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OPCW | Technical Secretariat | |
| Office of the Legal Adviser | |||
| S/194/2000 | |||
| 8 June 2000 | |||
| Original: ENGLISH | |||
LEGISLATION QUESTIONNAIRE
SURVEY OF NATIONAL MEASURES TO
REGULATE SCHEDULED CHEMICALS
UNDER THE CHEMICAL WEAPONS CONVENTION
1. A number of States Parties have recently amended their national implementing legislation in order to enforce the Chemical Weapons Convention’s ban, effective 29 April 2000, on transfers of Schedule 2 chemicals to States not party. These include, for example, Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain and Turkey. Several States Parties banned such transfers from the outset, for example, Australia, Italy, Oman and the United States of America. Still others drafted their legislation in such a way that transfers of any scheduled chemical are only possible through a permit process, and thus only had to alter internally the criteria for the approval of such permits, without amending the legislation.
2. Several States Parties which are in the process of drafting legislation have requested assistance from the Technical Secretariat in determining the most effective method of regulating scheduled chemicals and their precursors, both to facilitate the reporting required under the Convention, and to improve control of transfers. To respond to this request for assistance, and to gain an overall view of this matter, the Secretariat is undertaking a questionnaire survey of national measures that have been or will be introduced by States Parties to regulate and control scheduled chemicals and their precursors under the Convention. The Secretariat intends to distribute the results of the survey (without reference to the originator (State Party) of the information provided under Section II of the questionnaire) to all States Parties and to discuss the results in the legislation workshop to be held in Spain later this year. The results of the survey may assist States with practical aspects of implementation or in identifying areas that are, or have been, problematic for some States Parties and possible solutions. Member States may also find this information useful in preparation for the special review session of the Conference of the States Parties (paragraph 22 of Article VIII, paragraphs 26 of Parts VIII and IX of the Verification Annex), which shall be convened not later than 29 April 2003.
3. States Parties are kindly requested to complete the questionnaire annexed hereto as fully as possible, and to return it to the Secretariat before 31 July 2000. Additional comments may be attached on separate sheets, as necessary. Queries or requests for clarification or assistance in completing the questionnaire may be addressed to: Office of the Legal Adviser, OPCW Secretariat, Johan de Wittlaan 32, NL-2517 JR The Hague, the Netherlands.
Telephone: +31-(0)70-416 3779
Fax: +31-(0)70-3306 3535
Email: legal@opcw.org
Annex:
Survey of national measures to regulate scheduled chemicals under the Chemical Weapons Convention: questionnaire
Annex
SURVEY OF NATIONAL MEASURES TO REGULATE
SCHEDULED CHEMICALS UNDER THE CHEMICAL WEAPONS CONVENTION
QUESTIONNAIRE
State Party: ____________________________________________ Date: _______________________________________________________ Person whom the Secretariat may contact to discuss this questionnaire: Name: ________________________________________________________ Telephone: ________________________________________________________ Fax: ________________________________________________________ Email: ________________________________________________________
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SECTION I
National legal system
Under your State’s legal system, what is the relation of national law to international law with respect to implementation of the Chemical Weapons Convention?
Application of the Convention
Beyond your State’s territory, are there any other places under your State’s jurisdiction and control (e.g. associated territories or possessions)? If so, please list them:
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Schedule 1 Convention reference: Article VI and Verification Annex Part VI
þ please check applicable boxes and comment as necessary
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Status of legislation: |
Is the legislation is applicable extraterritorially? Yes No If so, to whom? ___________________________________________________
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Form(s) of legislation: |
Single CWC Act. Name: ______________________________________ integrated legislation. Names: __________________________________
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Scope of legislation:(please attach comments on separate sheets, as necessary) |
Who is the competent authority monitoring Schedule 1 activities?:
How is the 1 tonne aggregate amount of Schedule 1 chemicals referred to in para. 2, Part VI of the VA controlled/monitored? ________________________________________
Do your national regulations explicitly ensure that Schedule 1 chemicals contained in mixtures are covered? If so, how? ____________________________________________________________
Production If so, duration of licence: __________________________________________
Use
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Transfers How are transfers controlled?
Is another control method used?
How are importers identified?_______________________________________ How are exporters identified?_______________________________________
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Prohibitions. Do the regulations explicitly prohibit:
Penalties. What penalties may be applied against offenders?
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Schedule 2Convention reference: Article VI and Verification Annex Part VII þ please check applicable boxes and comment as necessary |
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Status of legislation: |
the legislation is applicable extraterritorially To whom? _________________________________ |
Form(s) of legislation: |
Single CWC Act. Name: _________________________________ integrated legislation. Names: _____________________________
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Scope of legislation: (please attach comments on separate sheets, as necessary) |
Production/processing/consumption How are producers/processors/consumers of Schedule 2 chemicals identified? ______________________________________________ Threshold: _____________________________________ Concentration limits? Percentage _________%
Transfers Who is the competent authority monitoring transfers?:
Who is required to report their transfers to the competent authority?: How are transfers controlled? How are importers identified?____________________________________________ How are exporters identified?____________________________________________ Threshold: __________ Concentration limits? Percentage _________%
Prohibitions. Do the regulations explicitly prohibit:
Penalties. What penalties may be applied against offenders?
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Schedule 3Convention reference: Article VI and Verification Annex Part VIII þ please check applicable boxes and comment as necessary |
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Status of legislation: |
the legislation is applicable extraterritorially To whom? _______________________________________________
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Form(s) of legislation: |
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Scope of legislation: (please attach comments on separate sheets, as necessary) |
Production
Transfers to States Parties Who is the competent authority monitoring transfers?: How are transfers controlled?
How are exporters identified?___________________________________
Threshold: ____________________________________________ Concentration limits? Percentage _________%
End-user certificates: How? _________________________________________________
Penalties. What penalties may be applied against offenders?
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Unscheduled discrete organic chemicals (DOCs)Convention reference: Article VI and Verification Annex Part IX
þ please check applicable boxes and comment as necessary |
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Status of legislation: |
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Form(s) of legislation: |
Single CWC Act. Name: _________________________________ integrated legislation. Names: _____________________________
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Scope of legislation: (please attach on separate sheets, as necessary) |
METHOD FOR COMPILING DATA ON DOCs:
Production How are producers identified? __________________________________________
How is updated information on production obtained? __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________
What are the penalties for non-compliance? _______________________________ |
Practical aspects of controlling scheduled chemicals
1. How are new relevant activities identified (e.g. new producers, processors, consumers of Schedule 1 and 2 chemicals, or new producers of Schedule 3 or unscheduled DOCs)?
2. How are imports of scheduled chemicals tracked (i.e. how are the Convention’s obligations relating to import controls and data reporting implemented)?
3. How are exports of scheduled chemicals tracked (i.e. how are the Convention’s obligations relating to export controls and data reporting implemented)?
4. What is the role of your national Customs Administration in controlling transfers of scheduled chemicals?
5. Has your national Customs Administration implemented the 1996 Customs Cooperation Council recommendation on HS code assignments for scheduled chemicals in the Harmonised System? (see Preparatory Commission document PC-XV/B/2, available from the Secretariat or from the OPCW website: http://www.opcw.org).
6. Have your existing regulations in the field of trade in chemicals been reviewed in order to render them consistent with the object and purpose of the Convention (subparagraph 2(e) of Article XI)?
7. Have problem areas in regulating and controlling scheduled chemicals been identified? If so, what are these, and have any solutions been found or proposed?
For States Parties which have introduced integrated legislation
8. What were the reasons which led the government to consider following an integrated approach?
9. With what other legislation has the Chemical Weapons Convention implementing legislation been integrated?
10. How did the process of integration evolve and who was involved?
11. Has the integrated approach been beneficial – e.g. the legislation is more effective, better streamlined, or the administrative burden is lighter? If so, for whom?
12. What other chemical regulatory regimes are in place nationally? Is there any discussion of further integration?
For States Parties which have no implementing legislation (or incomplete legislation) in place:
13. What have been the main impediments to the enactment of implementing legislation?
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