7 FEBRUARY 2003. - An Act to Enact the Agreement between the Government of Belgium and the Government of Macedonia concerning Air Transport and the Annex signed in Brussels on 22 October 1998 (1) (2)

ALBERT II, King of the Belgians,
To all, present and to come, Hi.
The Chambers adopted and We sanction the following:
Article 1^er. This Act regulates a matter referred to in Article 77 of the Constitution.
Art. 2. The Agreement between the Government of Belgium and the Government of Macedonia on Air Transport, and the Annex, signed in Brussels on 22 October 1998, will come out with their full effect.
Promulgation of this law, let us order that it be clothed with the seal of the State and published by the Belgian Monitor.
Given in Brussels on 7 February 2003.
ALBERT
By the King:
Minister of Foreign Affairs,
L. MICHEL
Minister of Mobility and Transport
Ms. I. DURANT
Seal of the state seal:
Minister of Justice,
Mr. VERWILGHEN
____
Notes
(1) Session 2001-2002.
Senate.
Documents
Bill tabled on 31 May 2002, No. 2-1182/1.
Report, no. 2-1182/2.
Text adopted by the Commission.
Annales parlementaire
Discussion, meeting of 10 October 2002.
Voting, meeting of 10 October 2002.
Session 2002-2003.
Room
Documents
Project transmitted by the Senate, No. 50-2066/1.
Report.
Text adopted in plenary and subject to Royal Assent, No. 50-2066/2.
Annales parlementaire
Discussion, meeting of 14 November 2002.
Voting, meeting of 14 November 2002.
(2) This Treaty entered into force on 1 April 2003.

AGREEMENT BELGE GOVERNMENT
AND MACEDONIAN GOVERNMENT
RELATING TO THE AIR TRANSPORT
The Government of Belgium
and
The Government of Macedonia
Being Parties to the Convention on International Civil Aviation opened for signature in Chicago on 7 December 1944,
Desirous of concluding a supplementary agreement to the Convention with a view to establishing air services between their respective territories and beyond,
To ensure the best level of safety and security in international air transport,
The following agreed:
ARTICLE 1^er
Definitions
For the purposes of this Agreement, unless the context otherwise provides:
(a) the term "Convention" means the Convention on International Civil Aviation opened for signature in Chicago on 7 December 1944, and includes any annex adopted under Article 90 of the Convention and any amendments to the Annexes or Convention adopted under Articles 90 and 94 thereof, provided that these annexes and amendments have been adopted or ratified by the two Contracting Parties.
(b) the term "Agreement" means this Agreement, its Annex, and any amendment that may be made to them;
(c) the term "Aeronautical authorities" means in the case of the Belgian Government, the Ministry of Communications and Infrastructure and, in the case of the Government of Macedonia, the Ministry of Transport and Communications, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation or, in both cases, any other authority or person authorized to perform the functions currently exercised by the said authorities;
(d) the terms "Territory", "Air Service", "International Air Service", "Air Transport Company" and "Non-commercial port of call" have the meanings assigned to them respectively in Articles 2 and 96 of the Convention;
(e) the term "Designated Air Transport Company" means an air transportation undertaking that has been designated and authorized in accordance with Articles 3 and 4 of this Agreement;
(f) the term "Agreed Services" means regular air services for the carriage of passengers, goods and mail, in a separate or combined manner, on the routes specified in the Annex to this Agreement;
(g) the term "Prices" means the prices to be paid for the carriage of passengers, baggage and goods, as well as the conditions for the application of such prices, including prices and conditions for the services of agencies and other auxiliary services, but excluding remuneration and terms for the transport of mail;
(h) the term "Removal of charge" means the operation of one of the services agreed by a designated air carrier, so that the service is provided, on a section of the road, by aircraft of different capacity than that used on another section;
(i) the terms "Dashboard equipment", "ground equipment", "dashboard", "super parts" have the same meanings as those assigned to them in Annex 9 of the Convention.
