WORLD TRADE G/TBT/Notif.97.615
7October 1997
ORGANIZATION
(97-4229)
Committee onTechnical Barriers toTrade
NOTIFICATION
Thefollowing notification isbeing circulated inaccordance withArticle 10.6.
1. Member toAgreement notifying: NETHERLANDS
Ifapplicable, name oflocalgovernment involved (Articles 3.2and7.2):
2. Agency responsible: Ministry ofJustice
Agency orauthority designated tohandle comments regarding thenotification canbe
indicated ifdifferent from above: National enquiry point
3. Notified under Article 2.9.2 [X],2.10.1 [],5.6.2 [],5.7.1 [],other:
4. Products covered (HSorCCCN where applicable, otherwise national tariff heading.
ICSnumbers maybeprovided inaddition, where applicable): Breathalysers, breath
testing devices, breath analysing devices
5. Title, number ofpages andlanguage(s) ofthenotified document: Decree Regarding
More Precise Rules ontheMeans ofImplementation ofArticle 28,First Paragraph, of
theMaritime Traffic Act(Decree onBreath Testing forInland Shipping)
6. Description ofcontent: TheMaritime Traffic Actforbids anyone whohandles orsteers
ashiptodosounder suchinfluence ofalcohol thathe/she isnolonger abletohandle
thevessel properly. Anyone suspected ofviolating thisprohibition isobliged totake
partinatestonexhaled breath. Thedraft Regulation named inpoint No.5laysdown
rules ontheperformance ofthistest(particularly withregard toprocedure, equipment
andcompetence requirements fordetection officials). TheDecree distinguishes two
types oftest:thesummary (provisional) breath test,andbreath analysis (toestablish the
precise alcohol content). Intheopinion oftheDutch Government, theDecree onbreath
testing forinland shipping presumably contains technical provisions within themeaning
oftheAgreement onTechnical Barriers toTrade. Anindicative summary ofthese
technical provisions isgiven below:
- Article 3:describes theequipment forthesummary breath test;
- Article 4:describes theequipment forthebreath analysis.
Both Articles fitinwiththerules which apply tothealcohol testing usedfor
road traffic. Thedescription inArticle 3isidentical tothedescription which the
Regulation onprovisional breath testsgives ofequipment which iscompulsory inroad
traffic forsuch(summary orprovisional) testing.
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6. Description ofcontent (cont'd):
Article 4makes direct reference totherequirements which arelaiddown for
breath analysing devices used forroad traffic onthebasis oftheDecree onBreath
Testing. These Regulations forroadtraffic havealready beennotified: theRegulation
onProvisional Breath Testing (including thedesignation ofequipment bytheCourt
Laboratory), theDecree onAlcohol Testing andtheRegulation onBreath Testing and
theRegulation onType-Designation ofBreath Analysis Equipment laiddown pursuant to
thatDecree.
7. Objective andrationale: ThedraftDecree wasdrawn upintheinterests ofmaintaining
public order, particularly intheinterests ofproper andreliable provision ofproof in
criminal proceedings. Thetechnical provisions named under point No.8apply without
distinction tobothnational andimported products. Forthebenefit offoreign products
which comply with therequirements laiddown inthecountry oforigin, Article 3,
second paragraph includes aprovision withregard tomutual recognition. Asfarasthe
equipment referred toinArticle 4isconcerned, aprovision ofthiskindisincluded in
Article 24oftheDecree onAlcohol Testing.
8. Relevant documents:
- ExplanatorynotetotheoriginalDecreeonbreathtestingininternalshipping;
- Articles 27and28oftheMaritime Shipping Act;
- Decree onAlcohol Testing;
- Regulation onBreath Testing;
- Regulation onType Designation ofBreath Testing Equipment;
- Regulation onProvisional Breath Testing andthecommunication based thereon
oftheCourt Laboratory ondesignation ofbreath testing devices.
9. Proposed dateofadoption: 19November 1997
Proposed dateofentry intoforce: 20November 1997
10. Final dateforcomments: 18November 1997
TheNetherlands willproceed toimplement theproposed measure after45days
ifnocomments orrequests forextension ofthetime-limit havebeenreceived fromother
Members within thattime.
11. Texts available from: National enquiry point [X]oraddress andtelefax number ofother
body: