escwa expert group meeting on transport and trade facilitation in the escwa region beirut...

ESCWA Expert Group Meeting on transport and trade facilitation in the ESCWA region

Beirut 7./8.12.2009

Proposal for a work schedulefor ESCWA Work Group

on harmonization of legislation and institutional framework

prepared by Wolf R. Schwippert, Attorney at Law

ESCWA Expert Group MeetingHarmonization of Legislation & Institutional Framework


CONTENTS: What harmonization should not do! The aim of harmonization? Areas where harmonization is required Proposal for a work schedule

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What harmonization should not do!• To simply impose uniform laws and models on all

ESCWA member states in transport matters• Because domestic transport is not the field of

competence of ESCWA• Because ESCWA countries are not homogen and have

different concepts and policies• Because ESCWA countries have different financial and

commercial concepts to realize transport infrastructure• Because not all what others have done should simply be

copied

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The aim of harmonization• Cross border transport requires that systems

complement and correspond with each other (interoperability)

• If interoperability exists, trade (goods & passengers) can be facilitated

• Facilitation of trade among ESCWA member states, Arab League member states and neighboring regions

• Relates to all modes of transport• Land (road and rail), air, marine

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Potential areas, where harmonization is required in land transport:Private vehicles, • Drivers licensing• Technical specifications on

– Safety– Environment

• UN Conventions already in place, to check as to whether ESCWA member states have acceeded to such conventions.

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Potential areas, where harmonization is required in land transport:Private vehicles, • UN Conventions :• 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, 1958, as amended; and

• Agreement concerning the Adoption of Uniform Conditions for Periodical Technical Inspections of Wheeled Vehicles and the Reciprocal Recognition of such Inspections, 1997.

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Potential areas, where harmonization is required in land transport:Commercial vehicles (cargo & passengers),• Vehicle specifications on safety & environment

– See UN Conventions

• Drivers/Crew licensing• Custom Clearance (UN-TIR-Convention)• Cabotage• Civil liabilities of owners, not only of drivers (insurance)

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Potential areas, where harmonization is required in land transport:Roads, • Technical specifications• Signs, signalling (UN Vienna Convention)• Safety• UN – ESCWA Convention on Roads of 2001 already in

place, to check as to whether it is sufficient.

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Potential areas, where harmonization is required in land transport:Rail,

• Technical specifications on rail infrastructure– UN-ESCWA Agreement on Rail in place since 2003

• Technical specifications on rolling stock– UN-ESCWA Agreement on Rail in place since 2003

• Application on tariffs on international traffic• Licensing of crews• EU Directive 2004/49/EC (Rail Safety Directive) to be

looked at9


Harmonization in the fields ofAir Transport, • ICAO

Marine Transport• IMO

To identify other stakeholders and areas of concern, • seaports• airports

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Potential areas, where harmonization is required :Institutional Framework

Model Structure of Public Administration3 tasks – 3 levels:

- Policy making Minister- Supervision Deputy Minister- Operational Authority

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Proposal for a work schedule• Definition of stakeholders• Definition of areas to be regulated• Collection of existing national laws• Identification of existing international conventions• Gap analysis on legislation• Analysis of existing institutional frameworks• Recommendations

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Proposal for a work scheduleDefinition of stakeholders, e.g.• Ministries of Transport• Custom Authorities /Ministries of Finance• Ministries of Interior• Arab League• Gulf Cooperation Council• African Union• European Union/UNECE• Turkey/Iran

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Proposal for a work scheduleDefinition of areas to be regulated, e.g.• Private vehicles• Commercial vehicles• Roads• Rail• Marine• Air transport

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Proposal for a work scheduleCollection of existing national laws• National laws sometimes not too transparent in their

availability• Advantage of common Arabic language• Advantage transparency, one learns from each other• Data bank to be established

– Stage 1 internal– Stage 2 publicly accessable

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Proposal for a work scheduleIdentification of existing international conventions• UN Conventions open to ESCWA member states• Identification of UN Conventions not directly open to

ESCWA member states, like UNECE-Conventions– e.g. Convention on the Contract for the International Carriage

of Goods by Road (CIR)

• of other international bodies, institutions and associations

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Proposal for a work scheduleGap analysis on legislation

• as deliverable and precondition for the recommendations; after• analysis of areas to be regulated; and• analysis of existing laws, regulations and conventions

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Proposal for a work scheduleAnalysis of existing institutional framework

• might enter data bank• facilitates regional and international work processes• limited gap analysis,

– if functions are missing– if insufficiencies are detected– if common ESCWA member standards are not met

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Proposal for a work scheduleRecommendations • For individual national legislation projects• For regional legislation projects

– Arab League– UN-ESCWA– Accession to UN Conventions– Other international or regional conventions and agreements

• For improvement of institutional framework

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Thank you for your attention !

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Schwippert Law Office, Berlinwww.schwippert.eu

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