                          EUROCONTROL [ CAP. 333.        1
CHAPTER 333 
EUROCONTROL ACT
To provide for Malta’s membership to Eurocontrol.
7th April, 1989;
1st July, 1989
ACT X of 1989, as amended by Acts XIII of 1997 and IX of 2003.
Short title.
Interpretation.
Amended by:
IX. 2003.65.
2. (1) In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires -
"Agency" means the Agency comprised in Eurocontrol, the
statute of which is annexed to the Convention;
S.L. 232.05
Order substituting the same;
"Contracting Party" means a State which is or becomes a party to
the Convention;
"Contracting Party addressed" in relation to a decision means the
Contracting Party in which the decision is sought to be enforced;
"Contracting Party of Origin" in relation to a decision means the
Contracting Party in which the decision was given;
"Convention" means the Convention relating to Co-operation for
the Safety of Air Navigation (Eurocontrol) signed in Brussels on
the 13th December, 1960, as amended by the Additional Protocol
thereto signed at Brussels on the 6th July 1970, in its turn amended
by the amendment to the Additional Protocol signed at Brussels on
the 21st November, 1978, and as amended by the Protocols
amending the Convention signed in Brussels on the 12th February,
1981 and the 27th June 1997, which Convention and Protocols are
deposited in the Archives of the Kingdom of Belgium; a
consolidated text of the Convention and Protocols is reproduced in
the Schedule;
"decision creditor" means the person by whom the decision was
obtained and includes the successors and assignees of that person;
"decision debtor" means the person against whom the decision
was given; and includes any person against whom the decision is
enforceable;
" en route  air navigation services" includes information,
directions and other facilities furnished, issued or provided in
connection with the navigation or movement of aircraft;
"Eurocontrol" means the European Organization for the Safety of
Air Navigation established by the Convention, including, except
where the context otherwise requires, the General Assembly, the
Council and the Agency comprised in that Organisation;
"installations" means apparatus for locating, directing, affording
navigational aid to, or otherwise communicating with, aircraft in
flight, including apparatus for recording or processing material
  2      CAP. 333. ]                EUROCONTROL
received or transmitted by such apparatus, and any other apparatus
for use in connection with any such apparatus as aforesaid;
"manager", in relation to an aerodrome, means a person who is in
charge of it or holds a licence granted in respect of it by virtue of
article 69 of the Air Navigation Order, or the corresponding
provision of any order substituting the same;
"Minister" means the Minister responsible for civil aviation and
to the extent of the authority given, any person authorised in that
behalf by such Minister;
"prescribed" means prescribed by regulations under this Act;
"record" includes, in addition to a record in writing -
( a ) any disc, tape, sound-track or other device in which
sounds or signals are embodied so as to be capable
(with or without the aid of some other instrument) of
being reproduced therefrom;
( b ) any film, tape or other device in which visual images
are embodied so as to be capable (as aforesaid) of
being reproduced therefrom; and
( c ) any photograph;
and any reference to a copy of a record includes in the case of a
record falling within paragraph ( a ) only of this definition, a
transcript of the sounds or signals embodied therein, in the case of
record falling within paragraph ( b ) only of this definition, a still
reproduction of the images embodied therein, and in the case of a
record falling within both those paragraphs, such a transcript
together with such a still reproduction;
"registering court" in relation to any decision means the court to
which the decision was registered;
"relevant authority", in relation to a Contracting Party, means -
( a ) any court or tribunal which, under the law of the State,
has jurisdiction to decide questions as to whether or
not a sum is due to Eurocontrol in respect of air
navigation services provided by Eurocontrol or some
other person;
( b ) any administrative authority which, under that law, has
jurisdiction to take, or is otherwise authorised to take,
decisions in respect of such questions being decisions
which in that State are subject to appeal to, or review
by, a court or tribunal;
( c ) any court or tribunal which, under that law, has
jurisdiction to decide any appeal from, or carry out any
review of, a decision made in respect of any such
question by another relevant authority.
(2) In the case of inconsistency between the text of the
Convention as reproduced in the Schedule and the text of the
Convention deposited in the Archives of the Kingdom of Belgium,
the latter shall prevail.
                          EUROCONTROL [ CAP. 333.        3
Enforcement of the 
Convention, the 
Additional 
Protocol, etc.
Amended by:
IX. 2003.66.
3. (1) Where any provision of this Act is inconsistent with
any law other than the Constitution, the provisions of this Act shall
prevail.
(2) Nothing in this Act shall be interpreted as imposing an
obligation on the part of Malta to divulge information of a military
nature or affecting the security of a State.
(3) Nothing in the Convention or in this Act shall empower the
Government of Malta, except by resolution of Parliament - 
( a ) to entrust Eurocontrol or the Agency to provide and
operate wholly or in part air traffic services and
facilities on behalf of Malta, or
( b ) to delegate to Eurocontrol or the Agency the right to
establish differently from that obtaining at present the
Flight Information Region of Malta.
Legal personality.
corporate. It shall have the right to acquire or transfer movable or
immovable property and to sue or be sued in any court of law.
(2) Except as otherwise provided in the Convention anything
which may be required or authorised by law to be done by or to
Eurocontrol may be done by or to the Agency on behalf of
Eurocontrol.
Provision of land, 
premises, etc.
5. The Minister may provide for Eurocontrol any land,
premises, installations, equipment or services (including the
services of personnel) in Malta which may be required for the
purposes of or in connection with the functions of Eurocontrol
under the Convention.
Power to charge 
for  en route  air 
navigation 
services, etc.
Amended by:
XIII. 1997.2;
IX. 2003.67.
6. (1) The Minister may make regulations for requiring the
payment to Eurocontrol of charges, of such amounts and in such
currencies as may be prescribed, in respect of  en route  air
navigation services which, whether in pursuance of international
arrangements or otherwise, are provided for aircraft by the Director
of Civil Aviation, or Eurocontrol or any other person.
(2) The liability for any charges payable by virtue of
regulations under subarticle (1) may be imposed upon the operators
or owners of aircraft separately or jointly for which the  en route  air
navigation services in question are available (whether or not they
are actually used or could be used with the equipment installed in
the aircraft).
(3) Regulations under subarticle (1) may provide for charges
payable by virtue of such regulations to be so payable elsewhere
than in Malta and to be recoverable in Malta wherever they are
payable (without prejudice to their recovery elsewhere); and
liability for any charges payable by virtue of such regulations may
be imposed upon the operator or owner of any aircraft whether or
not it is registered in Malta, whether or not it is in or over Malta at
the time when the services to which the charges relate are provided
and whether or not those services are provided from a place in
Malta.
  4      CAP. 333. ]                EUROCONTROL
(4) The charges to be prescribed under this article shall be all
such rates as the Minister may determine in pursuance of tariffs
which are approved under any international agreement to which
Malta is a party, and the regulations may prescribe different
charges in respect of aircraft of different classes or descriptions or
in respect of aircraft used in different circumstances; the said
regulations may also prescribe for the payment, with any charges or
separately, of interest on the charges in respect of any period during
which the charges were due but unpaid, which interest may,
notwithstanding any other law, be at a rate higher than 8 per centum
per annum as may be determined by such international agreement
in respect of the period during which the charges were so due but
unpaid, and may dispense with the charges in such cases as may be
prescribed by or determined under the regulations.
(5) For the purpose of facilitating the assessment and collection
of charges payable by virtue of regulations under this article, the
regulations may make provision for requiring operators of aircraft
or managers of aerodromes - 
( a ) to make such records of the movements of aircraft, and
of such other particulars relating to aircraft, as may be
prescribed, and to preserve those records for such
period as may be prescribed;
( b ) to produce for inspection by officers of Eurocontrol at
such times as may be prescribed, any records which
are required by the regulations or the Air Navigation
Order, to be preserved by those operators or managers;
( c ) to furnish to Eurocontrol such particulars of any such
records as may be prescribed.
(6) The requirements mentioned in subarticle (5) may be
imposed upon the operator of any aircraft whether or not it is
registered in Malta, whether or not it is in or over Malta at the time
when the services to which the charges relate are provided and
whether or not those services are provided from a place in Malta.
(7) Regulations under subarticle (1) may make provision - 
( a ) in the case of default in the payment of any charge
payable by an operator under the regulations, for
authorising the detention, pending payment, of the
aircraft in respect of which the charge was incurred or
of any other aircraft of which the person in default is
the operator at the time when the detention begins;
( b ) for authorising the detention of any aircraft of which
the person in default is the operator at the time when
the detention begins, pending compliance, in the case
of default in complying with any requirement imposed
by the regulations on the operators of aircraft with
respect to the production for inspection, or the
furnishing of particulars, of any records;
and such regulations may make such further provision as appears to
the Minister to be necessary or expedient for effecting such
detention, and, in the case of paragraph   ( a ), the judicial sale of the
                          EUROCONTROL [ CAP. 333.        5
aircraft in order to satisfy any charge.
Payment to 
Eurocontrol.
Amended by:
IX. 2003.68.
7. The Minister may from time to time pay to Eurocontrol,
out of the Consolidated Fund, such sums as he may determine,
being sums for the payment of which Malta is liable under the
Convention.
Immunities and 
privileges. 
Cap. 191.
8. Eurocontrol shall be entitled to the immunities and
privileges described in paragraphs 2 to 5 of Part I of the Second
Schedule to the Diplomatic Immunities and Privileges Act.
Inviolability of 
Eurocontrol. 
Cap. 191.
9. (1) The immunity and privilege described in paragraph 2
of Part I of the Second Schedule of the Diplomatic Immunities and
Privileges Act, shall extend to premises occupied by Eurocontrol
wholly or mainly for the housing of its installation; and no
judgment or order of any court shall be enforced upon anything
forming part of any such installation.
