TNAG-2112-FCO40-3011-International-Rights-and-Obligations-Sub-Group-of-the-Sino-B-1990 — Page 193

PROTOCOL TO THE INTERNATIONAL CONVENTION RELATING TO THE SIMPLIFICATION OF CUSTOMS FORMALITIES

At the moment of signing the Convention of to-day's date relating to the simplification of Customs formalities, the undersigned, duly authorised, have agreed as follows:

I. It is understood that the obligations of the Contracting States under the Convention referred to above do not in any way affect those which they have contracted or may in future contract under international treaties or agreements relating to the preservation of the health of human beings, animals or plants (particularly the International Opium Convention), the pro- tection of public morals or international security.

2. As regards the application of Article 3, the obligation accepted by Canada binds only the Federal Government and not the Provincial Governments, which, under the Constitution, possess the power of prohibiting or restricting the importation of certain products into their territories. 3. As regards the application of Articles 4 and 5, the acceptance of these Articles by Brazil and Canada only involves, in the case of these States, the responsibility of the Federal Govern- ment to the extent to which the measures relating to tariffs or regulations referred to in those Articles are taken by itself, and without its assuming any responsibility as regards such measures taken by the States or Provinces under rights conferred on them by the Constitution of the country.

4. In regard to the application of Article 4 and of the second paragraph of Article 5, the undertaking entered into by Germany does not entail any obligation on her part to publish certain trifling taxes which she collects or certain special formalities which she applies, but which are not imposed by her but by Federal States or by local authorities.

5. As regards the application of Article 11, the Contracting States recognise that the rules which they have established constitute the minimum guarantees which all the Contracting States may claim, and do not exclude the voluntary extension or adaptation of such rules by bilateral or other agreements voluntarily concluded between the said States.

6. In view of the special circumstances in which they are placed, the Governments of Spain, Finland, Poland and Portugal have stated that they reserve the right of excepting Article 10 at the time of ratification and that they will not be bound to apply the said Article until after a period of five years from this day.

A similar declaration has been made by the Governments of Spain, Greece and Portugal in respect of paragraph 8 of Article II of the Convention, and by the Governments of Spain and Portugal in respect of paragraph 3 of the same Article. The Government of Poland has made a similar declaration in respect of the application of the whole of the same Article, with the exception of paragraphs 1, 2, 4, 5, 7 and 9, which it agrees to apply as from the coming into force in its own case of the said Convention.

The other Contracting States, while stating their acceptance of the reserves so formulated, declare that they will not be bound, in regard to the States which have made the said reserves, as regards the matters to which they relate, until the provisions in question are applied by the said States.

Any exceptions which may subsequently be formulated by other Governments, at the time of their ratification or accession, with reference to Article 10, Article 11, or any particular pro- visions of those Articles, shall be accepted, for the period referred to in the first paragraph above, and subject to the conditions laid down in the third paragraph, if the Council of the League of Nations so decides after consulting the technical body mentioned in Article 22 of the Convention.

The present Protocol will have the same force, effect and duration as the Convention of to- day's date, of which it is to be considered as an integral part.

This is to certify that this is a true copy of a page of a document kept in the Archives of the League of Nations (in box COL 243, file 5).

TED

NATIONS

LIBRARY

NATIONS

UNIES

BIBLIOTHEQUE

OFNEVA

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Geneva, 13 June, 1990,

from Welwalk

Sven Welander,

Chief, League of Nations Archives

& Historical Collections Unit