For the purposes of this Agreement:

(a)

By "vehicles", automobiles, articulated vehicles, trailers and semi-trailers, as defined by s. 4 of the Convention on Road Traffic dated 19 September 1949, with the exception of vehicles belonging to or under the responsibility of the Armed Forces of a Contracting Party;

(b)

"Dangerous goods" means the materials and articles of which Annexes A and B ¹ Prohibit international carriage by road or permit it only under certain conditions;

(c)

By "international carriage" means any transport carried out on the territory of at least two Contracting Parties by vehicles defined above.

1. Subject to the provisions of subs. 3 of Art. 4, the dangerous goods listed in Annex A shall not be subject to international transport.

2. International transport of other dangerous goods shall be permitted if:

(a)

The conditions set out in Annex A for the goods in issue, in particular for their packaging and labelling; and

(b)

The conditions imposed by Annex B, in particular for the construction, equipment and movement of the vehicle carrying the goods in question, subject to the requirements of subs. 2 of the art. 4.

The Annexes to this Agreement shall form an integral part of the Agreement.

(1) Each Contracting Party shall retain the right to regulate or prohibit for reasons other than safety during the course of the road the entry into its territory of dangerous goods.

(2) Vehicles which were in service in the territory of a Contracting Party upon entry into force of this Agreement or which have been placed in service within two months after that entry into force may, for a period of three years thereafter, Date of this entry into force, carry out an international transport of dangerous goods even if their construction and equipment do not fully meet the conditions imposed by Annex B for the transport in question. Special clauses in Annex B may, however, reduce this time limit.

(3) Contracting Parties shall retain the right to agree, by special bilateral or multilateral agreements, that some of the dangerous goods for which this Agreement prohibits all international transport may, under certain Conditions, to be the subject of international transport in their territories or to dangerous goods in respect of which this Agreement permits international transport only under specified conditions may be subject, in their territories, to International transport under less stringent conditions than those imposed by The Annexes to this Agreement. Specific bilateral or multilateral agreements referred to in this paragraph shall be communicated to the Secretary-General of the United Nations, who shall communicate them to the Contracting Parties not signatories to those agreements.

The transport to which this Agreement applies shall remain subject to national or international requirements concerning, in general terms, road traffic, international road transport or international trade in Goods.

1. The member countries of the Economic Commission for Europe and the countries admitted to the Commission in an advisory capacity in accordance with subs. 8 of the terms of reference of that Commission may become Contracting Parties to this Agreement:

(a)

By signing it;

(b)

By ratifying it after signing it subject to ratification;

(c)

By adhering to it.

2. Countries that may participate in certain work of the Economic Commission for Europe under s. 11 of the terms of reference of that Commission may become Contracting Parties to this Agreement by acceding to it after its entry into force.

3. The Agreement shall be open for signature until 15 December 1957. After that date, it will be open for accession.

4. Ratification or accession shall be effected by the deposit of an instrument with the Secretary-General of the United Nations.

1. This Agreement shall enter into force one month after the date on which the number of countries referred to in paragraph 1. 1 of the art. 6 which have signed it without reservation of ratification or have deposited their instruments of ratification or accession shall have been increased to five. However, its annexes apply only six months after the entry into force of the Agreement itself.

2. For each country ratifying or acceding to this Agreement after five of the countries mentioned in par. 1 of the art. 6 will have signed it without reservation of ratification or have deposited their instruments of ratification or accession, this Agreement shall enter into force one month after the deposit of the instrument of ratification or accession of that country, and its annexes shall be Applied to that country, either on the same date, if they are already in force at that time, or, failing that, on the date on which they are applied under the provisions of s. 1 of this article.

Each Contracting Party may denounce this Agreement by notification addressed to the Secretary-General of the United Nations.

(2) Denunciation shall take effect twelve months after the date on which the Secretary-General has received such notification.

(1) This Agreement shall cease to have effect if, after its entry into force, the number of Contracting Parties is less than five for twelve consecutive months.

2. In the event that a global agreement regulating the transport of dangerous goods would be concluded, any provision of this Agreement which would be in conflict with any of the provisions of this global agreement In the relationship between the Parties to this Agreement which have become Parties to the global agreement, and from the date of entry into force of this Agreement, automatically abolished and replaced ipso facto by the relevant provision of the global agreement.

Any country may, when signing this Agreement without reservation as to ratification or upon the deposit of its instrument of ratification or accession or at any later time, declare by notification addressed to the Secretary-General of The United Nations, that this Agreement shall be applicable to all or part of the territories it represents on the international level. The Agreement and its annexes shall be applicable to the territory or territories mentioned in the notification one month after the receipt of such notification by the Secretary-General.

2. Any country that has done so, in accordance with par. 1 of this Article a declaration which has the effect of making this Agreement applicable to a territory which it represents on the international level may, in accordance with Art. 8, denounce the Agreement in respect of that territory.

1. Any dispute between two or more Contracting Parties concerning the interpretation or application of this Agreement shall, as far as possible, be settled by negotiation between the Parties in dispute.

(2) Any dispute which has not been settled by negotiation shall be referred to arbitration if any of the Contracting Parties in dispute so requests and shall, accordingly, be referred to one or more arbitrators chosen by mutual agreement Parties in dispute. If, within three months of the date of the request for arbitration, the disputing Parties are unable to agree on the choice of an arbitrator or arbitrators, any such Party may request the Secretary-General of the United Nations To appoint a sole arbitrator to which the dispute shall be referred for decision.

