§ 2 The obligations resulting from § 1 for the Member States, which are at the same time Members of the European Communities or States parties to the European Economic Area Agreement, shall not prevail over their obligations as members of the European Communities or States parties to the European Economic Area Agreement.
Article 4
Taking on and transfer of attributions
§ 1 By a decision of the General Assembly, the Organisation shall be authorised to take on, within the framework of its aim as defined in Article 2, the attributions, resources and obligations which may be transferred to it by other intergovernmental organisations by virtue of agreements concluded with those organisations.
§ 2 The Organisation may, by a decision of the General Assembly, transfer to other intergovernmental organisations attributions, resources and obligations, by virtue of agreements concluded with those organisations.
§ 3 The Organisation may, with the approval of the Administrative Committee, take on administrative functions related to its aim and which are entrusted to it by a Member State. The expenses of the Organisation, arising out of these functions, shall be met by the Member State concerned.
Article 5
Special obligations of the Member States
§ 1 The Member States agree to adopt all appropriate measures in order to facilitate and accelerate international rail traffic. To that end, each Member State undertakes, to the extent possible, to
a) eliminate any useless procedure,
b) simplify and standardise the formalities already required,
c) simplify frontier checks.
§ 2 In order to facilitate and improve international rail traffic, the Member States agree to lend their support to attain the highest possible degree of uniformity in the regulations, standards, procedures and methods of organisation relating to railway vehicles, railway personnel, railway infrastructure and auxiliary services.
§ 3 The Member States agree to facilitate the conclusion of agreements between infrastructure managers intended to optimise international rail traffic.
Article 6
Uniform Rules
§ 1 So far as declarations are not made in accordance with Article 42 § 1, first sentence, international rail traffic and admission of railway material to use in international traffic shall be governed by:
a) the „Uniform Rules concerning the Contract of International Carriage of Passengers by Rail (CIV)”, forming Appendix A to the Convention,
b) the „Uniform Rules concerning the Contract of International Carriage of Goods by Rail (CIM)”, forming Appendix B to the Convention,
c) the „Regulation concerning the International Carriage of Dangerous Goods by Rail (RID)”, forming Appendix C to the Convention,
d) the „Uniform Rules concerning Contracts of Use of Vehicles in International Rail Traffic (CUV)”, forming Appendix D to the Convention,
e) the „Uniform Rules concerning the Contract of Use of Infrastructure in International Rail Traffic (CUI)”, forming Appendix E to the Convention,
f) the „Uniform Rules concerning the Validation of Technical Standards and the Adoption of Uniform Technical Prescriptions applicable to Railway Material intended to be used in International Traffic (APTU)”, forming Appendix F to the Convention,
g) the „Uniform Rules concerning Technical Admission of Railway Material used in International Traffic (ATMF)”, forming Appendix G to the Convention,
h) other systems of uniform law elaborated by the Organisation pursuant to Article 2 § 2, letter a), also forming Appendices to the Convention.
§ 2 The Uniform Rules, the Regulation and the systems listed in § 1, including their Annexes, shall form an integral part of the Convention.
Article 7
Convention”)~Definition of the expression „Convention”
In the following provisions the expression „Convention” covers the Convention itself, the Protocol referred to in article 1 § 4 and the Appendices referred to in Article 6, including their Annexes.
Title II
COMMON PROVISIONS
Article 8
National law
§ 1 When interpreting and applying the Convention, its character of international law and the necessity to promote uniformity shall be taken into account.
§ 2 In the absence of provisions in the Convention, national law shall apply.
§ 3 „National law” means the law of the State in which the person entitled asserts his rights, including the rules relating to conflict of laws.
Article 9
Unit of account
§ 1 The unit of account referred to in the Appendices shall be the Special Drawing Right as defined by the International Monetary Fund.
§ 2 The value in Special Drawing Rights of the national currency of a Member State which is a member of the International Monetary Fund shall be calculated in accordance with the method applied by the International Monetary Fund for its own operations and transactions.
