ratification, acceptance or approval by signatory States and by regional economic integration organizations.

2. This Convention shall be open for accession as from 3 September 1991 by the States and organizations referred to in Article 16.

3. The instruments of ratification, acceptance, approval or accession shall be deposited with the Secretary-General of the United Nations, who shall perform the functions of Depositary.

4. Any organization referred to in Article 16 which becomes a Party to this Convention without any of its member States being a Party shall be bound by all the obligations under this Convention. In the case of such an organization, one or more of whose member States is a Party to this Convention, the organization and its member States shall decide on their respective responsibilities for the performance of their obligations under this Convention.

5. In their instruments of ratification, acceptance, approval or accession, the regional economic integration organizations referred to in Article 16 shall declare the extent of their competence with respect to the matters governed by this Convention. These organizations shall also inform the Depositary of any relevant modification to the extent of their competence.

Article 18
Entry into force
1. This Convention shall enter into force on the ninetieth day after the date of deposit of the sixteenth instrument of ratification, acceptance, approval or accession.

2. For the purpose of paragraph 1 of this Article, any instrument deposited by a regional economic integration organization shall not be counted as additional to those deposited by member States of such organization.

3. For each State or organization referred to in Article 16 which ratifies, accepts or approves this Convention or accedes thereto after the deposit of the sixteenth instrument of ratification, acceptance, approval or accession, this Convention shall enter into force on the ninetieth day after the date of deposit by such State or organization of its instrument of ratification, acceptance, approval or accession.

Article 19
Withdrawal from the Convention
At any time after four years from the date on which this Convention has come into force for a Party, that Party may withdraw from this Convention by giving written notification to the Depositary. Any such withdrawal shall take effect on the ninetieth day after the date of its receipt by the Depositary. Any such withdrawal shall not affect the application of Articles 3 to 6 of this Convention or planned activities for which notification has been given under paragraph 1 of Article 3 or requested under paragraph 7 of Article 3 before the withdrawal takes effect.

Article 20
Authentic texts
The original of the present Convention, of which the English, French and Russian texts are equally authentic, shall be deposited with the Secretary-General of the United Nations.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF the undersigned, being duly authorized thereto, have signed this Convention.

DONE at Espoo, Finland, this twenty-fifth day of February one thousand nine hundred and ninety-one.

 

 

Addenda

Appendix I
List of activities
1. Petroleum refineries (except those producing only lubricants from crude oil) and installations for the gasification and liquefaction of coal or bituminous shale with a capacity of 500 tons or more per day.

2. Thermal power plants and other combustion facilities with a thermal capacity of 300 megawatts or more, and nuclear power plants and other facilities with nuclear reactors (except research facilities for the production and conversion of fissile and reproducing materials with a maximum continuous thermal load of 1 kilowatt or less).

3. Facilities designed exclusively for the production or enrichment of nuclear fuel, the regeneration of spent nuclear fuel, or the collection, disposal and processing of radioactive waste.

4. Large plants for blast furnace and open-hearth production and non-ferrous metallurgy plants.

5. Installations for the extraction of asbestos and the processing and conversion of asbestos and asbestos-containing products: with respect to asbestos-cement products, with an annual production of over 20,000 tons of finished products; with respect to friction materials, with an annual production of over 50 tons of finished products; and with respect to other asbestos applications, with over 200 tons per year.

6. Chemical plants.

7. Construction of highways, expressways*, tracks for long-distance railroads and airports with a main runway length of 2,100 meters or more.

8. Oil and gas pipelines with large diameter pipes.

9. Commercial ports, as well as inland waterways and ports for inland navigation, allowing the passage of vessels with a displacement of more than 1,350 tons.

10. Waste disposal facilities for incineration, chemical treatment or disposal of toxic and hazardous waste.

11. Large dams and reservoirs.

12. Groundwater abstraction activities where the annual volume of water withdrawn reaches 10 million cubic meters or more.

13. Production of pulp and paper with a daily output of 200 metric tons or more of air dried products.

14. Large-scale mining, extraction and in-situ beneficiation of metal ores and coal.

15. Extraction of hydrocarbons on the continental shelf.

16. Large-scale storage facilities for petroleum, petrochemical, and chemical products.

17. Logging of large areas of forests.

Appendix II.
Contents of the environmental impact assessment documentation
The information to be included in environmental impact assessment documentation in accordance with Article 4 shall, at a minimum, contain:

(a) A description of the planned activity and its purpose;

(b) A description, if appropriate, of reasonable alternatives (e.g., geographic or technological in nature) to the proposed activity, including the option not to do so;

(c) A description of those elements of the environment that are likely to be significantly affected by the proposed activity or its alternatives;

(d) A description of the possible environmental impacts of the proposed activity and its alternatives, and an assessment of their magnitude;

(e) A description of precautionary measures to minimize harmful effects on the environment;

(f) Specific reference to foresight methods and their underlying assumptions, as well as the relevant environmental data used;

(g) Identification of knowledge gaps and uncertainties that have been identified in the preparation of the required information;

(h) Where appropriate, a summary of monitoring and management programs and all post-project analysis plans; and

(i) A non-technical summary, if necessary, using visual means of presentation (maps, graphs, etc.).

Appendix III
General criteria to assist in determining the environmental significance of activities not included in Appendix I
1. In considering proposed activities to which Article 2, paragraph 5, applies, the Parties concerned may consider whether the activity in question is likely to have a significant adverse transboundary impact, in particular on the basis of one or more of the criteria listed below

(a) Scope: Planned activities whose scale is large for the type of activity in question;

(b) Area: Planned activities which occur in or in close proximity to particularly sensitive or ecologically important areas (e.g. wetlands as defined by the Ramsar Convention, national parks, nature reserves, areas of special scientific interest or archaeological, cultural or historical monuments); and also planned activities in areas where features of the proposed economic activity may have a significant impact on the population

(c) Consequences: Planned activities that have particularly complex and potentially harmful impacts, including those impacts that have serious consequences for people and valuable species of flora and fauna and organisms, threaten the current or potential use of the affected area, and result in stresses that exceed the level of environmental resilience.

2. To this end, the Parties concerned shall consider planned activities in the immediate vicinity of an international boundary as well as planned activities located in more remote areas which may have a significant transboundary impact far away from the location of the economic activity.

Adding IV
Inquiry procedure
1. The requesting Party or Parties shall notify the secretariat that it or they are submitting the question whether a proposed activity listed in appendix I may have a significant adverse transboundary impact for consideration by the inquiry commission established under the provisions of this appendix. The notice shall specify the subject matter of the request. The Secretariat shall immediately notify all Parties to this Convention of the request.

2. The inquiry commission shall consist of three members. The requesting party and the other party involved in the inquiry procedure shall each appoint one scientific or technical expert, and the two experts so appointed shall designate by common agreement the third expert, who shall be chairman of the inquiry commission. The latter is not a citizen of any of the parties to the inquiry procedure, does not reside permanently in the territory of any of these parties, is not in the service of these parties, and has not been involved in the case in any other capacity.

(3) If the president of the inquiry commission is not appointed within two months of the appointment of the second expert, the Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Europe shall, at the request of either party, appoint a president within a further two-month period.

4. If one of the parties involved in the inquiry procedure does not appoint an expert within one month of receipt of notification from the secretariat, the other party may inform the Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Europe, who shall appoint the president of the inquiry commission within a further two-month period. Upon appointment of the president of the commission upon request, shall ask the party which has not appointed an expert to do so within a period of one month. At the expiration of this period, the chairman shall accordingly inform the Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Europe, who shall appoint the expert within the next two-month period.

5. The Commission shall, on request, adopt its own rules of procedure.

6. The Commission upon request may take all appropriate measures in order to carry out its functions.

7. The parties involved in the inquiry procedure shall facilitate the work of the inquiry commission and, in particular, using all means at their disposal, shall:

(a) Provide it with all relevant documents, facilities and information; and

(b) Enable it, when necessary, to call witnesses or experts and receive their evidence.

8. The parties and the experts shall respect the confidentiality of any information obtained by them in confidence in the course of the work of the inquiry commission.

9. If one of the parties involved in the inquiry procedure fails to appear before the inquiry commission or is unable to present its case, the other party may request the inquiry commission to continue the proceedings and complete its work. The absence of a party from the inquiry commission or the failure of a party to present its case shall not prevent the inquiry commission from continuing and completing its work.

10. Unless the inquiry commission decides otherwise because of the special circumstances of the case, the expenses of the inquiry commission, including the remuneration of its members, shall be borne by the parties to the inquiry procedure in equal shares. The inquiry commission shall keep a record of all its expenses and furnish a final statement thereof to the parties.

(11) Any party having a valid interest in the subject matter of the inquiry procedure and likely to be affected by the opinion in the case shall be entitled to participate in the proceedings with the consent of the inquiry commission.

12. The decisions of the inquiry commission on procedural matters shall be taken by a majority vote of its members. The final opinion of the inquiry commission shall reflect the opinion of a majority of its members and shall include any dissenting opinion.

13. The inquiry commission shall render its final opinion within two months of its establishment, unless it finds it necessary to extend this period for a period not exceeding two months.

14. The final opinion of the inquiry commission shall be based on generally accepted scientific principles. The final opinion of the inquiry commission shall be transmitted to the parties to the inquiry procedure and to the secretariat.

Appendix V
Post-project analysis.
Objectives include:

(a) Monitoring compliance with the conditions set forth in the permit or specified in the approval of the activity and the effectiveness of mitigation measures;

(b) Analysis of the type of impact to ensure an appropriate level of management and preparedness to deal with uncertainty;

(c) Verification of past predictions so that lessons learned can be applied to similar activities in the future.

Appendix VI
Elements of bilateral and multilateral cooperation
1. The Parties concerned may establish, as appropriate, an institutional mechanism or extend the mandate of existing institutional arrangements under bilateral and multilateral agreements in order to ensure the full implementation of this Convention.

2. Bilateral and multilateral agreements and other arrangements may include:

(a) Any additional requirements for the implementation of this Convention, taking into account the specific conditions prevailing in the subregions concerned;

(b) The establishment of institutional, administrative and other arrangements, which shall be based on the principles of reciprocity and equivalence;

(c) Harmonizing their environmental policies and measures to achieve the greatest possible harmonization of norms and practices related to environmental impact assessment;

(d) Developing, improving and/or harmonizing methods for determining, measuring, predicting and assessing impacts and conducting post-project analyses;

(e) Development and/or improvement of methods and programs for the collection, analysis, storage and timely dissemination of comparable environmental quality data to provide baseline data for environmental impact assessment;

(f) The determination of threshold levels and more specific criteria for the significance of transboundary impact associated with the location, nature and scale of planned activities to which an environmental impact assessment applies under the provisions of this Convention; and the determination of critical loads of transboundary pollution

(g) Where appropriate, joint implementation of environmental impact assessments, development of joint monitoring programmes, harmonization of grading of monitoring devices and harmonization of methodologies to ensure compatibility of the data and information obtained.

Appendix VII
Arbitration .
1. The claimant Party or Parties shall notify the Secretariat that the Parties have agreed to submit the dispute to arbitration in accordance with Article 5, paragraph 2, of this Convention. The notification shall specify the subject matter of the arbitration, including in particular the Articles of this Convention regarding the interpretation or application of which the dispute arises. The Secretariat shall forward the information so received to all Parties to this Convention.

