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1 In accordance with Article 3 (2) of the Protocol amending article 14 (3) of the European Agreement of 30 September 1957 concerning the International Carriage of Dangerous Goods by Road (ADR), "[a]ny State becoming a Contracting Party to the Agreement after the entry into force of the present Protocol shall be a Contracting Party to the Agreement as amended by the Protocol."

In accordance with Article 7 of the Protocol amending article 1 (a), article 14 (1) and article 14 (3) (b) of the European Agreement of 30 September 1957 concerning the International Carriage of Dangerous Goods by Road (ADR), "[a]ny State which becomes a Party to the Agreement after the conditions of the entry into force of this Protocol according to Article 6 have been met shall be considered as a Contracting Party to the Agreement as amended by the Protocol."

2 On 27 September 2006, the Government of Switzerland notified the Secretary-General of its objection to the above amendments as indicated in depositary notification circulated on 22 January 2007.The objection reads as follows:

"The Swiss Confederation rejects the proposed amendment because it could lead to a lessening of road safety on Swiss sovereign territory.  By contrast with existing Swiss legislation, the proposed new international regulations relating to tunnels will not apply to exempted dangerous goods. This is especially problematic with respect to exempted limited quantities, since the new regulations will permit the carriage of considerable quantities of dangerous goods.  Furthermore, a comparison between existing Swiss legislation and the new ADR tunnel regulations shows that it would only be possible to maintain the current standard of safety in Switzerland if extensive support measures were to be introduced relating to transport through tunnels, and these pleasures would in turn result in considerable additional costs.

We also question whether from a legal point of view the introduction of "compelling regulations" relating to tunnels at the international level is reconcilable with the provisions of the ADR."

By 1 October 2006, that is to say, on the expiry of the period of three months, no further objection had been notified to the Secretary-General.  Consequently, the amendments have been deemed accepted in accordance with article 14 (3) of the Agreement and will enter into force three months after the date of acceptance, i.e., on 1 January 2007.

3 The former Yugoslavia had acceeded to the Agreement on 28 May 1971. 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 17 July 1986, with the following reservation and declaration:

Reservation:

"The Czechoslovak Socialist Republic declares that within the meaning of article 12, para. 1, of the Agreement it does not feel bound by the provisions of article 11, paras. 2 and 3, of the Agreement."

Declaration:

"The provision of article 10 of the Agreement contravenes the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples that was adopted at the XVth Session of the General Assembly of the United Nations in 1960 and the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic therefore regards the said provision as superseded."

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 See note 1 under “Germany” regarding Berlin (West) in the “Historical Information” section in the front matter of this volume.

6 The German Democratic Republic had acceded to the Agreement on 27 December 1973 with a reservation. For the text of the reservation, see United Nations, Treaty Series , vol. 905, p. 86. See also note 2 under “Germany” in the “Historical Information” section in the front matter of this volume.

7 See note 1 under "Montenegro" in the "Historical Information" section in the front matter of this volume.

8 For the Kingdom in Europe.