On the Ratification of the Agreement on the Introduction of Global Technical Regulations for Wheeled Vehicles, Equipment and Parts that can be Installed and/or Used on Wheeled Vehicles

Home / RLA / On the Ratification of the Agreement on the Introduction of Global Technical Regulations for Wheeled Vehicles, Equipment and Parts that can be Installed and/or Used on Wheeled Vehicles

The Law of the Republic of Kazakhstan dated January 11, 2011 No. 384-IV

To ratify the Agreement on the Introduction of Global Technical Regulations for Wheeled Vehicles, Equipment and Parts that Can be Installed and/or Used on Wheeled Vehicles, done in Geneva on June 25, 1998.

President of the Republic of Kazakhstan N. Nazarbayev

agreement ON THE INTRODUCTION OF GLOBAL TECHNICAL REGULATIONS FOR WHEELED VEHICLES, EQUIPMENT AND PARTS THAT CAN BE INSTALLED AND/OR USED ON WHEELED VEHICLES

THE PREAMBLE

THE CONTRACTING PARTIES, HAVING DECIDED to adopt an Agreement with the aim of initiating a process to stimulate the development of global technical regulations ensuring high levels of performance of wheeled vehicles, equipment and parts that can be installed and/or used on wheeled vehicles in the field of safety, environmental protection, energy efficiency and protection against theft; HAVING DECIDED that such a process should also facilitate the harmonization of existing technical regulations, recognizing the right of supranational, national and regional authorities to adopt and update technical regulations in the field of health, safety, environment, efficient use of energy and protection against theft, which are more stringent than the rules introduced at the global level; AUTHORIZED Enter into such an Agreement in accordance with paragraph 1 (a) of the UNECE Terms of Reference and Rule 50 contained in Chapter XIII of the UNECE Rules of Procedure; RECOGNIZING that this Agreement does not prejudice the rights and obligations of the Contracting Party in accordance with existing international agreements in the field of health, safety and the environment; RECOGNIZING that this Agreement is without prejudice to the rights and obligations of a Contracting Party under agreements within the World Trade Organization (WTO), including the Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT), and seeking to establish global technical regulations under this Agreement as the basis for its technical regulations in a manner consistent with these agreements; CONSIDERING IT DESIRABLE that the Contracting Parties to this Agreement use the global technical regulations introduced in accordance with this Agreement as the basis for their technical regulations; RECOGNIZING the importance of efforts to continuously improve and strive to ensure high levels of performance of wheeled vehicles, equipment and parts that can be installed and/or used on wheeled vehicles in the areas of safety, environmental protection, energy efficiency and anti-theft protection for public health, safety and well-being, and the potential the importance of the growing convergence of existing and future technical regulations and related standards for international trade, consumer choice and accessibility of products; RECOGNIZING that Governments have the right to strive for and practically achieve improvements in health, environment and safety, as well as to determine whether the global technical regulations introduced by this Agreement are appropriate to their needs; RECOGNIZING the important work already carried out in accordance with the 1958 Agreement work by agreement; RECOGNIZING the interest and experience existing in various geographical regions in relation to safety, environment, energy and anti-theft issues and methods of solving these problems, as well as the importance of this interest and experience for the development of global technical regulations in order to help achieve the goals of such improvement and minimize discrepancies; DESIRING to promote the adoption of the introduced global technical regulations in developing countries, taking into account the special problems and conditions in these countries, in particular in the least developed of them; DESIRING that the technical regulations applied by the Contracting Parties should be the subject of appropriate consideration on the basis of transparent procedures in the development of global technical regulations and that the results of a comparative analysis of advantages and cost-effectiveness should be taken into account; RECOGNIZING that the introduction of global technical regulations providing high levels of protection will encourage individual countries to understand that these regulations will provide the necessary protection and performance within their jurisdiction; RECOGNIZING the impact of the quality of automotive fuels on the effectiveness of environmental control of vehicles, human health and fuel efficiency; and RECOGNIZING that the use of transparent procedures is of particular importance for the development of global technical regulations in accordance with this Agreement and that this development process should be combined with the regulatory development processes carried out by the Contracting Parties to this Agreement; AGREED as follows:

