A G R E E M E N T
BETWEEN THE GOVERNMENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF SLOVENIA AND THE GOVERNMENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF BELARUS ON INTERNATIONAL TRANSPORT OF PASSENGERS AND GOODS BY ROAD
The Government of the Republic of Slovenia and the Government of the Republic of Belarus, hereinafter referred to as the "Contracting Parties",
Anxious to contribute to the development of trade and economic relations between two countries,
Determined to promote collaboration in road transport within the framework of the market economy,
Concerned about environment and people protection, the rational use of energy, road safety and the improvement of drivers' working conditions,
Aiming towards the development of transport intermodality,
Recognising the mutual advantage of development of road transport,
Have agreed as follows:
PART I – GENERAL PROVISIONSč Borovoj (s)
Article 1
Scope
1. The provisions of this Agreement shall apply to the carriage of goods and passengers by road between the territories of the Contracting Parties, in transit through their territories and to or from third countries performed by carriers established on the territory of one of the Contracting Parties.
2. The present Agreement does not affect the rights and obligations arising from the other international commitments of the Contracting Parties.
Article 2
Definitions
The terms used in this Agreement have the following meaning:
1. "Transport Operator" means any natural or legal person established on the territory of one of the Contracting Parties and authorised to carry out transport of passengers or goods.
2. "Vehicle" means a motor vehicle or a combination of vehicles of which at least the motor vehicle is registered in the country of either Contracting Party and which is used and equipped exclusively for the carriage of passengers or goods.
3. "Transport" means the runs of a vehicle, either laden or unladen even if the vehicle, trailer or semi-trailer is carried by train or boat for part of the journey.
4. "Cabotage" means the transport of passengers or goods carried out by a transport operator of the country of one Contracting Party between individual places within the territory of the other Contracting Party.
5. "Territory of a Contracting Party" means respectively the territory of the Republic of Slovenia and the territory of the Republic of Belarus.
6. "Country of establishment" means the territory of a Contracting Party within which the transport operator is established and the vehicle registered.
7. "Host country" means the territory of a Contracting Party in which the transport operator is operating without its vehicle being registered there and without the transport operator being established there.
8. "Bus" means vehicle registered on the territory of one of the Contracting Parties and by virtue of construction and equipment suitable and intended for the transport of passengers, which have, in addition to the driver’s seat, more than eight sitting places.
9. "Regular passenger service" means a service whereby passengers are carried over a specified route, according to a timetable and rates set and published in advance. Passengers are picked up or set down at predetermined stopping points.
10. "Shuttle service" means a service 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 place of destination. Each group, consisting of the passengers who made the outward journey, is carried back to the place of departure on a later journey. Place of departure and place of destination respectively means the place where the journey begins and the place where the journey ends, together with, in each case, the surrounding locality within a 50 km radius.
A shuttle service may include accommodation of passengers at its destination and, if needed, during the journey.
The first return journey and the last outward journey in a series of shuttles are made unladen.
11. "Occasional service" means a service falling neither within the definition of a regular passenger service nor within the definition of a shuttle service. The frequency or number of services does not affect their classification as an occasional service.
12. "Control document" means the passenger waybill for buses, which is in conformity with the specimen agreed upon by the Joint Committee referred to in Article 14 of the present Agreement.
PART II – PASSENGER TRANSPORT
Article 3
Regular service
1. Regular services operated by bus are subject to a system of authorisations issued by the competent authority in the country of departure, destination or transit.
2. The authorisation application should be made to the competent authority in the country of establishment of the transport operator. If the competent authority approves the application, the authorisation is communicated to the competent authority of the other Contracting Party.
The Joint Committee set up under Article 14 of the present Agreement hereof decides on the form that the authorisation application takes and the supporting documents required.
3. Authorisations are issued by the competent authorities of the Contracting Parties by joint agreement.
The decision to grant or refuse to issue of an authorisation is taken within a period of three months unless there are special circumstances.
Authorisations are valid for a maximum of five years. They set out the operating conditions, including environmental and safety standards, which vehicles must meet.