§ 3 The value in Special Drawing Rights of the national currency of a Member State which is not a member of the International Monetary Fund shall be calculated by the method determined by that State. This calculation must express in the national currency a real value as close as possible to that which would result from the application of § 2.
§ 4 For a Member State which is not a member of the International Monetary Fund and whose legislation does not permit the application of § 2 or § 3 above, the unit of account referred to in the Appendices shall be deemed to be equal to three gold francs. The gold franc is defined as 10/31 of a gramme of gold of millesimal fineness 900. The conversion of the gold franc must express in the national currency a real value as close as possible to that which would result from the application of § 2.
§ 5 Within three months after the entry into force of the Convention and each time that a change occurs in their method of calculation or in the value of their national currency in relation to the unit of account, States shall notify the Secretary General of their method of calculation in accordance with § 3 or of the results of the conversion in accordance with § 4. The latter shall inform the Member States of these notifications.
§ 6 An amount expressed in units of account shall be converted into the national currency of the State of the court or tribunal seized. The conversion shall be made in accordance with the value of the corresponding currency on the day of the judicial decision or on the day agreed between the parties.
Article 10
Supplementary provisions
§ 1 Two or more Member States or two or more carriers may agree supplementary provisions for the execution of the CIV Uniform Rules and the CIM Uniform Rules; they may not derogate from these Uniform Rules.
§ 2 The supplementary provisions referred to in § 1 shall be put into force and published in the manner required by the laws and prescriptions of each State. The supplementary provisions of States and their coming into force shall be notified to the Secretary General. He shall inform the Member States of these notifications.
Article 11
Security for costs
Security for costs cannot be required in proceedings founded on the CIV Uniform Rules, the CIM Uniform Rules, the CUV Uniform Rules or the CUI Uniform Rules.
Article 12
Execution of judgments. Attachment
§ 1 Judgments pronounced by the competent court or tribunal pursuant to the provisions of the Convention after trial or by default shall, when they have become enforceable under the law applied by that court or tribunal, become enforceable in each of the other Member States on completion of the formalities required in the State where enforcement is to take place. The merits of the case shall not be subject to review. These provisions shall apply also to judicial settlements.
§ 2 § 1 shall apply neither to judgments which are provisionally enforceable, nor to awards of damages in addition to costs against a plaintiff who fails in his action.
§ 3 Debts arising from a transport operation subject to the CIV Uniform Rules or the CIM Uniform Rules, owed to one transport undertaking by another transport undertaking not under the jurisdiction of the same Member State, may only be attached under a judgment given by the judicial authority of the Member State which has jurisdiction over the undertaking entitled to payment of the debt sought to be attached.
§ 4 Debts arising from a contract subject to the CUV Uniform Rules or the CUI Uniform Rules may only be attached under a judgment given by the judicial authority of the Member State which has jurisdiction over the undertaking entitled to payment of the debts sought to be attached.
§ 5 Railway vehicles may only be seized on a territory other than that of the Member State in which the keeper has its registered office, under a judgment given by the judicial authority of that State. The term „keeper” means the person who, being the owner or having the right to dispose of it, exploits the railway vehicle economically in a permanent manner as a means of transport.
Title III
STRUCTURE AND FUNCTIONING
Article 13
Organs
§ 1 The functioning of the Organisation shall be ensured by the following organs:
a) the General Assembly,
b) the Administrative Committee,
c) the Revision Committee,
d) the Committee of Experts for the Carriage of Dangers Goods (RID Expert Committee),
e) the Rail Facilitation Committee,
f) the Committee of Technical Experts,
g) the Secretary General.
§ 2 The General Assembly may decide to establish temporarily other committees for specific tasks.
§ 3 On the determination of the quorum in the General Assembly or in the Committees referred to in § 1, letters c) to f), Member States which do not have the right to vote (Article 14 § 5, Article 26 § 7 or Article 40 § 4) shall not be taken into account.
