TREATY BETWEEN THE HUNGARIAN PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC AND THE CZECHOSLOVAK SOCIALIST
REPUBLIC CONCERNING THE CONSTRUCTION AND OPERATON OF THE GABČÍKOVO - NAGYMAROS
SYSTEM OF LOCKS
The Hungarian People's Republic and the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic, Considering
their mutual interest in the broad utilization of the natural resources of the
Bratislava-Budapest section of the Danube river for the development of water
resources, energy, transport, agriculture and other sectors of the national economy
of the Contracting Parties,
Recognizing that the joint utilization of the Hungarian-Czechoslovak section of the
Danube will further strengthen the fraternal relations of the two States and
significantly contribute to bringing about the socialist integration of the States
members of the Council for Mutual Economic Co-operation, have therefore
Decided to conclude an Agreement concerning the construction and operation of the
Gabčíkovo-Nagymaros system of locks, and have for this purpose appointed as their
plenipotentiaries:
The Presidium of the Hungarian People's Republic:
Mr. György Lázár, Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Hungarian People's
Republic;
The President of the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic:
Dr. Lubomír Štrougal, Prime Minister of the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic,
who, having exchanged their full powers, found in good and due form, have agreed as
follows:
CHAPTER I.
PURPOSE OF THE TREATY
Article 1.
THE JOINT INVESTMENT
1. The Contracting Parties shall construct the Gabčíkovo-Nagymaros system of
locks (hereinafter referred to as the "System of Locks') as a joint investment;
the System of Locks shall comprise the Gabčíkovo system of locks and the Nagymaros
system of locks and shall constitute a single and indivisible operational system of
works.
2. The principal works of the Gabčíkovo system of locks shall be as follows:
(a) The Dunakiliti-Hrušov head-water installations in the Danube sector at r.km.
(river kilometre(s)) 1860-1842, designed for a maximum flood stage of 131.10 m.B. (metres
above sea-level, Baltic system), in Hungarian and Czechoslovak territory;
(b) The Dunakiliti dam and auxiliary navigation lock at r. km. 1842, in Hungarian
territory;
(c) The by-pass canal (head-water canal and tail-water canal) at r. km. 1842-1811,
in Czechoslovak territory;
(d) Series of locks on the by-pass canal, in Czechoslovak territory, consisting of a
hydroelectric power plant with installed capacity of 720 MW, double navigation
locks and appurtenances thereto;
(e) Improved old bed of the Danube at r.km. 1842-1811, in the joint Hungarian-Czechoslovak
section;
(f) Deepened and regulated bed of the Danube at r.km. 1811-1791, in the joint
Hungarian-Czechoslovak section.
3. The principal works of the Nagymaros system of locks shall be as follows:
(a) Head-water installations and flood-control works in the Danube sector at r.km.
1791 - 1696.25 and in the sectors of tributaries affected by flood waters, designed
for a maximum flood stage of 107.83 m.B., in Hungarian and Czechoslovak territory;
(b) Series of locks at r.km. 1696.25, in Hungarian territory, consisting of a dam, a
hydroelectric power plant with installed capacity of 158 MW, double navigation
locks and appurtenances thereto;
(c) Deepened and regulated bed of the Danube, in both its branches, at r.km.
1696.25-1657, in the Hungarian section.
4. The concept of the System of Locks shall include the joint investment programme.
The technical specifications relating to the System of Locks shall be included in
the joint contractual plan drawn up as provided in the Agreement, signed at Bratislava
on 6 May 1976, between the Government of the Hungarian People's Republic and the
Government of the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic concerning the drafting of a joint
contractual plan for the Gabčíkovo-Nagymaros System of Locks (hereinafter
referred to as "the Agreement").
Article 2.
NATIONAL INVESTMENT
1. With a view to taking advantage of the opportunities afforded by the System of
Locks, the Contracting Parties may, in addition to the joint investment, also
undertake national investments exclusively in their own interest and for their own
purposes.
2. The costs of national investment shall be borne in full by each Contracting
Party.
3. National investment may not have a detrimental effect on the results of the joint
investment.
CHAPTER II.
EXECUTION OF THE TREATY
Article 3
1. Operations connected with the realization of the joint investment and with
the performance of tasks relating to the operation of the System of Locks shall be
directed and supervised by the Governments of the Contracting Parties through
delegates (hereinafter referred to as "government delegates") appointed by
them for that purpose.
2. The government delegates shall establish appropriate permanent and temporary
joint agencies for the performance of their functions and, pending the approval of
the joint contractual plan, shall make regulations governing the organization and
activities of those agencies.
3. The principal functions of the government delegates shall be as follows:
(a) At the time of the realization of the joint investment:
(1) To ensure that construction of the System of Locks is properly coordinated in
the territories of the Contracting Parties and is carried out in accordance with the
approved joint contractual plan and the project work schedule;
(2) To provide for supervision over labour and supplies and for coordination
between the agencies of the Contracting Parties;
(3) To approve proposals for the modification of the technical procedures adopted in
the joint contractual plan;
(4) To determine the justification for and extent of additional costs arising from
the circumstances specified in article 7;
(5) To provide for and approve the records and settlement of differences relating to
the apportionment of labour and supplies in equal measure in the cases specified in
article 7;
(6) To provide for the acceptance of individual works from the supplying agencies
and the delivery thereof to the authorized operating agencies.