(j) the term "use taxes" means the tax imposed on air carriers by the competent authorities or are authorized to collect for the provision of airport property or airport facilities or air navigation facilities, including services and facilities for aircraft, their crews, passengers and goods;
(k) the term "Capacity" means:
(i) in respect of the aircraft, the merchant load of that aircraft available on a road or road part;
(ii) in respect of a specified air service, the aircraft capacity used for that service multiplied by the frequency operated by that aircraft for a specified period on a road or road part
ARTICLE 2
Granting of rights
1. Each Contracting Party shall grant the other Contracting Party the rights specified in this Agreement with a view to establishing regular international air services on the routes specified in the attached Annex.
2. The air carriers designated by each Contracting Party shall be entitled to operate an agreed service on a specified route of the following rights:
(a) overflight the territory of the other Contracting Party without landing;
(b) make non-commercial ports of call in the territory of the other Contracting Party;
(c) make ports of call in the territory of the Annex, during the operation of the routes specified in the Annex, in order to board and disembark passengers, goods and mail transported in international traffic from or to the territory of the other Contracting Party.
3. Nothing in paragraph 1 of this Article shall be construed as conferring on a designated air carrier of one of the Contracting Parties the privilege of embarking, on the territory of the other Contracting Party, passengers, goods or mail to carry them, for remuneration or under a lease contract, to another point in the territory of that other Contracting Party.
ARTICLE 3
Designation for the operation of services
1. Each Contracting Party has the right to designate, by diplomatic note addressed to the other Contracting Party, one or more air carriers for the operation of the services agreed on the routes specified in the Annex for that Contracting Party.
2. Each Contracting Party has the right to cancel, by diplomatic note addressed to the other Contracting Party, the designation of an air carrier and to designate another.
ARTICLE 4
Authority to operate services
1. Upon receipt of a notice of designation issued by one of the Contracting Parties under Article 3 of this Agreement, the aeronautical authorities of the other Contracting Party, in accordance with the laws and regulations in force on its territory, shall grant to the air carriers so designated the authorizations necessary for the operation of the agreed services for which these undertakings have been designated.
2. Upon receipt of such authorizations, air carriers may begin at any time to operate the agreed services, in whole or in part, provided that they comply with the applicable provisions of this Agreement and provided that tariffs are established in accordance with the provisions of Article 13 of this Agreement.
ARTICLE 5
Revocation or suspension of service operating authorization
1. The aeronautical authorities of each Contracting Party shall have the right, in respect of air carriers designated by the other Contracting Party, to refuse, revoke, suspend or assort conditions, on a temporary or permanent basis, the authorizations referred to in Article 4 of this Agreement:
(a) if the companies concerned cannot prove that they are able to meet the conditions prescribed under the laws and regulations normally and reasonably applied by those authorities, in accordance with the Convention, to the operation of international air services;
(b) if, in the operation of services, the companies concerned do not comply with the conditions set out in this Agreement;
(c) if the enterprises concerned do not comply with the laws and regulations of that Contracting Party;
(d) if the evidence has not been made that a substantial portion of the ownership and the effective direction of the enterprises concerned are in the hands of the Contracting Party which has designated the enterprises or nationals of the Contracting Party.
2. Unless it is necessary to take immediate action to avoid violations of the above-mentioned laws and regulations, the rights listed in paragraph 1 of this Article shall be exercised only after consultations with the aeronautical authorities of the other Contracting Party, in accordance with Article 17 of this Agreement.
ARTICLE 6
Enforcement of laws and regulations
1. The laws and regulations of one of the Contracting Parties governing, in its territory, the entry, stay or exit of aircraft assigned to international air navigation and the operation and navigation of such aircraft shall be observed by the designated air carriers of the other Contracting Party at the entry, exit and during the stay in the territory of the first Contracting Party.
2. The laws and regulations of one of the Contracting Parties governing entry, exit, transit, immigration, passports, customs, currency, sanitary and quarantine procedures shall be observed by the designated air carriers of the other Contracting Party and by their crews and passengers, or on their behalf, as well as for goods and mail, during transit through the territory, at the entry, exit and exit of the Contracting Party
Passengers, baggage, goods and direct transit mail in the territory of either of the Contracting Parties and not leaving the area of the airport reserved for this purpose will only be subject to simplified control, without prejudice to any security measures against violence, air piracy and drug trafficking.
