Aviation safety

Article 11

1. The Contracting Parties shall put in place the appropriate means to ensure that aircraft registered in one Contracting Party, when landing at airports in another Contracting Party, shall comply with international safety standards established pursuant to the Convention and shall be subject to ramp inspections by the authorized representatives of that other Contracting Party, on board and around the aircraft to check both the validity of the aircraft documents and those of its crew and the apparent condition of the aircraft and its equipment.

2. A Contracting Party may request consultations at any time concerning the safety standards maintained by another Contracting Party in areas other than those covered by the acts referred to in Annex I to this Agreement.

3. Nothing in this Agreement shall be construed to limit the authority of a Competent Civil Aviation Authority to take all appropriate and immediate measures whenever it ascertains that a product or a service may:

i. fail to satisfy the minimum standards which may be established pursuant to the Convention, or

ii. give rise to serious concerns - established through an inspection referred to in paragraph 1 - that an aircraft or the operation of an aircraft does not comply with the minimum standards established pursuant to the Convention, or

iii. give rise to serious concerns that there is a lack of effective maintenance and administration of minimum standards established pursuant to the Convention.

4. Where a Competent Civil Aviation Authority takes action under paragraph 3, it shall promptly inform the Competent Civil Aviation Authorities of the other Contracting Parties of taking such action, providing reasons for its action.

5. Where measures taken in application of paragraph 3 are not discontinued even though the basis for taking them has ceased to exist, any Contracting Party may refer the matter to the Joint Committee.

6. Any amendments to national law with respect to the status of the Competent Civil Aviation Authority shall be notified by the Contracting Party concerned to the other Contracting Parties.

Aviation security

Article 12

1. In order to safeguard civil aviation against acts of unlawful interference, the Contracting Parties shall ensure that the common basic standards and the compliance monitoring mechanisms on aviation security as contained in Annex I to this Agreement are applied to any airport located in their territories, in accordance with the relevant provisions referred to in that Annex.

2. The Contracting Parties shall provide upon request all necessary assistance to each other to prevent acts of unlawful seizure of civil aircraft and other unlawful acts against the safety of such aircraft, their passengers and crew, airports and air navigation facilities, and any other threat to the security of civil aviation.

3. When an incident or threat of an incident of unlawful seizure of civil aircraft or other unlawful acts against the safety of such aircraft, their passengers and crew, airports or air navigation facilities occurs, the Contracting Parties shall assist each other by facilitating communications and other appropriate measures intended to terminate rapidly and safely such incident or threat thereof.

4. An Associated Party may be subjected to a European Commission inspection in accordance with the relevant European Community legislation as referred to in Annex I to this Agreement, and it may be required to participate in European Commission inspections in other Contracting Parties.

Air Traffic Management

Article 13

1. The Contracting parties shall cooperate in the field of air traffic management with a view to extending the Single European Sky to the ECAA in order to enhance current safety standards and overall efficiency for general air traffic standards in Europe, to optimise capacity and to minimise delays.

2. With a view to facilitating the application of the Single European Sky legislation in their territories,

- The Associated Parties, within the limits of their respective competences, shall at the earliest opportunity take the necessary measures to adjust their air traffic management institutional structures to the Single European Sky, in particular by designating or establishing pertinent national supervisory bodies at least functionally independent of air navigation service providers.

- The European Community shall associate the Associated Parties with any operational initiative in the fields of air navigation services, airspace and interoperability that stem from the Single European Sky, in particular through the early involvement of the relevant Contracting Parties’ efforts to establish functional airspace blocks.

3. The European Community shall see to it that the Associated Parties are fully associated with the development of an Air Traffic Management (ATM) Master Plan within the SESAR programme of the Commission.

Competition

Article 14

1. Within the scope of this Agreement the provisions of Annex III shall apply. Where rules on competition and state aid are included in other agreements between two or more Contracting Parties, such as Association Agreements, these rules shall apply between those Parties.

2. Articles 15, 16 and 17 shall not apply with respect to the provisions in Annex III.

Enforcement

Article 15

1. Without prejudice to paragraphs 2 and 3 of this Article, each Contracting Party shall ensure that the rights which devolve from this Agreement, and in particular from the acts specified in Annex I, may be invoked before national courts.