(2) Subarticle (1) shall not preclude access to any premises or
the inspection of any record or document where the Director-
General of the Agency is given advance notice wherever possible
of the exercise of the power conferred by this subarticle and the
access or inspection is - 
( a ) by a Police officer acting in the execution of a warrant
or other legal process;
G.N. 31 of 1956.
Cap. 232.
( b ) by a Court of Inquiry or an Inspector of Accidents
acting in pursuance of The Civil Aviation
(Investigation of Accidents) Regulations, 1956, or of
regulations made under article 4 of the Civil Aviation
Act; or
( c ) by a Police officer having reason to believe that an
offence has been or is being or is about to be
committed on the premises.
(3) Without prejudice to the preceding provisions of this
article, the property and assets of Eurocontrol shall be immune
from the exercise by any person of any right or power to seize or
otherwise interfere with such property or assets.
(4) No court or tribunal in Malta shall have jurisdiction in
respect of any matter involving Eurocontrol and any of its officers
or servants, being a matter which, by virtue of any international
agreement to which Malta is a party, is within the exclusive
jurisdiction of the Administrative Tribunal of the International
Labour Organisation.
(5) For the purpose of subarticle (4), a certificate of the
Minister that any matter is or is not, as mentioned in that subarticle,
within the exclusive jurisdiction of the Administrative Tribunal of
the International Labour Organisation shall be conclusive of what
is certified.
Exemption from 
taxes, duties, etc.
Amended by:
IX. 2003.69.
Cap. 318.
10. (1) The Director-General and the staff of Eurocontrol shall
be exempt from the payment of income tax on the salaries and
emoluments paid to them by Eurocontrol, and of any contributions
under the Social Security Act:
  6      CAP. 333. ]                EUROCONTROL
Provided that the Commissioner of Inland Revenue may
take into account the salaries and emoluments thus exempted when
assessing the amount of tax payable on income from other sources.
(2) The provisions of subarticle (1) shall not apply to pensions
and annuities paid by Eurocontrol.
(3) Subject to the provisions of subarticle 6 of Article 25 of the
Convention, the staff of Eurocontrol shall be exempt from customs
duties and charges as provided under paragraphs ( a )   and   ( b ) of
subarticle 5 of Article 25 of the Convention.
Jurisdiction.
Amended by:
IX. 2003.70.
Cap.12.
11. (1) For the purposes of Article 8 of Annex IV to the
Convention, the courts of Malta shall have jurisdiction to hear and
determine a claim for charges or interest payable to Eurocontrol by
virtue of regulations made under article 6, notwithstanding that the
person against whom the claim is made is not resident in Malta or
otherwise subject to the jurisdiction of the Maltese courts under
article 742 of the Code of Organization and Civil Procedure.
(2) Subject to subarticle (3), the courts in Malta shall have
jurisdiction to hear and determine a claim against Eurocontrol for
damages notwithstanding that the cause for such damages did not
take place within the jurisdiction of Malta.
(3) The provisions of subarticle (2) shall not apply in respect of
damage or injury sustained wholly within or over a country to
which the provisions of the Convention do not apply.
Enforcement of 
foreign decisions, 
etc., in respect of 
en route  air 
navigation 
services.
Amended by:
IX. 2003.71.
12. (1) Subject to the following provisions of this article,
where a relevant authority in a Contracting Party has decided as to
whether or not any sum is due to Eurocontrol in respect of  en route
air navigation services provided by it or by some other person, the
decision creditor may apply to the Court of Appeal, at any time
within twelve months after the date of the decision to have the
decision registered in one of the Superior Courts of Malta.
(2) On any application as mentioned in subarticle (1), the Court
of Appeal shall, subject to the provisions of this article, order the
decision to be registered accordingly.
(3) A decision shall not be registered as aforesaid if it is not a
decision described in Article 11 of Annex IV to the Convention or
if it is a decision falling within the list of Article 12 of Annex IV to
the Convention.
(4) For the purposes of this article proceedings in respect of a
sum payable to Eurocontrol must be brought against the person
liable to pay the sum in the country according to Article 8 of Annex
IV to the Convention, and an application as mentioned in subarticle
(1) must be accompanied by those documents specified in Article
14 of Annex IV to the Convention.
(5) Where a decision is registered under this article - 
( a ) the decision shall, as from the date of registration, be
of the same force and effect, and executive
proceedings may be taken thereon, as if it had been a
judgment originally obtained on the date of
                          EUROCONTROL [ CAP. 333.        7
registration in the registering court; and its registration
in the Public Registry may be made in accordance with
such law, as may from time to time be in force, relative
to the registration of judgments in the Public Registry;
( b ) that decision shall be enforceable by the registering
court as if such decision were a judgment delivered by
that court;
( c ) the costs of and incidental to the registration of the
decision (including the costs of obtaining a certified
copy thereof from the original court or tribunal or
administrative authority and of the application for
registration) shall be recoverable in like manner as if
they were sums payable under the decision.
Cap. 12.
of Organization and Civil Procedure shall have power to make rules
to provide - 
( a ) for the mode of registration of decisions referred to in
this article;
( b ) for service on the decision debtor of notice of the
application for the registration of a decision under this
article;
( c ) for enabling the registering court, on an application by
the decision debtor, to set aside the registration of a
decision; and
( d ) for suspending the execution of a decision registered
under this article until the expiration of the period
during which the decision debtor may apply to have
the registration set aside.
(7) In any action brought in any court in Malta on any decision
which might be ordered to be registered under this article, the
plaintiff shall not be entitled to recover any costs of the action
unless an application to register the decision under this article has
previously been refused, or unless the court otherwise orders.
Cap. 52.
Cap. 12.
(8) Nothing in this article contained shall be construed to be in
derogation of the provisions contained in the British Judgments
(Reciprocal Enforcement) Act and in Title V of Book Third of the
Code of Organization and Civil Procedure, or in any other law
relating to the recognition and enforcement of foreign judgements,
in regard to the enforcement of foreign judgments to which
subarticle (1) does not apply.
Penalties.
comply with any requirement of regulations made by virtue of
article 6(5) shall be guilty of an offence and on conviction shall be
liable to a fine ( multa ) not exceeding five hundred liri.
(2) Any person who, being in possession of information
furnished to or obtained by him in pursuance of regulations under
article 6(5), discloses that information otherwise than - 
( a ) with the consent of the person by whom it was
  8      CAP. 333. ]                EUROCONTROL
furnished or from whom it was obtained; or
( b ) for the purpose of the regulations; or
( c ) for the purposes of any proceedings arising out of
article 6 or article 11(2), or of any criminal
proceedings whether or not arising out of this Act; or
G.N. 31 of 1956.
Cap. 232.
( d ) for the purposes of any public inquiry or Inspector’s
investigation held or carried out in pursuance of the
Civil Aviation (Investigation of Accidents)
Regulations, 1956, or of regulations made under
article 4 of the Civil Aviation Act; or
( e ) for the purpose of any report of any such proceedings,
inquiry or investigation as aforesaid,
shall be guilty of an offence, and shall be liable on conviction to a
fine ( multa ) not exceeding five hundred liri or to imprisonment for
a term not exceeding three months or to both such fine and
imprisonment.
(3) Any person who, in furnishing in pursuance of such
regulations any such particulars as are described in article 6(5)( c ),
furnishes any particulars which to his knowledge are false in any
material particular, shall be guilty of an offence and, on conviction,
shall be liable to a fine ( multa ) not exceeding one thousand liri or
to imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years or to both.
Authority to 
accede to the 
Convention.
Amended by:
IX. 2003.72.
Cap. 304.
14. In virtue of this Act, and in compliance with the provisions
of the Ratification of Treaties Act, the Government of Malta is
authorised to accede to the Convention.
Language of 
Schedule and 
regulations.
Amended by:
IX. 2003.73.
15. (1) The Schedule to this Act shall be in the English
language only.
(2) Regulations made under the provisions of this Act may be
made in the English language only.
                          EUROCONTROL [ CAP. 333.        9
CONSOLIDATED VERSION WHICH INCORPORATES THE TEXTS 
REMAINING IN FORCE OF THE EXISTING CONVENTION
AND THE AMENDMENTS MADE BY THE DIPLOMATIC CONFERENCE
OF 27 JUNE 1997 
CONSOLIDATED TEXT OF THE ENACTING TERMS OF THE CONVENTION
Article 1
1. In order to achieve harmonisation and integration with the aim of
establishing a uniform European air traffic management system, the Contracting
Parties agree to strengthen their co-operation and to develop their joint activities in
the field of air navigation, making due allowance for defence needs and providing
maximum freedom for all airspace users consistent with the required level of safety
in the provision of cost-effective air traffic services, and taking into account the need
to minimise, where this is feasible,  inter alia , in operational, technical and economic
terms, any adverse environmental impact.
The pursuit of these objectives shall not prejudice the principle that every
State has complete and exclusive sovereignty over the airspace above its territory
nor the capacity of every State to exercise its prerogatives with regard to security
and defence in its national airspace.
To this end, they agree:
(a) to determine a European policy in the air traffic management field,
involving the definition of strategies and programmes whose objective
is to develop the capacity needed to meet the requirements of all civil
and military users in a cost-effective manner while maintaining the
required level of safety;
(b) to commit themselves to the establishment of specific targets regarding
the efficiency and effectiveness of air traffic management operations in
the Flight Information Regions listed in Annex II to this Convention in
which States, pursuant to the relevant provisions of the Convention on
International Civil Aviation, have agreed to provide air traffic services
without prejudice to the principles of free movement in airspace not
subject to the sovereignty of the States which result from conventions,
international agreements, and the rules or principles of customary
public international law;
(c) to introduce an air traffic management performance review and target
setting system;
(d) to implement a common convergence and implementation plan for air
navigation services and facilities in Europe;
(e) to adopt and apply common standards and specifications;
(f) to harmonise air traffic services regulations;
(g) to develop the available capacity to meet the air traffic demand and to
ensure its most effective utilisation through the joint establishment,
operation and development of a common European air traffic flow
management system, in the framework of the introduction of a uniform
SCHEDULE Substituted by:IX. 2009.74.