4. Changes in operating conditions and the cancellation of the service are decided under the procedure set out in paragraphs 2 and 3 of this Article.
If there is no longer any demand for the service, the operator can cancel it giving a three months notice to the competent authorities which issued the authorisations and to customers.
Article 4
Occasional and shuttle services
1. The occasional services and the shuttle services operated by bus are subject to a system of permits issued by the competent authority in the country of departure, destination or transit.
The Joint Committee set up under Article 14 of the present Agreement hereof agrees upon technical, environmental and safety standards requirements that the vehicles carrying out the transport stipulated by this article must comply with.
2. As an exception to paragraph 1, the services listed below are exempt from permit system on the territory of the host country:
a) closed-door tours 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;
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, provided that passengers have been previously brought by the same carrier to the territory of the Contracting Party where they are picked up again and carried to the territory of the country of establishment.
3. The picking up of passengers on a liberalised service journey is not permitted unless special permit is granted.
The Joint Committee set up under Article 14 of the present Agreement hereof may extend the permit exemption to other categories of occasional services.
4. The permit application should be made to the competent authority in the host country.
The Joint Committee set up under Article 14 of the present Agreement hereof decides on the form that the permit application takes and the supporting documents required.
5. The occasional services exempted from permit requirements and operated using buses must be covered by a control document. The conditions of use and the content of the control document are laid down by the Joint Committee referred to in Article 14 of the present Agreement hereof.
Article 5
Provisions common to passenger services
1. Transport permits are not transferable to other transport operators.
2. The running of cabotage services is prohibited.
PART III – GOODS TRANSPORT
Article 6
Permit system
1. Transport operators established on the territory of one of the Contracting Parties may, under the system of universal permits, undertake:
a) transport between the territories of the two Contracting Parties;
b) transit transport;
c) transport between a point on the territory of the other Contracting Party and a point on the territory of the third country, if the itinerary passes through the territory of the country where the vehicle is registered.
2. Transport between a point on the territory of the other Contracting Party and a point on the territory of the third country is performed with a special permit if the itinerary does not pass through the territory of the country of the registration.
3. Cabotage is only permitted with the special authorisation of the host country.
4. The Joint Committee referred to in Article 14 of the present Agreement lays down other types of permits. If necessary it may put forward proposals on the running of transport without permits.
Article 7
Exemption from permit requirements
1. Permits referred to in Article 6 of the present Agreement are not required for:
a) Transport by vehicles whose Total Permissible Laden Weight [TPLW], including trailers, does not exceed 6 tonnes, or when the permitted payload, including trailers, does not exceed 3.5 tonnes.
b) Transport on an occasional basis, to or from airports, in case where air services are diverted.
c) Transport of vehicles which are damaged or have broken down and the runs of breakdown repair vehicles.
d) Unladen runs by a goods vehicle sent to replace a vehicle which has broken down in another country, and also the return run, after repair, of the vehicle that had broken down.
e) Transport of medical supplies and equipment needed for emergencies, more particularly in response to natural disasters and also as humanitarian aid.
f) Transport of works and objects of art for fairs and exhibitions or for non-commercial purposes.
g) Transport for non-commercial purposes of properties, accessories and animals to or from theatrical, musical, film, sports or circus performances and fairs, and those intended for radio recordings, or for film or television production.
h) Removals of household appliances carried out by enterprises with special staff and equipment for this purpose.
i) Funeral transport.
j) Transport of mail.
2. The Joint Committee referred to in Article 14 of the present Agreement hereof may add to, or remove from, the list of transport categories exempted from the permit requirements.
Article 8
Common provisions for goods transport
1. The competent authorities of the two Contracting Parties exchange an agreed number of blank permit forms every year.
Permits for the transport of goods are valid 13 months from the beginning of each calendar year.
2. Permits are not transferable to other transport operators.
3. Permits can only be used for one vehicle at a time. In the case of combinations of vehicles, the motor vehicle is the determining factor in permit issue or exemption.
4. The Joint Committee referred to in Article 14 of the present Agreement hereof determines the quota, category and any further conditions governing permit use.
