3 Reservations

A state may often wish to sign or ratify or otherwise consent to be bound by a treaty in such manner that certain provisions of the treaty do not bind it, or apply to it subject to modifications. This can be effected principally:

1. by inducing the other party or parties to insert an express term to this effect;

2. by a reservation attached to the signature of a treaty by its representatives and duly recorded in a proces-verbal or protocol of signature;

3. by a reservation attached to the ratification and duly recorded;

4. in the case of a treaty left open for accession by other States, by a reservation attached to its accession and duly recorded.

Where a state wishes to become bound only by a specific part of a treaty, its consent to be so bound can be effective only if this is permitted by the treaty or is otherwise agreed to by the contracting states; and where a treaty allows a contracting state to become partially bound by exercising a choice between differing provisions, the consent must make clear to which provisions it relates.

A reservation is defined in article 2 of the Vienna Convention as “a unilateral statement, however phrased or named, made by a State, when signing, ratifying, accepting, approving, or acceding to a treaty, whereby it purports to exclude or modify the legal effect of certain provisions of the treaty in their application to that State.”

The effect of a reservation depends on whether it is accepted or rejected by the other states concerned. A reservation to a bilateral treaty presents no problems, because it is, in effect, a new proposal reopening the negotiations between the two states concerning the terms of the treaty; and, unless agreement can be reached about the terms of the treaty, no treaty will be concluded. In the case of a multilateral treaty the problem is more complicated, because the reservation may be accepted by some states and rejected by others. On this basis a reservation constitutes a counter-offer which requires a new acceptance, failing which the state making the counteroffer will not become a party to the treaty.

The framing of reservations is not absolutely free. It is admitted, as a general rule, that the reservation must be compatible with the purpose of the convention. The constitution of the organization sometimes indicates the points on which reservations cannot be made. These generally concern the fundamental condition which cannot he modified without a risk of destroying the aim of the convention itself. It is advisable, in addition, to avoid disfiguring a text by an accumulation of reservations. The time during which reservations can be formulated does not generally exceed, for each signatory, the date of ratification.

Reservations can be withdrawn at any moment. They can be invoked by the interested state in opposition to all the parties and, conversely, by all the parties against it.

EXHIBIT 28

RESERVATION

The Republic of ... does not consider itself bound by article 15, paragraphs 2 and 3, of the Agreement, concerning recourse to arbitration for the settlement of disputes between the Contracting Parties.

The Republic of ... declares that article 9, which entitles only States Members of the Economic Commission for Europe to become Parties to the Agreement, is discriminatory.