The Parties to this Supplementary Protocol,
Being Parties to the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety to the Convention on Biological Diversity, hereinafter referred to as “the Protocol”,
Taking into account Principle 13 of the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development,
Reaffirming the precautionary approach contained in Principle 15 of the Rio Declaration
on Environment and Development,
Recognizing the need to provide for appropriate response measures where there is damage
or sufficient likelihood of damage, consistent with the Protocol,
Recalling Article 27 of the Protocol,
The objective of this Supplementary Protocol is to contribute to the conservation
and sustainable use of biological diversity, taking also into account risks to human
health, by providing international rules and procedures in the field of liability
and redress relating to living modified organisms.
A causal link shall be established between the damage and the living modified organism
in question in accordance with domestic law.
Article 5. Response measures
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3 Where relevant information, including available scientific information or information
available in the Biosafety Clearing-House, indicates that there is a sufficient likelihood
that damage will result if timely response measures are not taken, the operator shall
be required to take appropriate response measures so as to avoid such damage.
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4 The competent authority may implement appropriate response measures, including, in
particular, when the operator has failed to do so.
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5 The competent authority has the right to recover from the operator the costs and expenses
of, and incidental to, the evaluation of the damage and the implementation of any
such appropriate response measures. Parties may provide, in their domestic law, for
other situations in which the operator may not be required to bear the costs and expenses.
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6 Decisions of the competent authority requiring the operator to take response measures
should be reasoned. Such decisions should be notified to the operator. Domestic law
shall provide for remedies, including the opportunity for administrative or judicial
review of such decisions. The competent authority shall, in accordance with domestic
law, also inform the operator of the available remedies. Recourse to such remedies
shall not impede the competent authority from taking response measures in appropriate
circumstances, unless otherwise provided by domestic law.
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7 In implementing this Article and with a view to defining the specific response measures
to be required or taken by the competent authority, Parties may, as appropriate, assess
whether response measures are already addressed by their domestic law on civil liability.
Parties may provide, in their domestic law, for:
Article 8. Financial limits
Parties may provide, in their domestic law, for financial limits for the recovery
of costs and expenses related to response measures.
Article 9. Right of recourse
This Supplementary Protocol shall not limit or restrict any right of recourse or indemnity
that an operator may have against any other person.
Article 10. Financial security
Article 11. Responsibility of states for internationally wrongful acts
This Supplementary Protocol shall not affect the rights and obligations of States
under the rules of general international law with respect to the responsibility of
States for internationally wrongful acts.
Article 12. Implementation and relation to civil liability
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1 Parties shall provide, in their domestic law, for rules and procedures that address
damage. To implement this obligation, Parties shall provide for response measures
in accordance with this Supplementary Protocol and may, as appropriate:
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a) Apply their existing domestic law, including, where applicable, general rules and
procedures on civil liability;
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b) Apply or develop civil liability rules and procedures specifically for this purpose;
or
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c) Apply or develop a combination of both.
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2 Parties shall, with the aim of providing adequate rules and procedure in their domestic
law on civil liability for material or personal damage associated with the damage
as defined in Article 2, paragraph 2 (b):
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a) Continue to apply their existing general law on civil liability;
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b) Develop and apply or continue to apply civil liability law specifically for that purpose;
or
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c) Develop and apply or continue to apply a combination of both.
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3 When developing civil liability law as referred to in subparagraphs (b) or (c) of
paragraphs 1 or 2 above, Parties shall, as appropriate, address, inter alia, the following
elements:
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a) Damage;
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b) Standard of liability, including strict or fault-based liability;
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c) Channeling of liability, where appropriate;
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d) Right to bring claims.
Article 13. Assessment and review
The Conference of the Parties serving as the meeting of the Parties to the Protocol shall undertake a review of the effectiveness of this Supplementary Protocol five
years after its entry into force and every five years thereafter, provided information
requiring such a review has been made available by Parties. The review shall be undertaken
in the context of the assessment and review of the Protocol as specified in Article 35 of the Protocol, unless otherwise decided by the Parties to this Supplementary Protocol. The first
review shall include a review of the effectiveness of Articles 10 and 12.
Article 14. Conference of the parties serving as the meeting of the parties to the
protocol
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2 The Conference of the Parties serving as the meeting of the Parties to the Protocol shall keep under regular review the implementation of this Supplementary Protocol
and shall make, within its mandate, the decisions necessary to promote its effective
implementation. It shall perform the functions assigned to it by this Supplementary
Protocol and, mutatis mutandis, the functions assigned to it by paragraphs 4 (a) and (f) of Article 29 of the Protocol.
Article 16. Relationship with the Convention and the Protocol
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3 Except as otherwise provided in this Supplementary Protocol, the provisions of the
Convention and the Protocol shall apply, mutatis mutandis, to this Supplementary Protocol.
This Supplementary Protocol shall be open for signature by Parties to the Protocol at the United Nations Headquarters in New York from 7 March 2011 to 6 March 2012.
Article 18. Entry into force
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1 This Supplementary Protocol shall enter into force on the ninetieth day after the
date of deposit of the fortieth instrument of ratification, acceptance, approval or
accession by States or regional economic integration organizations that are Parties
to the Protocol.
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2 This Supplementary Protocol shall enter into force for a State or regional economic
integration organization that ratifies, accepts or approves it or accedes thereto
after the deposit of the fortieth instrument as referred to in paragraph 1 above,
on the ninetieth day after the date on which that State or regional economic integration
organization deposits its instrument of ratification, acceptance, approval, or accession,
or on the date on which the Protocol enters into force for that State or regional economic integration organization, whichever
shall be the later.
No reservations may be made to this Supplementary Protocol.
Article 21. Authentic texts
The original of this Supplementary Protocol, of which the Arabic, Chinese, English,
French, Russian and Spanish texts are equally authentic, shall be deposited with the
Secretary-General of the United Nations.