§ 4 The chairmanship of the General Assembly, the chairmanship of the Administrative Committee as well as the function of Secretary General must, in principle, be conferred on nationals of different Member States.
Article 14
General Assembly
§ 1 The General Assembly shall be composed of all Member States.
§ 2 The General Assembly shall:
a) establish its rules of procedure;
b) designate the members of the Administrative Committee as well as a deputy member for each member and elect the Member State which will provide the chairmanship of it (Article 15 §§ 1 to 3);
c) elect the Secretary General (Article 21 § 2);
d) issue directives concerning the activity of the Administrative Committee and the Secretary General;
e) fix, for six-year periods, the maximum amount that the expenditure of the Organisation may reach in each budgetary period (article 25); if not, it shall issue directives relating to the limitation of that expenditure for a period no longer than six years;
f) decide whether the headquarters of the Organisation should be located at another place (Article 1 § 2);
g) take decisions about the introduction of other working languages (Article 1 § 6);
h) take decisions about the taking on of other attributions by the Organisation (Article 4 § 1) and the transfer of attributions of the Organisation to another intergovernmental organisation (Article 4 § 2);
i) decide, if necessary, on the temporary establishment of other committees for specific tasks (Article 13 § 2);
j) consider whether the attitude of a State should be regarded as a tacit denunciation (Article 26 § 7);
k) decide whether to entrust the carrying out of the auditing of the accounts to another Member State than the Headquarters State (Article 27 § 1);
l) take decisions about proposals aiming to modify the Convention (Article 33 §§ 2 and 3);
m) take decisions about applications for accession submitted to the General Assembly (Article 37 § 4);
n) take decisions about the conditions of accession of a regional economic integration organisation (Article 38 § 1);
o) take decisions about applications for association submitted to it (Article 39 § 1);
p) take decisions about the dissolution of the Organisation and about the possible transfer of its attributions to another intergovernmental organisation (Article 43);
q) take decisions about other questions placed on the agenda.
§ 3 The Secretary General shall convene the General Assembly once every three years or at the request either of one-third of the Member States or of the Administrative Committee, as well as in the cases referred to in Article 33 §§ 2 and 3 and in Article 37 § 4. He shall send the draft agenda to the Member States at least three months before the opening of the session, in accordance with the conditions defined by the rules of procedure referred to in § 1, letter a).
§ 4 There shall be a quorum (Article 13 § 3) in the General Assembly when the majority of the Member States are represented there. A Member State may arrange to be represented by another Member State; however a State may not represent more than one other State.
§ 5 In the case of a vote in the General Assembly concerning modifications of the Appendices to the Convention, Member States which have made a declaration in respect of the Appendix in question pursuant to Article 42 § 1, first sentence, shall not have the right to vote.
§ 6 The General Assembly shall take its decisions by the majority of the Member States represented at the time of the vote, save in the case of § 2, letters e), f), g), h), l) and p) as well as of Article 34 § 6, for which the majority shall be two-thirds. However, in the case of § 2, letter l) the majority shall be two-thirds only in the case of proposals aiming to modify the Convention itself, with the exception of Articles 9 and 27 §§ 2 to 10 and the Protocol referred to in Article 1 § 4.
§ 7 On the invitation of the Secretary General, issued with the agreement of a majority of the Member States,
a) States which are not members of the Organisation,
b) international organisations and associations having competence for questions concerning the Organisation’s activities or dealing with problems which have been placed on the agenda, may attend sessions of the General Assembly in an advisory capacity.
Article 15
Administrative Committee
§ 1 The Administrative Committee shall be composed of a third of the Member States.
§ 2 The members of the Committee and one deputy member for each of them as well as the Member State which chairs the Committee shall be designated for three years. The composition of the Committee shall be determined for each period, having regard in particular to an equitable geographical distribution. A deputy member that becomes a member of the Committee in the course of a period must be designated as a member of the Committee for the period which follows.