Zakon o ratifikaciji Sporazuma med Republiko Slovenijo in Helensko republiko o mednarodnem cestnem prevozu potnikov in blaga (BGRMCP)

The Republic of Slovenia and the Hellenic Republic, hereafter called the Contracting Parties,
    – desirous of promoting international co-operation in the field of road transport between their two countries and in transit through their territories,
    – inspired by the principle of liberalization regarding road transport and
    – taking into consideration the dispositions of the Transport Agreement signed between the Republic of Slovenia and the European Economic Community on April 5, 1993,
    have agreed as follows:

Article 1

1) The dispositions of this Agreement apply to:
    1. The road transport of goods and passengers between the two Contracting Parties and the transit through their respective territories.
    2. The journey of empty vehicles in connection with the above mentioned transport.
    2) The Contracting Party which is a member of the European Union will apply this Agreement in accordance with its obligations under the treaties establishing the European Union, as amended or supplemented.

Article 2

For the purpose of this Agreement:
    1. The term “carrier“ means a physical or legal person established in either Contracting Party who has the right to carry out transport of passengers or goods by road, conforming to the laws and regulations in force in its country.
    2. The term “vehicle“ means a motor vehicle or a combination of vehicles of which at least the motor vehicle is a registered in either Contracting Party and which is used and equipped exclusively for the carriage of goods or passengers.
    3. The term “transit“ means the transport of goods or passengers from either Contracting Party through the territory of the other Contracting Party effected by a carrier operating in one of the Contracting Parties.

I. TRANSPORT OF PASSENGERS

A. Scope and Definitions

Article 3

For the purpose of transport of passengers, this Agreement shall apply:
    1. To all passengers transport services for hire or reward by passenger motor vehicles (coaches and buses), between the two Contracting Parties and in transit through their territories.
    2. To unladen journeys of the vehicles concerned with these services.

Article 4

For the purpose of transport of passengers:
    1. “Passenger motor vehicle“ means any power driven vehicle registered in the territory of the one of the Contracting Parties, which by virtue of its construction and its equipment, is suitable for carrying more than nine persons, including the driver.
    2. “Regular Services“ means services which provide for carriage of passengers according to a specific frequency and along specified routes, whereby passengers may be taken up or set down at predetermined stopping points. Regular services can be subject to the obligation of respecting previously established timetables and tariffs.
    3. “Shuttle services“ means services whereby, by means of repeated outward and return journeys, previously formed groups of passengers are carried from a single place of departure to a single destination, situated in the territory of the two Contracting Parties respectively. Each group, consisting of the passengers who made the outward journey, shall be carried back to the place of departure on a later journey.
    a) In the course of shuttle services, no passenger may be taken up or set down during the journey.
    b) The first return journey and the last outward journey in a series of shuttles shall be unladen.
    c) Regular and shuttle services and conditions regarding their operation are to be determined on the basis of a mutual Agreement of the responsible authorities of the Contracting Parties, either directly or on the basis of conclusions accepted by the Joint Committee, which is established by the Article 13 of this Agreement.
    4. “Transit“ means the transport of passengers starting from the territory of the Contracting Party, where the vehicle is registered crossing the territory of the other country provided that no passenger may be taken up or set down.
    5. “Occasional services“ are:
    a) Closed door tours, that is to say services, whereby the same vehicle is used to carry the same group of passengers throughout the journey and to bring them back to the place of departure, which is the country where the vehicle is registered.
    b) Services which make the outward journey laden and the return journey unladen.
    c) Services which make the outward journey unladen and the return journey laden.
    d) All other services which do not meet the above criteria.

B. Access to the Market

Article 5

1) The occasional services referred to in Article 4, paragraphs 5a and 5b, shall be exempted from the need for any transport authorization on the territory of the Contracting Party, where the vehicle is not registered.
    2) The occasional services shall be carried out under the cover of a control document.
    3) The control document shall consist of a journey form.
    4) The journey form shall contain at least the following information:
    a) The type of service.
    b) The main itinerary.
    c) The carrier(s) involved.
    d) A complete list of passengers.
    5) The books of journey forms shall be supplied by the competent authorities of the Contracting Parties, where the vehicle is registered or by bodies appointed by those authorities.
    6) Occasional services referred to in Article 4, paragraphs 5c and 5d can only be operated on the basis of adequate licenses. The number of licenses is to be determined by the responsible authorities in the countries that signed the Agreement on the occasion of the session of the Joint Committee, referred to in Article 13.

Article 6

1) Regular and shuttle services are subject to authorization.
    2) Authorizations shall be issued in the name of the transport undertaking; they may not be transferred by the latter to third parties. However, the carrier who has received the authorization may operate service through a subcontractor.
    3) The period of validity of an authorization shall not exceed three years for regular services and one year for shuttle services.
    4) Authorizations shall specify the following:
    a) The type of services.
    b) The route of the service, giving in particular the place of departure, the place of destination and the crossing points at the borders.
    c) The period of validity of the authorization.
    d) For regular services, the stops and the timetable.
    e) Authorizations, signed by the issuing competent authorities of the Contracting Parties, must be accompanied by documents regarding the itinerary, timetable and tariffs.
    5) Applications for authorizations shall be submitted to the competent authority of the Contracting Party, where the vehicle is registered, which can accepted it or not. In case the application does not arise any objection, the above authority shall communicate it to the competent authority of the other Contracting Party. If the latter agrees, then each competent authority shall issue the authorization for that part of the itinerary, which is performed in its territory.
    6) The application in two copies should contain data requested by national regulations as well as a drawing of the line containing well marked bus-stops and kilometers. The responsible authorities are allowed to ask carriers to give any relevant data that may be considered necessary.
    7) During the journey an authorized copy of the authorization or its original must be on the vehicle.
    8) The form and content of authorizations will be specified by competent authorities of the two Contracting Parties or by the Joint Committee of Article 13.