(Articles 2 and 14)
  10      CAP. 333. ]                EUROCONTROL
European air traffic management system;
(h) to encourage common procurement of air traffic systems and facilities;
(i) to implement a common policy for the establishment and calculation of
charges levied on users of en route air navigation facilities and services,
hereinafter called "route charges";
(j) to implement a mechanism, separate from service provision, for the
multilateral development and harmonisation of a safety regulatory
regime in the field of air traffic management within a total aviation
safety system approach;
(k) to participate in the design, the implementation and the monitoring of a
global navigation satellite system;
(l) to identify new possibilities for common actions in the field of design,
implementation, monitoring or operation of systems and services in air
navigation;
(m) in the context of a "gate-to-gate" concept, to develop an overall policy
and an appropriate, efficient and effective process for the strategic
design and planning of routes and airspace.
2. For this purpose they hereby establish a "European Organisation for the
Safety of Air Navigation (EUROCONTROL)", hereinafter called "the Organisation",
which shall act in co-operation with the national civil and military authorities and
the user organisations. The Organisation shall comprise three organs:
(a) a General Assembly, which shall constitute the organ responsible for the
formulation and approval of the Organisation’s general policy,
including:
(i) the common policy for route charges and the Organisation’s other
charges activities;
(ii) the performance review and assessment functions of the
Organisation;
(iii) the setting of objectives for the Organisation, including those of
standardisation, planning, performance and safety regulation;
(iv) the technical and financial selection of major framework
programmes for co-operation;
(v) external relations with States and organisations and applications
for accession to this Convention;
(b) a Council, which shall constitute the organ tasked with implementing
the General Assembly’s decisions and, subject to the powers conferred
upon the latter, ruling on all measures which are addressed to and
binding on the Contracting Parties, and supervising the Agency’s work;
(c) an Agency, whose Statute is contained in Annex I to this Convention,
which shall be the organ entrusted to undertake the Organisation’s tasks,
in accordance with the provisions of the following articles of this
Convention and the tasks assigned to it by the General Assembly or the
Council, to initiate relevant proposals and to deploy the technical,
financial and staff resources to achieve the objectives laid down.
3. The headquarters of the Organisation shall be in Brussels.
Article 2
1. The Organisation shall undertake the following tasks:
                          EUROCONTROL [ CAP. 333.        11
(a) to develop and endorse detailed plans for the harmonisation and
integration of the air traffic services and systems of the Contracting
Parties, in particular the ground and airborne air navigation systems,
with a view to the establishment of a uniform European air traffic
management system;
(b) to coordinate the implementation plans of the Contracting Parties so as
to secure convergence towards a uniform European air traffic
management system;
(c) to examine and coordinate on behalf of the Contracting Parties matters
in the field of air navigation studied by the International Civil Aviation
Organization (ICAO) and other international organisations concerned
with civil aviation and to coordinate and submit amendments or
proposals to these bodies;
(d) to define, design, develop, validate and organise the implementation of
a uniform European air traffic management system;
(e) to develop and operate a common European air traffic flow management
system at a common international centre in the framework of (d) above;
(f) to develop, adopt, and keep under review common standards,
specifications and practices for air traffic management systems and
services;
(g) to develop and endorse procedures towards a strategy for the common
procurement of air traffic systems and facilities;
(h) to coordinate the Contracting Parties’ research and development
programmes relating to new techniques in the field of air navigation, to
collect and distribute their results and to promote and conduct common
studies, tests and applied research as well as technical developments in
this field;
(i) establish an independent performance review system that will address
all aspects of air traffic management, including policy and planning,
safety management at and around airports and in the airspace, as well as
financial and economic aspects of services rendered, and set targets that
will address all these aspects;
(j) to study and promote measures for improving cost-effectiveness and
efficiency in the field of air navigation;
(k) to develop and endorse common criteria, procedures and methods to
ensure the highest efficiency and quality of air traffic management
systems and air traffic services;
(l) to develop proposals for the harmonisation of European air traffic
services regulations;
(m) to support the improvement of efficiency and flexibility in the use of
airspace between civil and military users;
(n) to develop and endorse coordinated or common policies to improve air
traffic management at and around airports;
(o) to develop and endorse common criteria for the selection, and common
policies for the training, licensing, and proficiency checking of air
traffic services staff;
(p) to develop, establish and operate the future common European system
elements entrusted to it by the Contracting Parties;
  12      CAP. 333. ]                EUROCONTROL
(q) to establish, bill and collect the route charges on behalf of the
Contracting Parties participating in the common route charges system as
provided for in Annex IV;
(r) to establish and implement a mechanism for the multilateral
development and harmonisation of safety regulation in the air traffic
management field;
(s) to perform any other task relating to the principles and objectives of this
Convention.
2. At the request of one or more Contracting Parties and on the basis of a
special agreement or agreements between the Organisation and the Contracting
Parties concerned, the Organisation may:
(a) assist such Contracting Parties in the planning, specification and setting
up of air traffic systems and services;
(b) provide and operate, wholly or in part, air traffic facilities and services
on behalf of such Contracting Parties;
(c) assist such Contracting Parties in the establishment, billing and
collection of charges which are levied by them on users of air
navigation services and which are not covered by Annex IV to this
Convention.
3. The Organisation may:
(a) conclude special agreements with non-Contracting Parties interested in
participating in the performance of the tasks provided for in Article 2.1;
(b) at the request of non-Contracting Parties or other international
organisations, perform on their behalf any other tasks pursuant to this
Article, on the basis of special agreements between the Organisation
and the Parties concerned.
4. The Organisation shall, as far as is practicable, ensure that its service
provision functions, in particular those provided for in Articles 2.1(e), 2.1(g), 2.1(p),
2.1(q), 2.2 and 2.3(b), are exercised independently of its regulatory functions.
5. In order to facilitate the execution of its tasks, the Organisation may, by
decision of the General Assembly, create undertakings governed by specific articles
of association governed either by public international law or by the national law of a
Contracting Party, or acquire majority shareholdings in such undertakings.
Article 3
1. This Convention shall apply to en route air navigation services and related
approach and aerodrome services for air traffic in the Flight Information Regions
listed in Annex II.
2. (a) Any amendment which a Contracting Party wishes to make to the list of
its Flight Information Regions in Annex II shall be decided upon by the General
Assembly by unanimity of the votes cast if it would result in a change in the overall
limits of the airspace covered by this Convention.
(b) Any amendment which does not result in such a change shall
nevertheless be notified to the Organisation by the Contracting Party concerned.
3. For the purposes of this Convention the expression "air traffic" shall
comprise civil aircraft and those military, customs and police aircraft which conform
to the procedures of the International Civil Aviation Organization.
                          EUROCONTROL [ CAP. 333.        13
On the basis of a special agreement, as provided for in Article 2.2(b), a
Contracting Party may request that the expression “air traffic” shall apply to other
air traffic operating within its territory.
Article 4
The Organisation shall have legal personality. In the territory of the
Contracting Parties it shall have the fullest legal capacity to which corporate bodies
are entitled under national law; it shall  inter alia  have the right to acquire or transfer
movable or immovable property and to go to law. Except as otherwise provided in
this Convention or the Statute at Annex I, it shall be represented by the Agency,
which shall act in its name. The Agency shall administer the property of the
Organisation.
Article 5
1. The General Assembly shall be composed of representatives of the
Contracting Parties at Ministerial level. Each Contracting Party may appoint several
delegates in order, in particular, to allow the interests of both civil aviation and
national defence to be represented, but shall have only a single voting right.
2. The Council shall be composed of representatives of the Contracting Parties
at the level of the Directors General for Civil Aviation. Each Contracting Party may
appoint several delegates in order, in particular, to allow the interests of both civil
aviation and national defence to be represented, but shall have only a single voting
right.
3. On matters relating to the common route charges system, the General
Assembly and the Council shall be made up of representatives of the Contracting
Parties participating in the common route charges system under the conditions
stipulated in Annex IV.
4. The representatives of international organisations which can contribute to
the work of the Organisation shall, where appropriate, be invited by the General
Assembly, or the Council, to participate as observers, in bodies of the Organisation.
Article 6
1. The General Assembly shall take decisions with regard to the Contracting
Parties, the Council and the Agency, in particular in the cases referred to in Article
1.2(a).
In addition, the General Assembly shall:
(a) appoint the Director General of the Agency, on the Council’s
recommendation;
(b) authorise recourse on behalf of the Organisation to the Permanent Court
of Arbitration of The Hague in the cases referred to in Article 34;
(c) establish the principles applied for the operation of the common
European air traffic flow management system provided for in Article
2.1(e);
(d) approve amendments to Annex I in conformity with the voting
conditions provided for in Article 8.1;
(e) approve amendments to Annexes II and IV in conformity with the
voting conditions provided for in Article 8.3;
(f) periodically review the tasks of the Organisation.
2. To formulate the common policy for route charges, the General Assembly
  14      CAP. 333. ]                EUROCONTROL
shall,  inter alia :
(a) establish the principles governing the assessment of the costs
chargeable by the Contracting Parties and the Organisation to the users
in respect of the en-route air navigation facilities and services provided
to them;
(b) determine the formula to be applied in calculating route charges;
(c) determine the principles governing exemption from the route charges
and may further decide that for certain categories of flights thus
exempted from the payment of route charges governed by Annex IV, the
costs incurred in respect of en-route air navigation facilities and
services may be recovered directly by the Contracting Parties;
(d) approve reports by the Council relating to route charges.