(2) The arbitral tribunal shall consist of three members. Both the claimant Party or Parties and the other Party or Parties to the dispute shall appoint an arbitrator and the two arbitrators so appointed shall designate by mutual agreement the third arbitrator, who shall be the president of the arbitral 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 those parties, nor be employed by them, nor have dealt with the case in any other capacity.

(3) If the president of the arbitral tribunal has not been appointed within two months of the appointment of the second arbitrator, the Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Europe shall, at the request of any of the parties to the dispute, appoint the president within a further two months.

4. If one of the parties to the dispute does not appoint an arbitrator within two months of receipt of a request, the other party may inform the Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Europe, who shall designate the president of the arbitral tribunal within a further two month period. Once appointed, the president of the arbitral tribunal shall request the party which has not yet appointed an arbitrator to do so within two months. At the expiration of such period of time, the president shall inform the Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Europe, who shall designate that arbitrator within a further two-month period.

5. The arbitral tribunal shall render its award in accordance with international law and in conformity with the provisions of this Convention.

6. Any arbitral tribunal established under the provisions of this Appendix shall draw up its own rules of procedure.

7. The decisions of the arbitral tribunal, both on procedural and substantive matters, shall be taken by a majority vote of its members.

8. The tribunal may take all appropriate steps to determine the facts.

9. The parties to the dispute shall facilitate the work of the arbitral tribunal and, in particular, using all means at their disposal, shall:

(a) provide it with all relevant documents, conditions and information; and

(b) enable it, when necessary, to call witnesses or experts and hear their evidence.

10. The parties and the members of the arbitral tribunal shall keep confidential any information they receive in confidence during the proceedings of the arbitral tribunal.

11 The arbitral tribunal may, at the request of a party, recommend interim measures of protection.

If one of the parties to the dispute does not appear before the arbitral tribunal or fails to defend its case, the other party may request the tribunal to continue the proceedings and to render its final decision. Absence of a party or failure of a party to take part in the proceedings shall not constitute a bar to the proceedings. The arbitral tribunal must satisfy itself as to the factual and legal merits of the claim before rendering its final decision.

13. The arbitral tribunal may hear and determine counterclaims arising directly out of the subject matter of the dispute.

14. Unless the arbitral tribunal determines otherwise because of the particular circumstances of the case, the costs of the proceedings, including the remuneration of the members of the tribunal, shall be borne by the parties to the dispute in equal shares. The court shall keep a record of all its costs and shall furnish a final statement of those costs to the parties.

15. Any Party to this Convention which has an interest of a legal nature in the subject matter of the dispute and which may be affected by the decision in the case shall be entitled to take part in the proceedings with the consent of the court.

16. The arbitral tribunal shall render its award within five months of the date on which it is established, unless it finds it necessary to extend the time limit for a period not exceeding five months.

17. The award of the arbitral tribunal shall be accompanied by reasons. Its award shall be final and binding on all parties to the dispute. The arbitral tribunal shall communicate its award to the parties to the dispute and to the secretariat. The secretariat shall forward the information received to all Parties to this Convention.

18. Any dispute which may arise between the parties as to the interpretation or execution of the award may be submitted by any party to the arbitral tribunal which made the award or, if the latter cannot be availed of, to another tribunal constituted for this purpose in the same manner as the first.

* For the purposes of this Convention:

The term «highway» means a road specially constructed and intended for the movement of motor vehicles, which does not serve roadside properties and which:
(a) Has, except for certain sections on a temporary basis, separate carriageways for traffic in both directions, separated from each other by a dividing strip not intended for traffic or, in exceptional cases, by other means;

(b) Does not have an intersection at the same level with roads, railroad or streetcar tracks, and pedestrian walkways; and

(c) Is specifically designated as a highway.

The term «express road» means a road reserved for the circulation of vehicles, which can be accessed only at interchanges or controlled junctions and on which, inter alia, stopping and standing on the carriageway(s) is prohibited.