29 AOUT 1997. An Act to amend the 1990 Protocol to amend the Convention on International Carriage by Rail (COTIF) of 9 May 1980, made in Bern on 20 December 1990 (1)

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 section 77, paragraph 1^er6° of the Constitution.
Art. 2. The 1990 Protocol amending the Convention on International Carriage by Rail (C.O.T.I.F.) of 9 May 1980, made in Bern on 20 December 1990, will come out its full and full effect.
Promulgate this law, order that it be clothed with state seal and published by the Belgian Monitor.
Given at Châteauneuf-de-Grasse on 29 August 1997.
ALBERT
By the King:
Minister of Foreign Affairs,
E. DERYCKE
Minister of Transport,
Mr. DAERDEN
Seal of the state seal:
Minister of Justice,
S. DE CLERCK
Protocol 1990 amending the Convention
International Rail Transport (COTIF) of 9 May 1980
Pursuant to Articles 6 and 19, § 2, of the Convention on International Carriage by Rail (COTIF), signed in Bern on 9 May 1980, the second General Assembly of the Intergovernmental Organization for International Carriage by Rail (OTIF) was held in Bern from 17 to 20 December 1990.
Considering the need to amend the provisions of COTIF to adapt them to the new needs of the international community and international rail transport, the Contracting Parties agreed that:
MODIFICATIONS DECIDEES BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY
Article I
Amendments to the Convention
Article 2
Complete the text of § 2 with a new paragraph 2 of the following content:
"The carriage carried on a line, within the meaning of the preceding paragraph, shall be assimilated to the other internal transport carried out under the responsibility of the railway, in addition to the rail transport. »
Article 3
Amend the text of § 2 to read:
“§2. The lines referred to in Article 2, § 1^er, and § 2, paragraph 1, on which ...".
Please specify paragraph 1 of § 3 as follows:
“§3. Companies whose lines referred to in Article 2, § 2, paragraph 1, are registered on ...".
Article 4
Complete the text as follows:
"In the following texts, the term "Convention" covers the Convention itself, the Protocol referred to in Article 1, paragraph 2, the Additional Mandate for the Audit of Accounts and Appendices A and B, including their Annexes, referred to in Article 3, §§ 1^er and 4. »
Article 7
Amend the text of § 1^erparagraph 1, as follows:
« § 1^er. The Administrative Committee consists of representatives of twelve Member States. »
Delete in the first sentence of paragraph 2 of § 1^erthe words:
"...and assumes the chairmanship of the Committee".
Complete the text of § 2 (a) as follows:
"(a) establishes its rules of procedure and designates, by a two-thirds majority, the member State that assumes its presidency for each five-year period; »
Complete the text of § 2, letter (d) with a new paragraph 2 of the following content:
"the Director General and the Deputy Director General shall be appointed for a period of five years, renewable."
Article 11
Replace the text of § 7 with the following:
“§ 7. The audit shall be carried out by the Government of Switzerland, in accordance with the rules set out in the Additional Mandate annexed to the Convention itself and, subject to any special directives of the Administrative Committee, in accordance with the provisions of the Financial and Accounting Regulations of the Organization. »
Article 19
Complete the text of § 3 with a new letter (a) of the following content:
“(a) Additional mandate for auditing accounts; »
Letters (a) and (b) become letters (b) and (c).
After the OTIF Protocol on Privileges and Immunities, the following Annex is inserted:
"Additional mandate for auditing accounts
1. The Auditor shall verify the Organization's deposits, including all trust funds and special accounts, as he considers necessary to ensure:
(a) the financial statements are in accordance with the books and records of the Organization;
(b) the financial transactions reported to have been carried out in accordance with the rules and regulations, budgetary provisions and other directives of the Organization;
(c) that the values and cash deposited in a bank or cash pool have been either verified by certificates directly received from the depositaries of the Organization or effectively counted;
(d) adequate internal controls, including internal audit;
(e) that all assets and liabilities, as well as all surpluses and deficits, have been recorded according to procedures that it considers satisfactory.
2. The Auditor shall be solely competent to accept, in whole or in part, the certificates and justifications provided by the Director General. If it deems appropriate, it may conduct a detailed review and verification of any accounting document relating to financial transactions, supplies and equipment.
3. The Auditor shall have free access at any time to all books, writings, accounting documents and other information that he considers necessary.
4. The Auditor is not competent to reject a specific section of the accounts, but he immediately draws the attention of the Director General to any operation that is considered to be questionable for due process or opportunity to take appropriate action.
5. The Auditor submits and signs an attestation on the financial statements in the following terms: "I have reviewed the financial statements of the Organization for the fiscal year ended December 31, .... My review included a general analysis of accounting practices and the control of accounting records and other evidence that appeared to me necessary in the circumstances. This certificate states that:
(a) the financial statements satisfactorily reflect the financial situation on the expiry date of the period under review and the results of the transactions carried out during the period ended on that date;
(b) the financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the above accounting principles;
(c) the financial principles were applied in a manner consistent with those adopted in the previous fiscal year;
(d) financial transactions were conducted in accordance with the rules and regulations, budgetary provisions and other directives of the Organization.
