Convention

on the accession of the Czech Republic, the Republic of Estonia, the Republic of Cyprus, the Republic of Latvia, the Republic of Lithuania, the Republic of Hungary, the Republic of Malta, the Republic of Poland, the Republic of Slovenia and the Slovak Republic to the Convention on the law applicable to contractual obligations opened for signature in Rome on 19 June 1980, and to the First and Second Protocols on its interpretation by the Court of Justice of the European Communities

(2005/C 169/01)

THE HIGH CONTRACTING PARTIES TO THE TREATY ESTABLISHING THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITY,

BEARING IN MIND the Act concerning the conditions of accession of the Czech Republic, the Republic of Estonia, the Republic of Cyprus, the Republic of Latvia, the Republic of Lithuania, the Republic of Hungary, the Republic of Malta, the Republic of Poland, the Republic of Slovenia and the Slovak Republic, and the adjustments to the Treaties on which the European Union is founded, and in particular Article 5(2) thereof,

RECALLING that by becoming Members of the European Union, the new Member States undertook to accede to the Convention on the Law applicable to Contractual Obligations, opened for signature in Rome on 19 June 1980, and to the First and Second Protocols on its interpretation by the Court of Justice as modified by the Convention signed in Luxembourg on 10 April 1984, on the accession of the Hellenic Republic, the Convention signed in Funchal on 18 May 1992 on the accession of the Kingdom of Spain and the Portuguese Republic, and the Convention signed in Brussels on 29 November 1996 on the accession of the Republic of Austria, the Republic of Finland and the Kingdom of Sweden,

HAVE AGREED AS FOLLOWS:

TITLE I

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1

The Czech Republic, the Republic of Estonia, the Republic of Cyprus, the Republic of Latvia, the Republic of Lithuania, the Republic of Hungary, the Republic of Malta, the Republic of Poland, the Republic of Slovenia and the Slovak Republic hereby accede to:

(a) the Convention on the Law applicable to Contractual Obligations, opened for signature in Rome on 19 June 1980, hereinafter referred to as "the Convention of 1980", as it stands following incorporation of the adjustments and amendments made thereto by:

- the Convention signed in Luxembourg on 10 April 1984, hereinafter referred to as "the Convention of 1984", on the accession of the Hellenic Republic to the Convention on the Law applicable to Contractual Obligations,

- the Convention signed in Funchal on 18 May 1992, hereinafter referred to as "the Convention of 1992", on the accession of the Kingdom of Spain and the Portuguese Republic to the Convention on the Law applicable to Contractual Obligations,

- the Convention signed in Brussels on 29 November 1996, hereinafter referred to as "the Convention of 1996", on the accession of the Republic of Austria, the Republic of Finland and the Kingdom of Sweden to the Convention on the Law applicable to Contractual Obligations;

(b) the First Protocol, signed on 19 December 1988, hereinafter referred to as "the First Protocol of 1988" on the interpretation by the Court of Justice of the European Communities of the Convention on the Law applicable to Contractual Obligations, as it stands following incorporation of the adjustments and amendments made thereto by the Convention of 1992 and the Convention of 1996;

(c) the Second Protocol, signed on 19 December 1988, hereinafter referred to as "the Second Protocol of 1988", conferring on the Court of Justice of the European Communities certain powers to interpret the Convention on the Law applicable to Contractual Obligations.

TITLE II

ADJUSTMENTS TO THE FIRST PROTOCOL OF 1988

Article 2

The following indents shall be inserted in Article 2(a):

(a) between the first and the second indents:

"‘�in the Czech Republic:

Nejvy拧拧铆 soud 膶eské republiky

Nejvy拧拧铆 spr谩vn铆 soud"

(b) between the third and the fourth indents:

"‘�in Estonia:

Riigikohus"

(c) between the eighth and the ninth indents:

"‘�in Cyprus:

螒谓蠋蟿伪蟿慰 螖喂魏伪蟽蟿萎蟻喂慰

‘�in Latvia:

Augst膩k膩s Tiesas Sen膩ts

‘�in Lithuania:

Lietuvos Auk拧膷iausiasis Teismas

Lietuvos vyriausiasis administracinis teismas"

(d) between the ninth and the tenth indents:

"‘�in Hungary:

Legfels玫bb B铆r贸s谩g

‘�in Malta:

Qorti ta' l-Appell"

(e) between the eleventh and the twelfth indents:

"‘�in Poland:

S膮d Najwy偶szy

Naczelny S膮d Administracyjny"

(f) between the twelfth and the thirteenth indents:

"‘�in Slovenia:

Ustavno sodi拧膷e Republike Slovenije

Vrhovno sodi拧膷e Republike Slovenije

‘�in Slovakia:

Najvy拧拧铆 s煤d Slovenskej republiky"

.

