AGREEMENT
CONCERNING THE ADOPTION OF UNIFORM TECHNICAL
PRESCRIPTIONS FOR WHEELED VEHICLES, EQUIPMENT AND PARTS
WHICH CAN BE FITTED AND/OR BE USED ON WHEELED VEHICLES
AND THE CONDITIONS FOR RECIPROCAL RECOGNITION
OF APPROVALS GRANTED ON THE BASIS
OF THESE PRESCRIPTIONS
(Geneva, 20.III.1958)
Revision 2
(including the amendments entered into force
on 16 October 1995)
Preamble
The Contracting Parties,
Having decided to amend the Agreement Concerning the Adoption
of Uniform Conditions of Approval and Reciprocal Recognition of
Approval for Motor Vehicle Equipment and Parts, done at Geneva on
20 March 1958, and
Desiring to define uniform technical prescriptions that it
will suffice for certain wheeled vehicles, equipment and parts to
fulfil in order to be used in their countries,
Desiring to adopt these prescriptions whenever possible in
their countries, and,
Desiring to facilitate the use in their countries of the
vehicles, equipment and parts, where approved according to these
prescriptions by the competent authorities of another Contracting
Party,
Have agreed as follows:
Article 1
1. The Contracting Parties shall establish through an
Administrative Committee made up of all the Contracting Parties in
conformity with the rules of procedure set out in Appendix 1 and
on the basis of the following articles and paragraphs, Regulations
for wheeled vehicles, equipment and parts which can be fitted
and/or be used on wheeled vehicles. Where necessary the technical
requirements will include alternatives and when possible they will
be performance oriented and include test methods. Conditions for
granting type approvals and their reciprocal recognition will be
included for use by Contracting Parties who choose to implement
Regulations through type approval.
For the purposes of this Agreement:
The term "wheeled vehicles, equipment and parts" shall include
any wheeled vehicles, equipment and parts whose characteristics
have a bearing on road safety, protection of the environment and
energy saving;
The term "type approval pursuant to a Regulation" indicates an
administrative procedure by which the competent authorities of one
Contracting Party declare, after carrying out the required
verifications, that a vehicle, equipment or parts submitted by the
manufacturer conform to the requirements of the given Regulation.
Afterwards the manufacturer certifies that each vehicle, equipment
or parts put on the market were produced to be identical with the
approved product.
For the application of the Regulations there could be various
administrative procedures alternative to type approval. The only
alternative procedure generally known and applied in certain
Member States of the Economic Commission for Europe is the
self-certification by which the manufacturer certifies, without
any preliminary administrative control, that each product put on
the market conforms to the given Regulation; the competent
administrative authorities may verify by random sampling on the
market that the self-certified products comply with the
requirements of the given Regulation.
2. The Administrative Committee shall be composed of all the
Contracting Parties in accordance with the rules of procedure set
out in Appendix 1. A Regulation, after having been established in
accordance with the procedure indicated in Appendix 1, shall be
communicated by the Administrative Committee to the
Secretary-General of the United Nations, hereinafter called
"Secretary-General". As soon as possible thereafter the
Secretary-General shall give notification of this Regulation to
the Contracting Parties.
The Regulation will be considered as adopted unless, within a
period of six months from its notification by the
Secretary-General, more than one-third of the Contracting Parties
at the time of notification have informed the Secretary-General of
their disagreement with the Regulation.
The Regulation shall cover the following:
(a) Wheeled vehicles, equipment or parts concerned;
(b) Technical requirements, which if necessary may include
alternatives;
(c) Test methods by which any performance requirements are to
be demonstrated;
(d) Conditions for granting type approval and their reciprocal
recognition including any approval markings and conditions for
ensuring conformity of production.
(e) The date(s) on which the Regulation enters into force.
The Regulation may, if needed, include references to the
laboratories accredited by the competent authorities where
acceptance tests of the types of wheeled vehicles, equipment or
parts submitted for approval must be carried out.
3. When a Regulation has been adopted the Secretary-General
shall so notify as soon as possible all the Contracting Parties,
specifying which Contracting Parties have objected and in respect
of which the Regulation shall not enter into force.
4. The adopted Regulation shall enter into force on the
date(s) specified therein as a Regulation annexed to this
Agreement for all Contracting Parties which did not notify their
disagreement.
