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AGREEMENT
BETWEEN THE GOVERNMENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF LATVIA AND THE GOVERNMENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF HUNGARY ON CO-OPERATION AND MUTUAL ASSISTANCE IN THE EVENT OF DISASTERS AND OTHER LARGE-SCALE ACCIDENTS

The Government of the Republic of Latvia and the Government of the Republic of Hungary (hereinafter referred to as the Contracting Parties),

taking into account the role of the United Nations (hereinafter referred to as the UN) and other international organisations in the prevention and elimination of the consequences of disasters and other large-scale accidents and honouring the international agreements concerning the subject matter of the present Agreement established under the auspices of these international organisations,

having regard to the UN Convention on the Transboundary Effects of Industrial Accidents signed in Helsinki on March 17, 1992,

having regard to the Final Act of the Third Permanent Meeting of the European Security and Co-operation Conference in Vienna, adopted on January 19, 1989, and the Helsinki document dated July 10, 1992,

having recognised the probability of the occurrence of disasters and other large-scale accidents,

aware that the exchange of scientific and technical information in the field of disaster prevention is a common interest,

convinced of the need of co-operation between the Contracting Parties to ease mutual assistance and to speed up the transfer of relief teams and equipment in the event of disasters and other large-scale accidents,

have agreed on the following:

Article 1

Definitions

The terms used in the present Agreement shall bear the following meaning:

(1) "The Contracting Party requesting assistance" - the Contracting Party whose authorised institution requests the other Contracting Party for assistance under the present Agreement.

(2) "The Contracting Party providing assistance" - the Contracting Party, who meets the request of the other Contracting Party for assistance.

(3) "Transit state" - the state of the Contracting Party through whose territory relief teams transit or aid deliveries or equipment are conveyed in order to provide assistance to a third state.

(4) "Disasters and other large-scale accidents" (hereinafter referred to as disaster) - an event caused by devastating natural forces or human activity or omission, which severely threatens and/or damages human life, health, property or the environment.

(5) "Assistance" - pursuant to the present Agreement, the assistance provided by the Contracting Party providing assistance to the Contracting Party requesting assistance for the elimination of the consequences of a disaster or for rescue works by way of sending relief teams, individual experts, equipment and/or aid deliveries.

(6) "Rescue works" - the totality of activities whose purpose is to protect human life, to protect the health of the population and to mitigate the environmental, cultural and material losses and secondary effects in the event of disasters.

(7) "Equipment" - the materials, technical means and vehicles needed for providing assistance, rescue dogs and the material goods required for satisfying the personal needs of the members of the relief teams.

(8) "Aid deliveries" - all the material goods of primary importance, including medicines and controlled medicines containing narcotics or psychotropic substances, used to mitigate the consequences of disasters or intended for free distribution among the population affected by the disaster.

(9) "Relief teams and individual experts" - trained personnel or group of experts of the Contracting Party providing assistance, who have been designated for providing assistance by this Contracting Party and who are adequately prepared and have the necessary equipment.

Article 2

The Aim and Subject Matter of the Agreement

(1) The aim of the present Agreement is to enable the Contracting Parties to mutually provide assistance to each other, in accordance with the means available to them, in the event of disasters when the Contracting Party requesting assistance is unable to fully eliminate the disaster or remedy its consequences with its own resources.

(2) The present Agreement regulates the conditions of the voluntary assistance provided on the basis of the request of the Contracting Party requesting assistance and other forms of co-operation.

Article 3

Authorised Institutions

(1) The Contracting Parties designate the following institutions (hereinafter referred to as the authorised institutions) which are responsible for the implementation of the present Agreement and are entitled to request and provide assistance:

1. For the Republic of Latvia

- the Ministry of the Interior.

2. For the Republic of Hungary

- the Ministry of the Interior.

(2) The authorised institutions of the Contracting Parties shall notify each other of the institutions, organisations and persons designated for taking up further contact within 30 (thirty) days from the entry into force of the present Agreement at the latest.

(3) In the course of the implementation of the present Agreement, the authorised institutions may enter into direct contact with each other and they shall mutually notify each other of the accurate data for maintaining contact, in particular addresses and telecommunication data for this purpose.

(4) The Contracting Parties shall ensure the continuous operation of the authorised institutions and the organisations designated for taking up contact. The Contracting Parties shall notify each other of any changes in the authorised institutions and the organisations designated for taking up contact in writing within 30 (thirty) days.

Article 4

The Request for Assistance and Exchange of Information

(1) Assistance shall be provided on the basis of a written request, or, in the extremely urgent case, on the basis of a verbal request. Any verbal request shall be confirmed in writing as soon as possible, but not later than 3 (three) hours. In the request, the Contracting Party requesting assistance shall provide information on the place, time and date of the beginning of the disaster, the nature and extent of the disaster and the characteristics of the current situation; the measures already taken and planned and the required support and the priorities of assistance.

(2) The authorised institution of the Contracting Party providing assistance shall, within the shortest possible period, make the decision on providing assistance and inform the Contracting Party requesting assistance of its immediate possibilities, the conditions and extent of assistance.

Article 5

Forms of Providing Assistance, Co-ordination and Command

(1) The provision of assistance may be implemented by sending relief teams, individual experts, equipment and aid deliveries or by transferring the necessary information and experience.

(2) In any case, the rescue works and providing of assistance shall be co-ordinated by the authorised institution of the Contracting Party requesting assistance.

(3) Instructions to the relief teams of the Contracting Party providing assistance may be given exclusively via the leaders of the relief teams.

(4) The authorised institution of the Contracting Party requesting assistance or its other authorised agency shall inform the leaders of the relief teams and individual experts of the changes in the situation in the area of the disaster, shall determine the order of activities and, whenever necessary, shall provide interpreters and other necessary services and tools to these relief teams.

(5) The Contracting Party requesting assistance shall ensure the safety of the relief teams and individual experts, provide free emergency medical care, meals and accommodation, as well as the basic articles of sustenance after the stocks of the relief teams and individual experts have run out.

(6) The Contracting Party requesting assistance shall guarantee the unhindered reception and use of aid deliveries solely for the determined purpose and free of charge.

(7) The Contracting Parties commit themselves to facilitate and ensure the unhindered transit of relief teams and individual experts, equipment and aid deliveries through the territories of their states, in accordance with the provisions of the present Agreement, when so requested, should the state of either Contracting Party be a transit state.

(8) Relief teams and individual experts leave the territory of the state of the Contracting Party requesting assistance after the completion of their tasks, or earlier if the authorised institutions of the Contracting Parties have mutually agreed.

Article 6

Crossing the State Border

(1) With a view to ensure rapid and efficient assistance, the Contracting Parties shall limit the formalities of the border crossing procedure to the lowest possible level.

(2) In the event of disaster, relief teams and individual experts may cross the state border of the Contracting Party requesting assistance out of turn at border crossing points open to international traffic with travel document or with a service pass bearing a photo and may stay in the territory of the state of the Contracting Party requesting assistance.

(3) In extremely urgent cases, the state border may also be crossed at places other than border crossing points. In such cases the authorised institution of the Contracting Party requesting assistance shall be notified in advance.

(4) The leaders of the relief teams and individual experts must have a Letter of Assignment issued by the authorised institution or other organisation authorised for this purpose of the Contracting Party providing assistance. In case of relief teams, all members of the relief team shall be indicated in the Letter of Assignment.

(5) Relief teams and individual experts shall honour the legal regulations of the Contracting Party requesting assistance during their stay in the territory of the state of the Contracting Party requesting assistance.

(6) The members of the relief team shall be entitled to wear a uniform in the territory of the state of the Contracting Party requesting assistance provided that this is part of their usual equipment in the state of the Contracting Party providing assistance. The Contracting Parties shall not restrict the use of distinguishing signs on the vehicles of the relief teams of the Contracting Party providing assistance.

(7) The Contracting Parties shall guarantee the provisions of paragraphs (1)-(5) also in the event when one of the Contracting Parties is a transit state. The authorised institutions shall notify each other within the shortest possible period when the need for transit arises and shall agree on the order and mode of implementation and, whenever necessary, shall provide official escort for the transit of the relief teams.

Article 7

Import, Export and Transport of Equipment and Aid Deliveries Necessary for Providing Assistance through the State Border

(1) The Contracting Parties shall ease the import, export and transport of equipment and aid deliveries through the state border.

(2) The leader of the relief team shall, upon crossing the border, submit a separate list of the equipment required for the performance of the task of the relief team and a separate list of the goods brought along as aid delivery, to the customs authority of the Contracting Party requesting assistance. The lists shall constitute part of the Letter of Assignment. Should border crossing take place at a point other than a border crossing point due to extreme urgency, these lists are to be submitted to the customs authority as soon as possible, but not later than within 30 (thirty) days after crossing the border. The list of controlled medicines containing narcotics or psychotropic substances shall be immediately presented to the customs authority in all cases.

(3) When providing assistance, relief teams may, apart from their belongings needed for travelling, import, export and transport only the equipment necessary to perform their task and the aid delivery.

(4) The Contracting Parties shall not apply the prohibitions and restrictions applicable to trade in goods to the equipment and the aid delivery transported through the state border. Only products within their valid shelf time may be included in the aid delivery. Aid deliveries and equipment shall, provided that use in accordance with their purpose is substantiated, be exempted from customs duties, taxes and any other financial levy applied to export or import (including customs surety).

(5) The Contracting Parties shall not require the licenses on international road transport of vehicles used by the relief teams and of other vehicles transporting aid deliveries and these vehicles shall be exempted from payments charged for vehicles, except for the compulsory civil liability insurance covering the vehicles.

(6) Any aid delivery or equipment not used or not destroyed shall be returned to the Contracting Party providing assistance, or, if agreed upon otherwise, shall be transported to the territory of a third country not later than within 30 (thirty) days after the completion of assistance. When exporting the above articles, the list checked by the customs authority of the Contracting Party requesting assistance shall be presented.

(7) When articles of the equipment are left in the territory of the state of the Contracting Party requesting assistance as an aid delivery, this fact, together with an indication of the quantity, type and location of the articles left shall be immediately notified to the customs authority of the Contracting Party requesting assistance, while simultaneously also notifying the authorised institution of the Contracting Party requesting assistance. With respect to articles of equipment left in the territory of the state of the Contracting Party requesting assistance, the national laws of this Contracting Party shall prevail.

(8) It shall be prohibited to import arms, ammunition and explosives to the territory of the state of the Contracting Party requesting assistance except for industrial explosives required for providing assistance.

(9) The competent authorities of the Contracting Party requesting assistance may check the use and storage of the equipment mentioned under paragraphs (3)-(7) of the present Article and of the controlled medicines containing narcotics or psychotropic substances mentioned in Article 8.

(10) The provisions of paragraphs (1)-(8) of the present Article and of Article 8 shall also be applied to transit deliveries.

(11) The Contracting Party requesting assistance shall enable the decontamination and disinfection of the equipment. If this cannot be performed, the equipment shall be left in the territory of the state of the Contracting Party requesting assistance, whereas if the decontamination and disinfection can be performed the equipment shall stay until the completion of the aforementioned operations.

Article 8

Use of Controlled Medicines Containing Narcotics or Psychotropic Substances

(1) When a part of the aid delivery consists of controlled medicines containing narcotics or psychotropic substances (hereinafter referred to as controlled medicines), a separate itemised list shall be drawn up of these. The authorities of the Contracting Parties shall take action in accordance with the relevant recommendation1 of the UN World Health Organisation2 and shall directly inform each other of the exported controlled medicines; when this is impossible owing to the disaster situation, the UN International Narcotics Control Board shall be notified.

(2) When controlled medicines are also delivered to the territory of the state of the Contracting Party requesting assistance as part of the assistance provided, the following provisions shall be applied:

(a) The provisions of Article 7 (2) and (4)-(7) shall be applied as appropriate to controlled medicines.

(b) The relief teams may carry controlled medicines only in the quantity that may be required in urgency medical assistance and they may be administered only by qualified health care staff in accordance with the relevant health regulations of the Contracting Party providing assistance.

(c) When controlled medicines are used, the document signed by the physician member of the relief team and authenticated by the representative of the competent authority of the Contracting Party requesting assistance substantiating the use of such products shall be presented to the customs authority of the Contracting Party requesting assistance.

(d) The Contracting Parties shall not regard the import and export of controlled medicines as import and export of goods according to the international conventions on narcotics and psychotropic substances, which are binding for the states of the Contracting Parties.

Article 9

Use of Aircraft

(1) Either Contracting Party may, for the purposes of assistance specified in Article 5 (1) of the present Agreement and in accordance with the provisions of paragraph (2), permit the use and transit flight of the aircraft of the other Contracting Party, its takeoff and landing in its own territory applying the provisions of Articles 6 and 7 of the present Agreement as applicable.

(2) The authorised institution of the Contracting Party providing assistance shall inform the authorised institution of the Contracting Party requesting assistance of the use of aircraft for the purposes of providing assistance, providing data on the following:

- data and type of the aircraft;

- the country of nationality and registration and the nationality and registration mark of the aircraft;

- the number of the members of the on-board crew and the list of passengers;

- the nature of cargo transported (specifying equipment and aid deliveries);

- the planned flight route, the envisaged place of landing and flight data.

(3) Unless otherwise provided for in the present Agreement, in the course of providing assistance, aircraft shall fly in accordance with the standards and directives of the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) and the aviation regulations of the states of the Contracting Parties.

Article 10

The Costs of Assistance

(1) Unless otherwise provided for by the Contracting Parties, also taking into account the provisions of the present Agreement, assistance shall be provided free of charge.

(2) The Contracting Party providing assistance shall be exempted from payment of the fees due in relation to the transit flight, landing, waiting, takeoff and navigation services provided to the aircraft used for providing assistance.

(3) The authorised institutions of the Contracting Parties shall, when aircraft is used for providing assistance, separately agree on the reimbursement of costs in relation to the supply of fuel and maintenance services for the aircraft on a case by case basis.

Article 11

Compensation for Damages

(1) The Contracting Parties resign vis-a-vis each other any right that they may have for claiming compensation in case of damage to property including damage to the environment caused by a member of the relief team and individual expert in the course of performing his/her assignment related to the implementation of the present Agreement and any claim for compensation arising from damage to the health or the death of a member of the relief team and individual expert when such an event takes place in the course of and in relation to the performing of tasks related to the implementation of the present Agreement.

(2) When a member of the relief team and individual expert of the Contracting Party providing assistance causes damage to a third person in the territory of the state of the Contracting Party requesting assistance while performing a task related to the implementation of the present Agreement, liability shall be borne by the Contracting Party requesting assistance, in accordance with its national legislation applicable to damage caused by its own relief team.

(3) The provisions of paragraphs (1)-(2) of the present Article shall not be applied when the damage was caused intentionally or by way of severe negligence.

(4) The liability for payment for damages specified in the present Article shall extend to the damage caused by the relief team and individual expert during the period from the moment of entry to the territory of the state of the Contracting Party requesting assistance until departure.

(5) The authorised institutions shall closely co-operate to ease the assessment of claims for compensation. For this purpose, they shall exchange all information available to them concerning the circumstances of causing the damage.

(6) The Contracting Parties shall also apply the provisions of the present Article as appropriate when either of them is a transit state.

Article 12

Other Forms of Co-operation

(1) Co-operation under the present Agreement shall extend to the following:

- forecasting, prevention and elimination of the consequences of disasters,

- inquiry into the causes of disasters, assessment of their consequences,

- evaluation of the risk of potential environmental pollution, caused by disasters, threatening the environment and the population,

- mutual assistance by making technical equipment and sites available for the planning and implementation of joint exercises related to the prevention and elimination of disasters,

- exchange of experience on the training for the public in relation to behaviour to be followed in disaster situation and first aid,

- organisation of conferences, study trips, scientific programs and professional courses, co-operation of educational and scientific institutions,

- exchange of information, technical journals, methodological guidelines and other publications, video or photo materials and technologies,

- expert training in the institutions of education and training of the other Contracting Party, exchange of teachers, students, researchers and other experts,

- consultations between the authorised institutions of the Contracting Parties and other organisations designated by them.

(2) When co-operating in the fields of implementation specified in this Article, the Contracting Parties shall apply the provisions of the present Agreement, except for Article 6 (1)-(3) as appropriate.

(3) The Contracting Parties shall facilitate, with all the means available to them, the co-operation between their governmental and non-governmental organisations participating in disaster prevention and elimination of their consequences.

Article 13

Use of Information

Any information obtained as a result of the activity performed pursuant to the present Agreement may be disclosed to a third party only on the basis of the prior consent of the Contracting Party transferring the information, taking into account the provisions of the national legislation of the Contracting Parties in force, and may be disclosed to the public only when the authorised institutions of the Contracting Parties have agreed to do so in advance in writing.

Article 14

Implementation of the Agreement

(1) The Contracting Parties authorise the Ministries of the Interior to mutually agree on the sample forms and formal requirements of the Letter of Assignment and the lists on the Import, Export and Transport of Equipment and the Import, Export and Transport of Aid Deliveries stipulated in Article 6 (4) and Article 7 (2) of the present Agreement.

(2) The Ministries of the Interior shall agree on the documents referred to in the first paragraph of the present Article in a Protocol, which shall come into force simultaneously with the present Agreement.

Article 15

Settlement of Disputes

The authorised institutions of the Contracting Parties shall settle any dispute that may arise from the interpretation or application of the present Agreement by way of negotiations. Should this prove unsuccessful, the dispute shall be settled via diplomatic channels.

Article 16

Provisions of Other International Agreements

The present Agreement shall not affect the rights and obligations of the Contracting Parties set forth in other international agreements.

Article 17

Closing Provisions

(1) The present Agreement shall come into force on the 30th (thirtieth) day following the receipt of the last diplomatic communication in which the Contracting Parties notify each other of having met their domestic legal requirements needed for the coming into force of the Agreement.

(2) The present Agreement is concluded for an indeterminate period. The Agreement may be terminated by either Contracting Party in writing via diplomatic channels. The Agreement shall lose effect 6 (six) months after the day when the diplomatic note on termination arrives to the other Contracting Party.

(3) The present Agreement may at any time be amended with the mutual agreement of the Contracting Parties.

(4) The termination of the present Agreement, unless otherwise agreed by the Contracting Parties, shall not affect the fulfilment of obligations validly undertaken during the validity of the Agreement.

Done in Riga on 19 November 2003 in two original copies, in the Latvian, Hungarian and English languages, all three language texts being equally authentic. In case of differences in interpretation, the English language text shall prevail.

On behalf of the Government of the Republic of Latvia	On behalf of the Government of the Republic of Hungary
MĀRIS GULBIS	LĀSZLÓ NIKICSER
Minister of the Interior	Ambassador Plenipotentiary and Extraordinary
	of the Republic of Hungary to the Republic of Latvia