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Introduction | Network of legal experts
In decision C-V/DEC.20, dated 19 May 2000, the Conference of the States Parties encouraged States Parties that are in a position to do so, to offer assistance to States drafting national legislation to implement the Convention, either bilaterally or through the OPCW. As subsequently indicated in the Report by the Director-General, “National Implementation Measures” (EC-32/DG.17, dated 13 March 2003), greater dialogue among States Parties is required to persuade those that have not yet done so to allocate the resources necessary to draft and adopt national implementing legislation.
Further to the above, the Technical Secretariat invited the National Authorities of States Parties to submit to the Secretariat the names of legal experts who have in-depth knowledge of the national implementing legislation called for by the Convention. On the basis of the nominations received, an OPCW network of legal experts has been established, similar to that which was created in 2000 in Latin America and the Caribbean. The Latin American network was created to render assistance and advice to States Parties in the region that were engaged in elaborating the national implementing legislation called for by the Convention, taking advantage of similarities among the legal systems, governmental structures and languages in the region. The objective of the new, broader network of legal experts will be to increase the OPCW’s capacity to assist States Parties in implementing their obligations under Article VII, paragraphs 1 and 5, by providing a framework for States Parties that are in a position to do so to offer bilateral legal assistance, and thereby creating a cost-effective complement to the technical assistance offered on request by the Secretariat to individual States Parties.
The Secretariat convened a meeting of the experts nominated by States Parties, from 3 to 7 November 2003 in The Hague. It included general-orientation sessions for all participants, a workshop for legal experts currently engaged in drafting implementing legislation, and a coordination meeting of the members of the OPCW network of legal experts to discuss a tentative plan of network activities for 2004.
Introduction | Network of legal experts