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Towards Unified Railway Law: International Cooperation for Rail Freight Transport

This presentation discusses the work being done under the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe to promote international cooperation and the development of a unified railway law for rail freight transport. It highlights the role of UNECE, its areas of work, examples of activities, and the need for international legal instruments in the rail transport sector. The presentation also outlines the short-term vision and strategy, including the development of General Terms and Conditions for Euro-Asian rail transport contracts and an intergovernmental document under the auspices of UNECE.

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Towards Unified Railway Law: International Cooperation for Rail Freight Transport

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  1. International cooperation towards unified railway law: work under the auspices of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe International OSJD conference on rail freight transport Odessa 30-31 May 2011 Azhar Jaimurzina, UNECE Transport Division

  2. Plan of the presentation • Introducing UNECE • UNECE work on rail transport • Moving towards unified railway law

  3. Introducing UNECE (1/3): UN Regional Commission UNECE UNESCWA ESCWA UNESCAP UNECA UNECLAC 3

  4. Introducing UNECE (2/3): Role and functions • Regional arm of the United Nations • Inter-governmental organization • Cooperation with NGO’s and private sector • Areas of work: • Trade facilitation and statistics • Regional cooperation and integration • Energy • Environment • Economic cooperation and integration • Transport (road, rail, inland water)

  5. I. Introducing UNECE (3/3): Examples of activities European E-Roads Customs transit system Transport of dangerous goods CMR Convention Vienna Convention Green Card Motor Vehicle Insurance System International Driving Licence Vienna Convention E2 World Forum for Harmonization of Vehicle Regulations (WP.29)

  6. II. UNECE work on rail transport (1/4) • Transport of dangerous goods (RID) • Pan-European rail infrastructure network (AGC) • Pan-European combined transport services (AGTC)

  7. II. UNECE work on rail transport (2/4) International legal instruments facilitating inland transport operations • 58 international conventions and agreements maintained by UNECE: infrastructure networks, road traffic and road safety, vehicles, border crossing facilitation, inland water transport, dangerous goods and special cargoes • More than 1,600 Contracting Parties • But lack of legal instruments facilitating international rail transport • In comparison with road • In comparison with air • In comparison with maritime transport

  8. II. UNECE work on rail transport (3/4) International Convention on the Harmonization of Frontier Controls of Goods (1982) (or Harmonization Convention) • Inter-governmental framework for national and international coordination and cooperation on border controls • All border control agencies • All modes of land transport (road, rail, IWT) • 54 Contracting States, incl. EU, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, Russian Federation, Turkey, Uzbekistan. • 8 Annexes in force (customs controls, medico-sanitary, veterinary phytosanitary inspections, control of compliance of quality and technical standards, cargo transit arrangements, road transport (visa, technical inspection, etc.)

  9. II. UNECE work on rail transport (4/4) New Annex 9 to the Harmonization Convention: • Visa procedures (train crews, border personnel, etc.) • Border and control infrastructure and facilities • Cooperation of inspection personnel • Coordinated inspection mechanisms • Acceptable time limits and delays • Documentation (incl. CIM/SMGS consignment note)

  10. III. Moving towards unified railway law (1/5) UNECE Mandate: level the playing field between the different modes of transport 3 strategic objectives for Euro-Asian rail transport • Pan-European Rail Customs Transit System Convention on International Customs Transit Procedures for Carriage of Goods by Rail under Cover of SMGS Consignment Notes Adopted on 9 February 2006 • Harmonization of frontier controls in rail transport Annex 9 on rail transport of International Convention on the Harmonization of Frontier Controls of Goods 1982 Adopted in 2010 (waiting approval by Contracting Parties) • Unified railway law (at present COTIF/CIM and SMGS) UNECE Position Paper Prepared and adopted in 2010

  11. III. Moving towards unified railway law (2/5) Short-term vision and strategy • General terms and conditions for Euro-Asian rail transport contracts (GTC EurAsia) • International private law model contracts (non-commercial) • To be prepared by industry (OSJD-CIT Legal Group) • Content: Liability, documentation, claims handling, compensation, etc. • Inter-Governmental Document (IGD) (MoU, Declaration, Resolution,…) • Political support for GTC EurAsia (policy framework for Euro-Asian rail transport operations) • To be prepared by UN member States (cooperation with ESCAP) • UNECE Expert Group • Content and scope (to be decided) • Coordination + cooperation (UNECE, OSJD, OTIF,CIT) Rail Industry Governments Sustainable Transport Section

  12. III. Moving towards unified railway law (3/5) Intergovernmental Document under the auspices of UNECE • Preamble: main goals of the joint work towards unified rail law • Body of the document: • Policy statements in support of the General terms and conditions for Euro-Asian rail transport contracts(GTC EurAsia) • Reference to GTC EurAsia • Economic and operational issues • Final provisions • Participation of Governments, international organisations, railways, industry • Mechanism for monitoring and review • Signature

  13. III. Moving towards unified railway law (4/5) NEXT STEPS • Negotiation of Inter-Governmental Document (IDG) UNECE Group of Experts 6 May 2011 1.session (Geneva) 16 September 2011 2.session (Geneva) • Preparation of GTC Eurasia (model private law) OSJD/CIT Joint Legal Group (CIM/SMGS) 26-27 April 2011 (Paris) April to October 2011 (to be determined) • Approval of IGD and GTC Eurasia UNECE Working Party on RailTransport 3-4 November 2011 (Geneva) • Signature of IDG and GTC Eurasia (by Governments and railways) Inland Transport Committee (or other event) 28 February 2012 (Geneva) Sustainable Transport Section

  14. III. Moving towards unified railway law (5/5) How can you participate? • Support the work of OSJD and CIT on GTC EurAsia • Take part in the preparation of the UNECE intergovernmental document - Ongoing consultation on economic and operational issues to be addressed in the document (June 2011) - Next meeting of the UNECE group of experts towards unified transport law (16 September 2011) Contact person: Azhar Jaimurzina UNECE secretariat azhar.jaimurzina@unece.org

  15. Thank you for your attention!

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