2. In cases, which may affect actual or potential air services to be authorised under this Agreement, the European Community institutions shall enjoy the powers specifically granted to them under the provisions of the acts referred to or contained in Annex I to this Agreement.

3. All questions concerning the legality of decisions taken by European Community institutions under this Agreement, in particular under the acts specified in Annex I, shall be of the exclusive competence of the Court of Justice of the European Communities.

Interpretation

Article 16

1. In so far as the provisions of this Agreement and the provisions of the acts specified in Annex I are identical in substance to corresponding rules of the EC Treaty and to acts adopted in application of the EC Treaty, those provisions shall, in their implementation and application, be interpreted in conformity with the relevant rulings and decisions of the Court of Justice of the European Communities and the European Commission given prior to the date of signature of this Agreement. The rulings and decisions given after the date of signature of this Agreement shall be communicated to the other Contracting Parties. At the request of one of the Contracting Parties, the implications of such later rulings and decisions shall be determined by the Joint Committee in view of ensuring the proper functioning of this Agreement. Existing interpretations shall be communicated prior to the date of signature of the Agreement to the ECAA Partners. Decisions taken by the Joint Committee under this procedure shall be in conformity with the case law of the Court of Justice of the European Communities.

2. When a question of interpretation of this Agreement, of the provisions of the acts specified in Annex I or of acts adopted in pursuance thereof identical in substance to corresponding rules of the EC Treaty and to acts adopted in application of that Treaty, arises in a case pending before a court or tribunal of an ECAA Partner, the court or tribunal asks, if it considers this necessary to enable it to give a judgement and in accordance with Annex IV, the Court of Justice of the European Communities to decide on the question. An ECAA Partner may, by decision and in accordance with Annex IV, stipulate as to what extent and according to what modalities its courts and tribunals shall apply this provision. Such a decision shall be notified to the depositary and the Court of Justice of the European Communities. The depositary shall inform the other Contracting Parties.

3. Where, in accordance with the provisions of the paragraph above, a court of a Contracting Party against whose decisions there is no judicial remedy under national law is not able to make a reference to the Court of Justice of the European Communities, any judgement of such court shall be transmitted by such a Contracting Party to the Joint Committee which shall act so as to preserve the homogeneous interpretation of this Agreement. If the Joint Committee, within two months after a difference between the case law of the Court of Justice of the European Communities and a judgement of a court of such a Contracting Party has been brought before it, has not succeeded to preserve the homogeneous interpretation of the Agreement, the procedures laid down in Article 20 may be applied.

New legislation

Article 17

1. This Agreement shall be without prejudice to the right of each Contracting Party, subject to compliance with the principle of non-discrimination and the provisions of this Article and of Article 18, paragraph 4 to unilaterally adopt new legislation or amend its existing legislation in the field of air transport or an associated area mentioned in Annex I. The Associated Parties shall not adopt any such legislation unless it is in accordance with this Agreement.

2. As soon as a Contracting Party has adopted new legislation or an amendment to its legislation it shall inform the other Contracting Parties via the Joint Committee not later than one month after the adoption. Upon the request of any Contracting Party, the Joint Committee shall within two months thereafter hold an exchange of views on the implications of such new legislation or amendment for the proper functioning of this Agreement.

3. The Joint Committee shall:

(a) either adopt a decision revising Annex I of this Agreement so as to integrate therein, if necessary on a basis of reciprocity, the new legislation or amendment in question; or

(b) adopt a decision to the effect that the new legislation or amendment in question shall be regarded as in accordance with this Agreement; or

(c) decide any other measures to safeguard the proper functioning of this Agreement.

4. As regards the legislation which has been adopted between the signing of this Agreement and its entry into force and of which the other Contracting Parties have been informed, the date of referral shall be taken as the date on which the information was received. The date on which the Joint Committee shall reach a decision may not be earlier than sixty days after the entry into force of this Agreement.