6. In his report on financial transactions, the Auditor states:
(a) the nature and extent of the audit to which it conducted;
(b) elements that relate to the completeness or accuracy of the accounts, including where applicable:
1 the information necessary for the correct interpretation and appraisal of the accounts;
2° any amount that should have been perceived but that has not been accounted for;
3° any amount that has been the subject of a regular or conditional expense obligation and that has not been recorded or has not been accounted for in the financial statements;
4° the expenses for which there is not sufficient evidence;
5° the point of knowing whether it is held books of accounts in good and due form. Cases where the material presentation of the financial statements differ from generally recognized and consistently applied accounting principles;
(c) other matters to which the attention of the Administrative Committee should be drawn, for example:
(1) cases of fraud or presumption of fraud;
2° the waste or irregular use of funds or other assets of the Organization (when the accounts for the transaction would be in good standing);
3° expenses that may subsequently result in considerable costs to the Organization;
4° any defects, general or particular, of the system for the control of income and expenditure or supplies and equipment;
5° expenses not in accordance with the intentions of the Administrative Committee, taking into account transfers duly authorized within the budget;
6° the excesses of appropriations, taking into account changes resulting from duly authorized transfers within the budget;
7° expenses not in accordance with the authorities governing them;
(d) the accuracy or inaccuracies of records relating to supplies and equipment, based on the inventory and examination of books.
In addition, the report may refer to transactions that have been recorded in a prior period and to which new information has been obtained or transactions that are to be made in a subsequent period and on which it appears desirable to inform the Administrative Committee in advance.
7. In no case shall the Auditor include criticism in his report without giving the Director General an adequate opportunity to explain himself.
8. The Auditor shall notify the Administrative Committee and the Director General of the audit findings. In addition, he may submit any comments he considers appropriate with respect to the financial report of the Director General.
9. To the extent that the Auditor has conducted a summary audit or has not been able to obtain sufficient justification, the Auditor shall include it in his or her certificate and report, specifying the reasons for his or her observations and the resulting consequences for the financial situation and recorded financial transactions. »
Article II
Amendments to the Uniform Rules CIV
Article 1 CIV
Amend the text of § 1^er as follows:
« § 1^er. Subject to the exceptions provided for in Article 2, 3 and 33, the Uniform Rules shall apply to all carriage of passengers and baggage, including motor vehicles, carried out with international transport titles established for a journey through the territories of at least two States and comprising exclusively lines listed in Articles 3 and 10 of the Convention, as well as, where applicable, transport similar in accordance with Article 2, § 2, paragraph 2 of the Convention.
The Uniform Rules also apply, with respect to the responsibility of the railway in the event of death and injury of passengers, to persons accompanying a consignment whose carriage is carried out in accordance with the Uniform Rules concerning the Contract for the International Carriage of Goods (CIM). »
2° Article 14 CIV
Complete the text of § 1^er by the following sentence:
« § 1^er.... For the carriage of motor vehicles, the railway may provide that passengers remain in the motor vehicle during carriage. » .
Article 17 CIV
Amend the current text of § 2 and supplement it with a new paragraph 2 as follows:
"§2. International tariffs may admit under certain conditions, as baggage, animals and objects not covered by § 1^eras well as motor vehicles transported with or without trailers.
In particular, the conditions for the carriage of motor vehicles specify the conditions for admission to transport, registration, loading and transport, the form and contents of the transport document which shall bear the CIV acronym, the conditions for unloading and delivery, as well as the obligations of the driver with respect to his vehicle, loading and unloading. »
Article 41 CIV
Edit title: "Automotive vehicles"
Amend the text of § 1^er as follows:
« § 1^er. In the event of a delay in the loading for a cause attributable to the railway or delay in the delivery of a motor vehicle, the railway shall pay, where the rightful person proves that the damage is caused, an allowance whose amount cannot exceed the transport price of the vehicle. »
Amend the text of § 3 to read:
“§3. In the event of a total or partial loss of the vehicle, the compensation to be paid to the person entitled for the proven damage is calculated according to the usual value of the vehicle and cannot exceed 8,000 units of account. »
Amend the text of § 4 to read:
Ҥ4. With respect to the objects placed in the vehicle, the railway is only responsible for the damage caused by its fault. The total compensation payable cannot exceed 1000 units of accounts.