This provision will not be applied when the passenger is in transit to a destination located in a State Party to the Schengen Agreement Implementation Convention of 14 June 1985.
3. In the application of the regulations referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2 of this Article, as well as for the use of airports, airways, air traffic services and related facilities under its authority, none of the Contracting Parties shall accord preference to its own undertakings or to any other air carriers in relation to an air carrier of the other Contracting Party that provides similar international air services.
ARTICLE 7
Certificates, patents, licences and security
A. Certificates, patents and licences
1. Certificates of Airworthiness, Certificates of Fitness and Licences issued or validated by one of the Contracting Parties and not expired shall be recognized as valid by the other Contracting Party for the operation of services agreed on the routes specified in the Annex, provided that such certificates, patents and licences have been issued or validated in accordance with the standards established on the basis of the provisions of the Convention.
Each Contracting Party reserves the right, however, to refuse to recognize, for the purposes of flights carried out above its own territory, suitability and licences granted to its own nationals by the other Contracting Party.
2. If the certificates, patents or licences referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article have been issued or validated according to standards different from those established under the Convention and if this difference has been notified to the International Civil Aviation Organization, the aeronautical authorities of the other Contracting Party may request consultations in accordance with Article 17 of this Agreement, in order to ensure that the standards in question are acceptable to them.
The failure to reach a satisfactory agreement on flight safety issues will justify the application of Article 5 of this Agreement.
B. Security
1. Each Contracting Party may request consultations on safety standards in areas related to the crews, aircraft or their operation adopted by the other Contracting Party.
Such consultations will take place within 30 days of this request.
2. If, as a result of such consultations, one of the Contracting Parties discovers that the other Contracting Party does not adopt or effectively monitor security standards in any of these areas that are at least equal to the minimum standards established in accordance with the Chicago Convention, the first Contracting Party shall notify the other Contracting Party of such conclusions and of the steps that are deemed necessary in order to comply with these minimum standards, and that other remedial measures The failure of this other Contracting Party to take appropriate measures within 15 days or in a longer period if agreed in this manner will constitute a basis for the application of Article 5 of this Agreement (revocation, suspension or modification of operating authorizations).
3. Notwithstanding the obligations referred to in Article 33 of the Chicago Convention, it is agreed that any aircraft operated by the company(s) of one of the Contracting Parties, originating or destined for the territory of another Contracting Party may, where it is located in the territory of the other Contracting Party, be inspected (called in this Article "inspection on the aircraft area of traffic"), by the authorized representatives of that Contracting Party
4. If an inspection, or a series of inspections on the traffic area, results in:
(a) substantial grounds for believing that an aircraft or aircraft operation does not meet the minimum standards in force in accordance with the Chicago Convention, or
(b) serious grounds for fearing deficiencies in the effective adoption and implementation of security standards established under the Chicago Convention,
the Contracting Party conducting the inspection shall, for the purposes of Article 33 of the Chicago Convention, be free to conclude that the requirements under which the certificate or licences relating to that aircraft or its crew were issued or validated, or following which the aircraft is used, are not equal to or greater than the minimum standards in force in accordance with the Chicago Convention.
5. In the event that access to an aircraft operated by the airline(s) of a Contracting Party to conduct an inspection on the traffic area pursuant to paragraph 3 above is denied by a representative of the airline(s), the other Contracting Party is free to assume that the serious grounds of concern, of the type referred to in paragraph 4 above, exist, and to draw the conclusions referred to in that paragraph.
6. Each of the Contracting Parties reserves the right to immediately suspend or amend the operating authorization of one or more airlines of the other Contracting Party, in the event that it reaches the conclusion, following an inspection on the traffic area, of a series of inspections on the traffic area, of a refusal of access for inspection on the traffic area, of an immediate consultation or of any other manner
7. Any action applied by a Contracting Party in accordance with paragraphs 2 and 6 above shall be reported as soon as the facts motivating this measure cease to exist.
ARTICLE 8
Aviation safety
1. The Contracting Parties reaffirm that their obligation to ensure, in their mutual relations, the protection of civil aviation against acts of unlawful intervention is an integral part of this Agreement.
