Amendment of the Rotterdam Convention (Article 21)
The proposal, adoption and entry into force of amendments of the Rotterdam Convention are dealt with in Article 21 of the Convention. Only a Party may propose amendments to the Convention. Any amendment proposal must be made available by the Secretariat to Parties at least six months before the meeting of the Conference of the Parties at which it is proposed for adoption. Any amendment is adopted by the Conference of the Parties by consensus or, as a last resort, by a three-fourths majority vote of the Parties present and voting at the meeting.
Entry into force of amendments of the Convention is dealt with under paragraph 5 of that Article, which provides that:
Ratification, acceptance or approval of an amendment shall be notified to the Depositary in writing. An amendment adopted in accordance with paragraph 3 shall enter into force for the Parties having accepted it on the ninetieth day after the date of deposit of instruments of ratification, acceptance or approval by at least three fourths of the Parties. Thereafter, the amendment shall enter into force for any other Party on the ninetieth day after the date on which that Party deposits its instrument of ratification, acceptance or approval of the amendment.
Adoption and amendment to the annexes to the Rotterdam Convention (Article 22)
Annexes to the Convention are restricted to procedural, scientific, technical or administrative matters.
The proposal, adoption and entry into force of new annexes or of amendments to existing annexes to the Rotterdam Convention are dealt with in Article 22 of the Convention, which provides for a specific set of rules governing the listing of chemicals in Annex III to the Convention.
Article 22 refers back to the provisions embodied in Article 21 with respect to the proposal and adoption of new annexes or the adoption of amendments to existing annexes other than Annex III. The rules governing the entry into force of new annexes or of amendments to existing annexes other than Annex III differ from those governing that of amendments to the Convention in that each Party has the right, within a one-year deadline from the notification by the Depositary of the adopted annex or amendment to existing annexes other than Annex III to declare that it is unable to accept it. Once it enters into force, the new annex or the amendment to an existing annex other than Annex III will only bind those Parties that have not made such a notification.
The procedure for the proposal, adoption and entry into force of amendments to Annex III is set out in paragraph 5 of Article 21 pursuant to which:
- Amendments to Annex III shall be proposed and adopted according to the procedure laid down in Articles 5 to 9 and paragraph 2 of Article 21;
- The Conference of the Parties shall take its decisions on adoption by consensus;
- A decision to amend Annex III shall forthwith be communicated to the Parties by the Depositary. The amendment shall enter into force for all Parties on a date to be specified in the decision.