5. When depositing its instrument of accession, any new
Contracting Party may declare that it is not bound by certain
Regulations then annexed to this Agreement or that it is not bound
by any of them. If, at that time, the procedure laid down in
paragraphs 2, 3, and 4 of this Article is in progress for a draft
or adopted Regulation, the Secretary-General shall communicate
such draft or adopted Regulation to the new Contracting Party and
it shall enter into force as a Regulation for the new Contracting
Party only under the conditions specified in paragraph 4 of this
Article. The Secretary-General shall notify all the Contracting
Parties of the date of such entry into force. The
Secretary-General shall also communicate to them all declarations
concerning the non-application of certain Regulations that any
Contracting Party may make in accordance with the terms of this
paragraph.
6. Any Contracting Party applying a Regulation may at any time
notify the Secretary-General, subject to one year's notice, that
its administration intends to cease applying it. Such notification
shall be communicated by the Secretary-General to the other
Contracting Parties.
Approvals granted shall remain valid until their withdrawal;
If a Contracting Party ceases to issue approvals to a
Regulation it shall:
Maintain proper supervision on conformity of production of
products for which it previously granted type approval;
Take the necessary steps set out in Article 4 when advised of
nonconformity by a Contracting Party that continues to apply the
Regulation;
Continue to notify the competent authorities of other
Contracting Parties of withdrawal of approvals as set out in
Article 5;
Continue to grant extensions to existing approvals.
7. Any Contracting Party not applying a Regulation may at any
time notify the Secretary-General that it intends henceforth to
apply it, and the Regulation will then enter into force for this
Party on the sixtieth day after this notification. The
Secretary-General shall notify all the Contracting Parties of
every entry into force of a Regulation for a new Contracting Party
effected in accordance with the terms of this paragraph.
8. The Contracting Parties for which a Regulation is in force
shall hereinafter be referred to as "the Contracting Parties
applying a Regulation".
Article 2
Each Contracting Party applying Regulations largely through
type approval shall grant the type approvals and approval markings
described in any Regulation for the types of wheeled vehicles,
equipment or parts covered by the Regulation, provided that it has
the technical competence and is satisfied with the arrangements
for ensuring conformity of the product with the approved type as
set out in Appendix 2. Each Contracting Party applying a
Regulation through type approval shall refuse the type approvals
and approval markings covered by the Regulation if the
above-mentioned conditions are not complied with.
Article 3
Wheeled vehicles, equipment or parts for which type approvals
have been issued by a Contracting Party in accordance with Article
2 of this Agreement and manufactured either in the territory of a
Contracting Party applying the Regulation concerned, or in such
other country as is designated by the Contracting Party which has
duly approved the types of wheeled vehicles, equipment or parts
concerned shall be held to be in conformity with the legislation
of all the Contracting Parties applying the said Regulation
through type approval.
Article 4
Should the competent authorities of a Contracting Party
applying a Regulation through type approval find that certain
wheeled vehicles, equipment or parts bearing approval markings
issued under the said Regulation by one of the Contracting
Parties, do not conform to the approved types, they shall advise
the competent authorities of the Contracting Party which issued
the approval. That Contracting Party shall take the necessary
steps to bring the products of those manufacturers into conformity
with the approved types and shall advise the other Contracting
Parties applying the Regulation through type approval of the steps
it has taken, which may include, if necessary, the withdrawal of
approval. Where there might be a threat to road safety or to the
environment, the Contracting Party which issued the approval and
after receiving the information about the non-conformity to the
approved type(s) shall inform thereof all other Contracting
Parties about the situation. Contracting Parties may prohibit the
sale and use of such wheeled vehicles, equipment or parts in their
territory.
Article 5
The competent authorities of each Contracting Party applying
Regulations through type approval shall send monthly to the
competent authorities of the other Contracting Parties a list of
the wheeled vehicle, equipment or parts, approvals of which it has
refused to grant or has withdrawn during that month; in addition,
on receiving a request from the competent authority of another
Contracting Party applying a Regulation through type approval, it
shall send forthwith to that competent authority a copy of all
relevant information on which it based its decision to grant,
refuse to grant, or to withdraw an approval of a wheeled vehicle,
equipment or parts to that Regulation.
Article 6
1. Countries members of the Economic Commission for Europe,
countries admitted to the Commission in a consultative capacity in
accordance with paragraph 8 of the Commission's Terms of
Reference, and regional economic integration organizations set up
by countries members of the Economic Commission for Europe to
which their Member States have transferred powers in the fields
covered by this Agreement, including the power to make binding
decisions on their Member States, may become Contracting Parties
to this Agreement.
For the determination of the number of votes referred to in
Article 1, paragraph 2 and in Article 12, paragraph 2, regional
economic integration organizations vote with the number of votes
of their Member States being members of the Economic Commission
for Europe.