Joint Committee

Article 18

1. A Joint Committee is hereby established which shall be responsible for the administration of this Agreement and shall ensure its proper implementation, without prejudice to Article 15(2) and (3) and Articles 21 and 22. For this purpose it shall make recommendations and take decisions in the cases provided for in this Agreement. The decisions of the Joint Committee shall be put into effect by the Contracting Parties in accordance with their own rules.

2. The Joint Committee shall consist of representatives of the Contracting Parties.

3. The Joint Committee shall act by unanimity. However, the Joint Committee may decide to lay down a majority voting procedure for certain specific issues.

4. For the purpose of the proper enforcement of this Agreement, the Contracting Parties shall exchange information, inter alia, on new legislation or decisions taken of relevance for this Agreement, and, at the request of any Party, shall hold consultations within the Joint Committee, including on social issues.

5. The Joint Committee shall adopt its own rules of procedure.

6. An ECAA Partner or the European Community and its Member States shall preside in turn over the Joint Committee in accordance with the arrangements to be laid down in its rules of procedure.

7. The chairman of the Joint Committee shall convene meetings of that Committee at least once a year in order to review the general functioning of this Agreement and whenever special circumstances so require, at the request of a Contracting Party. The Joint Committee shall keep under constant review the development of the case law of the Court of Justice of the European Communities. To this end the European Community shall transmit to the ECAA Partners all judgements of the Court of Justice of the European Communities relevant for the functioning of the Agreement. The Joint Committee shall act within three months so as to preserve the homogeneous interpretation of the Agreement.

8. The Joint Committee may decide to set up any working party that can assist it in carrying out its duties.

Article 19

1. A decision of the Joint Committee shall be binding upon the Contracting Parties. Whenever a decision taken by the Joint Committee contains a requirement for action to be taken by a Contracting Party, the said Party shall take the necessary measures and inform the Joint Committee thereof.

2. The decisions of the Joint Committee shall be published in the Official Journals of the European Communities and the ECAA Partners. Each decision shall state the date of its implementation by the Contracting Parties and any other information likely to concern economic operators.

Dispute settlement

Article 20

1. The Community, acting together with the EC Member States, or an ECAA Partner may bring a matter under dispute which concerns the application or interpretation of this Agreement before the Joint Committee, except where specific procedures are set out in this Agreement.

2. When a dispute has been brought before the Joint Committee under paragraph 1, immediate consultations shall be held between the parties to the dispute. In cases where the European Community is not a party to the dispute, a European Community representative may be invited in the consultations by one of the parties to the dispute. The parties to the dispute may draw up a proposed solution which shall immediately be submitted to the Joint Committee. Decisions taken by the Joint Committee under this procedure shall not affect the case law of the Court of Justice of the European Communities.

3. If the Joint Committee after four months from the date when the matter has been brought before it has not succeeded to take a decision resolving the dispute, the parties to the dispute may refer the dispute to the Court of Justice of the European Communities whose decision thereon shall be final and binding. The modalities according to which such referrals may be made to the Court of Justice of the European Communities are set out in Annex IV.

4. If the Joint Committee does not take a decision on an issue which has been referred to it within four months, the Contracting Parties may take appropriate safeguard measures in accordance with Articles 21 and 22 of this Agreement for a period not exceeding six months. After this period each Contracting Party may denounce the Agreement with immediate effect. A Contracting Party shall not take safeguard measures on a matter which has been referred to the Court of Justice of the European Communities in accordance with this Agreement, except in cases defined in Article 11(3) or in compliance with mechanisms provided for in individual acts specified in Annex I.

Safeguard measures

Article 21

Without prejudice to Article 11(3) and the safety and security assessments mentioned in the Protocols to this Agreement, safeguard measures shall be restricted with regard to their scope and duration to what is strictly necessary in order to remedy the situation. Priority shall be given to such measures as will least disturb the functioning of this Agreement.

Article 22

1. A Contracting Party which is considering taking safeguard measures shall notify the other Contracting Parties through the Joint Committee and shall provide all relevant information.

2. The Contracting Parties shall immediately enter into consultations in the Joint Committee with a view to finding a commonly acceptable solution.