TITLE III

FINAL PROVISIONS

Article 3

1. The Secretary-General of the Council of the European Union shall transmit a certified copy of the Convention of 1980, the Convention of 1984, the First Protocol of 1988, the Second Protocol of 1988, the Convention of 1992 and the Convention of 1996 in the Danish, Dutch, English, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Irish, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish and Swedish languages to the Governments of the Czech Republic, the Republic of Estonia, the Republic of Cyprus, the Republic of Latvia, the Republic of Lithuania, the Republic of Hungary, the Republic of Malta, the Republic of Poland, the Republic of Slovenia and the Slovak Republic.

2. The texts of the Convention of 1980, the Convention of 1984, the First Protocol of 1988, the Second Protocol of 1988, the Convention of 1992 and the Convention of 1996 in the Czech, Estonian, Hungarian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Maltese, Polish, Slovakian and Slovenian languages shall be authentic under the same conditions as the other texts of the Convention of 1980, the Convention of 1984, the First Protocol of 1988, the Second Protocol of 1988, the Convention of 1992 and the Convention of 1996.

Article 4

This Convention shall be ratified by the signatory States. The instruments of ratification shall be deposited with the Secretary-General of the Council of the European Union.

Article 5

1. This Convention shall enter into force between the States which have ratified it, on the first day of the third month following the deposit of the second instrument of ratification.

2. Thereafter, this Convention shall enter into force, for each signatory State which subsequently ratifies it, on the first day of the third month following the deposit of its instrument of ratification.

Article 6

The Secretary-General of the Council of the European Union shall notify the signatory States of:

(a) the deposit of each instrument of ratification;

(b) the dates of entry into force of this Convention for the Contracting States.

Article 7

This Convention, drawn up in a single original in the Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Estonian, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hungarian, Irish, Italian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Maltese, Polish, Portuguese, Slovakian, Slovene, Spanish and Swedish languages, all 21 texts being equally authentic, shall be deposited in the archives of the General Secretariat of the Council of the European Union. The Secretary-General shall transmit a certified copy to the Government of each signatory state.

Hecho en Luxemburgo, el catorce de abril de dos mil cinco.

V Lucemburku dne 膷trn谩ctého dubna dva tis铆ce p臎t.

Udf忙rdiget i Luxembourg den fjortende april to tusind og fem.

Geschehen zu Luxemburg am vierzehnten April zweitausendf眉nf.

Kahe tuhande viienda aasta aprillikuu neljateistk眉mnendal p盲eval Luxembourgis.

螆纬喂谓蔚 蟽蟿慰 螞慰蠀尉蔚渭尾慰蠉蟻纬慰, 蟽蟿喂蟼 未苇魏伪 蟿苇蟽蟽蔚蟻喂蟼 螒蟺蟻喂位委慰蠀 未蠉慰 蠂喂位喂维未蔚蟼 蟺苇谓蟿蔚.

Done at Luxembourg on the fourteenth day of April in the year two thousand and five.

Fait 脿 Luxembourg, le quatorze avril deux mille cinq.

Arna déanamh i Lucsamburg, an ceathr煤 l谩 déag d‘橝ibre谩n sa bhliain dh谩 mh铆le is a c煤ig.

Fatto a Lussemburgo, add矛 quattordici aprile duemilacinque.

Luksemburg膩, divi t奴ksto拧i piekt膩 gada 膷etrpadsmitaj膩 apr墨l墨.

Priimta du t奴kstan膷iai penkt懦 met懦 baland啪io keturiolikt膮 dien膮 Liuksemburge.

Kelt Luxembourgban, a kett艖ezer-枚t枚dik év 谩prilis tizennegyedik napj谩n.

Mag魔mul fil-Lussemburgu, fl-erbatax-il jum ta‘�April tas-sena elfejn u 魔amsa.

Gedaan te Luxemburg, de veertiende april tweeduizend vijf.

Sporz膮dzono w Luksemburgu dnia czternastego kwietnia roku dwa tysi膮ce pi膮tego.

Feito no Luxemburgo, em catorze de Abril de dois mil e cinco.

V Luxembourgu, 拧tirinajstega aprila leta dva tiso膷 pet.

V Luxemburgu d艌a 拧trn谩steho apr铆la dvetis铆cp盲钮.

Tehty Luxemburgissa nelj盲nten盲toista p盲iv盲n盲 huhtikuuta vuonna kaksituhattaviisi.

Som skedde i Luxemburg den fjortonde april tjugohundrafem.