PART IV – COMMON PROVISIONS
Article 9
Taxes and duties
1. Transport by means of vehicles registered on the territory of a Contracting Party temporarily operating on the territory of the other Contracting Party under the terms of this Agreement is exempt from payment of all duties related to the ownership, registration and running of the vehicle.
2. The fuel contained in the normal, by the manufacturer built-in fixed tanks of the vehicle intended to drive the vehicle, as well as lubricants and spares are exempt from all custom duties on the territory of the host country provided that the transport operator complies with the relevant customs regulations.
3. The transport covered by the terms of this Agreement is subject to the road user charges, tolls and other duties levied for the use of the road network or bridges in the host country. The tolls and other charges are levied on transport operators of the countries of both Contracting Parties indiscriminately.
Article 10
Weights and dimensions
1. The permissible maximum weight, axle weight and dimensions of vehicles must not exceed those entered in the registration documents nor the upper limits in force in the host country.
2. The use of vehicles whose weight and dimensions exceed the upper permissible limits is permitted in the host country only with a special authorisation applied for in advance.
Article 11
Equipment and other characteristics
1. Vehicles carrying dangerous goods must be fitted out and equipped in accordance with the requirements of the European Agreement Concerning the International Carriage of Dangerous Goods by Road of 30 September 1957, as modified (ADR).
2. Equipment used to monitor crew driving and rest time on vehicles must comply with the provisions of the European Agreement Concerning the Work of Crews of Vehicles Engaged in International Road Transport of 1 July 1970, as modified (AETR).
3. The Contracting Parties undertake to promote, within the framework of this Agreement, the use of vehicles meeting stringent safety and emission standards.
The Joint Committee referred to in Article 14 of the present Agreement can, when deciding on quotas and future liberalisation, give more favourable treatment to vehicles that meet the most modern safety and emission standards.
Article 12
Control
The permits, authorisations, control documents and other papers under this Agreement, as well as the consignment note, passenger waybills, insurance certificates, training certificates and all other papers required under multilateral or bilateral agreements or under national legislation of the countries of the Contracting Parties, must be kept in vehicles and be produced at the request of authorised officials.
Article 13
Obligations of transport operators and infringements
1. The transport operators of the country of a Contracting Party and the crews of their vehicles must, when on the territory of the other Contracting Party, comply with the laws and regulations in force in that country.
2. In the event of any infringement of the provisions of this Agreement by a transport operator of the country of a Contracting Party, the competent authority of the Contracting Party on whose territory the infringement occurred shall, without prejudice to the legal proceedings of its country, notify the competent authority of the other Contracting Party which will take such steps as provided for by the national legislation of its country. In particularly serious cases, the competent authority of the host country may temporarily prohibit access to the territory of its country pending a decision by the competent authority in the country of establishment. The competent authorities of the Contracting Parties shall keep each other mutually informed on decisions taken.
Article 14
Joint Committee
1. For the purpose of proper implementation of the present Agreement and to handle the issues related to it a Joint Committee shall be set up from the representatives of the competent authorities of the Contracting Parties.
2. When necessary representatives of other authorities may also participate.
Article 15
Competent Authorities
The competent authorities for the implementation of the present Agreement are:
in the Republic of Slovenia: Ministry of Transport;
in the Republic of Belarus: Ministry of Transport and Communications.
PART V – FINAL PROVISIONS
Article 16
Entry into force and length of the Agreement
1. The present Agreement shall enter into force on the date of the receipt of the last written notification through diplomatic channels, by which the Contracting Parties notify each other that the internal legal procedures necessary for its entry into force have been completed.
2. This Agreement shall remain in force for an indefinite period of time. Either of the Contracting Parties may terminate it by written notice. The Agreement shall expire three months following the date of the receipt of such notification.
In witness whereof the undersigned, being duly authorised thereto, have signed this Agreement.
Done in Minsk on 15 October 2002 in two originals, each in the Slovene, Russian and English language, all texts being equally authentic. In case of divergence of interpretation the English text shall prevail.
For the Government
of the Republic of Slovenia
dr. Franci Demšar (s)
For the Government
of the Republic of Belarus
Mihail Ivanovič Borovoj l.r.