3. The General Assembly may:
(a) refer to the Council for examination any matter falling within its
competence;
(b) delegate to the Council, where necessary, the power to take decisions in
the matters falling within its general competence, referred to in Article
1.2(a);
(c) establish other subsidiary bodies as it may consider to be necessary.
Article 7
1. The Council, pursuant to the powers conferred on it by this Convention, may
take decisions with regard to the Contracting Parties, in the tasks referred to in
Article 2.1.
2. The Council, pursuant to its supervisory powers as conferred on it in regard
to the Agency by this Convention:
(a) shall approve, after having consulted representative organisations of
airspace users recognised by the Council, the Agency’s five-year and
annual work programmes submitted to it by the Agency for the
accomplishment of the tasks referred to in Article 2, together with the
five-year financial plan and the budget, including the financial
obligations, the Agency’s activity report and the reports submitted
pursuant to Articles 2.2(c), 10.3 and 11.1 of the Statute of the Agency;
(b) shall approve the principles governing the general structure of the
Agency;
(c) shall supervise the activities of the Agency in the field of air navigation
charges;
(d) shall determine, after having consulted the representative organisations
of airspace users and airports recognised by the Council, the general
conditions for the operation of the common European air traffic flow
management system provided for in Article 2.1(e), taking due account
of the prerogatives exercised by the States in regard to management of
their airspace. These general conditions shall specify,  inter alia , the
rules applicable as well as the procedures for recording non-compliance
with these rules;
(e) shall issue directives to the Agency on the basis of regular reports from
the latter or whenever it deems it to be necessary for the
accomplishment of the tasks assigned to the Agency, and shall approve
                          EUROCONTROL [ CAP. 333.        15
arrangements for co-operation between the Agency and national
organisations concerned to enable the Agency to initiate the appropriate
proposals;
(f) shall appoint, on a proposal by the Director General, the firm of
consultant auditors to assist the Audit Board in the examination of the
accounts of all receipts and expenditure;
(g) may require that the Agency’s services be the subject of administrative
and technical inspections;
(h) shall give the Director General discharge in respect of his/her
administration of the budget;
(i) shall approve the appointment by the Director General of the Directors
of the Agency;
(j) shall approve the Statute of the Director General, the Staff Regulations,
the Financial Regulations and the Contract Regulations;
(k) may authorise the opening by the Agency of negotiations related to the
special agreements referred to in Article 2, adopt the agreements
negotiated before submitting them for approval by the General
Assembly or conclude such agreements where the Council has been
delegated powers pursuant to the provisions of Article 13.3;
(l) shall approve a Regulation on data protection;
(m) in the performance of the tasks provided for in Article 2.1(f), shall
determine the rules and procedures applicable to standards,
specifications and practices for air traffic management systems and
services.
3. The Council shall establish a Performance Review Commission and a Safety
Regulation Commission. These Commissions will initiate relevant proposals to the
Council and receive administrative support and assistance from the Agency services
which have the necessary degree of independence to exercise their functions.
4. The Council shall establish a Civil/Military Interface Standing Committee.
5. The Council shall establish an Audit Board to which it may delegate duties
and, under specific terms of reference, delegate powers.
6. The Council may be assisted by other committees in other fields of activity
of the Organisation.
7. The Council may delegate duties and, under specific terms of reference,
delegate powers to the Civil/Military Interface Standing Committee and any
Committee created after the entry into force of this Convention. Such delegations of
duties or powers shall not prevent the Council from being able to raise matters at any
time as part of its task of general supervision.
Article 11
1. The weighting referred to in Article 8 shall be determined according to the
following table:
The weighting referred to in Article 8 shall be determined according to the
following table:
Annual Contribution of a Contracting Party as a percentage of the total
annual contributions of all the Contracting Parties
Number of votes
  16      CAP. 333. ]                EUROCONTROL
2. The number of votes shall be initially established with effect from the date
of entry into force of the Protocol opened for signature at Brussels in 1997 by
reference to the above table and in accordance with the rule in Article 10 above for
determining the annual contributions of the Contracting Parties to the Organisation’s
budget. 
3. In the event of the accession of a State, the numbers of votes of the
Contracting Parties shall be re-established in accordance with the same procedure.
4. The numbers of votes shall be re-established each year in accordance with
the foregoing provisions.
Article 12
The General Assembly and the Council shall establish their rules of
procedure, including rules governing the election of a President and Vice-President,
and the rules of application of the voting procedures and the quorum.
Article 13
1. The Organisation shall maintain with the appropriate States and other
international organisations the necessary relations for the realisation of its aims.
2. The General Assembly shall, without prejudice to the provisions of Article
7.2(k), of paragraph 3 of this article and of Article 15, be alone empowered to
conclude on behalf of the Organisation the special agreements which are necessary
for the performance of the tasks provided for in Article 2.
3. The General Assembly may, on a proposal from the Council, delegate to the
latter the decision to conclude the special agreements which are necessary for the
performance of the tasks provided for in Article 2.
Article 14
The special agreements referred to in Article 2 shall stipulate the respective
tasks, rights and obligations of the Parties to the agreements, together with the
financial arrangements, and shall establish the measures to be taken. Such
agreements may be negotiated by the Agency in accordance with the provisions of
Less than 1% ........................ ............................... 1
From 1 to less than 2% .......................................... 2
From 2 to less than 3% .......................................... 3
From 3 to less than 4 1 / 2  % ..................................... 4
From 4 1 / 2  to less than 6% ...................................... 5
From 6 to less than 7 1 / 2  % ..................................... 6
From 7 1 / 2  to less than 9% ...................................... 7
From 9 to less than 11% ........................................ 8
From 11 to less than 13% ...................................... 9
From 13 to less than 15% ...................................... 10
From 15 to less than 18% ...................................... 11
From 18 to less than 21% ...................................... 12
From 21 to less than 24% ...................................... 13
From 24 to less than 27% ...................................... 14
From 27 to less than 30% ...................................... 15
30% ...................................................................... 16
                          EUROCONTROL [ CAP. 333.        17
Article 7.2(k).
Article 15
Within the scope of the directives given by the Council, those relations
which are essential for the co-ordination of air traffic and for the operation of the
services of the Agency may be established by the Agency with the appropriate
technical services, public or private, of the Contracting Parties, of non-Contracting
Parties or of international organisations. For that purpose, contracts of a purely
administrative, technical or commercial nature, in so far as they are required for the
operation of the Agency, may be entered into by the Agency, in the name of the
Organisation, on condition that the Agency so informs the Council.
Article 16
1. The character of public interest shall, where necessary, be recognised, in
accordance with national law and with the consequences which result from the
provisions of that law relating to expropriation in the public interest, as regards the
acquisition of immovable property necessary for the siting of the Organisation’s
installations, subject to the agreement of the Government concerned. The procedure
of expropriation for reasons of public interest may be set in motion by the competent
authorities of the State concerned, in accordance with its national law, for the
purpose of acquiring such property failing amicable agreement.
2. In the territory of the Contracting Parties where the procedure referred to in
the preceding paragraph is not in existence, the Organisation may have the benefit of
those procedures for compulsory purchase which can be used for the benefit of civil
aviation and telecommunications.
3. The Contracting Parties recognise the right of the Organisation to benefit, in
respect of any installations and services established on its behalf in their respective
territories, from the application of national law as to those restrictions on the rights
of owners of immovable property which may exist in the public interest for the
benefit of national services for the same purpose and in particular as to easements in
the public interest.
4. The Organisation shall bear the expenses consequent upon the application of
the provisions of this Article, including the compensation payable in accordance
with the law of the State in the territory of which the property is situated.
Article 17
In the performance of the tasks provided for in Article 2.2(b), the Agency
shall apply the regulations in force in the territories of the Contracting Parties and in
the airspace in respect of which the provision of air traffic services is entrusted to
them under international agreements to which they are Parties.
Article 18
In the performance of the tasks provided for in Article 2.2(b), the Agency
shall, within the limits of the powers conferred on the air traffic services, give all the
necessary instructions to aircraft commanders. The aircraft commanders shall be
bound to comply with those instructions, except in the cases of force majeure
provided for in the regulations referred to in the preceding article.
Article 19
1. In the performance of the tasks provided for in Article 2.1(e), the
Organisation shall determine, in accordance with the general conditions provided for
in Article 7.2(d), the necessary regulatory measures, and shall communicate them to
aircraft operators and to the appropriate air traffic services. The Contracting Parties
  18      CAP. 333. ]                EUROCONTROL
shall ensure that aircraft operators, aircraft commanders and the appropriate air
traffic services comply therewith, unless prevented by compelling reasons of safety.
2. Compliance by a Contracting Party’s air traffic services with the general
conditions and the regulatory measures referred to in paragraph 1 above shall be the
sole responsibility of the said Contracting Party.
3. In the event of non-compliance by an aircraft operator or an aircraft
commander with the general conditions or the regulatory measures referred to in
paragraph 1 above, proceedings may be instituted against the offender at the
Organisation’s request:
(a) by the Contracting Party where non-compliance was recorded, in its
own territory;
(b) by the Organisation in accordance with the grounds of jurisdiction set
out in Article 35, if the Contracting Party, where the proceedings are to
be instituted, agrees.
4. The Contracting Parties shall incorporate into their national legislation
provisions which ensure the observance of the general conditions provided for in
Article 7.2(d).