2. The Contracting Parties shall mutually agree, upon request, with all necessary assistance to prevent the unlawful capture of aircraft and other unlawful acts against the safety of passengers, crews, aircraft, airports and air navigation facilities and services, as well as any other threat to aviation safety.
3. The Contracting Parties comply with the provisions of the Convention on Offences and Certain Other Acts on Board Aircraft, signed in Tokyo on 14 September 1963, the Convention for the Suppression of the Illicit Capture of Aircraft, signed in The Hague on 16 December 1970, and the Convention for the Suppression of Unlawful Acts against the Safety of Civil Aviation, signed in Montreal on 23 September 1971.
4. The Contracting Parties, in their mutual reports, comply with the aviation safety provisions that have been established by the International Civil Aviation Organization and are designated as annexes to the International Civil Aviation Convention, as these provisions apply to those Parties; they require operators of aircraft registered by them, or operators who have the main seat of their operation or permanent residence on their territory, and airport operators located in their territory, to comply with these provisions relating to aviation safety.
5. Each Contracting Party undertakes to observe the safety provisions prescribed by the other Contracting Party for entry into its territory, and to take appropriate measures to ensure the inspection of passengers, crews and their baggage, as well as cargo, before boarding or loading. Each Contracting Party shall also consider, with due diligence and in a positive spirit, any request to it by the other Contracting Party to ensure that special security measures are taken to protect its aircraft or passengers from a particular threat.
6. Where an act of unlawful capture of aircraft or any other unlawful act directed against the safety of passengers, crews, aircraft, airports and air navigation facilities and services is committed, or where there is a threat of such an act, the Contracting Parties shall assist in facilitating communications and any other appropriate measures, intended to put an end to the act or threat promptly and safely.
7. If a Contracting Party derogates from the provisions on aviation safety set out in this article, the aeronautical authorities of the other Contracting Party may request immediate consultations with the aeronautical authorities of that Party. The failure to reach a satisfactory agreement within thirty (30) days will constitute a reason for the application of Article 5 of this Agreement.
ARTICLE 9
Taxes of use
1. Taxes imposed on the territory of one of the Contracting Parties to the designated air carriers of the other Contracting Party for the use of airports and other air navigation facilities by the aircraft of the designated air carriers of the other Contracting Party shall not be higher than those imposed on a national air carrier of the first Contracting Party providing similar international services.
2. Each Contracting Party shall encourage consultations between its competent taxing authorities and designated air carriers that use services and facilities, if possible through the representative organizations of airlines. Any proposed changes to user fees will be subject to reasonable notice to allow them to express their views before the amendments are introduced.
ARTICLE 10
Customs and excise duties
1. Each Contracting Party shall exempt the designated air carriers of the other Contracting Party from import restrictions, customs duties, excise duties, inspection fees and other national, regional or local taxes and duties on aircraft, fuels, lubricants, consumable technical supplies, spare parts including engines, used aircraft normal equipment, ground equipment only
2. The exemptions granted under this Article shall apply to the objects referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article, whether or not these objects are used or consumed entirely in the territory of the Contracting Party granting the exemption, provided that:
(a) that they are introduced in the territory of one of the Contracting Parties by the designated air carriers of the other Contracting Party or on their behalf, but are not alienated in the territory of the first Contracting Party;
(b) that they are retained on aircraft of designated air carriers of one of the Contracting Parties upon arrival in the territory of the other Contracting Party or at the departure of that territory;
(c) to be on board aircraft of designated air carriers of one of the Contracting Parties in the territory of the other Contracting Party and to be used in the operation of the agreed services.
3. Normal aircraft equipment and ground equipment, as well as supplies and supplies generally stored on aircraft of air carriers designated by one of the Contracting Parties, may not be landed on the territory of the other Contracting Party without the approval of the customs authorities of that territory. In this case, they may be placed under the supervision of such authorities until they are re-exported or otherwise disposed of in accordance with customs regulations.
4. Baggage and goods in direct transit are exempt from customs duties and other taxes.
5. The exemptions provided for in this Article shall also be granted where the air carriers designated by one of the Contracting Parties have entered into with another air carrier that enjoys the same exemptions from the other Contracting Party, arrangements for the loan or transfer to the territory of the other Contracting Party, of the objects specified in paragraph 1 of this Article.