2. Countries Members of the United Nations as may participate
in certain activities of the Economic Commission for Europe in
accordance with Paragraph 11 of the Commission's Terms of
Reference and regional economic integration organizations of such
countries to which their Member States have transferred powers in
the fields covered by this Agreement including power to make
binding decisions on their Member States may become Contracting
Parties to this Agreement.
For the determination of the number of votes referred to in
Article 1, paragraph 2 and in Article 12, paragraph 2, regional
economic integration organizations vote with the number of votes
of their Member States being Members of the United Nations.
3. Accession to the amended Agreement by new Contracting
Parties which are not Parties to the 1958 Agreement shall be
effected by the deposit of an instrument with the
Secretary-General, after the entry into force of the amended
Agreement.
Article 7
1. The amended Agreement shall be deemed to enter into force
nine months after the date of its transmission by the
Secretary-General to all the Contracting Parties to the 1958
Agreement.
2. The amended Agreement shall be deemed not to enter into
force if any objection from the Contracting Parties to the 1958
Agreement is expressed within a period of six months following the
date of its transmission to them by the Secretary-General.
3. For any new Contracting Party acceding to this amended
Agreement, this amended Agreement shall enter into force on the
sixtieth day after the deposit of the instrument of accession.
Article 8
1. Any Contracting Party may denounce this Agreement by
notifying the Secretary-General.
2. Denunciation shall take effect twelve months after the date
of receipt by the Secretary-General of such notification.
Article 9
1. Any new Contracting Party as defined in Article 6 of this
Agreement may, at the time of accession or at any time thereafter,
declare by notification addressed to the Secretary-General that
this Agreement shall extend to all or any of the territories for
whose international relations it is responsible. The Agreement
shall extend to the territory or territories named in the
notification as from the sixtieth day after its receipt by the
Secretary-General.
2. Any new Contracting Party as defined in Article 6 of this
Agreement which has made a declaration in accordance with
paragraph 1 of this Article extending this Agreement to any
territory for whose international relations it is responsible may
denounce the Agreement separately in respect of that territory, in
accordance with the provisions of Article 8.
Article 10
1. Any dispute between two or more Contracting Parties
concerning the interpretation or application of this Agreement
shall, so far as possible, be settled by negotiation between them.
2. Any dispute which is not settled by negotiation shall be
submitted to arbitration if any one of the Contracting Parties in
dispute so requests and shall be referred accordingly to one or
more arbitrators selected by agreement between the Parties in
dispute. If within three months from the date of the request for
arbitration the Parties in dispute are unable to agree on the
selection of an arbitrator or arbitrators, any of those Parties
may request the Secretary-General to nominate a single arbitrator
to whom the dispute shall be referred for decision.
3. The decision of the arbitrator or arbitrators appointed in
accordance with paragraph 2 of this Article shall be binding on
the Contracting Parties in dispute.
Article 11
1. Each new Contracting Party may, at the time of acceding to
this Agreement, declare that it does not consider itself bound by
Article 10 of the Agreement. Other Contracting Parties shall not
be bound by Article 10 in respect of any new Contracting Party
which has entered such a reservation.
2. Any Contracting Party having entered a reservation as
provided for in paragraph 1 of this Article may at any time
withdraw such reservation by notifying the Secretary-General.
3. No other reservation to this Agreement or to the
Regulations annexed thereto shall be permitted; but any
Contracting Party may, in accordance with the terms of Article 1,
declare that it does not propose to apply certain of the
Regulations or that it does not propose to apply any of them.
Article 12
The Regulations annexed to this Agreement may be amended in
accordance with the following procedure:
1. Amendments to Regulations shall be established by the
Administrative Committee as described in Article 1, paragraph 2
and in accordance with the procedure indicated in Appendix 1.
Where necessary an amendment may include the existing requirements
as an alternative. Contracting Parties shall specify which
alternatives within the Regulations they will apply. Contracting
Parties applying alternative(s) within a Regulation shall not be
obliged to accept approvals to preceding alternative(s) within the
same Regulation. Contracting Parties applying only the most recent
amendments shall not be obliged to accept approvals to preceding
amendments or to unamended Regulations. Contracting Parties
applying an earlier series of amendments or the unamended
Regulation shall accept approvals granted to a later amendment
series. An amendment to the Regulation, after having been
established, shall be communicated by the Administrative Committee
to the Secretary-General. As soon as possible thereafter the
Secretary-General shall give notification of this amendment to the
Contracting Parties applying the Regulation.
2. An amendment to a Regulation will be considered to be
adopted unless, within a period of six months from its
notification by the Secretary-General, more than one-third of the
Contracting Parties applying the Regulation at the time of
notification have informed the Secretary-General of their
disagreement with the amendment. If, after this period, the
Secretary-General has not received declarations of disagreement of
more than one-third of the Contracting Parties applying the
Regulation, the Secretary-General shall as soon as possible
declare the amendment as adopted and binding upon those
Contracting Parties applying the Regulation who did not declare
themselves opposed to it. When a Regulation is amended and at
least one-fifth of the Contracting Parties applying the unamended
Regulation subsequently declare that they wish to continue to
apply the unamended Regulation, the unamended Regulation will be
regarded as an alternative to the amended Regulation and will be
incorporated formally as such into the Regulation with effect from
the date of adoption of the amendment or its entry into force. In
this case the obligations of the Contracting Parties applying the
Regulation shall be the same as set out in paragraph 1.
3. Should a new Contracting Party accede to this Agreement
between the time of the notification of the amendment to a
Regulation by the Secretary-General and its entry into force, the
Regulation in question shall not enter into force for that
Contracting Party until two months after it has formally accepted
the amendment or two months after the lapse of a period of six
months since the communication to that Party by the
Secretary-General of the proposed amendment.
Article 13
The text of the Agreement itself and of its Appendices may be
amended in accordance with the following procedure:
1. Any Contracting Party may propose one or more amendments to
this Agreement and its Appendices. The text of any proposed
amendment to the Agreement and its Appendices shall be transmitted
to the Secretary-General, who shall transmit it to all Contracting
Parties and inform all other countries referred to in paragraph 1
of Article 6 thereof.
2. Any proposed amendment circulated in accordance with
paragraph 1 of this Article shall be deemed to be accepted if no
Contracting Party expresses an objection within a period of six
months following the date of circulation of the proposed amendment
by the Secretary-General.
3. The Secretary-General shall, as soon as possible, notify
all Contracting Parties whether an objection to the proposed
amendment has been expressed. If an objection to the proposed
amendment has been expressed, the amendment shall be deemed not to
have been accepted, and shall be of no effect whatever. If no such
objection has been expressed, the amendment shall enter into force
for all Contracting Parties three months after the expiry of the
period of six months referred to in paragraph 2 of this Article.
Article 14
In addition to the notifications provided for in Articles 1,
12 and 13 of this Agreement, the Secretary-General shall notify
the Contracting Parties of:
(a) Accessions in accordance with Article 6;
(b) The dates of entry into force of this Agreement in
accordance with Article 7;
(c) Denunciations in accordance with Article 8;
(d) Notifications received in accordance with Article 9;
(e) Declarations and notifications received in accordance with
paragraphs 1 and 2 of Article 11;
(f) The entry into force of any amendment in accordance with
paragraphs 1 and 2 of Article 12;
(g) The entry into force of any amendment in accordance with
paragraph 3 of Article 13.
Article 15
1. If at the date the above provisions come into effect the
procedures envisaged in Article 1, paragraphs 3 and 4 of the
unamended Agreement are under way for adopting a new Regulation,
the said new Regulation shall enter into force under the
provisions of paragraph 5 of the said Article.
2. If at the date the above provisions come into effect, the
procedures envisaged in Article 12, paragraph 1 of the unamended
Agreement are under way for the adoption of an amendment to a
Regulation, the said amendment shall enter into force under the
provisions of the said Article.
3. If all Contracting Parties to the Agreement agree, any
Regulation adopted under the terms of the unamended Agreement may
be treated as though it were a Regulation adopted under the terms
of the above provisions.
Appendix 1
COMPOSITION AND RULES OF PROCEDURE
OF THE ADMINISTRATIVE COMMITTEE
Article 1
The members of the Administrative Committee shall be composed
of all the Contracting Parties to the amended Agreement.
Article 2
The Executive Secretary of the United Nations Economic
Commission for Europe shall provide the Committee with secretariat
services.
Article 3
The Committee shall, at its first session each year, elect a
chairman and vice-chairman.
Article 4
The Secretary-General of the United Nations shall convene the
Committee under the auspices of the Economic Commission for Europe
whenever a new Regulation or an amendment to a Regulation is
required to be established.
Article 5
Proposed new Regulations shall be put to the vote. Each
country, Contracting Party to the Agreement shall have one vote. A
quorum consisting of not less than half of the Contracting Parties
is required for the purposes of taking decisions. For the
determination of the quorum regional economic integration
organizations, being Contracting Parties to the Agreement, vote
with the number of votes of their Member States. The
representative of a regional economic integration organization may
deliver the votes of its constituent sovereign countries. New
Draft Regulations shall be established by a two-thirds majority of
those present and voting.