Article 7

Transit through the territory of the one Contracting Party of occasional services, performed by a vehicle registered to the other Contracting Party, is exempted from any authorization.

Article 8

A regular service is approved and can start operating once the responsible authorities of both Contracting Parties have exchanged the particular license with all necessary enclosures.

II. TRANSPORT OF GOODS

Article 9

1) Carriers established in the territory of one of the Contracting Parties are allowed to carry out the international road goods transport for hire or reward between the two Contracting Parties (bilateral transport), as well as through their territories to other countries (transit transport) using a permit issued by the competent authorities of the other Contracting Party.
    2) There shall be no restrictions regarding the number of permits provided for in Article 9, paragraph 1.
    3) With regard to road goods transport carried out by carriers of one Contracting Party, departing from the territory of the other Contracting Party and bound for a third country (triangular transport), a special permit shall be issued by the Contracting Party from which or to which the transport is carried out.
    These special permits can only be used by the carriers on whose name they were issued and they are not transmissible. The potentiality of issuing such kind of permits, as well as their number, shall be determined by the Joint Committee mentioned in the Article 13 of the present Agreement.

Article 10

The type of the permits mentioned in Article 9, is to be determined by the Competent Authorities of the Contracting Parties directly or on the basis of the conclusions adopted by the Joint Committee as per Article 13 of this Agreement.

Article 11

1) On the basis of Article 9, paragraph 1 of this Agreement the competent Authorities of the two Contracting Parties shall exchange each year the requested permits through the procedure decided by the Joint Committee provided for in Article 13.
    2) During the first period of implementation of this Agreement, namely before the first meeting of the Joint Committee of Article 13, the two Contracting Parties agree to fulfill the needs concerning the bilateral and transit road goods transport, as this would be notified to their respective competent Authorities through diplomatic channels.

Article 12

1) Notwithstanding the provisions of Article 9, paragraph 1 of this Agreement, a permit is not obligatory in the following cases:
    1. Transport of objects from a public airport or to a public airport in case of casualty or any other accident of the plane, or if the plane must land due to a change of course or emergency and in case that flights are canceled;
    2. Transport of a damaged motor vehicle and its trailer;
    3. Funeral transport;
    4. Transport of personal belongings in the context of the household removal in special vehicles;
    5. Transport of mail;
    6. Transport of goods for fairs and exhibitions;
    7. Transport of accessories and other goods for theaters, music and other cultural events, circus and film shows and radio or TV performances;
    8. Transport of dead animals, unless industrial working up of raw material is the case;
    9. Transport of bees or fish progeny;
    10. Transport of flowers and other decorative plants;
    11. Transport of pharmaceuticals or any other materials as aid in case of disasters caused by natural phenomena;
    12. Transport of empty vehicles to be exchanged for damaged vehicles which are to take over the transport of goods that damaged ones cannot perform;
    13. Transport with trailer in a group of vehicles composed by a motor vehicle belonging to the home carrier and a foreign trailer;
    14. Vehicles performing technical aid or repair of damaged vehicles (service and refit vehicles);
    15. Transport of a vehicle which is to replace another damaged vehicle located in the other Contracting Party;
    16. Transport of cargo to be used for education and advertising;
    17. The carriage of goods in motor vehicles, the permissible laden weight of which, including that of trailers, does not exceed 6 tons or the permissible payload of which, including that of trailers, does not exceed 3.5 tons;
    2) With regard to the transport from the first paragraph of this Article, the driver must keep all papers and documents that clearly indicate that one of the above kinds of transport is the case.

III. GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 13

1) In order to regulate all questions regarding the implementation and application of this Agreement, a Joint Committee shall be established.
    2) This Committee is to be composed of the representatives of both Contracting Parties who can invite representatives of the road transport industry at the meetings.
    3) The Joint Committee shall meet once per year or at the request of either Contracting Party, alternately in either Contracting Party. The agenda of the meeting shall be presented by the Contracting Party hosting, or requesting if this is the case, the meeting at least two weeks in advance. Each meeting shall be concluded with the adoption of a protocol signed by the heads of delegations of the two Contracting Parties.
    4) The Joint Committee shall also decide upon the time limit as well as the way of exchanging data and all other relevant information.

Article 14

The Contracting Parties shall notify each other on who are the competent Authorities to settle the questions connected with carrying out the provisions of this Agreement.

Article 15

1) The Contracting Parties agree that vehicles registered in either Contracting Party are mutually exempted from all taxes and other duties, for the use of their respective road networks, as well as any other possible charges.
    2) The Contracting Parties shall agree that the provisions of Article 15, paragraph 1 of this Agreement, regarding the payment of taxes and duties shall be adjusted to future unified provisions of agreements with the European Union.

Article 16

Carriers of a Contracting Party and the crews of their vehicles shall, when on the territory of the other Contracting Party, comply with the laws and regulations in force in that country.

Article 17

For the protection of environment and within the framework of Article 16 of the Transport Agreement between the Republic of Slovenia and the European Economic Community in the field of transport, signed in Luxembourg on April 5, 1993, the Contracting Parties shall comply with standards laid down by international agreements relating to the environment and shall work together and make every effort towards the achievement of these objectives.

Article 18

This Agreement will enter into force on the date of the exchange of letters certifying completion of the respective constitutional requirements of the Contracting Parties. It will remain in force for one year. It shall thereafter be tacitly prolonged for further one year periods unless one of the Parties notifies the other, six months before the expiration date, of its intention to terminate this Agreement.
    Done at Ljubljana on 27 May 1998 in two copies in English language.
    In WITNESS WHEREOF the undersigned, being duly authorized thereto, have signed this Agreement.