ARTICLE 11
Capacity
1. Designated air carriers of the two Contracting Parties shall enjoy equitable and equal opportunities in the operation of the services agreed between their respective territories and beyond on the routes specified in the Annex to this Agreement.
2. In the operation of the agreed services, air carriers designated by one of the Contracting Parties shall take into account the interests of the air carriers designated by the other Contracting Party, so as not to unduly affect the services that they provide on all or part of the same road.
3. The agreed services provided by the air carriers designated by the Contracting Parties will be reasonably related to the public's transportation requirements on the specified routes and will have the primary objective of ensuring, on a reasonable basis, sufficient capacity to meet the normal and normally predictable transport needs of passengers, goods and mail between the territories of the Contracting Parties.
4. Designated air carriers shall, no later than 30 days before the commencement of operation of an agreed service, submit operating programs for approval to the aeronautical authorities of the two Contracting Parties. These operating programs will include the type of service, aircraft types, service frequencies and flight schedules. This procedure will also be applied for any subsequent modification. In special cases this period may be reduced by the consent of the authorities.
ARTICLE 12
Charging and code sharing
1. Designated air carriers of one of the Contracting Parties may carry out a charge failure on the territory of the other Contracting Party under the following conditions:
(a) substitution is justified for profitability reasons;
(b) the aircraft providing service on the farthest section of the territory of the Contracting Party that has designated air carriers shall provide service only in correspondence with the aircraft serving the nearest section and its schedule shall be established accordingly; the first will arrive at the point of substitution to take on board the trans-shipped traffic of the second or to disembark from the traffic that will be taken on board by the latter, and the capacity will be determined primarily taking into account that purpose;
(c) air carriers may not appear to the public through advertising or other means, such as providing a service from the point where the aircraft is being changed, unless otherwise specified in the Appendix to this Agreement;
(d) for any aircraft flight to the territory of the other Contracting Party where the aircraft is being changed, a single flight is allowed from that territory, unless the aeronautical authorities of the other Contracting Party authorize no more than one flight.
2. Notwithstanding the stipulations in paragraph 1 of this Article, each designated air carrier may, by operating the air services agreed on the routes specified in the Annex, enter into code-sharing arrangements with an air carrier, irrespective of its nationality, provided that the air carrier detains the necessary road and traffic rights and that such arrangements are approved by the Aeronautical Authorities of the two Contracting Parties.
ARTICLE 13
Rates
1. The Contracting Parties will allow a tariff to be established by each of the designated air carriers on one of the routes specified in the Appendix, if possible after consultation between the said undertakings.
2. The tariffs to be applied to carriage on any service agreed to at and from the territory of the other Contracting Party shall be fixed at reasonable rates, with due regard to all relevant assessment elements, including operating costs, reasonable benefit, service characteristics, user interest and, if deemed appropriate, the rates applied by other air carriers on the whole or part of the same road.
3. The tariffs will be subject to approval by the aeronautical authorities of the Contracting Parties at least forty-five (45) days before the proposed date for their entry into force. Aeronautical authorities may accept a shorter period in specific cases.
If, within thirty (30) days from the date of receipt, the aeronautical authorities of one of the Contracting Parties did not notify the aeronautical authorities of the other Contracting Party of their disagreement with the tariffs concerned, the tariffs will be considered approved and will come into force on the date specified in the tariffs themselves.
Where they accept a shorter time limit for filing a tariff, the aeronautical authorities may also agree that the period in which the notice of disagreement is to be given will be less than thirty (30) days.
4. If the disagreement has been expressed in accordance with paragraph 3 of this Article, the aeronautical authorities of the Contracting Parties shall hold consultations in accordance with the provisions of Article 17 of this Agreement and shall endeavour to establish the tariff by mutual agreement.
5. If the aeronautical authorities cannot agree on a tariff that has been submitted to them under paragraph 3 of this article, or on a tariff to be fixed in accordance with paragraph 4 of this article, the dispute shall be settled in accordance with the provisions of Article 18 of this Agreement.