Article 6
Proposed amendments to Regulations shall be put to the vote.
Each country, Contracting Party to the Agreement applying the
Regulation shall have one vote. A quorum of not less than half of
the Contracting Parties applying the Regulation is required for
the purposes of taking decisions. For the determination of the
quorum, regional economic integration organizations, being
Contracting Parties to the Agreement, vote with the number of
votes of their Member States. The representative of a regional
economic integration organization may deliver the votes of those
of its constituent sovereign countries which apply the Regulation.
Draft Amendments to Regulations shall be established by a
two-thirds majority of those present and voting.
Appendix 2
CONFORMITY OF PRODUCTION PROCEDURES
1. Initial assessment
1.1. The approval authority of a Contracting Party must
verify - before granting type approval - the existence of
satisfactory arrangements and procedures for ensuring effective
control so that vehicles, equipment or parts when in production
conform to the approved type.
1.2. The requirement in paragraph 1.1. must be verified to the
satisfaction of the authority granting type approval but may also
be verified, on behalf and at the request of the authority
granting type approval, by the approval authority of another
Contracting Party. In that case, the latter approval authority
prepares a statement of compliance outlining the areas and
production facilities it has covered as relevant to the product(s)
to be type approved.
1.3. The approval authority must also accept the
manufacturer's registration to harmonized standard ISO 9002 (the
scope of which covers the product(s) to be approved) or an
equivalent accreditation standard as satisfying the requirements
of paragraph 1.1. The manufacturer must provide details of the
registration and undertake to inform the approval authority of any
revisions to its validity or scope.
1.4. On receiving an application from the authority of another
Contracting Party the approval authority shall send forthwith the
statement of compliance mentioned in the last sentence of
paragraph 1.2. or advise that it is not in a position to provide
such a statement.
2. Conformity of production
2.1. Every vehicle, equipment or part approved under
Regulation annexed to this Agreement must be so manufactured as to
conform to the type approved by meeting the requirements of this
Appendix and of the said Regulation.
2.2. The approval authority of a Contracting Party granting a
type approval pursuant to a Regulation annexed to this Agreement
must verify the existence of adequate arrangements and documented
control plans, to be agreed with the manufacturer for each
approval, to carry out at specified intervals those tests or
associated checks necessary to verify continued conformity with
the approved type, including, specifically, where applicable,
tests specified in the said Regulation.
2.3. The holder of the approval must in particular:
2.3.1. Ensure the existence of procedures for effective
control of the conformity of products (vehicles, equipment or
parts) to the type approval;
2.3.2. Have access to the testing equipment necessary for
checking the conformity to each approved type;
2.3.3. Ensure that test results' data are recorded and that
annexed documents remain available for a period to be determined
in agreement with the approval authority. This period must not
exceed 10 years;
2.3.4. Analyze results of each type of test, in order to
verify and ensure the stability of the product characteristics,
making allowance for variation of an industrial production;
2.3.5. Ensure that for each type of product, at least the
checks prescribed in this Appendix and the tests prescribed in the
applicable Regulations are carried out;
2.3.6. Ensure that any set of samples or test pieces giving
evidence of nonconformity in the type of test in question gives
rise to a further sampling and test. All the necessary steps must
be taken to restore conformity of the corresponding production.
2.4. The authority which has granted type approval may at any
time verify the conformity control methods applied in each
production facility. The normal frequency of these verifications
must be consistent with the arrangements (if any) accepted under
paragraph 1.2. or 1.3. of this Appendix and be such as to ensure
that the relevant controls are reviewed over a period consistent
with the climate of trust established by the approval authority.
2.4.1. At every inspection, the test records and production
records must be available to the visiting inspector.
2.4.2. Where the nature of the test is appropriate, the
inspector may select samples at random to be tested in the
manufacturer's laboratory (or by the Technical Service where the
Regulation annexed to this Agreement so provides). The minimum
number of samples may be determined according to the results of
the manufacturer's own verification.
2.4.3. Where the level of control appears unsatisfactory, or
when it seems necessary to verify the validity of the tests
carried out in application of paragraph 2.4.2., the inspector must
select samples to be sent to the Technical Service which conducts
the type approval tests.
2.4.4. The approval authority may carry out any check or test
prescribed in this Appendix or in the applicable Regulation
annexed to this Agreement.
2.4.5. In cases where unsatisfactory results are found during
an inspection, the approval authority must ensure that all
necessary steps are taken to restore conformity of production as
rapidly as possible.
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