Article 20
In the performance of the tasks provided for in Article 2.1(e) and, where
appropriate, Article 2.2(b), infringements of the air navigation regulations
committed in the airspace in which the Agency performs these tasks shall be
recorded in reports by officers specifically authorised by the Agency for that
purpose, without prejudice to the right under national law of officers of the
Contracting Parties to report infringements of the same nature. The reports referred
to above shall have the same effect in national courts as those drawn up by national
officers qualified to report infringements of the same nature.
Article 21
1. The circulation of publications and other information material sent by or to
the Organisation in connection with its official activities shall not be restricted in
any way.
2. For its official communications and the transfer of all its documents, the
Organisation shall enjoy treatment no less favourable than that accorded by each
Contracting Party to comparable international organisations.
Article 22
1. The Organisation shall be exonerated in the territories of the Contracting
Parties from all duties, taxes and charges in respect of its creation, dissolution or
liquidation.
2. It shall be exonerated from any duties, taxes and charges entailed by the
acquisition of the immovable property required for the accomplishment of its task.
3. It shall be exonerated from all direct taxes applicable to it, as well as its
property, assets and income.
4. It shall be exonerated from any indirect fiscal charges consequential on the
issue of loans and incident upon the Organisation.
5. It shall be exonerated from any taxation of an exceptional or discriminating
nature.
6. The exonerations provided for in this article shall not apply to taxes and
                          EUROCONTROL [ CAP. 333.        19
charges collected as payment for general utilities.
Article 23
1. The Organisation shall be exonerated from all customs duties and taxes or
charges of equivalent effect, other than charges in respect of services rendered, and
shall be exempt from any import or export prohibition or restriction in respect of
materials, equipment, supplies and other articles imported for the official use of the
Organisation and destined for the buildings and installations of the Organisation or
for its functioning.
2. The goods so imported may not be sold, loaned or transferred, either without
payment or against payment, in the territory of the Contracting Party into which they
have been introduced, except under the conditions fixed by the Government of the
Contracting Party concerned.
3. Any control measures deemed to be expedient may be taken to ensure that
the materials, equipment, supplies and other articles referred to in paragraph 1 and
imported for consignment to the Organisation have been effectively delivered to that
Organisation and are effectively used for its official buildings and installations or for
its functioning.
4. The Organisation shall be exonerated from all customs duties and exempt
from any import or export prohibition or restriction in respect of the publications
falling within the scope of Article 13 of the Statute annexed hereto.
Article 24
1. The Organisation may hold any currency and have accounts in any currency
in so far as is necessary for the execution of the transactions required for its purpose.
2. The Contracting Parties undertake to give the Organisation the necessary
authorisations for all the transfers of funds, in accordance with the conditions
prescribed under national regulations and international agreements as applicable,
entailed by the establishment and activity of the Organisation, including the issue
and service of loans when the issue of those loans has been authorised by the
Government of the Contracting Party concerned.
Article 25
1. The Agency may call upon the services of qualified persons who are
nationals of the Contracting Parties.
2. The staff of the Organisation and members of their families forming part of
their households, shall enjoy the exemption from measures restricting immigration
and governing aliens’ registration generally accorded to staff members of
comparable international organisations.
3. (a) The Contracting Parties, in time of international crisis, shall accord to
the staff of the Organisation, and the members of their families forming part of their
households, the same repatriation facilities as the staff of other international
organisations.
(b) The provisions of (a) above shall not affect the staff’s obligations to the
Organisation.
4. No exception may be made to the provisions of paragraphs 1 and 2 of this
article except for reasons of public policy, public safety or public health.
5. The staff of the Organisation:
(a) shall be granted exemption from customs duties and charges, other than
  20      CAP. 333. ]                EUROCONTROL
those in respect of services rendered, in the case of the importation of
their personal effects, movable property and other household effects
which are not new, which they bring from abroad on first taking up
residence in the territory in question, and in the case of the re-
exportation of those same effects and movable property, when they
relinquish their duties;
(b) may, on taking up their duties in the territory of any one of the
Contracting Parties, import their personal motor car temporarily with
exemption from duty, and subsequently, but not later than on
termination of their period of service, re-export that vehicle with
exemption from duty, subject, however, in either event, to any
conditions deemed to be necessary in each individual case by the
Government of the Contracting Party concerned;
(c) shall enjoy inviolability for all their official papers and documents.
6. The Contracting Parties shall not be obliged to grant to their own nationals
the facilities provided for in paragraph 5 (a) and (b) above.
7. In addition to the privileges, exemptions and facilities granted to the staff of
the Organisation, the Director General of the Agency shall enjoy immunity from
jurisdiction in respect of acts, including words spoken and written, done by him/her
in the exercise of his/her functions; this immunity shall not apply in the case of a
motor traffic offence or in the case of damage caused by a motor vehicle belonging
to or driven by him/her.
8. The Governments concerned shall take all the necessary measures to ensure
the unrestricted transfer of net salaries.
Article 26
Representatives of the Contracting Parties shall, while exercising their
functions and in the course of their journeys to and from the place of meeting, enjoy
inviolability for all their official papers and documents.
Article 27
By reason of its own social security scheme, the Organisation, the Director
General and personnel of the Organisation, shall be exempt from all compulsory
contributions to national social security bodies, without prejudice to arrangements
between the Organisation and Contracting Parties existing at the entry into force of
the Protocol opened for signature at Brussels in 1997.
Article 28
1. The contractual liability of the Organisation shall be governed by the law
applicable to the contract concerned.
2. With regard to non-contractual liability, the Organisation shall make
reparation for damage caused by the negligence of its organs, or of its servants in the
scope of their employment, in so far as that damage can be attributed to them. The
foregoing provision shall not preclude the right to other compensation under the
national law of the Contracting Parties.
Article 29
1. (a) The installations of the Organisation shall be inviolable. The property
and assets of the Organisation shall be exempt from any measure of requisition,
expropriation or confiscation.
(b) The archives of the Organisation and all official papers and documents
                          EUROCONTROL [ CAP. 333.        21
belonging to it shall be inviolable, wherever located.
2. The property and assets of the Organisation may not be seized, nor may
execution be levied upon them, except by a judicial decision. Such judicial decision
shall not be made unless the Organisation has been given reasonable notice of the
proceedings in question and has had an adequate opportunity to oppose the making
of the decision. The installations of the Organisation shall not, however, be seized
nor shall execution be levied upon them.
3. Nevertheless, in order to enable judicial inquiries to be carried out and to
ensure the execution of judicial decisions in their respective territories, the
competent authorities of the State in which the Organisation has its headquarters and
of other States in which installations and archives of the Organisation are located
shall, after having informed the Director General of the Agency, have access to such
installations and archives.
Article 30
1. The Organisation shall collaborate at all times with the competent
authorities of the Contracting Parties in order to facilitate the good administration of
justice, to ensure the observance of police regulations and to prevent any abuse to
which the privileges, immunities, exemptions or facilities specified in this
Convention could give rise.
2. The Organisation shall facilitate, as far as possible, the execution of public
works inside or in the vicinity of any immovable property allocated for its use in the
territories of the Contracting Parties.
Article 31
In the performance of the tasks provided for in Article 2.1(e) and, where
appropriate, Article 2.2(b), international agreements and national regulations
relating to the admission to, flight over and security of, the territory of the
Contracting Parties concerned shall be binding on the Agency, which shall take all
necessary measures to ensure the application of such agreements and regulations.
Article 32
In the performance of the tasks provided for in Article 2.1(e) and, where
appropriate, Article 2.2(b), the Agency shall give to those Contracting Parties which
so request all necessary information relating to the aircraft of which it has
cognisance in the exercise of its functions related to the airspace of the Contracting
Party concerned, in order that the Contracting Parties concerned may be able to
verify that international agreements and national regulations are being applied.
Article 33
The Contracting Parties recognise that it is necessary for the Agency to
achieve financial equilibrium and undertake to make available to it the appropriate
financial resources, within the limits and conditions defined in the present
Convention and the Statute of the Agency at Annex I.
Article 34
1. Any dispute arising between two or more Contracting Parties or between one
or more Contracting Parties and the Organisation relating to the interpretation,
application or performance of this Convention, including its existence, validity or
termination, which cannot be settled within a period of six months by direct
negotiation or by any other means, shall be referred to arbitration of the Permanent
Court of Arbitration in The Hague in accordance with the Optional Rules for
Arbitration of the said Court.
  22      CAP. 333. ]                EUROCONTROL
2. The number of arbitrators shall be three.
3. The place of arbitration shall be The Hague. The International Bureau of the
Permanent Court of Arbitration shall serve as Registrar, and shall provide such
administrative services as the Permanent Court of Arbitration shall direct.
4. The decisions of the Permanent Court of Arbitration shall be binding on the
Parties to the dispute.
Article 35
1. Without prejudice to the application of the provisions of Annex IV for the
enforced recovery of route charges, the courts of the Contracting Parties shall have
sole jurisdiction to hear disputes arising between the Organisation, represented by
the Director General, and any natural person or corporate body, in connection with
the application of acts of the Organisation.
2. Without prejudice to the application of the provisions of Annex IV for the
enforced recovery of route charges, proceedings shall be instituted in the Contracting
Party:
(a) where the defendant has his/her residence or registered office;
(b) where the defendant has a place of business, if neither his/her residence
nor his/her registered office is situated in the territory of a Contracting
Party;
(c) in the absence of the grounds of jurisdiction set out in sub-paragraphs
(a) and (b) above, where the defendant has assets;
(d) in the absence of the grounds of jurisdiction set out in sub-paragraphs
(a) to (c) above, where EUROCONTROL has its headquarters.
Article 36
1. The amendments made in conformity with the conditions prescribed in this
Convention, to the Statute of the Agency set out in Annex I, and to Articles 16  et
seq.  of the provisions relating to the common route charges system set out in Annex
IV, shall be valid and have effect in the territory of the Contracting Parties.