Pour le gouvernement du Royaume de Belgique

Voor de regering van het Koninkrijk Belgi毛

F眉r die Regierung des K枚nigreichs Belgien

+++++ TIFF +++++

Za vl谩du 膶eské republiky

+++++ TIFF +++++

For regeringen for Kongeriget Danmark

+++++ TIFF +++++

F眉r die Regierung der Bundesrepublik Deutschland

+++++ TIFF +++++

+++++ TIFF +++++

Eesti Vabariigi valitsuse nimel

+++++ TIFF +++++

螕喂伪 蟿畏谓 魏蠀尾苇蟻谓畏蟽畏 蟿畏蟼 螘位位畏谓喂魏萎蟼 螖畏渭慰魏蟻伪蟿委伪蟼

+++++ TIFF +++++

Por el Gobierno del Reino de Espa帽a

+++++ TIFF +++++

Pour le gouvernement de la République française

+++++ TIFF +++++

Thar ceann Rialtas na h脡ireann

For the Government of Ireland

+++++ TIFF +++++

Per il governo della Repubblica italiana

+++++ TIFF +++++

螕喂伪 蟿畏谓 魏蠀尾苇蟻谓畏蟽畏 蟿畏蟼 螝蠀蟺蟻喂伪魏萎蟼 螖畏渭慰魏蟻伪蟿委伪蟼

+++++ TIFF +++++

Latvijas Republikas vald墨bas v膩rd膩

+++++ TIFF +++++

Lietuvos Respublikos Vyriausybès vardu

+++++ TIFF +++++

Pour le gouvernement du Grand-Duché de Luxembourg

+++++ TIFF +++++

A Magyar K枚zt谩rsas谩g korm谩nya részér艖l

+++++ TIFF +++++

G魔all-Gvern tar-Repubblika ta‘�Malta

+++++ TIFF +++++

Voor de regering van het Koninkrijk der Nederlanden

+++++ TIFF +++++

F眉r die Regierung der Republik 脰sterreich

+++++ TIFF +++++

W imieniu Rz膮du Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej

+++++ TIFF +++++

Pelo Governo da Rep煤blica Portuguesa

+++++ TIFF +++++

Za vlado Republike Slovenije

+++++ TIFF +++++

Za vl谩du Slovenskej republiky

+++++ TIFF +++++

Suomen hallituksen puolesta

P氓 finska regeringens v盲gnar

+++++ TIFF +++++

P氓 svenska regeringens v盲gnar

+++++ TIFF +++++

For the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

+++++ TIFF +++++

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Joint declaration by the High Contracting Parties concerning the deadlines set for ratification of the Accession Convention

"The High Contracting Parties, meeting in the Council at the time of the signature of the Convention on the accession of the Czech Republic, the Republic of Estonia, the Republic of Cyprus, the Republic of Latvia, the Republic of Lithuania, the Republic of Hungary, the Republic of Malta, the Republic of Poland, the Republic of Slovenia and the Slovak Republic to the 1980 Rome Convention on the law applicable to contractual obligations, declare that they will take the necessary steps to ratify this Convention within a reasonable time and, if possible, before December 2005."

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Declaration by the Member States concerning the timing of the submission of a proposal for a Regulation on the law applicable to contractual obligations

"The Member States request that the Commission submit, as soon as possible and at the latest by the end of 2005, a proposal for a Regulation on the law applicable to contractual obligations."

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Joint Declaration by the Member States on the exchange of information

The Governments of the Kingdom of Belgium, the Czech Republic, the Kingdom of Denmark, the Federal Republic of Germany, the Republic of Estonia, the Hellenic Republic, the Kingdom of Spain, the French Republic, Ireland, the Italian Republic, the Republic of Cyprus, the Republic of Latvia, the Republic of Lithuania, the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, the Republic of Hungary, the Republic of Malta, the Kingdom of the Netherlands, the Republic of Austria, the Republic of Poland, the Portuguese Republic, the Republic of Slovenia, the Slovak Republic, the Republic of Finland, the Kingdom of Sweden and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland,

On signing the 2005 Convention on accession to the Convention on the law applicable to contractual obligations, opened for signature in Rome on 19 June 1980, and to the First and Second Protocols on interpretation by the Court of Justice of the European Communities, as amended,

Desiring to ensure that the provisions of the First Protocol are applied as effectively and as uniformly as possible,

Declare themselves ready to organise, in cooperation with the Court of Justice of the European Communities, an exchange of information on judgments which have become res judicata and have been handed down pursuant to the Convention on the law applicable to contractual obligations by the courts referred to in Article 2 of the said Protocol. The exchange of information will comprise:

- the forwarding to the Court of Justice by the competent national authorities of judgments handed down by the courts referred to in Article 2(a) of the First Protocol and significant judgments handed down by the courts referred to in Article 2(b) of that Protocol,

- the classification and the documentary exploitation of these judgments by the Court of Justice including, as far as necessary, the drawing up of abstracts and translations, and the publication of judgments of particular importance,

- the communication by the Court of Justice of the documentary material to the competent national authorities of the States parties to the Protocol and to the Commission and the Council of the European Communities.

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