Convention on the International Commission for the Protection of the Oder
Date: 1996-04-11
Institutions: Czechia, European Community, Germany, Poland
Subjects: Poland, environmental cooperation, international convention, pollution control measures, pollution of waterways, watercourse

15. 4. 1999

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Official Journal of the European Communities

L 100/21

TRANSLATION

CONVENTION

on the International Commission for the Protection of the Oder

THE GOVERNMENT OF THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF GERMANY,

THE GOVERNMENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF POLAND,

THE GOVERNMENT OF THE CZECH REPUBLIC, AND

THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITY,

Hereinafter referred to as ‘the contacting parties',

CONVINCED of the need to improve the ecological state of the Oder and the Stettiner Haff, including their
drainage areas,

DESIROUS of preventing further pollution of these waters,

RESOLVED to contribute to a sustained reduction of pollution of the Baltic Sea,

CONVINCED of the urgency of these tasks,

DESIROUS of increasing the cooperation that already exists between the contracting parties in this area,

HAVE AGREED THE FOLLOWING:

Article 1

modern technologies to prevent and reduce pollution
resulting from agreements concluded under civil law.

1.
The Contracting Parties shall cooperate within the
International Commission for the Protection of the Oder
against Pollution, hereinafter referred to as ‘the Commis-
the Oder and the
the pollution of
sion',
Stettiner Haff, including their drainage areas, hereinafter
referred to as ‘the Oder'.

to prevent

The objectives of this cooperation shall be in partic-

2.
ular:

(a) to prevent the pollution of the Oder and the Baltic
Sea by contaminants and to achieve a sustained reduc-
tion in the pollution thereof;

(b) to achieve the most natural aquatic and littoral ecosys-
tems possible with the corresponding species diver-
sity;

(c) to permit utilisation of the Oder, in particular the
production of drinking water from bank filtrate and
the use of its water and sediments in agriculture.

To achieve objectives, the Contracting Parties shall
3.
draw up joint action programmes within the Commission
with timetables for their implementation. These action
programmes may be gradually supplemented as necessary.

Article 2

1.

The Commission shall in particular:

(a) prepare surveys of point sources of pollution, estimate
water pollution from non-point sources and extrapo-
late both by sector and the main types of pollution;

(b) propose limit values for the discharge of waste waters;

(c) propose water quality objectives which take account of
the intended use of the waters and the particular
conditions for protection of the Baltic Sea and the
aquatic and littoral ecosystems;

(d) establish joint measurement and analysis programmes
to demonstrate the quality and quantity of the waters
and the quality of the sediments, to assess the state of
the aquatic and littoral ecosystems and, where neces-
sary, to evaluate the consequences of the water pollu-
tion, and to evaluate the results;

(e) develop standardised methods for the classification of

the waters;

For

4.
Contracting Parties

the

attainment

of

the
shall promote the exchange of

objectives,

these

(f) analyse data and information necessary for the protec-
in particular with regard to

tion of
hydrology and water resource management;

the Oder,

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Official Journal of the European Communities

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for

(g) propose action programmes

the reduction of
pollution, especially by contaminants
from both
municipal and industrial point sources and from non-
including the
point
and possible
proposed timescale,
funding arrangements;

sources and other measures
estimate

cost

(h) propose safeguards to prevent and deal with unfore-
seen pollution incidents, and establish a uniform
warning and alert system in the light of experience;

(i) document the ecological importance of the various
biotope elements, including the eco-morphology, and
draft proposals for the maintenance, restoration and
protection of aquatic and littoral ecosystems;

(j) discuss planned and existing types of utilisation of the
transboundary

waters which may have important
repercussions;

(k) promote cooperation on scientific research projects
and the exchange of information, in particular on the
state of the art and modern technologies to prevent
and reduce water pollution.

The Commission shall also cover matters relating to
2.
the protection of the waters against pollution where such
pollution is caused by fisheries, shipping or other uses of
the waters.

The Commission may be given other tasks by joint

3.
agreement between the Contracting Parties.

Article 3

This Convention shall apply in the territories of
the
Republic of Poland and the Czech Republic and in the
territories in which the Treaty establishing the European
Community is applicable.

Article 4

The Commission’s activities shall be conducted in

1.
accordance with the laws of the Contracting Parties.

2.
The Commission shall make proposals and recom-
mendations to the Contracting Parties to achieve the
objectives of this Convention.

3.
The Contracting Parties shall inform the Commis-
sion, within specific periods of time, of the conditions
and resources needed to achieve the objectives and of the
measures taken and the results thereof.

Article 5

1.
The Commission shall consist of delegations of the
Contracting Parties. Each Contracting Party shall appoint
a maximum of five delegates, including the head of the
delegation and his deputy and up to five alternate dele-
gates.

Each delegation may call in experts designated by it

2.
for the consideration of specific issues.

3.

The Commission shall adopt rules of procedure.

Article 6

1.
The chairmanship of the Commission shall be held
by the delegations of the Contracting Parties in turn.
Details of the chairmanship and the related tasks shall be
laid down in the rules of procedure. The delegation
its
holding the chairmanship shall designate one of
members as chairman. The delegation may appoint a
further delegate for the duration of its chairmanship.

The chairman shall not normally speak on behalf of

2.
his delegation in the Commission meetings.

Article 7

The Commission shall meet at least once a year at
1.
the chairman’s invitation for an ordinary meeting at a
place specified by him/her.

Extraordinary meetings shall be convened by the

2.
chairman at the request of at least one delegation.

The heads of the delegations may confer between

3.
meetings of the Commission.

4.
The chairman shall propose the agenda. Each dele-
gation shall be entitled to include those items in the
agenda which it wishes to have discussed.

Article 8

1.

Each delegation shall have one vote.

2. Negotiations and decisions within the framework of
this Convention and in the course of its implementation
shall be carried out by the European Community and the
Federal Republic of Germany within their respective
fields of competence. The European Community shall
not exercise its right to vote in cases in which the Federal
Republic of Germany is competent and vice-versa.

3.
The Commission’s decisions and proposals shall be
unanimously adopted. A written procedure may be
applied in accordance with conditions to be specified in
the rules of procedure.

4. Decisions nem. con. shall be deemed to be unan-
imous, provided all the delegations are present.

Article 9

The Commission shall set up working parties to

1.
carry out certain tasks.

The working parties shall consist of the delegates or

2.
experts designated by each delegation.

3.
The Commission shall determine the tasks and the
number of members of each working party and shall
appoint the chairman.

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Article 10

The Commission shall have legal personality. Its legal
capacity shall be governed by the law of the State in
which its secretariat is located. The Commission shall be
represented by its chairman. The chairman may deter-
mine his/her representatives in accordance with the rules
of procedure.

The Commission shall decide on its budget and
3.
confirm its performance. Further details shall be laid
down in the rules of procedure.

The Commission’s budget shall be made up, apart
4.
from the contributions from the Contracting Parties, of
donations, grants,
interest receipts and resources from
other sources.

Article 11

The Commission shall establish a secretariat for the prep-
aration and implementation of its work. The Commission
shall lay down rules for the work of the secretariat in the
rules of procedure. The secretariat shall be located in
Breslau.

Article 12

The Commission may call on the services of specially
qualified persons or bodies to examine specific issues
within the limits of its budget.

Article 16

1.
Rights and obligations of the Contracting Parties
resulting from bi- and multilateral agreements shall not
be affected by this Convention.

2.
The Commission shall examine, in agreement with
the Contracting Parties, the extent to which it is possible
and expedient to harmonise the rights and obligations
from existing agreements in order, among other things, to
avoid duplication of effort
and shall present cor-
responding proposals if appropriate.

Article 13

Article 17

The Commission shall,

in accordance with the
1.
objectives of this Convention, decide on cooperation with
other international and national organisations concerned
with protection of waters against pollution.

The working languages of
German, Polish and Czech.

the Commission shall be

The Commission shall

2.
results of its work and its programmes and measures.

inform the public of the

Article 14

The Commission shall provide the contracting parties
with an activity report at least every two years and, if
necessary, with further reports, in particular on measures
taken and the results of analyses and their evaluation.

Article 15

Each Contracting Party shall bear the costs of its
1.
representation in the Commission and in the working
parties.

2. Other costs incurred by the Commission and the
costs of the secretariat shall be covered by the Commis-
sion’s budget. The contributions to the Commission’s
budget shall be divided among the Contracting Parties as
follows:

Federal Republic of Germany

Republic of Poland

Czech Republic

European Community

38,75 %

38,75 %

20,00 %

2,50 %

Total

100,00 %

Article 18

1.
This Convention must be ratified or confirmed in
accordance with the respective laws of the Contracting
Parties.

2.
The ratification or confirmation deeds shall be
deposited with the General Secretariat of the Council of
the European Union as depositary. The depositary shall
inform the other Contracting Parties of every ratification
or confirmation deed deposited.

3.
This Convention shall enter into force 30 days after
the day on which the last ratification or confirmation
deed has been deposited with the depositary. The depos-
itary shall inform the other Contracting Parties of the date
of entry into force.

Article 19

The Convention shall be concluded for an indefinite

1.
period.

2.
Five years after its entry into force, this Convention
may be denounced at any time by any of the Contracting
through notification to the depositary. The
Parties
Convention shall thereby cease to have effect for the
denouncing party one year after the deposit of the note in
question with the depositary.

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Article 20

This Convention which is drawn up in original copies in German, Polish and Czech, each
text being equally binding, shall be deposited in the archives of the Secretariat-General of
the Council of the European Union. The latter shall send a certified copy to each of the
Contracting Parties.

Done at Breslau on the eleventh day of April nineteen hundred and ninety-six.

For the Government of the Federal Republic of Germany:

For the Government of the Republic of Poland:

For the Government of the Czech Republic:

For the European Community: