CHAPTER XI

TRANSPORT AND COMMUNICATIONS

A

Custom Matters9Customs Convention on ContainersGeneva, 18 May 1956Entry into force4 August 1959 by the exchange of the said letters, in accordance with article 13[Note: Article 20(1) of the Customs Convention on Containers 1972 (see chapter XI.A-15), provides that, upon its entry into force, it shall terminate and replace, in relations between the Parties to the latter Convention, the present Convention. The said Convention of 1972 came into force on 6 December 1975.].Registration4 August 1959, No. 4834StatusSignatories12Parties441TextUnited Nations, <i>Treaty Series </i>, vol. 338, p. 103.

ParticipantSignatureRatification, Accession(a), Succession(d)Algeria31 Oct 1963 aAntigua and Barbuda25 Oct 1988 dAustralia 6 Jan 1967 aAustria18 May 1956 13 Nov 1957 Belgium18 May 1956 27 May 1960 Bosnia and Herzegovina<superscript>2</superscript>12 Jan 1994 dBulgaria18 Jan 1960 aCambodia 4 Aug 1959 aCameroon24 Sep 1963 aCanada 8 Sep 1972 aCroatia<superscript>2</superscript>31 Aug 1994 dCuba 4 Aug 1965 aCzech Republic<superscript>3</superscript> 2 Jun 1993 dDenmark 3 Sep 1965 aFinland15 Jun 1961 aFrance18 May 1956 20 May 1959 Germany<superscript>4,5</superscript>18 May 1956 23 Oct 1961 Greece12 Sep 1961 aHungary18 May 1956 23 Jul 1957 Ireland 7 Jul 1967 aIsrael14 Nov 1967 aItaly18 May 1956 29 Mar 1962 Jamaica11 Nov 1963 dJapan14 May 1971 aLuxembourg18 May 1956 25 Oct 1960 Malawi24 May 1969 aMauritius18 Jul 1969 dMontenegro<superscript>6</superscript>23 Oct 2006 dNetherlands<superscript>7</superscript>18 May 1956 27 Jul 1960 Norway22 Nov 1961 aPoland18 May 1956 6 May 1959 Portugal 1 May 1964 aRomania 1 Nov 1967 aSerbia<superscript>2</superscript>12 Mar 2001 dSierra Leone13 Mar 1962 dSlovakia<superscript>3</superscript>28 May 1993 dSlovenia<superscript>2</superscript> 3 Nov 1992 dSolomon Islands 3 Sep 1981 dSpain21 Jan 1959 aSweden18 May 1956 11 Aug 1959 Switzerland<superscript>1</superscript>18 May 1956 7 Jul 1960 Trinidad and Tobago11 Apr 1966 dUnited Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland<superscript>8</superscript>18 May 1956 23 May 1958 United States of America 3 Dec 1968 aAlgeriaThe Democratic and Popular Republic of Algeria does not consider itself bound by the provisions of article 17 of the said Convention relating to compulsory arbitration.Bulgaria<superscript>9</superscript>CubaThe Revolutionary Government of Cuba does not consider itself bound by the provisions of paragraphs 2 and 3 of article 17 of this Convention.Czech Republic<superscript>3</superscript>Denmark<superscript>10</superscript>"Pursuant to article 5 in the prevailing Danish Customs Act, the Danish customs area does not comprise Faroe Islands and Greenland. The acceptance of the Convention by Denmark, therefore, applies only to the Danish customs area as defined in the said article."PolandThe Government of the People's Republic of Poland does not consider itself bound by article 17 of the Convention.RomaniaThe Socialist Republic of Romania does not consider itself bound by the provisions of article 17, paragraphs 2 and 3, of the Convention.The position of the Socialist Republic of Romania is that a dispute concerning the interpretation or application of the Convention can be submitted to arbitration only with the consent of all the parties in dispute.The Council of State of the Socialist Republic of Romania considers that the maintenance of the state of dependence of certain territories to which the provisions of article 16 of the Convention apply is not in accordance with the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on 14 December 1960 in resolution 1514 (XV), which proclaims the need to put an end to colonialism in all its forms and manifestations immediately and unconditionally.Slovakia<superscript>3</superscript>United States of America"In accordance with paragraph 1 of article 16 of the Conven- tion, 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]."

ParticipantDate of receipt of the notificationTerritories

Australia 3 Jan 1968The Territories of Papua, Norfolk Island, Christmas Island, Cocos (Keeling) Islands and the Trust Territory of New GuineaNetherlands<superscript>7</superscript>27 Jul 1960Netherlands Antilles and Netherlands New GuineaUnited Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland<superscript>8</superscript>23 May 1958The Isle of Man, Jersey and the Bailiwick of Guernsey19 Oct 1959Antigua, Barbados, Bermuda, British Solomon Islands Protectorate, Brunei, Cyprus, Dominica, Falkland Islands, Gambia, Gibraltar, Gilbert and Ellice Islands Colony, Grenada, Jamaica, Mauritius, Monteserrat, North Borneo, St. Christopher, Nevis and Anguilla, St. Lucia, St. Vincent, Sarawak, Sierra Leone, State of Singapore, Trinidad and Tobago, Zanzibar12 Dec 1974Hong Kong1On 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.2The former Yugoslavia had acceeded to the Convention on 9 March 1961. 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.3Czechoslovakia had acceded to the Convention on 31 May 1962, with a reservation. For the text of the reservation, see United Nations, <i>Treaty Series </i>, vol. 429, p. 299. See also note 1 under “Czech Republic” and note 1 under “Slovakia” in the “Historical Information” section in the front matter of this volume.4See note 1 under “Germany” regarding Berlin (West) in the “Historical Information” section in the front matter of this volume.5See note 2 under “Germany” in the “Historical Information” section in the front matter of this volume.6See note 1 under "Montenegro" in the "Historical Information" section in the front matter of this volume.7See note 1 under “Netherlands” regarding Aruba/Netherlands Antilles in the “Historical Information” section in the front matter of this volume.8See note 1 under “United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland” regarding Hong Kong in the “Historical Information” section in the front matter of this volume.9In 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 accession with regard to article 17 (2) and (3). For the text of the reservation, see United Nations, <i>Treaty Series </i>, vol. 348, p. 375.10The Working Party on Customs Questions affecting Transport of the Inland Transport Committee of the Economic Commission for Europe included the following statement in the report on its Twenty-second session, adopted on 3 September 1965 (document TRANS/304- TRANS/ WP30/98, paragraph 52): "With regard to the accession of Denmark to the Convention [Customs Convention on Containers, done at Geneva on 18 May 1956], the Working Party noted that its intention in preparing the Convention, had always been to allow Denmark to become a party to that instrument only in respect of the Danish Customs zone, which, under the Danish Customs laws, did not include the Faroe Islands and Greenland, and that in its opinion the matter was covered by the principles set forth in article 16 of the Convention."