CHAPTER XI

TRANSPORT AND COMMUNICATIONS

A

Custom Matters13Customs Convention on the International Transport of Goods under Cover of TIR Carnets (TIR Convention)Geneva, 15 January 1959Entry into force7 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.].Registration7 January 1960, No. 4996StatusSignatories9Parties371TextUnited Nations, <i>Treaty Series </i>, vol. 348, p. 13; vol. 481, p. 598 (amendment 1),<superscript>2</superscript> and vol. 566, p. 356 (Amendment 2).<superscript>2</superscript>

Participant<superscript>3</superscript>SignatureDefinitive signature(s), Ratification, Accession(a), Succession(d)Afghanistan11 Oct 1971 aAlbania 1 Oct 1969 aAustria15 Feb 1959 3 Feb 1960 Belgium 4 Mar 1959 14 Mar 1962 Bulgaria15 Apr 1959 sCanada26 Nov 1974 aCyprus 3 Jun 1977 aCzech Republic<superscript>4</superscript> 2 Jun 1993 dDenmark15 Apr 1959 sFinland14 Jun 1960 aFrance14 Apr 1959 3 Jul 1959 Germany<superscript>5,6</superscript>13 Apr 1959 23 Oct 1961 Greece 2 May 1961 aHungary 6 Dec 1961 aIran (Islamic Republic of)25 May 1971 aIreland 7 Jul 1967 aIsrael31 Oct 1969 aItaly15 Apr 1959 11 Jan 1963 Japan14 May 1971 aJordan 8 Nov 1973 aKuwait26 May 1977 aLuxembourg14 Apr 1959 3 Jul 1962 Malta31 Jan 1978 aMorocco10 Oct 1975 aNetherlands (Kingdom of the) 9 Apr 1959 27 Jul 1960 Norway 2 Mar 1960 aPoland 3 Oct 1961 aPortugal 6 Jun 1966 aRomania 9 Apr 1964 aRussian Federation20 Feb 1974 aSlovakia<superscript>4</superscript>28 May 1993 dSpain12 May 1961 aSweden14 Apr 1959 sSwitzerland<superscript>1</superscript>12 Mar 1959 7 Jul 1960 Türkiye23 Feb 1966 aUnited Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland<superscript>7</superscript>13 Apr 1959 9 Oct 1959 United States of America 3 Dec 1968 aAlbaniaThe 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<superscript>8</superscript>Czech Republic<superscript>4</superscript>Greece<superscript>9</superscript>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.RomaniaThe 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 FederationThe 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<superscript>4</superscript>Türkiye<superscript>10</superscript>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]."1On 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.2Annexes 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, <i>Treaty Series </i>, 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, <i>Treaty Series </i>, 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).3The 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.4Czechoslovakia had acceded to the Convention on 31 August 1961, with a declaration. For the text of the declaration, see United Nations, <i>Treaty Series </i>, 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.5The 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, <i>Treaty Series </i>, vol. 985, p. 394. See also note 2 under “Germany” in the “Historical Information” section in the front matter of this volume.6See note 1 under “Germany” regarding Berlin (West) in the “Historical Information” section in the front matter of this volume.7On 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.8In 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, <i>Treaty Series </i>, vol. 348, p. 44.9In 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, <i>Treaty Series </i>, vol. 395, p. 276.10In 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, <i>Treaty Series </i>, vol. 557, p. 278.