ARTICLE 1

purpose

1.1. The purpose of this Agreement is to: 1.1.1. ensure a global process in which Contracting Parties from all regions of the world could jointly develop global technical regulations concerning the performance of wheeled vehicles, equipment and parts that can be installed and/or used on wheeled vehicles in the field of safety, environmental protection, efficient use of energy and protection against theft; 1.1.2. ensuring, when developing global technical regulations, proper and objective consideration of existing technical regulations applied by the Contracting Parties, as well as the UNECE Regulations; 1.1.3. ensuring, where appropriate, when developing global technical regulations, objective consideration of the assessment of best available technology, relative advantages and cost effectiveness; 1.1.4. ensuring transparency of procedures used in the development of global technical regulations. technical regulations; 1.1.5. achieving high levels of performance in the areas of safety, environmental protection, energy efficiency and anti-theft within the global community and ensuring that measures taken in accordance with this Agreement do not encourage or entail a reduction in these levels within the jurisdiction of the Contracting Parties, including at the supranational level; 1.1.6. reducing technical barriers to international trade through the harmonization of existing technical regulations applied by the Contracting Parties and the UNECE Regulations and the development of new global technical regulations governing the performance of wheeled vehicles, equipment and parts that can be installed and/or used on wheeled vehicles in the field of safety, environmental protection, efficient use of energy and protection against theft and meeting the goals of achieving high levels of safety and environmental protection, as well as other objectives listed above; and 1.1.7. ensuring that, in cases where alternative levels of mandatory requirements are needed to facilitate the regulatory activities of some countries, such needs are taken into account in the development and implementation of global technical regulations. 1.2. This Agreement should function in parallel with the 1958 Agreement without prejudice to the institutional autonomy of any of them.

ARTICLE 2 CONTRACTING PARTIES AND CONSULTATIVE STATUS

2.1. The Contracting Parties to this Agreement may be countries that are members of the Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE), regional economic integration organizations established by the member countries of the EEC, and countries admitted to participate in the work of the EEC with consultative status in accordance with paragraph 8 of the Regulations on the Terms of Reference of the EEC. 2.2. The Contracting Parties to this Agreement may be countries that are Members of the United Nations and participate in certain types of ECE activities in accordance with paragraph 11 of the Regulation on the Terms of Reference of the ECE, and regional economic integration organizations established by such countries. 2.3. Any specialized agency and any organization, including intergovernmental organizations and non-governmental organizations, which have been granted consultative status by the United Nations Economic and Social Council, may participate in that capacity in meetings of any working group when considering any issue of particular concern to that agency or organization.

ARTICLE 3 EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

3.1. The Executive Committee of this Agreement consists of representatives of the Contracting Parties, who meet in this capacity at least once a year. 3.2. The rules of Procedure of the Executive Committee are set out in Annex B to this Agreement. 3.3. The Executive Committee: 3.3.1. responsible for the implementation of this Agreement, including the identification of priority areas of activity in accordance with this Agreement; 3.3.2. Considers all recommendations and reports of the working groups concerning the introduction of global technical regulations in accordance with this Agreement; and 3.3.3. performs any other functions that may be necessary in accordance with this Agreement. 3.4. The Executive Committee has the right to make a final decision on the inclusion of the rules in the Compendium of Potential Global technical Regulations and to introduce global technical regulations in accordance with this Agreement. 3.5. In carrying out its function, the Executive Committee uses information from all relevant sources when it deems it necessary.

ARTICLE 4

CRITERIA FOR TECHNICAL REGULATIONS

4.1. Technical regulations included in accordance with Article 5 or introduced on the basis of Article 6 must meet the following criteria: 4.1.1. contain a clear description of wheeled vehicles, items of equipment and/or parts that can be installed and/or used on wheeled vehicles to which these rules apply; 4.1.2. contain requirements that: 4.1.2.1. ensure a high level of performance in the field of safety, environmental protection, efficient use of energy or theft protection; and 4.1.2.2. where appropriate, they are formulated in the form of performance characteristics rather than descriptive characteristics; 4.1.3. include: 4.1.3.1. the test method by which compliance with the regulations is to be determined; 4.1.3.2. where appropriate, for regulations included under Article 5, a clear description of the approval or certification marking and/or marks required for type approval and conformity of production, or the requirements for self-certification by the manufacturer; and 4.1.3.3. where applicable, the recommended minimum period for the development of new products, taking into account considerations of reasonableness and practicality, which the Contracting Party should establish before the entry into force of the compliance requirement. 4.2. Global technical regulations may specify alternative non-global levels of mandatory requirements or performance and appropriate test procedures when necessary to facilitate the regulatory activities of some countries, in particular developing countries.

ARTICLE 5

A COMPENDIUM OF POTENTIAL GLOBAL TECHNICAL REGULATIONS

5.1. A compendium of technical regulations of non-UNECE Contracting Parties is being created and updated, which may be considered for harmonization or adoption as global technical regulations (hereinafter referred to as the Compendium of Potential Regulations). 5.2. Inclusion of technical rules in the Compendium of Potential Rules

Any Contracting Party may submit to the Executive Committee a request for inclusion in the Compendium of Potential Regulations of any technical regulations that this Contracting Party has introduced, applies or adopted for future application. 5.2.1. The request referred to in paragraph 5.2 should contain: 5.2.1.1. a copy of such rules; 5.2.1.2. any available technical documentation on such rules, including documentation relating to the best available technology, relative advantages and cost-effectiveness; and 5.2.1.3. an indication of any known current or expected relevant international standards applied on a voluntary basis. 5.2.2. The Executive Committee shall consider all requests that meet the requirements of Article 4 and paragraph 5.2.1 of this article. Technical rules are included in the Compendium of Potential Rules, subject to a "yes" vote in accordance with paragraph 7.1 of Article 7 of Annex B. The documentation submitted together with the request for the inclusion of these rules is attached to the included technical rules. 5.2.3. The rules specified in the request shall be deemed to have been included by the Secretary General in the Compendium on the day of the decision by voting "for" in accordance with paragraph 5.2.2 of this Article. 5.3. Exclusion of technical rules from the Compendium of Potential Rules

The included technical rules are excluded from the Compendium of Potential Rules.: 5.3.1. or after the introduction into the Global Register of global technical regulations containing product requirements related to the same elements of performance or design characteristics as the technical regulations included in the Compendium; 5.3.2. either after the expiration of a five-year period after the inclusion of the rules based on this article and at the end of each subsequent five-year period, unless the Executive Secretary confirms by voting in favor in accordance with paragraph 7.1 of Article 7 of Annex B the inclusion of the technical rules in the Compendium of Potential Rules; or 5.3.3. in response to a written request from the Contracting Party at whose request the technical regulations were originally included. Such a request serves as the basis for the exclusion of the rules. 5.4. Availability of documents

All documents reviewed by the Executive Committee in accordance with this article must be publicly available.

ARTICLE 6

6.1. A register of global technical regulations developed and introduced on the basis of this article is being created and updated. This register is called the Global Register. 6.2. Introduction of global technical rules into the Global Register through the harmonization of existing rules

Any Contracting Party may submit a proposal for the development of harmonized global technical regulations concerning performance elements or design characteristics affected either by the technical regulations listed in the Compendium of Potential Regulations, or by any UNECE Regulations, or both. 6.2.1. The proposal referred to in paragraph 6.2 should contain: 6.2.1.1. an explanation of the purpose of the proposed global technical regulations; 6.2.1.2. a description or draft text of the proposed global technical regulations, if available.; 6.2.1.3. available documentation that may facilitate the analysis of the issues addressed in the report required in accordance with paragraph 6.2.4.2.1. of this Article; 6.2.1.4. a list of all technical regulations contained in the Compendium of Potential Regulations and any UNECE Regulations that relate to the same elements of performance or design characteristics that should be considered in the proposed global technical regulations; and 6.2.1.5. an indication of any known applicable relevant international standards applied on a voluntary basis. 6.2.2. Each proposal referred to in paragraph 6.2.1 of this Article shall be submitted to the Executive Committee. 6.2.3. The Executive Committee does not transmit to any of the working groups any proposals that, as it was determined, do not meet the requirements of Article 4 and paragraph 6.2.1 of this Article. He may refer all other proposals to the relevant working group. 6.2.4. When considering a proposal submitted to the working group for the development of global technical regulations based on harmonization, this working group uses transparent procedures to: 6.2.4.1. developing recommendations related to global technical regulations through: 6.2.4.1.1. taking into account the purpose of the proposed global technical regulations and the need to establish alternative levels of mandatory requirements or performance characteristics, 6.2.4.1.2. examining all technical regulations included in the Compendium of Potential Regulations and any UNECE Regulations relating to the same performance elements, 6.2.4.1.3. examining any documentation attached to the regulations specified in paragraph 6.2.4.1.2 of this Article, 6.2.4.1.4. to examine any existing functional equivalence assessments relevant to the consideration of the proposed global technical regulations, including assessments of relevant standards, 6.2.4.1.5. to verify that the global technical regulations being developed comply with the specified purpose of the regulations and the criteria set out in Article 4, and 6.2.4.1.6. appropriate consideration is given to the possibility of introducing technical regulations in accordance with the 1958 Agreement; 6.2.4.2. submits to the Executive Committee: 6.2.4.2.1. a written report containing his recommendation on global technical regulations, including all the technical data and information that were considered during the development of his recommendation, reflecting the course of his consideration of the information specified in paragraph 6.2.4.1 of this article, and justifying the need for his recommendations, including explaining the reasons for rejecting any alternative regulatory requirements and approaches considered, and 6.2.4.2.2. the text of any recommended global technical regulations. 6.2.5. The Executive Committee, using transparent procedures: 6.2.5.1. determines whether the recommendations concerning global technical regulations and the report are based on a sufficiently effective and thorough implementation of the measures specified in paragraph 6.2.4.1 of this Article. If the Executive Committee determines that the recommendations, report and/or text of the recommended global technical regulations, if any, do not meet the established requirements, it shall return the regulations and report to the working group for revision or revision; 6.2.5.2. Considers the possibility of introducing recommended global technical regulations in accordance with the procedures set out in paragraph 7.2 of Article 7 of Annex B. Rules are entered into the Global Register on the basis of a decision of the Executive Committee adopted by consensus by voting "for". 6.2.6. Global technical Regulations are considered to be entered into the Global Register on the day the Executive Committee makes this decision by consensus by voting "for". 6.2.7. After the introduction of the global technical regulations by the Executive Committee, the secretariat shall attach copies of all relevant documentation to these regulations, including the proposal submitted in accordance with paragraph 6.2.1. of this article, as well as the recommendations and report required by the provisions of paragraph 6.2.4.2.1. of this article. 6.3. Introduction of new global technical regulations in the Global Register

Any Contracting Party may submit a proposal for the development of new global technical regulations concerning elements of performance or design characteristics that are not affected by the technical regulations included in the Compendium of Potential Regulations or the UNECE Regulations. 6.3.1. the proposal referred to in paragraph 6.3 should contain: 6.3.1.1. an explanation of the purpose of the proposed new global technical regulations, based on, as far as possible, based on objective data; 6.3.1.2. a description or draft text of the proposed new global technical regulations, if available; 6.3.1.3. any available documentation that may facilitate the analysis of the issues addressed in the report required in accordance with paragraph 6.3.4.2.1 of this article; and 6.3.1.4. an indication of any known applicable relevant international standards applied on a voluntary basis. 6.3.2. Each proposal referred to in paragraph 6.3.1 of this Article shall be submitted to the Executive Committee. 6.3.3. The Executive Committee does not transmit to any of the working groups any proposals that, as it was determined, do not meet the requirements of Article 4 and paragraph 6.3.1 of this Article. He may refer all other proposals to the relevant working group. 6.3.4. When considering a proposal submitted to the working group for the development of new global technical regulations, this working group uses transparent procedures to: 6.3.4.1. developing recommendations regarding new global technical regulations by: 6.3.4.1.1. consideration of the purpose of the proposed new global technical regulations and the need to establish alternative levels of mandatory requirements or performance characteristics, 6.3.4.1.2. consideration of technical feasibility, 6.3.4.1.3. consideration of economic justification, 6.3.4.1.4. consideration of advantages, including the advantages of any alternative regulatory requirements and approaches considered, 6.3.4.1.5. comparing the potential of the recommended rules in terms of cost effectiveness compared to the alternative regulatory requirements and approaches considered, 6.3.4.1.6. verifying the compliance of the new global technical rules being developed with the specified purpose of the rules and the criteria set out in Article 4, and 6.3.4.1.7. due consideration of the possibility of introducing technical rules in accordance with the 1958 Agreement; 6.3.4.2. submits to the Executive Board the Committee: 6.3.4.2.1. a written report containing its recommendation on new global technical regulations, including all the technical data and information that were considered during the development of its recommendation, reflecting the review of the information specified in paragraph 6.3.4.1 of this article and justifying the need for its recommendations, including explaining the reasons for rejecting any alternative regulatory requirements and approaches considered, and 6.3.4.2.2 the text of any recommended new global technical regulations. 6.3.5. The Executive Committee, using transparent procedures: 6.3.5.1. determines whether the recommendations concerning the new global technical regulations and the report are based on a sufficiently effective and thorough implementation of the measures specified in paragraph 6.3.4.1 of this Article. If the Executive Committee determines that the recommendations, report and/or text of the recommended new global technical regulations, if any, do not meet the established requirements, it shall return the regulations and report to the working group for revision or revision; 6.3.5.2. Considers the possibility of adopting the recommended new global technical regulations in accordance with the procedures set out in paragraph 7.2 of Article 7 of Annex B. The Regulations are entered into the Global Register on the basis of a decision of the Executive Committee adopted by consensus by voting in favor. 63.6 Global Technical Regulations are considered to have been entered into the Global Register on the day the Executive Committee makes this decision by consensus by voting "for". 6.3.7. After the introduction of new global technical regulations by the Executive Committee, the secretariat shall attach copies of all relevant documentation to these regulations, including the proposal submitted in accordance with paragraph 6.3.1 of this article, as well as the recommendations and report required in accordance with paragraph 6.3.4.2.1 of this article. 6.4. Amendments to global technical regulations

