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STATUS AS AT : 18-05-2013 10:05:45 EDT
CHAPTER XI
TRANSPORT AND COMMUNICATIONS
A . Custom Matters
13 . Customs Convention on the International Transport of Goods under Cover of TIR Carnets (TIR Convention)
Geneva, 15 January 1959
Entry into force
:
7 January 1960 by the exchange of the said letters, in accordance with article 40[Note: Article 56(1) of the TIR Convention of 1975 (see chapter XI-A-16) provides that the said Convention, upon its entry into force, shall terminate and replace, in relations between the Contracting Parties thereto, the present Convention. The said Convention of 1975 came into force on 20 March 1978.].
Registration :
7 January 1960, No. 4996
Status :
Signatories : 9. Parties : 37. 1
Text :
United Nations,  Treaty Series , vol. 348, p. 13; vol. 481, p. 598 (amendment 1),2 and vol. 566, p. 356 (Amendment 2).2
Participant 3
Signature
 Definitive signature(s), Ratification, Accession(a), Succession(d)
Afghanistan
   11 Oct 1971 a
Albania
    1 Oct 1969 a
Austria
 15 Feb 1959
 3 Feb 1960
Belgium
  4 Mar 1959
14 Mar 1962
Bulgaria
   15 Apr 1959 s
Canada
   26 Nov 1974 a
Cyprus
    3 Jun 1977 a
Czech Republic 4
   2 Jun 1993 d
Denmark
   15 Apr 1959 s
Finland
   14 Jun 1960 a
France
 14 Apr 1959
 3 Jul 1959
Germany 5, 6
13 Apr 1959
23 Oct 1961
Greece
    2 May 1961 a
Hungary
    6 Dec 1961 a
Iran (Islamic Republic of)
   25 May 1971 a
Ireland
    7 Jul 1967 a
Israel
   31 Oct 1969 a
Italy
 15 Apr 1959
11 Jan 1963
Japan
   14 May 1971 a
Jordan
    8 Nov 1973 a
Kuwait
   26 May 1977 a
Luxembourg
 14 Apr 1959
 3 Jul 1962
Malta
   31 Jan 1978 a
Morocco
   10 Oct 1975 a
Netherlands
  9 Apr 1959
27 Jul 1960
Norway
    2 Mar 1960 a
Poland
    3 Oct 1961 a
Portugal
    6 Jun 1966 a
Romania
    9 Apr 1964 a
Russian Federation
   20 Feb 1974 a
Slovakia 4
  28 May 1993 d
Spain
   12 May 1961 a
Sweden
   14 Apr 1959 s
Switzerland 1
12 Mar 1959
 7 Jul 1960
Turkey
   23 Feb 1966 a
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland 7
13 Apr 1959
 9 Oct 1959
United States of America
    3 Dec 1968 a
Declarations and Reservations
(Unless otherwise indicated, the declarations and reservations were made
upon definitive signature, ratification, accession or succession.)
Albania
       The Government of the People's Republic of Albania does not consider itself bound by the provisions of article 44, paragraphs 2 and 3, of the Convention which provide for compulsory arbitration to settle disputes concerning the interpretation or application of the Convention.  It declares that the agreement of all the parties in dispute is required in each particular case for the submission of the dispute to the International Court of Justice.
Bulgaria 8

Czech Republic 4

Greece 9

Hungary
       "[The Hungarian People's Republic] does not consider as obligatory paragraphs 2 and 3 of article 44 of the Convention."
Malta
       "The Government of the Republic of Malta, having already become a party to the 1975 TIR Convention, now becomes a party to the 1959 TIR Convention only in relation to those States Parties that have not themselves become a party to the 1975 Convention."
Poland
       [Poland] does not consider itself bound by paragraphs 2 and 3 of article 44 of the Convention.
Romania
       The Romanian People's Republic does not consider itself bound by the provisions of article 44, paragraphs 2 and 3, of the Convention with reference to the settlement by compulsory arbitration of disputes concerning the interpretation or application of the Convention at the request of one of the Contracting Parties.
Russian Federation
       The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics considers that the provisions of article 39 of the Customs Convention on the International Transport of Goods under Cover of TIR Carnets, which restrict the participation of certain States in the Convention, are contrary to the generally recognized principle of the sovereign equality of States.
       The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics deems it necessary to state that the provisions of article 43 of the Customs Convention on the International Transport of Goods under Cover of TIR Carnets, to the effect that States may extend the Customs Convention to territories for the international relations of which they are responsible, are outmoded and at variance with the United Nations General Assembly's Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples (General Assembly resolution 1514 (XV) of 14 December 1960), which proclaims the necessity of bringing to a speedy and unconditional end colonialism in all its forms and manifestations.
       The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics does not consider itself bound by article 44, paragraphs 2 and 3, of the Customs Convention on the International Transport of Goods under Cover of TIR Carnets and states that the submission to arbitration of any dispute between Contracting Parties concerning the interpretation or application of the Customs Convention must be subject, in each specific case, to the agreement of all the Parties in dispute and that only persons designated by agreement between the Parties in dispute may act as arbitrators.
Slovakia 4

Turkey 10

United States of America
       "In accordance with paragraph 1 of article 43 of the Convention, the said Convention shall extend to the customs territory of the United States [which at the present time includes the States, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico]."
End Note
1.On depositing the instrument of ratification, the Government of Switzerland declared that the provisions of the Convention will apply to the Principality of Liechtenstein, so long as it is linked to Switzerland by a customs union treaty.
2.Annexes 3 and 6 to the Convention were modified by agreement between the competent administrations of all the Contracting Parties, in accordance with the procedure provided in article 47, paragraph 4 of the Convention. Amendment 1 (amendment to article 5 of annex 3) entered into force on 19 November 1963; for the text, see United Nations, Treaty Series , vol. 481, p. 598. Amendment 2 (amendments to articles 2 and 5 of annex 3, and article 5 of annex 6) entered into force on 1 July 1966; for the text, see United Nations, Treaty Series , vol. 566, p. 356. For the text of the Convention incorporating these amendments, see document E/ECE/332(E/ECE/TRANS/510)/Rev.1.

In a communication received on 12 June 1974, the Government of Austria requested, in accordance with article 46 (1) of the Convention, that a conference be convened for the purpose of reviewing the latter. That request was notified by the Secretary-General to all States concerned on 28 June 1974, and the required number of States have expressed their concurrence with the said request within the four-month period provided for by article 46 (1). This Convention resulted in a new Convention (chapter XI.A-16).
3.The former Yugoslavia had acceeded to the Convention on 23 August 1960. See also note 1 under “Bosnia and Herzegovina”, “Croatia”, “former Yugoslavia”, “Slovenia”, “The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia” and “Yugoslavia” in the “Historical Information” section in the front matter of this volume.
4.Czechoslovakia had acceded to the Convention on 31 August 1961, with a declaration. For the text of the declaration, see United Nations, Treaty Series , vol. 406, p. 334. .See also note 1 under “Czech Republic” and note 1 under “Slovakia” in the “Historical Information” section in the front matter of this volume.
5.The German Democratic Republic had acceded to the Convention with a reservation and a declaration, on 24 October 1975. For the text of the reservation and the declaration, see United Nations, Treaty Series , vol. 985, p. 394. See also note 2 under “Germany” in the “Historical Information” section in the front matter of this volume.
6.See note 1 under “Germany” regarding Berlin (West) in the “Historical Information” section in the front matter of this volume.
7.On depositing the instrument of ratification the Government of the United Kingdom declared that the Convention shall extend to the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man.
8.In a notification received on 6 May 1994, the Government of Bulgaria notified the Secretary-General that it had decided to withdraw the reservation made upon definitive signature with respect to article 44 (2) and (3). For the text of the reservation, see United Nations, Treaty Series , vol. 348, p. 44.
9.In a communication received on 16 August 1971, the Government of Greece notified the Secretary-General of its decision to withdraw the reservation formulated on deposit of its instrument of accession. For the text of the reservation see United Nations, Treaty Series , vol. 395, p. 276.
10.In a communication received on 12 February 1974, the Government of Turkey notified the Secretary-General of the withdrawal of the reservations that it had made in respect of chapter IV and articles 44 (2) and 44 (3) of the Convention. For the text of those reservations, see United Nations, Treaty Series , vol. 557, p. 278.