<КОНВЕНЦИЯ О МЕЖДУНАРОДНЫХ ПЕРЕВОЗКАХ ПО ЖЕЛЕЗНОЙ ДОРОГЕ (КОТИФ)> [англ.](Вместе с <ПРОТОКОЛОМ О ПРИВИЛЕГИЯХ И ИММУНИТЕТАХ МЕЖПРАВИТЕЛЬСТВЕННОЙ ОРГАНИЗАЦИИ ПО МЕЖДУНАРОДНОЙ ПЕРЕВОЗКЕ ПО...>, <ЕДИНЫМИ ПРАВИЛАМИ О ДОГОВОРЕ МЕЖДУНАРОДНОЙ ПЕРЕВОЗКИ ПАССАЖИРОВ И БАГАЖА ПО... (ЦИВ)>, <ЕДИНЫМИ ПРАВИЛАМИ О ДОГОВОРЕ МЕЖДУНАРОДНОЙ ПЕРЕВОЗКИ ГРУЗОВ ПО... (ЦИМ)> и <ПРАВИЛАМИ РИД, РИП, РИКО, РИЕКС>)(Заключена в г. Берне 09.05.1980)

[official translation] <1>
CONVENTION
CONCERNING INTERNATIONAL CARRIAGE BY RAIL (COTIF)
(Berne, 9.V.1980)
The Contracting Parties,
Meeting in accordance with Article 69, § 1 of the International Convention concerning the Carriage of Goods by Rail (CIM) <2> and of Article 64, § 1 of the International Convention concerning the Carriage of Passengers and Luggage by Rail (CIV) of 7 February 1970 <3> and in accordance with Article 27 of the Additional Convention to the CIV of 26 February 1966 relating to the Liability of the Railway for Death of and Personal Injury to Passengers, <4>
--------------------------------
<1> Translation supplied by the Government of Switzerland.
<2> United Nations, Treaty Series, vol. 1101, p. 164.
<3> Ibid., p. 340.
<4> Ibid., p. 82.
Convinced of the value of an international organisation,
Recognising the need to adapt the provisions of transport law to economic and technical requirements,
Have agreed as follows:
Title I. GENERAL PROVISIONS
Article 1
Intergovernmental Organisation
§ 1. The Parties to this Convention shall constitute, as Member States, the Intergovernmental Organisation for International Carriage by Rail (OTIF), hereinafter referred to as "the Organisation".
The headquarters of the Organisation shall be at Berne.
§ 2. The Organisation shall have legal personality. It shall in particular have the capacity to enter into contracts, to acquire and dispose of movable and immovable assets and to be a party to legal proceedings.
The Organisation, members of its staff, experts called in by it and representatives of Member States shall enjoy such privileges and immunities as are necessary to discharge their duties, subject to the conditions laid down in the Protocol annexed to the Convention, of which the Protocol shall form an integral part.
Relations between the Organisation and the State in which it has its headquarters shall be regulated by a Headquarters Agreement.
§ 3. The working languages of the Organisation shall be French and German.
Article 2
Aim of the Organisation
§ 1. The principal aim of the Organisation shall be to establish a uniform system of law applicable to the carriage of passengers, luggage and goods in international through traffic by rail between Member States, and to facilitate the application and development of this system.
§ 2. The system of law provided for in § 1 may also be applied to international through traffic using in addition to services on railway lines, land and sea services and inland waterways.
Article 3
CIV and CIM Uniform Rules
§ 1. Carriage in international through traffic shall be subject to:
- The "Uniform Rules concerning the Contract for International Carriage of Passengers and Luggage by Rail (CIV)", forming Appendix A to the Convention;
- The "Uniform Rules concerning the Contract for International Carriage of Goods by Rail (CIM)", forming Appendix B to the Convention.
§ 2. The lines or services referred to in Article 2, on which such carriage is undertaken, shall be included in two lists: a list of CIV lines and a list of CIM lines.
§ 3. The undertakings responsible for the services referred to in Article 2, § 2 and included in the lists, shall have the same rights and obligations as those arising for railways under the CIV and CIM Uniform Rules, subject to such derogations as result from the operating conditions peculiar to each mode of transport, which shall be published in the same form as the tariffs.
Nevertheless, the rules as to liability may not be made the subject of derogations.
§ 4. The CIV and CIM Uniform Rules, including their Annexes, shall form an integral part of the Convention.
Article 4
Definition of the expression "Convention"
In the following texts the expression "Convention" covers the Convention itself, the Protocol referred to in Article 1, § 2, second sub-paragraph, and Appendices A and B including their Annexes, referred to in Article 3, § 1 and 4.
Title II. STRUCTURE AND FUNCTIONING
Article 5
Organs
The functioning of the Organisation shall be ensured by the following organs:
- General Assembly;
- Administrative Committee;
- Revision Committee;
- Committee of Experts for the Carriage of Dangerous Goods;
- Central Office for International Carriage by Rail (OCTI).
Article 6
General Assembly
§ 1. The General Assembly shall be composed of representatives of the Member States.
§ 2. The General Assembly shall:
(a) Establish its rules of procedure;
(b) Determine the composition of the Administrative Committee in accordance with Article 7, § 1;
(c) Issue directives concerning the work of the Administrative Committee and the Central Office;
(d) Fix, for five-year periods, the maximum figure for the annual expenditure of the Organisation, or issue directives relating to the limitation of that expenditure;
(e) Take decisions, in accordance with Article 19, § 2, on proposals to amend the Convention;
(f) Take decisions on applications for accession submitted to the General Assembly in accordance with Article 23, § 2;
(g) Take decisions on other questions placed on the agenda in accordance with § 3.
§ 3. The Central Office shall convene the General Assembly once every five years or at the request of one-third of the Member States, as well as in the cases provided for in Articles 19, § 2 and 23, § 2, and shall send the draft agenda to the Member States at least three months before the opening of the session.
§ 4. There shall be a quorum in the General Assembly when a majority of the Member States are represented there.
A Member State may arrange to be represented by another Member State; no State may however represent more than two other States.
§ 5. Decisions of the General Assembly shall be taken by a majority vote of the Member States represented at the time of the vote.
However, for the purposes of § 2, (d) and (e), in the latter case where there are proposals to amend the Convention itself or the Protocol, the majority shall be two-thirds.
§ 6. With the agreement of a majority of the Member States, the Central Office shall also invite non-Member States to attend sessions of the General Assembly in an advisory capacity.
With the agreement of a majority of the Member States, the Central Office shall invite international organisations concerned with transport matters or with problems which have been placed on the agenda to attend sessions of the General Assembly in an advisory capacity.
§ 7. Before sessions of the General Assembly and as directed by the Administrative Committee, the Revision Committee shall be convened for preliminary consideration of the proposals referred to in Article 19, § 2.
Article 7
Administrative Committee
§ 1. The Administrative Committee shall be composed of representatives of eleven Member States.
The Swiss Confederation shall have a permanent seat and shall assume the Chairmanship of the Committee. Other States shall be appointed for five years. The composition of the Committee shall be determined for each five-year period, having regard in particular to an equitable geographical distribution of seats. No Member State may sit on the Committee for more than two consecutive periods.
If a vacancy occurs, the Committee shall appoint another Member State for the remainder of the period.
Each Member State with a seat on the Committee shall appoint one delegate; it may also appoint an alternate.
§ 2. The Committee shall:
(a) Establish its rules of procedure;
(b) Conclude the Headquarters Agreement;
(c) Make regulations to govern the organisation, and functioning of the Central Office and the conditions of service of its staff;
(d) Appoint, taking account of the ability of the candidates and an equitable geographical distribution, the Director General, Deputy Director General, Counsellors and Assistant Counsellors of the Central Office. The Central Office shall inform the Member States in good time of any vacancy which may occur in those posts; the Swiss Government shall propose candidates for the posts of Director General and Deputy Director General;
(e) Exercise both administrative and financial control over the affairs of the Central Office;
(f) Ensure the correct application by the Central Office of the Convention and of decisions taken by the other organs; it shall, if necessary, recommend measures to be taken to facilitate the application of the Convention and of the decisions;
(g) Give reasoned opinions on questions which may affect the work of the Central Office and are submitted to the Committee by a Member State or by the Director General of the Central Office;
(h) Approve the Central Office"s annual programme of work;
(i) Approve the annual budget of the Organisation, the annual report and the annual accounts;
(j) Send to the Member States the annual report, the annual statement of accounts as well as of its decisions and recommendations;
(k) Prepare and send to the Member States, at least two months before the opening of the session of the General Assembly which is to decide the Committee"s composition, a report on its work and proposals as to how it should be reconstituted.