2. The tax provisions set out in Annex III and Articles 1 to 15 of the provisions
relating to the common route charges system set out in Annex IV shall not be subject
to amendment by the General Assembly.
3. Each Contracting Party shall be bound by Annex IV for a period of five
years from the date on which this Convention enters into force. The five-year period
shall be extended automatically for further five-year periods. A Contracting Party
which has notified the General Assembly in writing, not less than two years before
the expiry of the five-year period, that it does not consent to the extension of the
period, shall cease to be bound by Annex IV at the expiry of this five-year period.
4. The rights and obligations of the withdrawing Contracting Party may be
determined if necessary in a special agreement concluded between it and the
Organisation.
This agreement will require to be approved by unanimity of the votes cast by
the General Assembly, with the withdrawing Contracting Party taking no part in the
vote. 
5. The Contracting Party which is no longer bound by Annex IV may at any
time request the General Assembly in writing to be bound once more by Annex IV.
The Contracting Party in question shall again be bound by Annex IV six months
after the day on which the General Assembly accepts the said request by unanimity
                          EUROCONTROL [ CAP. 333.        23
of the votes cast by the Contracting Parties participating in the common system. The
Contracting Party concerned shall be bound by Annex IV for a period of five years
from the day on which it became bound. This period shall be extended automatically
subject to the same conditions as those set out in paragraph 3 above.
Article 37
The Contracting Parties undertake to ensure to the Agency the application of
current statutory provisions designed to safeguard the continuity of those general
utilities required for the proper running of operational services.
Article 38
1. The Convention, as amended by the Protocol of 12 February 1981 and
subsequently by the Protocol opened for signature at Brussels in 1997, shall be
extended for an indefinite period.
2. Once the Convention as thus extended has been in force for twenty years,
any Contracting Party may terminate application, as far as it is concerned, of the
Convention by giving written notification to the Government of the Kingdom of
Belgium, which shall inform the Governments of the other Contracting States of
such notification.
The decision to withdraw shall take effect at the end of the year following
the year in which notification of withdrawal is given, provided that the special
agreement provided for in paragraph 3 below has been concluded by that date.
Failing this, the decision to withdraw shall take effect on the date laid down in the
said special agreement.
3. The rights and obligations, in particular of a financial nature, of the
withdrawing Contracting Party shall be determined in a special agreement concluded
between it and the Organisation.
This agreement shall require to be approved by unanimity of the votes cast
by the General Assembly with the withdrawing Contracting Party taking no part in
the vote.
4. The Organisation may be dissolved if the number of Contracting Parties is
reduced to less than 50% of the Parties signatories to the aforesaid 1997 Protocol,
subject to a decision of the General Assembly carried by unanimity of the votes cast.
5. If, in application of the above, the Organisation is dissolved, its legal
personality and capacity, within the meaning of Article 4, shall continue to exist for
the purposes of winding up the Organisation.
Article 39
1. The accession to the Convention, as amended by the Protocol of 12 February
1981 and by the Protocol opened for signature at Brussels in 1997, of any State not
signatory to the latter Protocol shall be subject to the agreement of the General
Assembly expressed by unanimity of the votes cast.
2. The President of the General Assembly shall notify the non-signatory State
of the decision to accept the accession.
3. The instrument of accession shall be deposited with the Government of the
Kingdom of Belgium which shall notify the Governments of the other signatory and
acceding States.
4. Accession shall take effect from the first day of the second month following
the deposit of the instrument of accession.
  24      CAP. 333. ]                EUROCONTROL
Article 40
1. The accession to the Convention, as amended by the Protocol of 12 February
1981 and by the Protocol opened for signature at Brussels in 1997, shall be open to
regional economic integration organisations on terms and conditions to be agreed
between the Contracting Parties and those organisations, of which one or more
signatory States are members, these terms and conditions to be contained in an
additional Protocol to the Convention.
2. The instrument of accession shall be deposited with the Government of the
Kingdom of Belgium which shall notify the other Parties.
3. Accession of a regional economic integration organisation shall take effect
from the first day of the second month following the deposit of the instrument of
accession, provided that the additional Protocol referred to in paragraph 1 above has
entered into force.
The present consolidated text of the enacting terms of the Convention and its
Annexes are drawn up in the German, English, Bulgarian, Croatian, Danish, Spanish,
French, Greek, Hungarian, Italian, Dutch, Norwegian, Portuguese, Romanian,
Slovak, Slovenian, Swedish, Czech and Turkish languages. In accordance with the
final provision of the EUROCONTROL International Convention relating to Co-
operation for the Safety of Air Navigation of 13 December 1960, the final provision
of the Protocol of 12 February 1981 amending the aforesaid Convention as well as
the final provision of the Protocol opened for signature at Brussels in 1997
consolidating the aforesaid Convention, as variously amended, the text in the French
language shall prevail, in the event of any inconsistency between the texts.
ANNEX I
STATUTE OF THE AGENCY
Article 1
1. The Agency shall be the organ responsible for achieving the objectives and
performing the tasks laid down in the Convention or set by the General Assembly or
by the Council and their subsidiary bodies. It shall initiate and submit proposals to
the relevant bodies related to the exercise of the various functions and the
performance of the various tasks of these bodies as well as to other tasks delegated
to the Organisation. It shall also provide support to the General Assembly and the
Council and their subsidiary bodies in the execution of their supervisory functions.
2. In the performance of its tasks, the Agency may be assisted, where
necessary, by civil and military experts appointed by States or by the service
providers’ organisations concerned.
3. The Agency shall act as the focal point for intergovernmental co-operation
and coordination in the field of air navigation. It shall submit proposals and provide
the necessary support with a view to convergence towards, and implementation of, a
uniform European air traffic management system.
4. In particular, it shall provide regulatory, information, support and advisory
services to the Contracting Parties, and, on the basis of agreements pursuant to
Article 2 of the Convention, to recognised international organisations and to non
Contracting States.
5. In particular, the Agency shall:
(a) coordinate the implementation plans of the Contracting Parties to ensure
convergence towards a uniform European air traffic management
                          EUROCONTROL [ CAP. 333.        25
system;
(b) examine matters in the field of air navigation under study by the
International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and other
international organisations concerned with civil aviation and coordinate
and submit amendments to ICAO documents;
(c) develop proposals for detailed planning for the harmonisation and
integration of the air traffic services and systems, in particular the
ground and airborne components of air navigation systems of the
Contracting Parties, with a view to the establishment of a uniform
European air traffic management system;
(d) develop proposals concerning the arrangements for the strategic
planning and design of routes and supporting airspace structures, in
coordination with civil and military experts appointed by States;
(e) develop proposals for the harmonisation of air traffic services
regulations, develop coordinated or common policies to improve air
traffic management at and around airports and support the improvement
of efficiency and flexibility in the use of airspace between civil and
military users;
(f) make proposals or play an advisory role in all aspects of policy and
planning. Its scope is not limited to en-route air traffic management but
enlarged to cater for an integrated "gate-to-gate" approach to air traffic
management. It is assisted by national experts in preparing these
proposals;
(g) study and promote measures for improving cost-effectiveness and
efficiency in the field of air navigation;
(h) develop common criteria, procedures and methods to ensure the highest
efficiency and quality of air traffic management systems and air traffic
services;
(i) coordinate Research, Development, Trials and Evaluation (RDTE)
programmes of national air traffic management organisations, including
the collection and dissemination of results;
(j) conduct common studies, tests and applied research as well as other
technical developments;
(k) define, design, develop, validate and organise the implementation of a
uniform system for European air traffic management under the aegis of
the Council.
6. When the Agency provides air navigation services, its aim shall be:
(a) to prevent collisions between aircraft;
(b) to ensure the orderly and expeditious flow of air traffic;
(c) to provide advice and information conducive to the safe and efficient
conduct of flights;
(d) to notify appropriate organisations regarding aircraft in need of search
and rescue aid, and assist such organisations as required.
7. The Agency shall work in close collaboration with the users’ organisations
in order to meet as efficiently and economically as possible the requirements of civil
aviation. It shall work in close collaboration with the military authorities to meet,
under the same conditions, the special requirements of military aviation.
  26      CAP. 333. ]                EUROCONTROL
8. For the accomplishment of its task, the Agency may, among other things,
construct and operate the buildings and installations it requires. However, it shall
call upon national technical services and make use of existing national installations
whenever this is technically and economically justified, in order to avoid any
duplication.
Article 2
1. Subject to the powers conferred upon the General Assembly and the
Council, the Agency shall be managed by a Director General who shall enjoy wide
management independence with regard to the implementation, utilisation and
efficient operation of the technical, financial and personnel resources placed at his
disposal. To this end, he/she shall take the measures which he/she deems necessary
in order to fulfil his/her obligations.
2. Nevertheless, the Director General shall, with a view to submission for
approval by the Council in accordance with the provisions of the Convention:
(a) elaborate annual and five-year work programmes stating the impact on
the trends in the costs and unit rates;
(b) draw up the five-year financial plan and the budget including the
financial obligations, and, as provided for in Annex IV, the unit rates
and tariffs;
(c) present an annual report to the Council on the activities and financial
position of the Organisation;
(d) present the principles governing the general structure of the Agency, the
details of this structure being the sole responsibility of the Director
General.
3. Furthermore, the Director General shall:
(a) submit reports at regular intervals and seek instructions from the
Council whenever there is a risk of the objectives not being achieved, of
the deadlines or financial ceilings being exceeded, or in the event of
major changes to programmes;
(b) negotiate the agreements referred to in Article 2 of the Convention,
within the framework of the directives issued by the Council.
Article 3
The Director General shall draw up and submit for the Council’s approval,
the Contract Regulations relating to:
(a) the letting of contracts for the supply of goods and services to the
Organisation;
(b) the supply of goods and services by the Organisation;
(c) the sale or disposal of surplus assets.
Article 4
The Director General shall draw up, and submit for the Council’s approval,
the Financial Regulations, which shall determine, in particular, the conditions
governing payment of national contributions, as well as the terms on which loans
may be raised by the Agency, and will ensure proper financial management,
including internal audit.
Article 5
1. Without prejudice to the right of the Contracting Parties to submit proposals,
                          EUROCONTROL [ CAP. 333.        27
the Director General shall draw up and submit for the Council’s approval, the
Agency’s Staff Regulations:
(a) they shall include, in particular, provisions relating to the nationality of
personnel, selection and recruitment procedures and principles, salary
scales, pensions, internal tax, disqualification for office, professional
secrecy and continuity of the service;
(b) the Agency’s staff shall be recruited from among nationals of the
Contracting Parties. Personnel from non-Contracting States may be
employed pursuant to the agreements provided for in Article 2.3 of the
Convention, or in exceptional cases by duly substantiated decision of
the Director General.
2. The Administrative Tribunal of the International Labour Organisation shall
have sole jurisdiction in disputes between the Organisation and the personnel of the
Agency, to the exclusion of the jurisdiction of all other courts and tribunals, national
or international.
Article 6
1. The Director General shall be appointed for a term of office of five years by
the General Assembly by a majority of the votes cast, on condition that the said
majority attains three-quarters of the weighted votes cast according to the weighting
provided for in Article 11 of the Convention and at least three-quarters of the
Contracting Parties casting a vote. His/her term of office may be renewed once in the
same manner. The Statute of the Director General shall be approved by the Council.
2. The Director General shall represent the Organisation in legal proceedings
and for all civil purposes.
3. Furthermore, in conformity with the policies adopted by the General
Assembly and the Council, the Director General:
(a) may appoint the staff and may terminate their services in accordance
with the Staff Regulations; appointments to Grade A1 and A2 functions
for a term of office of five years normally, renewable once, shall be
subject to approval by the Council;
(b) may borrow money in accordance with the Financial Regulations and
within the limits determined for that purpose by the Council;
(c) may enter into contracts in accordance with the Contract Regulations
referred to in Article 3 and within the limits determined for that purpose
by the Council;
(d) shall draw up and submit for the Council’s approval the Regulation on
data protection provided for in Article 7.2(l) of the Convention;
(e) shall draw up and submit for the Council’s approval the rules and
procedures applicable to standards, specifications and practices for air
traffic management systems and services.
4. The Director General may discharge the aforesaid functions without prior
reference to the Council, but he/she shall keep the Council informed of all measures
taken in the exercise of the aforesaid powers.
5. The Council shall determine the conditions under which a substitute for the
Director General may be appointed should he/she be unable to perform his/her
duties.
  28      CAP. 333. ]                EUROCONTROL
Article 7
1. The Budget shall be balanced as between receipts and expenditure.
Estimates of all receipts and expenditure of the Agency shall be prepared for
each financial year.
2. The financial year shall begin on 1 January and end on 31 December.
3. The draft budget and draft five-year financial plan shall be submitted by the
Director General for the approval of the Council not later than 31 October of the
preceding year.
Article 8
1. The Organisation may borrow on the international financial markets in order
to obtain the necessary resources for the accomplishment of its tasks.
2. The Organisation may issue loans on the financial markets of a Contracting
Party in accordance with national law relating to internal loans, or, in the absence of
such law, with the agreement of the Contracting Party.
3. The Financial Regulations shall determine the procedures by which the
Organisation raises and repays loans.
4. Each budget and each five-year financial plan shall specify the maximum
amount which the Organisation may borrow during the years covered by that budget
and the five-year financial plan.
5. In matters falling within the scope of this article, the Organisation shall act
in agreement with the competent authorities of the Contracting Parties or with their
banks of issue.
Article 9
The budget and the five-year financial plan may be revised during the
financial year, if circumstances so require, in accordance with the requirements
prescribed for their preparation and approval.
Article 10
1. The accounts of all the Agency budgetary receipts and expenditure, and the
Agency’s financial management, shall be audited annually by an Audit Board.
2. The Audit Board shall be assisted in its work by external consultant
auditors. The outside firm of consultant auditors shall be appointed by the Council
for a three-year term in accordance with Article 7.2(f) of the Convention.
3. The purpose of the audit carried out by the Audit Board, with the assistance
of external consultant auditors, shall be to establish the regular nature of receipts and
expenditure and to ensure sound financial management. The Audit Board shall
submit to the Council at the close of each financial year a report incorporating the
Agency’s comments. The Council may direct the Agency to take any appropriate
measures recommended in the audit report, in pursuance of Article 7.2(a) of the
Convention.
4. The Audit Board shall ensure that an appropriate internal control mechanism
is put in place within the Agency, which is in line with sound corporate practice and
management.
5. The Audit Board may review other financial issues relating to the Agency in
line with its Terms of Reference.
                          EUROCONTROL [ CAP. 333.        29
Article 11
1. Administrative or technical inspections of the services of the Agency may be
carried out, if so required by the Council, acting either on its own initiative or at the
request of the Director General.
2. Such inspections shall be made by officers of the administrations of the
Contracting Parties, with external assistance if required. Each inspection committee
shall consist of at least two persons of different nationalities and should include as
far as possible a person who has taken part in a previous inspection.
Article 12
The Council shall determine the working languages of the Agency.
Article 13
The Agency shall issue the publications necessary for its operation.
Article 14
All draft amendments of the Statute shall be submitted for the approval of
the General Assembly pursuant to the provisions of Article 6.1(d) of the Convention.
ANNEX II
FLIGHT INFORMATION REGIONS
Federal Republic of Germany
Berlin Upper Flight Information Region
Hannover Upper Flight Information Region
Rhein Upper Flight Information Region
Bremen Flight Information Region
Düsseldorf Flight Information Region
Frankfurt Flight Information Region
München Flight Information Region
Berlin Flight Information Region
Republic of Austria
Wien Flight Information Region
Kingdom of Belgium - Grand Duchy of Luxembourg
Bruxelles Upper Flight Information Region
Bruxelles Flight Information Region
Republic of Bulgaria
Sofia Flight Information Region
Varna Flight Information Region
Republic of Cyprus
Nicosia Flight Information Region
Republic of Croatia
Zagreb Flight Information Region
  30      CAP. 333. ]                EUROCONTROL
Kingdom of Denmark
København Flight Information Region
Kingdom of Spain
Madrid Upper Flight Information Region
Madrid Flight Information Region
Barcelona Upper Flight Information Region
Barcelona Flight Information Region
Islas Canarias Upper Flight Information Region
Islas Canarias Flight Information Region
French Republic - Principality of Monaco (*)
France Upper Flight Information Region
Paris Flight Information Region
Brest Flight Information Region
Bordeaux Flight Information Region
Marseille Flight Information Region (*)
Reims Flight Information Region
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
Scottish Upper Flight Information Region
Scottish Flight Information Region
London Upper Flight Information Region
London Flight Information Region
Hellenic Republic
Athinai Upper Flight Information Region
Athinai Flight Information Region
Republic of Hungary
Budapest Flight Information Region
Ireland
Shannon Upper Flight Information Region
Shannon Flight Information Region
Shannon Oceanic Transition Area enclosed by the following co ordinates:
51° North 15° West, 51° North 8° West, 48° 30' North 8° West, 49° North 15° West,
51° North 15° West at and above FL55
Italian Republic
Milano Upper Flight Information Region
Roma Upper Flight Information Region
Brindisi Upper Flight Information Region
Milano Flight Information Region
Roma Flight Information Region
                          EUROCONTROL [ CAP. 333.        31
Brindisi Flight Information Region
Republic of Malta
Malta Flight Information Region
Kingdom of Norway
Oslo Upper Flight Information Region
Stavanger Upper Flight Information Region
Trondheim Upper Flight Information Region
Bodø Upper Flight Information Region
Oslo Flight Information Region
Stavanger Flight Information Region
Trondheim Flight Information Region
Bodø Flight Information Region
Bodø Oceanic Flight Information Region
Kingdom of the Netherlands
Amsterdam Flight Information Region
Portuguese Republic
Lisboa Upper Flight Information Region
Lisboa Flight Information Region
Santa Maria Flight Information Region
Romania
Bucuresti Flight Information Region
Slovak Republic
Bratislava Flight Information Region
Republic of Slovenia
Ljubljana Flight Information Region
Kingdom of Sweden
Malmö Upper Flight Information Region
Stockholm Upper Flight Information Region
Sundsvall Upper Flight Information Region
Malmö Flight Information Region
Stockholm Flight Information Region
Sundsvall Flight Information Region
Swiss Confederation
Switzerland Upper Flight Information Region
Switzerland Flight Information Region
Czech Republic
Praha Flight Information Region
  32      CAP. 333. ]                EUROCONTROL
Republic of Turkey
Ankara Flight Information Region
Istanbul Flight Information Region
ANNEX III
TAX PROVISIONS
Article 1
1. Without prejudice to the exonerations provided for in Articles 22 and 23 of
the Convention, when the Organisation in the exercise of its official activities makes
substantial acquisitions of property or employs services of substantial value in
respect of which indirect duties, taxes or charges (including such duties, taxes or
charges levied on importation other than those referred to in Article 23.1 of the
Convention) have been paid or are payable, the Governments of the Member States
shall, whenever possible, take appropriate action to offset the effect on the
Organisation of such duties, taxes or charges by means of an adjustment of the
financial contributions to the Organisation or by means of remission or of
reimbursement to the Organisation of the amount of the duties, taxes or charges.