The railway only responds to objects placed outside the vehicle in the event of dol. »
Under § 5, the second sentence of current § 3:
“§ 5. A trailer with or without load is considered a vehicle. »
Under a new § 6, the text of the current § 5, with a slight change:
“§ 6. Other baggage liability provisions are applicable to the carriage of motor vehicles. »
5° Article 42 CIV
Amend the title to read:
"The right to invoke limits of liability"
Amend the text of paragraph 1 to read:
"The provisions of sections 30, 31 and 38 to 41 of the Uniform Rules or those provided for in national law, which limit the allowances to a specified amount, shall not apply, if it is proven that the damage is the result of an act or omission that the railway has committed, either with the intention of causing such damage, shall be lessened and with conscience that such damage will likely result. »
Delete the text of paragraph 2.
Article 43 CIV
Complete the title as follows:
" Conversion and interest in compensation"
Add a new § 1^er of the following content
« § 1^er. When the calculation of the allowance implies the conversion of the amounts expressed in foreign monetary units, it is made from the course to the day and place of payment of the allowance. »
§§ 1^er2, 3 and 4, respectively, become §§ 2, 3, 4 and 5.
7° Article 53 CIV
Amend the text of paragraph 1 of § 1^er as follows:
« § 1^er. Any action of the person entitled to be based on the responsibility of the railway in the event of death and passenger injury is extinguished if he does not report the accident that occurred to the passenger within six months of the knowledge of the injury to one of the railways to which a claim may be filed under section 49, § 1^er. » .
8° Article 55 CIV
Complete the text of § 2, paragraph 2 as follows:
"However, the statute of limitations is two years if it is an action based on injury resulting from an act or omission committed, either with the intention of causing such harm, or with conscience that such harm will likely result from it. »
Delete (a) and (b).
Article III
Amendments to the CIM Uniform Rules
Article 1 CIM
Complete the end of the text of § 1^er as follows:
« § 1^er. Subject to ... of the Convention, as well as, where appropriate, transport assimilated in accordance with Article 2, § 2, paragraph 2 of the Convention. »
2° Article 18 CIM
Simplify the text as follows:
"The consignor is responsible for the accuracy of the registrations carried by his care on the consignment note. It bears all the consequences resulting from the fact that these inscriptions would be irregular, inaccurate, incomplete or worn elsewhere than in the place reserved for each of them. »
Delete the last sentence.
Article 40 CIM
In § 2, delete the following terms:
", subject to the limitation provided for in Article 45".
Delete § 4.
Article 43 CIM
Amend the text of § 1^er as follows:
« § 1^er. If damage, including damage, results from the overrun of the delivery time, the railway must pay compensation that cannot exceed the quadruple of the transport price. »
Article 44 CIM
Amend the title to read:
"The right to invoke limits of liability"
Amend the text of paragraph 1 to read:
"The limits of liability set out in sections 25, 26, 30, 32, 33, 40, 42, 43, 45 and 46 shall not apply, if it is proved that the damage is the result of an act or omission that the railway has committed, either with the intention of causing such damage, or with conscience that such damage will likely result from it. »
Delete the text of paragraph 2.
Article 47 CIM
Amend the title to read:
" Conversion and interest in compensation"
Complete Article 47 by a new § 1^er to read:
« § 1^er. When the calculation of the allowance implies the conversion of the amounts expressed in foreign monetary units, it is made from the course to the day and place of payment of the allowance. »
§§ 1^er2 and 3 become §§ 2, 3 and 4.
Article 58 CIM
Complete the text of § 1^er(c) as follows:
"(c) based on damage resulting from an act or omission committed, either with the intention of causing such harm, or with conscience that such harm will likely result from it; »
Delete the text of § 1^er(d).
Letter (e) becomes letter (d).
FINAL PROVISIONS
Article IV
Signature, ratification, acceptance, approval
§ 1^er. The present Protocol shall remain open to the Government of Switzerland, the Depositary Government, until 30 June 1991, for signature by the States which were invited to the Second General Assembly of the Intergovernmental Organization for International Carriage by Rail (OTIF).
§ 2. In accordance with the provisions of Article 20, § 1^er this Protocol shall be subject to ratification, acceptance or approval; instruments of ratification, acceptance or approval shall be deposited as soon as possible with the Depositary Government.
Article V
Entry into force
The decisions contained in this Protocol shall enter into force on the first day of the twelfth month following that in which the Depositary Government has notified the Member States of the deposit of the instrument by which the conditions of Article 20, § 2 of COTIF are fulfilled.
Article VI
Access
States which, invited to the Second General Assembly of OTIF, have not signed this Protocol within the time limit provided for in Article IV, § 1^er, may accede to it by depositing an instrument of accession with the Depositary Government.
Article VII
Relationship between COTIF and the Protocol
Only States parties to COTIF may become Parties to this Protocol.
Article VIII
Texts of the Protocol
This Protocol is signed and signed in French.
The French text is attached to official translations in German, English, Arabic, Italian and Dutch.
Only the French text is authentic.
In faith, undersigned Plenipotentiaries duly authorized by their respective Governments have signed this Protocol.
Done in Bern on December 20th, nine hundred and ninety, in a single original French-language copy, which remains deposited in the Archives of the Swiss Confederation.
A certified true copy will be given to each State Party.
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