Section 65p. 65

PUBLIC INTERNATIONAL LAW COMPENDIUM VOLUME I

4. Elections of the members of the Committee shall be

held at a meeting of States Parties convened by the

Secretary-General at United Nations Headquarters. At

that meeting, for which two-thirds of the States Parties

shall constitute a quorum, the persons elected to the

Committee shall be those nominees who obtain the

largest number of votes and an absolute majority of the

votes of the representatives of States Parties present and

voting.

5. (a) The members of the Committee shall be elected for

a term of four years. However, the terms of nine of the

members elected at the first election shall expire at the

end of two years; immediately after the first election the

names of these nine members shall be chosen by lot by

the Chairman of the Committee.

(b) For the filling of casual vacancies, the State Party

whose expert has ceased to function as a member of the

Committee shall appoint another expert from among its

nationals, subject to the approval of the Committee.

6. State Parties shall be responsible for the expenses of

the

members

of

the

Committee

while

they are in

performance of Committee duties.

ARTICLE 9

1.

States

Parties

undertake

to

submit

to

the

Secretary-General of the United Nations, for consideration

by the Committee, a report on the legislative, judicial,

administrative

or

other

measures

which

they

have

adopted and which give effect to the provisions of this

Convention: (a) within one year after the entry into force

of the Convention for the State concerned; and (b)

thereafter every two years and whenever the Committee

so

requests.

The

Committee

may

request

further

information from the States Parties.

2. The Committee shall report annually, through the

Secretary-General, to the General Assembly of the United

Nations on its activities and may make suggestions and

general recommendations based on the examination of

the reports and information received from the States

Parties. Such suggestions and general recommendations

shall be reported to the General Assembly together with

comments, if any, from States Parties.

ARTICLE 10

1. The Committee shall adopt its own rules of procedure.

2. The Committee shall elect its officers for a term of two

years.

3. The secretariat of the Committee shall be provided by

the Secretary-General of the United Nations.

4. The meetings of the Committee shall normally be held

at United Nations Headquarters.

ARTICLE 11

1. If a State Party considers that another State Party is not

giving effect to the provisions of this Convention, it may

bring the matter to the attention of the Committee. The

Committee shall then transmit the communication to the

State

Party

concerned.

Within

three

months,

the

receiving State shall submit to the Committee written

explanations or statements clarifying the matter and the

remedy, if any, that may have been taken by that State.

2. If the matter is not adjusted to the satisfaction of both

parties, either, by bilateral negotiations or by any other

procedure open to them, within six months after the

receipt

by

the

receiving

State

of

the

initial

communication, either State shall have the right to refer

the matter again to the Committee by notifying the

Committee and also the other States.

3. The Committee shall deal with a matter referred to it in

accordance with paragraph 2 of this article after it has

ascertained that all available domestic remedies have

been invoked and exhausted in the case, in conformity

with the generally recognized principles of international

law. This shall not be the rule where the application of the

remedies is unreasonably prolonged.

4. In any matter referred to it, the Committee may call

upon the States Parties concerned to supply any other

relevant information.

5. When any matter arising out of this article is being

considered

by

the

Committee,

the

States

Parties

concerned shall be entitled to send a representative to

take part in the proceedings of the Committee, without

voting rights, while the matter is under consideration.

ARTICLE 12

1. (a) After the Committee has obtained and collated all

the information it deems necessary, the Chairman shall

appoint an ad hoc Conciliation Commission (hereinafter

referred to as the Commission) comprising five persons

who may or may not be members of the Committee. The

members of the Commission shall be appointed with the

unanimous consent of the parties to the dispute, and its

good

offices

shall

be made available to the States

concerned with a view to an amicable solution of the

matter on the basis of respect for the Convention.

(b) If the States parties to the dispute fail to reach

agreement within three months on all or part of the

composition of the Commission, the members of the

Commission not agreed upon by the States parties to the

dispute shall be elected by secret ballot by a two-thirds

majority vote of the Committee from among its own

members.

2. The members of Commission shall serve in their

personal capacity. They shall not be nationals of the

States parties to the dispute or of a State not Party to this

Convention.

3. The Commission shall elect its own Chairman and

adopt its own rules of procedure.

4. The meetings of the Commission shall normally be

held at United Nations Headquarters or at any other

convenient place as determined by the Commission.

5. The secretariat provided in accordance with article 10,

paragraph 3, of this Convention shall also service the

Commission whenever a dispute among States Parties

brings the Commission into being.

6. The States parties to the dispute shall share equally all

the expenses of the members of the Commission in

accordance

with

estimates

to

be

provided

by

the

Secretary-General of the United Nations.

7. The Secretary-General shall be empowered to pay the

expenses

of

the

members

of

the

Commission,

if

necessary, before reimbursement by the States Parties to

the dispute in accordance with paragraph 6 of this article.

8.

The

information

obtained

and

collated

by

the

Committee shall be made available to the Commission,

and the Commission may call upon the States concerned

to supply any other relevant information.

ARTICLE 13

1. When the Commission has fully considered the matter,

it shall prepare and submit to the Chairman of the

Committee

a

report

embodying

its

findings

on

all

questions of fact relevant to the issue between the parties

and containing such recommendations as it may think

proper for the amicable solution of the dispute.

2. The Chairman of the Committee shall communicate

the report of the Commission to each of the States parties

to the dispute. These States shall, within three months,

inform the Chairman of the Committee whether or not

they

accept the recommendations contained in the

report of the Commission.

3. After the period provided for in paragraph 2 of this

article,

the

Chairman

of

the

Committee

shall

communicate the report of the Commission and the

declarations of the States Parties concerned to the other

States Parties to this Convention.

ARTICLE 14

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