2. With regard to payments by the Organisation to Member States in respect of
capital investments made by those States, in so far as the cost thereof is to be
refunded by the Organisation, the said States shall ensure that their statements of the
amounts in question submitted to the Organisation do not include duties, taxes or
charges from which the Organisation would have been exempt or which would be
refunded to it or which would be the subject of an adjustment of the financial
contributions to the Organisation if the Organisation had made those investments
itself.
3. The provisions of this Article shall not apply in respect of duties, taxes or
charges collected as payment for public utility services.
Article 2
Property acquired by the Organisation to which Article 1.1 applies may not
be sold or otherwise disposed of except in accordance with conditions laid down by
the Governments of the States concerned.
Article 3
1. The Director General of the Agency and the Staff members of the
Organisation shall be subject to a tax for the benefit of the Organisation on salaries
and emoluments paid by the Organisation in accordance with the rules and
conditions determined by the General Assembly. Such salaries and emoluments shall
be exempt from national income tax.
The Member States may, however, take into account salaries and
emoluments exempted from national income tax when assessing the amount of the
tax payable on other income of those in receipt of the said salaries and emoluments.
2. Paragraph 1 shall not apply to pensions and annuities paid by the
Organisation.
3. The names, titles, addresses as well as remunerations and where appropriate
pensions of employees and former employees to whom the provisions of paragraphs
1 and 2 of the present article are applicable shall be communicated periodically to
the Member States.
                          EUROCONTROL [ CAP. 333.        33
Article 4
For the purpose of this Annex, the Organisation shall act in concert with the
relevant authorities of the Member States concerned.
Article 5
1. This Annex shall replace the Additional Protocol to the Convention signed
at Brussels on 6 July 1970, as amended by the Protocol signed at Brussels on 21
November 1978, both in turn amended by Article XXXVIII of the Protocol signed at
Brussels on 12 February 1981 amending the Convention.
2. Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph 1 above, obligations under
Article 3 of the Additional Protocol of 6 July 1970 shall remain binding until the
relevant claims and commitments have been fully discharged.
ANNEX IV
PROVISIONS RELATING TO THE COMMON ROUTE CHARGES SYSTEM
Article 1
The Contracting Parties agree to continue to administer a joint system for
the establishment, billing and collection of route charges as a single charge per flight
and to use for this purpose the services of EUROCONTROL.
Article 2
The Organisation shall establish, bill and collect the route charges levied on
users of en route air navigation services on a proposal from the Contracting Parties
participating in the common route charges system.
Article 3
In matters relating to route charges, the Council shall be the body
responsible for determining the arrangements for giving effect to the General
Assembly’s decisions in route charge matters and supervising the Agency’s tasks in
this field.
The Council shall  inter alia :
(a) prepare decisions for the General Assembly in route charge policy
matters;
(b) determine the unit of account in which route charges are expressed;
(c) determine, in accordance with decisions taken on the basis of Article
6.2 of the Convention, the conditions of application of the system,
including the conditions of payment, as well as the unit rates and tariffs
and the period during which they are to apply;
(d) approve reports relating to EUROCONTROL route charges activities;
(e) adopt the Financial Regulations applicable to the Route Charges
System;
(f) approve the budgetary annexes relating to EUROCONTROL route
charges activities.
Article 4
The route charges indicated on the bill issued by the Organisation shall
constitute a single charge due in respect of each flight, which shall constitute a
single claim by EUROCONTROL, payable at its Headquarters.
  34      CAP. 333. ]                EUROCONTROL
Article 5
1. The charge shall be payable by the person who was the operator of the
aircraft at the time when the flight was performed. The charge shall attach as a lien
to the aircraft which incurred the charge, irrespective of in whose hands it may be, if
the law of the Contracting Party concerned so permits.
2. Where an ICAO designator or any other recognised designator is used in
identification of the flight, EUROCONTROL may deem the operator to be the
aircraft operating agency to whom the ICAO designator was allocated or was in the
process of allocation at the time of the flight or identified in the filed flight plan or
identified by use of that ICAO or other recognised designator in communication with
air traffic control or by any other means.
3. If the identity of the operator is not known, the owner of the aircraft shall be
regarded as the operator unless he/she proves which other person was the operator.
4. The operator and the owner of the aircraft shall be jointly and severally
liable to pay the charge, if the law of the Contracting Party concerned so permits.
Article 6
1. Where the amount due has not been paid, measures may be taken to enforce
recovery, including detention and sale of aircraft, if the law of the Contracting Party
where the aircraft has landed so permits.
2. Measures may also include, at EUROCONTROL’s request, the review by a
Contracting Party or any competent body of the administrative authorisation
connected with air transport or air traffic management issued to a person liable to
pay the charge, if the relevant legislation so provides.
Article 7
1. Proceedings for recovery of the amount due shall be instituted either by
EUROCONTROL or, at EUROCONTROL’s request, by a Contracting Party, or by
any body authorised for that purpose by a Contracting Party.
2. Recovery shall be effected by judicial or administrative procedure.
3. Each Contracting Party shall inform EUROCONTROL of the procedures
applied in that State and of the competent courts, tribunals or administrative
authorities.
Article 8
Recovery proceedings shall be instituted in the territory of the Contracting
Party:
(a) where the debtor has his/her residence or registered office;
(b) where the debtor has a place of business, if neither his/her residence nor
his/her registered office is situated in the territory of a Contracting
Party;
(c) where, in the absence of the grounds of jurisdiction set out in sub-
paragraphs (a) and (b) above, the debtor has assets;
(d) where EUROCONTROL has its headquarters, in the absence of the
grounds of jurisdiction set out in sub-paragraphs (a) to (c) above.
Article 9
1. The provisions of Articles 5, 6, 7 and 8 shall not prevent any Contracting
Party, or any body authorised by a Contracting Party, acting at the request of
                          EUROCONTROL [ CAP. 333.        35
EUROCONTROL, from proceeding with the recovery of the amount due by the
detention and sale of aircraft in accordance with the administrative or judicial
procedure of the relevant Contracting Party.
2. The power so to detain and sell shall extend to the equipment, spare parts,
fuel, stores and documents of the aircraft detained or sold.
3. The validity and effect of detention and sale shall be determined by the law
of the Contracting Party where the detention has been effected.
Article 10
EUROCONTROL shall have the capacity to institute proceedings before the
competent courts, tribunals and administrative authorities of States not parties to the
Convention.
Article 11
The following decisions taken in a Contracting Party shall be recognised and
enforced in the other Contracting Parties:
(a) final decisions of a court or tribunal;
(b) decisions of an administrative authority which have been subject to
review by a court or tribunal, but are no longer so, either because the
court or tribunal has dismissed the appeal by a final decision, or because
the appeal has been withdrawn, or because the time for lodging the
appeal has expired.
Article 12
The decisions referred to in Article 11 shall not be recognised or enforced in
the following cases:
(a) if the court, tribunal or administrative authority of the Contracting Party
of origin was not competent in accordance with Article 8;
(b) if the decision is contrary to public policy of the Contracting Party
addressed;
(c) if the debtor did not receive notice of the decision of the administrative
authority or of the institution of the proceedings in sufficient time to
enable him/her to defend the case or to appeal to a court or a tribunal;
(d) if proceedings relating to the same route charges have been previously
instituted and are still pending before a court, tribunal or an
administrative authority of the Contracting Party addressed;
(e) if the decision is incompatible with a decision relating to the same route
charges given in the Contracting Party addressed;
(f) if the court, tribunal or administrative authority of the Contracting Party
of origin, in order to arrive at its decision, has decided a preliminary
question concerning the status or legal capacity of natural persons,
rights in property arising out of a matrimonial relationship, wills or
succession in a way that conflicts with a rule of the private international
law of the Contracting Party addressed, unless the same result would
have been obtained by the application of the rules of private
international law of that Contracting Party.
Article 13
The decisions referred to in Article 11, if enforceable in the Contracting
Party of origin, shall be enforced in accordance with the law of the Contracting Party
  36      CAP. 333. ]                EUROCONTROL
addressed. If necessary, an order of enforcement shall on request be issued by a
court, tribunal or an administrative authority of the Contracting Party addressed.
Article 14
1. The request shall be accompanied by:
(a) a certified copy of the decision;
(b) in the case of a decision of a court or tribunal rendered by default, the
original or a certified copy of a document establishing that notice of the
institution of the proceedings was duly served on the debtor;
(c) in the case of an administrative decision, a document establishing that
the requirements of Article 11 have been met;
(d) a document establishing that the decision is enforceable in the
Contracting Party of origin and that the debtor has received notice of the
decision in due time.
2. A duly certified translation of the documents shall be supplied if the court,
tribunal or administrative authority of the Contracting Party addressed so requires.
No legalisation or similar formality shall be required.
Article 15
1. The request can be rejected only for one of the reasons set forth in Article
12. In no case may the decision be reviewed on its merits in the Contracting Party
addressed.
2. The procedure for the recognition and enforcement of the decision shall be
governed by the law of the Contracting Party addressed insofar as the Convention
does not otherwise provide.
Article 16
The amount collected by EUROCONTROL shall be paid to the Contracting
Parties in accordance with the decisions of the Council.
Article 17
Where the claim is recovered by a Contracting Party, the amount collected
shall be paid without delay to EUROCONTROL, which shall proceed in accordance
with Article 16. The recovery costs incurred by that Contracting Party shall be
charged to EUROCONTROL.
Article 18
The competent authorities of the Contracting Parties shall co-operate with
EUROCONTROL in the establishment and collection of route charges.
Article 19
If the Council decides unanimously to abandon recovery of a charge, the
Contracting Parties concerned may take whatever action they deem fit. In such a
case, the provisions of the Convention relating to recovery and to recognition and
enforcement of decisions shall cease to apply.