(3) The award of the arbitrator or arbitrators designated in accordance with s. 2 of this Article shall be binding on the Contracting Parties in dispute.

(1) Each Contracting Party may, at the time of signing, ratifying or acceding to this Agreement, declare that it does not consider itself bound by s. 11. The other Contracting Parties shall not be bound by s. 11 to any Contracting Party which has made such a reservation.

(2) Any Contracting Party which has made a reservation in accordance with par. 1 of this article may at any time raise this reservation by a notification addressed to the Secretary-General of the United Nations.

(1) After the present Agreement has been in force for three years, any Contracting Party may, by notification addressed to the Secretary-General of the United Nations, request the convening of a conference to review the Text of the Agreement. The Secretary-General shall notify all Contracting Parties of this request and shall convene a Review Conference if, within four months from the date of the notification addressed by him, at least one quarter of the Contracting Parties Signify their consent to this request.

2. If a conference is convened in accordance with par. 1 of this article, the Secretary-General shall notify all Contracting Parties and invite them to submit, within three months, the proposals which they would like to see examined by the Conference. The Secretary-General shall communicate to all Contracting Parties the provisional agenda of the Conference, as well as the text of those proposals, at least three months before the opening date of the Conference.

The Secretary-General shall invite to any conference convened in accordance with this article all the countries referred to in s. 1 of the art. 6, as well as the countries which have become Contracting Parties pursuant to s. 2 of the art. 6.

1. Regardless of the procedure for revision provided for in Art. 13, any Contracting Party may propose one or more amendments to the Annexes to this Agreement. To that end, it shall transmit the text to the Secretary-General of the United Nations. In order to be consistent with other international agreements on the transport of dangerous goods, the Secretary-General may also propose amendments to the Annexes to this Agreement.

2. The Secretary-General shall communicate to all Contracting Parties and shall bring to the knowledge of the other countries referred to in par. 1 of the art. 6 any proposal made in accordance with paragraph 6. 1 of this article.

3. ¹ Any draft amendment to the annexes shall be deemed to be accepted unless, within the period of three months from the date on which the Secretary-General transmitted it, at least one third of the Contracting Parties, or five of them, if the third party is Shall not notify the Secretary-General in writing of their opposition to the proposed amendment. If the amendment is deemed to be accepted, it shall enter into force for all Contracting Parties at the expiration of a new period of three months, except in the following cases:

(a)

In the event that similar amendments have been made or are likely to be made to other international agreements referred to in s. 1 of this Article, the amendment shall enter into force upon the expiration of a time limit which shall be fixed by the Secretary-General so as to allow, as far as possible, the simultaneous entry into force of that amendment and of those who have been or will be Likely to be made to these other agreements; the time limit, however, may not be less than one month;

(b)

The Contracting Party submitting the draft amendment may specify in its proposal a period of more than three months for the entry into force of the amendment in the event that it is accepted.

The Secretary-General shall communicate as soon as possible to all Contracting Parties and to all countries referred to in s. 1 of the art. 6 Any objection received from the Contracting Parties against a proposed amendment.

(5) If the draft amendment to the annexes is not deemed to be accepted, but if at least one Contracting Party other than the one that proposed it has notified the Secretary-General in writing of its agreement on the draft, a meeting of all Contracting Parties And all countries referred to in s. 1 of the art. 6 shall be convened by the Secretary-General within three months of the expiration of the three-month period provided for by s. 3 of this article to oppose the amendment. The Secretary-General may also invite representatives to this meeting:

(a)

International governmental organisations with competence in transport;

(b)

International non-governmental organisations whose activities are directly linked to the transport of dangerous goods in the territories of the Contracting Parties.

6. Any amendment adopted by more than half the total number of Contracting Parties to a meeting convened in accordance with subs. 5 of this Article shall enter into force for all Contracting Parties in accordance with the modalities decided at the meeting by the majority of the Contracting Parties taking part in the meeting.

In addition to the notifications under s. 13 and 14, the Secretary-General of the United Nations shall notify the countries referred to in para. 1 of the art. 6, as well as to the countries which have become Contracting Parties pursuant to s. 2 of the art. 6:

(a)

Signatures, ratifications and accessions in accordance with Art. 6;

(b)

The dates on which this Agreement and its Annexes shall enter into force in accordance with Art. 7;

(c)

Denunciations in accordance with art. 8;

(d)

Repeal of the Agreement in accordance with s. 9;

(e)

Notifications and denunciations received in accordance with Art. 10;

(f)

Declarations and notifications received in accordance with paras. 1 and 2 of Art. 12;

(g)

The acceptance and the date of entry into force of the amendments in accordance with s. 3 and 6 of Art. 14.

(1) The Protocol for the Signing of this Agreement shall have the same force, value and duration as the Agreement itself shall be considered to be an integral part.

(2) No reservation to this Agreement shall be permitted outside those laid down in the Protocol of Signature and those formulated in accordance with Art. 12.

After 15 December 1957, the original of this Agreement shall be deposited with the Secretary-General of the United Nations who shall transmit certified copies thereof to each of the countries referred to in paragraph 1 of Art. 6.

In witness whereof , the undersigned, duly authorized, have signed this Agreement.

Done at Geneva, on 30 September mil nine hundred and fifty-seven, in a single copy, in the English and French languages for the text of the Agreement itself and in the French language for the annexes, the two texts being equally authentic for the Agreement Itself.

The Secretary-General of the United Nations shall be invited to establish a translation of the authoritative English annexes and to attach that translation to the certified copies referred to in Art. 17.

(Suivent signatures)