§ 3. Unless it decides otherwise, the Committee shall meet at the headquarters of the Organisation.
It shall hold two meetings each year; it shall also meet if the Chairman so decides or at the request of four of its Members.
The minutes of its meetings shall be sent to all Member States.
Article 8
Committees
§ 1. The Revision Committee and the Committee of Experts on the Carriage of Dangerous Goods, hereinafter called the "Committee of Experts", shall be composed of representatives of the Member States.
The Director General of the Central Office or his representative shall attend the meetings in an advisory capacity.
§ 2. The Revision Committee shall:
(a) Take decisions in accordance with article 19, § 3 on proposals to amend the Convention;
(b) Consider in accordance with article 6, § 7 proposals submitted to the General Assembly.
The Committee of Experts shall:
Take decisions in accordance with article 19, § 4 on proposals to amend the Convention.
§ 3. The Central Office shall convene the Committees either on its own initiative or at the request of five Member States, or in the case provided for in article 6, § 7, and shall send the draft agenda to the Member States at least two months before the opening of the meeting.
§ 4. There shall be a quorum in the Revision Committee when a majority of the Member States are represented there; there shall be a quorum in the Committee of Experts when one-third of the Member States are represented there.
A Member State may arrange to be represented by another Member State; no State may however represent more than two other States.
§ 5. Each Member State represented shall have one vote; voting shall take place by show of hands or, on request, by nominal vote.
A proposal shall be adopted if the number of votes in favour is:
(a) Equal to at least one-third of the number of Member States represented at the time of the vote;
(b) Greater than the number of votes against.
§ 6. With the agreement of a majority of the Member States the Central Office shall invite non-Member States, and international organisations having competence in transport matters or with problems which, have been, placed on the agenda, to attend meetings of the Committees in an advisory capacity. Under the same conditions, independent experts may be invited to meetings of the Committee of Experts.
§ 7. The Committees shall elect a Chairman and one or two Deputy Chairmen for each meeting.
§ 8. The proceedings shall be conducted in the working languages. The substance of what is said during a meeting in one of the working languages shall be translated into the other; proposals and decisions shall be translated in full.
§ 9. The minutes shall summarise the proceedings. Proposals and decisions shall be reproduced in full. With regard to decisions, the French text shall prevail.
Copies of the minutes shall be distributed to Member States.
§ 10. The Committees may appoint working groups to deal with specific questions.
§ 11. The Committees may establish their own rules of procedure.
Article 9
Central Office
§ 1. The Central Office for International Carriage by Rail shall provide the Secretariat of the Organisation.
§ 2. The Central Office shall, in particular,
(a) Carry out the duties entrusted to it by the other organs of the Organisation;
(b) Examine proposals to amend the Convention, if necessary with the assistance of experts;
(c) Convene the Committees;
(d) Send to Member States, in due time, the documents necessary for the meetings of the various organs;
(e) Maintain and publish the lists of lines provided for in article 3, § 2;
(f) Receive communications from the Member States and from transport undertakings, and communicate them, where appropriate, to the other Member States and other transport undertakings;
(g) Maintain and publish a card-index of legal precedents;
(h) Publish a periodical bulletin;
(i) Represent the Organisation in relations with other international organisations competent to deal with questions relevant to the aims of the Organisation;
(j) Draw up the Organisation"s draft annual budget and submit it to the Administrative Committee for approval;
(k) Manage the financial affairs of the Organisation within the limits of the approved budget;
(l) Endeavour, at the request of a Member State or transport undertaking, by using its good offices, to settle disputes between such States or undertakings arising from the interpretation or application of the Convention;
(m) Give, at the request of the parties concerned - Member States, transport undertakings or users - an opinion on disputes arising from the interpretation or application of the Convention;
(n) Collaborate in the settlement of disputes by arbitration in accordance with Title III;
(o) Facilitate, as between transport undertakings, financial relations arising from international traffic and the recovery of outstanding debts.
§ 3. The periodical bulletin shall contain the information necessary for the application of

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