6. If the aeronautical authorities of one of the Contracting Parties no longer agree on an established tariff, they shall notify the aeronautical authorities of the other Contracting Party and the designated air carriers shall, where appropriate, try to reach an agreement.
If, within a non-ante period (90) days from the date of receipt of the notice of disagreement, a new tariff cannot be set, the procedures set out in paragraphs 4 and 5 of this section will be applied.
7. The rates established in accordance with the provisions of this Article shall remain in force until new rates are established in accordance with the provisions of this Article or Article 18 of this Agreement.
8. Without prejudice to the provisions of Article 18, paragraph 4, of this Agreement, no tariff shall enter into force if the aeronautical authorities of either Contracting Party have not approved it.
9. The aeronautical authorities of the two Contracting Parties shall ensure that the tariffs imposed and collected are in accordance with the tariffs approved and that they are not subject to discounts.
ARTICLE 14
Staff
1. Designated air carriers of one of the Contracting Parties are authorized, on a reciprocal basis, to assign to the territory of the other Contracting Party representatives as well as personnel in the commercial and technical sectors required for the operation of the agreed services.
2. Designated air carriers may, at their option, meet these requirements by using their own personnel regardless of nationality or by using the services of any other organization, company or air carrier operating in the territory of the other Contracting Party and authorized to provide such services in that territory.
3. Such representatives and employees shall be subject to the laws and regulations in force on the territory of the other Contracting Party. In accordance with these laws and regulations, each Contracting Party shall, on a reciprocal basis and within a minimum period, grant work permits, employment visas or other similar documents necessary to the representatives and personnel referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article.
4. To the extent permitted by their national laws, the two Contracting Parties shall exempt from the requirement to obtain work permits, employment visas or other similar documents from the staff performing certain temporary services and functions.
ARTICLE 15
Sales and revenues
1. Each designated air carrier has the right to proceed with the sale of air transportation securities on the territory of the other Contracting Party, directly and, at its option, through its representatives.
Each designated air carrier has the right to sell transport securities in the currency of that territory or, at its option, in the freely convertible currencies of other countries.
Any person may acquire these goods in the currencies accepted for sale by this air carrier.
2. Each Contracting Party shall grant to designated air carriers of the other Contracting Party the right to freely transfer the excess of revenues over the expenditures made by the designated air carriers on its territory. Such transfers shall be made on the basis of the official exchange rates in force for current payments or, where there is no official exchange rate, on the basis of exchange rates in the exchange market for current payments, applicable on the day of the introduction of the transfer request by the designated air carriers of the other Contracting Party; they will not be subject to any tax except those that banks normally require for such transactions.
3. Each Contracting Party shall, on the basis of reciprocity, grant to the designated air carriers of the other Contracting Party the exemption from any form of tax on the income or profits derived by the designated air carriers, in the territory of the first Contracting Party, from the operation of air services, as well as from any tax on the turnover or capital.
This provision will not be applicable if a Convention intended to avoid double taxation and which provides a similar exemption is in force between the two Contracting Parties.
ARTICLE 16
Information exchange
1. The aeronautical authorities of the two Contracting Parties shall exchange information as quickly as possible concerning the current authorizations issued to their respective designated air carriers for the operation of services to or from the territory of the other Contracting Party, or through the latter, shall also exchange copies of the certificates and authorizations under way for services on specified roads, as well as modifications, orders of exemption,
2. Each Contracting Party shall ensure that its designated air carriers provide to the aeronautical authorities of the other Contracting Party as long in advance as possible, copies of the tariffs, schedules with the amendments made thereto, as well as any relevant information regarding the operation of the agreed services, including information relating to the capacity offered on each of the specified routes, and any other information appropriate to prove to the aeronautical authorities of the other Contracting Party that the provisions duly complied with
3. Each Contracting Party shall ensure that its designated air carriers provide to the aeronautical authorities of the other Contracting Party the traffic statistics carried on the services agreed with the indication of boarding and landing points.
ARTICLE 17
Consultations
1. The aeronautical authorities of the Contracting Parties shall consult from time to time to ensure close collaboration on all matters relating to the satisfactory implementation and implementation of the provisions of this Agreement and its Annex.