The procedures for amending any global technical regulations entered into the Global Registry in accordance with this article are specified in paragraph 6.3 of this Article in connection with the introduction of new global technical regulations into the Global Registry. 6.5. Access to documents

All documents reviewed or collected by the working group in the process of submitting recommendations on global technical regulations in accordance with this article should be publicly available.

ARTICLE 7

ADOPTION AND NOTIFICATION OF THE APPLICATION OF THE INTRODUCED GLOBAL TECHNICAL REGULATIONS

7.1. Any Contracting Party voting for the introduction of global technical regulations in accordance with Article 6 of this Agreement is obliged to submit technical regulations within the framework of the procedure used by that Contracting Party to incorporate such technical regulations into its legislation or regulations, and seeks an immediate final decision. 7.2. Any Contracting Party that incorporates the introduced global technical regulations into its legislation or regulations shall notify the Secretary-General in writing of the date on which it will begin to apply these regulations. This notification is sent within 60 days after its decision to include these rules. If the global technical regulations introduced contain more than one level of mandatory requirements or performance characteristics, the notification shall indicate which of these levels of mandatory requirements or performance characteristics have been selected by this Contracting Party. 7.3. The Contracting Party referred to in paragraph 7.1 of this Article and deciding not to include the introduced global technical regulations in its legislation or regulations, shall notify the Secretary General in writing of its decision and the grounds for its adoption. This notification is sent within sixty (60) days from the date of the decision. 7.4. Any Contracting Party referred to in paragraph 7.1 of this Article, which, by the end of one year after the date of entry of the rules into the Global Registry, either has not adopted these technical rules or has decided not to include the rules in its legislation or regulations, shall submit a report on the status of these rules in its internal procedures. A status report is provided for each subsequent annual period if none of these actions have been taken by the end of this period. Each report required in accordance with this paragraph: 7.4.1. includes a description of the steps taken during the past year to submit the rules, contains the final decision and indicates the expected date of such decision; and 7.4.2. is submitted to the Secretary General no later than 60 days after the end of the annual period for which the report is submitted. 7.5. Any Contracting Party that allows the use of products that comply with the requirements of the established global technical regulations, without including these regulations in its legislation or regulations, shall notify the Secretary-General in writing of the date from which it began to allow such products for use. This Contracting Party shall provide notification within sixty (60) days after the start of their admission to use. If the global technical regulations introduced contain more than one level of mandatory requirements or performance characteristics, the notification indicates which of these levels of mandatory requirements or performance characteristics are selected by this Contracting Party. 7.6. Any Contracting Party that has incorporated the introduced global technical regulations into its legislation or regulations may decide to cancel or amend the adopted regulations. Before making such a decision, this Contracting Party must notify the Secretary-General in writing of its intention and the reason for these actions. This notification provision also applies to a Contracting Party that has approved the use of a product in accordance with paragraph 7.5, but intends to terminate the approval of such products. The Contracting Party shall notify the Secretary-General of its decision to adopt any such regulations within 60 days of such decision. In appropriate cases, this Contracting Party shall immediately provide the other Contracting Parties, upon their request, with copies of the amended Regulations or new regulations.

ARTICLE 8

DISPUTE RESOLUTION

8.1. Issues related to the provisions of the introduced global technical regulations are referred to the Executive Committee for resolution. 8.2. Disputes between two or more Contracting Parties concerning the interpretation or application of this Agreement shall be resolved, if possible, through consultations or negotiations between them. If the disputes cannot be resolved in this way, the Contracting Parties concerned may decide to request the Executive Committee to resolve the dispute in accordance with the procedure set out in paragraph 7.3 of Article 7 of Annex B.

ARTICLE 9

ACQUISITION OF THE STATUS OF A CONTRACTING PARTY

9.1. The countries and regional economic integration organizations referred to in Article 2 may become Contracting Parties to this Agreement by: 9.1.1. signatures without reservation of ratification, acceptance or approval; 9.1.2. signatures with reservation of ratification, acceptance or approval after ratification, acceptance or approval; 9.1.3. acceptance; or 9.1.4. accession. 9.2. The instrument of ratification, acceptance, approval or accession shall be deposited with the Secretary General. 9.3. Upon acquiring the status of a Contracting Party: 9.3.1. After the entry into force of this Agreement, each country or regional economic integration organization shall submit a notification in accordance with Article 7 regarding which (which) of the global technical regulations introduced on the basis of Article 6 it will adopt, if it intends to adopt them, as well as any decision to adopt products that comply with any of these global technical regulations, without including these regulations in their legislation or regulations. If the global technical regulations introduced contain more than one level of mandatory requirements or performance characteristics, the notification shall indicate which of these levels of mandatory requirements or performance characteristics is accepted or approved by the Contracting Party; 9.3.2. Each regional economic integration organization declares in matters of its competence that its member States have delegated powers in the areas covered by this Agreement, including the authority to make decisions binding on its member States. 9.4. Regional economic integration organizations that are Contracting Parties shall lose their status as a Contracting Party after the withdrawal of the powers declared in accordance with paragraph 9.3.2 of this Article and shall inform the Secretary General thereof.

ARTICLE 10

SIGNING

10.1. This Agreement is open for signature starting from June 25, 1998. 10.2. This Agreement remains open for signature until its entry into force.

ARTICLE 11

ENTRY INTO FORCE

11.1. This Agreement and its annexes, which are integral parts of the Agreement, shall enter into force on the thirtieth (30) day after the date on which at least five (5) countries and/or regional economic integration organizations become Contracting Parties in accordance with Article 9. This minimum number of five (5) Contracting Parties should include the European Community, the United States of America and Japan. 11.2. However, if the provisions of paragraph 11.1 of this Article are not fulfilled within fifteen (15) months after the date specified in paragraph 10.1, then this Agreement and its annexes, which are integral parts of the Agreement, shall enter into force on the thirtieth (30) day after the date when at least eight (8) countries and/or regional economic integration organizations will become Contracting Parties in accordance with Article 9. This must not happen earlier than sixteen (16) months after the date specified in clause 10.1. At least one (1) of these eight (8) Contracting Parties must be either the European Community, the United States of America, or Japan. 11.3. For any country or regional economic integration organization that becomes a Contracting Party to the Agreement after its entry into force, this Agreement shall enter into force sixty (60) days after the date on which such country or regional economic integration organization deposits its instrument of ratification, acceptance, approval or accession.

ARTICLE 12

WITHDRAWAL FROM THE AGREEMENT

12.1. Any Contracting Party may withdraw from this Agreement by written notification to the Secretary General. 12.2. The decision on withdrawal of any Contracting Party from this Agreement shall enter into force one year after the date of receipt by the Secretary General of the notification in accordance with paragraph 12.1 of this Article.

ARTICLE 13

AMENDMENT OF THE AGREEMENT

13.1. Any Contracting Party may propose amendments to this Agreement and annexes to this Agreement. The proposed amendments shall be forwarded to the Secretary-General, who shall transmit them to all Contracting Parties. 13.2. The proposed amendment transmitted in accordance with paragraph 13.1 of this Article shall be considered by the Executive Committee at its next scheduled meeting. 13.3. If the Contracting Parties present and voting decide by consensus to introduce an amendment, it shall be forwarded by the Executive Committee to the Secretary-General, who shall then circulate the amendment to all Contracting Parties. 13.4. An amendment circulated in accordance with paragraph 13.3 of this Article shall be deemed to have been accepted by all Contracting Parties if none of the Contracting Parties objects to it within six (6) months after the date of its circulation. If no such objection is expressed, the amendment shall enter into force for all Contracting Parties three (3) months after the expiration of the six-month (6) period referred to in this paragraph. 13.5. The Secretary-General shall notify all Contracting Parties as soon as possible of any objection to the proposed amendment. If an objection is raised to the proposed amendment, it is considered rejected and has no effect.

ARTICLE 14

THE DEPOSITORY

The Secretary-General of the United Nations is the depositary of this Agreement. In addition to other functions of the depositary, the Secretary General shall notify the Contracting Parties as soon as possible of: 14.1. the inclusion or exclusion of technical regulations in accordance with Article 5; 14.2. the introduction of global technical regulations or amendments to them in accordance with Article 6; 14.3. notifications received in accordance with Article 7; 14.4. signatures, acceptances and accessions in accordance with Articles 9 and 10; 14.5. notifications received in accordance with Article 9; 14.6. dates of entry into force of this Agreement for the Contracting Parties in accordance with Article 11; 14.7. notifications of withdrawal from this Agreement received in accordance with Article 12; 14.8. date of entry into force of any amendment to this Agreement in accordance with Article 13; 14.9. notifications received in accordance with article 15 in respect of Territories.

ARTICLE 15

EXTENSION OF THE AGREEMENT TO THE TERRITORY

15.1. This Agreement applies to the territory or territories of any Contracting Party for whose foreign relations such Contracting Party is responsible, unless the Contracting Party declares otherwise prior to the entry into force of the Agreement for that Contracting Party. 15.2. Any Contracting Party may denounce this Agreement separately for any such territory or territories in accordance with Article 12.

ARTICLE 16

THE SECRETARIAT

The Executive Secretary of the UNECE is the secretariat of this Agreement. The Executive Secretary performs the following functions of secretarial services: 16.1. prepares Meetings of the Executive Committee and Working Groups; 16.2. transmits to the Contracting Parties reports and other information received in accordance with the provisions of this Agreement; and 16.3. Performs the functions defined by the Executive Committee.

Appendix A

Definitions

For the purposes of this Agreement, the following definitions apply: 1. With respect to global technical regulations developed in accordance with this Agreement, the term "allow" means the decision of a Contracting Party to allow products meeting the requirements of global technical regulations on its market without including these global technical regulations in its legislation and regulations. 2. With respect to global technical regulations developed in accordance with this Agreement, the term "incorporate" means the introduction of global technical regulations into the legislation and regulations of a Contracting Party. 3. With respect to global technical regulations developed in accordance with this Agreement, the term "apply" means a decision on the need for a Contracting Party to comply with global technical regulations from a specific date; in other words, the date of application of the regulations within the jurisdiction of the Contracting Party. 4. The term "article" means the article of this Agreement. 5. The term "consensus voting" means a vote on an issue during which none of the Contracting Parties present and voting expresses an objection to the issue under consideration in accordance with paragraph 7.2 of Article 7 of Annex B. 6. The term "Contracting Party" means any country or regional economic integration organization that is a Contracting Party. this Agreement. 7. The term "items of equipment and parts that can be installed and/or used on wheeled vehicles" means items of equipment or parts whose characteristics are relevant to performance, safety, environmental protection, energy efficiency, or theft protection. Such items of equipment and parts include, but are not limited to, exhaust systems, tires, engines, acoustic safety devices, anti-theft alarm devices, warning alarm devices, and child restraint systems. 8. The term "global technical regulations introduced" means global technical regulations entered into the Global Register in accordance with this Agreement. 9. The term "included technical regulations" means national or regional technical regulations that have been entered into the Compendium of Potential Regulations in accordance with this Agreement. 10. The term "manufacturer's self-certification" means a legal requirement provided for by the legislation of a Contracting Party, according to which the manufacturer of wheeled vehicles, items of equipment and/or parts that can be installed and/or used on wheeled vehicles must certify that each vehicle, item of equipment or part that this manufacturer produces in accordance with sales, meets specific technical requirements. 11. The term "regional economic integration organization" means an organization established by and composed of sovereign countries that has competence in matters covered by this Agreement, including the authority to make binding decisions on these issues for all its member countries. 12. The term "Secretary-General" means the Secretary-General of the United Nations. 13. The term "transparent procedures" means procedures designed to facilitate public awareness of and participation in the process of developing regulations in accordance with this Agreement. These include; 1) notifications of meetings of the working Groups and the Executive Committee; and 2) working and final documents. They also include the opportunity to present their views and arguments at: 1) Working group meetings through organizations that have been granted consultative status.; and 2) meetings of the working Groups and the Executive Committee through prior consultations with representatives of the Contracting Parties prior to the meetings. 14. The term "type approval" means a written confirmation by a Contracting Party (or a competent authority designated by a Contracting Party) that a vehicle and/or any piece of equipment and/or part that can be installed and/or used on a vehicle meets specific technical requirements and is used as a precondition for release. this vehicle, piece of equipment or part for sale. 15. The term "UNECE Regulations" means the Regulations of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe, adopted in accordance with the 1958 Agreement. 16. The term "working group" means a specialized technical subsidiary body of the ECE, whose function is to develop recommendations for the introduction of agreed or new global technical regulations for inclusion in the global register, and to consider amendments to global technical regulations introduced in the Global Register. 17 The term "1958 Agreement" means the Agreement concerning the Adoption of Uniform Technical Prescriptions for Wheeled Vehicles, Equipment and Parts that can be Fitted and/or be Used on Wheeled Vehicles and the Conditions for the Mutual Recognition of Approvals Granted on the Basis of these Prescriptions.

Appendix B

COMPOSITION AND RULES OF PROCEDURE OF THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

Article 1

Only the Contracting Parties may be members of the Executive Committee.

Article 2

All Contracting Parties are members of the Executive Committee.

Article 3

3.1. With the exception of the cases provided for in paragraph 3.2 of this Article, each Contracting Party shall have one vote. 3.2. If one regional economic integration organization and one or more of its member States are Contracting Parties to this Agreement, the regional economic integration organization shall exercise its right to vote in matters within its competence by a number of votes equal to the number of its member States that are Contracting Parties to this Agreement. Such an organization shall not exercise its right to vote if any of its member States exercises its right, and vice versa.

Article 4

Any Contracting Party must be represented in order to participate in the voting. The Contracting Party for which its regional economic integration organization votes does not necessarily have to be represented in the voting.

Article 5

5.1. A quorum of at least half of all Contracting Parties must be provided for the conduct of voting. 5.2. For the purposes of determining the quorum in accordance with this Article and determining the number of Contracting Parties necessary to ensure one third of the Contracting Parties present and voting, in accordance with paragraph 7.1 of Article 7 of this annex, the regional economic integration organization is considered one Contracting Party.

Article 6

6.1. At its first session each calendar year, the Executive Committee elects a Chairman and a Vice-Chairman from among its members. The Chairman and the Vice-Chairman are elected by a two-thirds majority vote of all the Contracting Parties present and voting. 6.2. Both the Chairman and the Vice-Chairman should not be representatives of the same Contracting Party for more than two consecutive years. In any given year, both the Chairman and the Vice-Chairman should not represent the same Contracting Party.

Article 7

7.1. National or regional rules are included in the Compendium of Potential Rules either by voting "for" at least one third of all the Contracting Parties present and voting (as defined in Article 5.2 of this annex), or on the basis of one third of the total number of votes, depending on which of these indicators is in favor. it contributes more to the "yes" vote. In any case, one-third of the votes must include the vote of either the European Community, the United States of America, or Japan, if either of them is a Contracting Party. 7.2. The introduction of global technical regulations into the Global Register, amendments to the global technical regulations introduced and amendments to this Agreement shall be carried out by means of a consensus vote of the Contracting Parties present and voting. Any Contracting Party present and voting, expressing an objection on a matter requiring a consensus vote, shall submit a written explanation of the reason for its objection to the Secretary-General within sixty (60) days from the date of the vote. If such a Contracting Party does not provide such an explanation within this period, it is considered that it voted "yes" on the issue on which the vote was held. If all the Contracting Parties who objected to this issue do not provide such written explanations, it is assumed that all the persons present and participating in the voting voted in favor of this issue by consensus. In this case, the voting date is considered to be the first day after the expiration of this 60-day period. 7.3. All other issues requiring settlement may, at the discretion of the Executive Committee, be resolved through the voting procedure set out in paragraph 7.2 of this Article.

Article 8

Contracting Parties abstaining from voting shall be considered as not participating in the voting.

Article 9

The Executive Secretary shall convene the Executive Committee whenever a vote is required in accordance with Articles 5, 6 or 12 of this Agreement, or whenever any action is required in accordance with this Agreement.

I hereby certify that this text is a certified copy of the certified copy of the Agreement on the Introduction of Global Technical Regulations for Wheeled Vehicles, Equipment and Parts that Can be Installed and/or Used on Wheeled Vehicles, adopted in Geneva on June 25, 1998.

Head of the Department International Law Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan B. Piskorsky

The RCPI's note. The following is the text of the Agreement in English.

President

Republic of Kazakhstan

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