Agreement on Succesion Issues

Annex A: Movable and immovable property;

Annex B: Diplomatic and consular properties;

Annex C: Financial assets and liabilities (other than those dealt with in the Appendix to this Agreement);

Annex D: Archives;

Annex E: Pensions;

Annex F: Other rights, interests, and liabilities;

Annex G: Private property and acquired rights.

A Standing Joint Committee of senior representatives of each successor State, who may be assisted by experts, is hereby established.

This Committee shall have as its principal tasks the monitoring of the effective implementation of this Agreement and serving as a forum in which issues arising in the course of its implementation may be discussed. The Committee may as necessary make appropriate recommendations to the Governments of the successor States.

The first formal meeting of the Standing Joint Committee shall be convened, at the initiative of the Government of the Republic of Macedonia, within two months of the entry into force of this Agreement. The Committee may meet informally, and on a provisional basis, at any times convenient to the successor States after the signature of this Agreement.

The Committee shall establish its own rules of procedure.

Differences which may arise over the interpretation and application of this Agreement shall, in the first place, be resolved in discussion among the States concerned.

If the differences cannot be resolved in such discussions within one month of the first communication in the discussion the States concerned shall either

Differences which may arise in practice over the interpretation of the terms used in this Agreement or in any subsequent agreement called for in implementation of the Annexes to this Agreement may, additionally, be referred at the initiative of any State concerned to binding expert solution, conducted by a single expert (who shall not be a national of any party to this Agreement) to be appointed by agreement between the parties in dispute or, in the absence of agreement, by the President of the Court of Conciliation and Arbitration within the OSCE. The expert shall determine all questions of procedure, after consulting the parties seeking such expert solution if the expert considers it appropriate to do so, with the firm intention of securing a speedy and effective resolution of the difference.

The procedure provided for in paragraph (3) of this Article shall be strictly limited to the interpretation of terms used in the agreements in question and shall in no circumstances permit the expert to determine the practical application of any of those agreements. In particular the procedure referred to shall not apply to

Nothing in the preceding paragraphs of this Article shall affect the rights or obligations of the Parties to the present Agreement under any provision in force binding them with regard to the settlement of disputes.

This Agreement shall be subject to ratification.

Instruments of ratification shall be lodged as soon as possible with the Depositary identified in Article 13 of this Agreement. The Depositary shall inform the successor States and the Office of the High Representative of the date of deposit of each instrument of ratification.

This Agreement shall enter into force thirty days after the deposit of the fifth instrument of ratification. The Depositary shall notify the successor States, and the Office of the High Representative, of the date of entry into force.

Notwithstanding paragraph (1) of this Article, Article 4 (3) of this Agreement, Article 5 of Annex A, Articles 1 and 5-6 of Annex B, and Article 6 of, and the Appendix to, Annex C, shall be provisionally applied after the date of signature of this Agreement, in accordance with their terms.

One original copy of this Agreement shall be deposited by the High Representative with the Secretary-General of the United Nations, who shall act as Depositary.

The Depositary shall, upon entry into force of this Agreement, ensure its registration in accordance with Article 102 of the Charter of the United Nations.