2. These consultations will begin within sixty (60) days from the date of receipt of an application for this purpose, unless the Contracting Parties agree otherwise.
ARTICLE 18
Settlements of disputes
1. If a dispute arises between the Contracting Parties concerning the interpretation or application of this Agreement, the Contracting Parties shall first endeavour to resolve it by negotiation.
2. If the Contracting Parties fail to reach a settlement by negotiation, they may agree to submit the dispute to a decision of a person or body or, at the option of either of the Contracting Parties, to a decision of a court composed of three arbitrators.
3. The arbitral tribunal shall be constituted as follows:
each Contracting Party shall appoint an arbitrator within sixty (60) days of the date on which one of them receives a request for arbitration from the other Contracting Party by diplomatic means. These two arbitrators agree to designate the third arbitrator within an additional period of sixty (60) days.
The third arbitrator shall be a third-party national, shall act as president of the court and shall determine the place of arbitration.
If either of the Contracting Parties does not designate an arbitrator within the specified time limit, or if the third arbitrator is not designated within the specified time limit, the President of the Council of the International Civil Aviation Organization may be invited by either of the Contracting Parties to appoint an arbitrator or arbitrator as the case may be.
4. Contracting Parties undertake to comply with any decision or award made under paragraphs 2 and 3 of this Article.
If one of the Contracting Parties fails to comply with the decision so taken, the other Contracting Party shall be entitled to request the application of Article 5 of this Agreement.
5. Each Contracting Party shall pay the necessary expenses and remuneration for its arbitrator; the remuneration of the third arbitrator and the expenses necessary for the latter, as well as those inherent in the arbitration duties, shall be equally shared between the Contracting Parties.
ARTICLE 19
Amendments
1. If one of the Contracting Parties deems it desirable to amend one of the provisions of this Agreement, it may request consultations with the other Contracting Party. These consultations, which may take place at the aeronautical authorities level and be conducted by discussion or by exchange of notes, will begin within sixty (6O) days from the date of the application.
2. If a multilateral air convention of a general nature binding on the two Contracting Parties enters into force, the provisions of this Convention shall prevail. Consultations may take place, in accordance with paragraph 1 of this article, to determine the extent to which this Agreement is affected by the provisions of the multilateral convention.
3. Any amendment agreed upon following these consultations will come into force when confirmed by an exchange of diplomatic notes.
4. The two Contracting Parties agree that the Schedule of Routes may be amended by an administrative arrangement, with agreement between the Aeronautical Authorities.
ARTICLE 20
Denunciation
1. Each Contracting Party may, at any time, notify the other Contracting Party in writing by diplomatic means of its decision to denounce the termination of this Agreement.
This notification will be sent simultaneously to the International Civil Aviation Organization.
2. The Agreement shall terminate one (1) year after the date of receipt of the notification by the other Contracting Party, unless such notification is withdrawn by mutual agreement before the expiry of that period.
In the absence of an acknowledgement of receipt from the other Contracting Party, the notification shall be deemed to have been received fourteen (14) days after the date of its receipt by the International Civil Aviation Organization.
ARTICLE 21
Registration
This Agreement and any amendments thereto shall be registered with the International Civil Aviation Organization.
ARTICLE 22
Entry into force
Each Contracting Party shall notify, through diplomatic channels, the other Contracting Party that the constitutional formalities required for the entry into force of this Agreement have been completed.
The Agreement will enter into force on the first day of the month of the last notification.
In faith, the undersigned, duly authorized to do so by their respective Governments, have signed this Agreement.
Done in Brussels on 22 October 1998, in two original copies in Macedonian, English, French and Dutch, each of the texts being equally authentic.
In the event of a discrepancy in the interpretation, the English text will prevail.

Annex
CONTENTS
1. Table I
Routes on which air services can be operated by air carriers designated by the Government of Macedonia.
For the consultation of the table, see image
Designated air carriers of the two Contracting Parties may omit one or more points on agreed routes or operate them in a different order on one or all flights provided that the starting or arrival point is located in the country of which they are a national.
The exercise of traffic rights of 5th freedom is subject to the approval of the Aeronautical Authorities of the two Contracting Parties.