(b) At the time of the operation of the System of Locks:
(1) To establish the operating and operational procedures of the System of Locks and
ensure compliance therewith;
(2) To ensure the performance of tasks connected with the operation, maintenance and
possible reconstruction of jointly-owned works of the System of Locks, including the
performance of tasks connected with the generation and distribution of electric
power;
(3) To approve the technical-economic plans and the reciprocal settlement of
accounts relating to the operation, maintenance and possible reconstruction of the
works of the System of Locks;
(4) To supervise compliance with the water balance approved in the joint contractual
plan;
(5) To supervise and co-ordinate the activities of national operating agencies in
times of flood or ice disposal.
4. The activities of the government delegates shall be governed by the joint statute
approved by the Governments of the Contracting Parties.
CHAPTER III.
REALIZATION OF THE SYSTEM OF LOCKS
Article 4.
PREPARATION AND REALIZATION OF THE JOINT INVESTMENT
1. The joint investment shall be carried out in conformity with the joint contractual
plan, which, for the purposes of the preparation of the joint investment, shall be
drawn up by the agencies of the Contracting Parties on the basis of the Agreement.
2. The joint contractual plan shall:
(a) Determine the main dimensions of the works of the System of Locks, the technical
specifications of technical equipment, the final project work schedule and
responsibility for the costs referred to in article 12, paragraph 2;
(b) Serve as a basis for:
(1) Ordering the technical equipment, construction materials, machinery and
steelwork for the System of Locks;
(2) Drawing up the construction plans and specifications.
3. Approval of the joint contractual plan shall be effected in conformity with the
national laws and regulations of the Contracting Parties, and the government
delegates shall inform each other of its approval.
4. Operations relating to the joint investment shall be organized by the Contracting
Parties in such a way that the power generation plants will be put into service
during the period 1986-1990.
Article 5.
RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE COSTS OF THE JOINT INVESTMENT, APPORTIONMENT OF LABOUR
AND SUPPLIES
1. The costs of carrying out the joint investment shall be borne by the Contracting
Parties jointly in equal measure.
2. The Contracting Parties shall defray their portion of the costs of carrying
out the joint investment on the basis of an apportionment of labour and supplies in
equal measure according to the labour and supplies actually provided.
3. The costs of carrying out the joint investment shall be as follows:
(a) Costs of the research, exploration and planning operations required for drawing
up the joint contractual plan and the construction plans and specifications;
(b) Costs of carrying out the works provided for in the joint investment, including
such costs of carrying out works in the nature of joint investment and coming
within the joint investment programme as were incurred by the Contracting Parties
before the entry into force of this Treaty and as have by mutual agreement been
included in the joint contractual plan;
(c) Costs of acquiring immovable property which, either on a temporary or a permanent
basis, is required for carrying out the joint investment.
4. The apportionment of planning, research and exploration operations under the
joint contractual plan shall be provided for in the Agreement.
5. The labour and supplies required for the realization of the joint investment
shall be apportioned between the Contracting Parties in the following manner:
(a) The Czechoslovak Party shall be responsible for:
(1) The Dunakiliti-Hrušov head-water installations on the left bank, in
Czechoslovak territory;
(2) The head-water canal of the by-pass canal, in Czechoslovak territory;
(3) The Gabčíkovo series of locks, in Czechoslovak territory;
(4) The flood-control works of the Nagymaros head-water installations, in
Czechoslovak territory, with the exception of the lower Ipeľ district;
(5) Restoration of vegetation in Czechoslovak territory;
(b) The Hungarian Party shall be responsible for:
(1) The Dunakiliti-Hrušov head-water installations on the right bank, in
Czechoslovak territory, including the connecting weir and the diversionary weir;
(2) The Dunakiliti-Hrušov head-water installations on the right bank, in Hungarian
territory;
(3) The Dunakiliti dam, in Hungarian territory;
(4) The tail-water canal of the by-pass canal, in Czechoslovak territory;
(5) Deepening of the bed of the Danube below Palkovičovo, in Hungarian and
Czechoslovak territory;
(6) Improvement of the old bed of the Danube, in Hungarian and Czechoslovak
territory;
(7) Operational equipment of the Gabčíkovo system of locks (transport equipment,
maintenance machinery), in Czechoslovak territory;
(8) The flood-control works of the Nagymaros head-water installations in the lower
Ipeľ district, in Czechoslovak territory;
(9) The flood-control works of the Nagymaros head-water installations, in Hungarian
territory;
(10) The Nagymaros series of locks, in Hungarian territory;
(11) Deepening of the tail-water bed below the Nagymaros system of locks, in
Hungarian territory;
(12) Operational equipment of the Nagymaros system of locks (transport equipment,
maintenance machinery), in Hungarian territory;
(13) Restoration of vegetation in Czechoslovak territory.
6. The apportionment of labour and supplies under the joint investment as provided
in paragraph 5 shall be evaluated by the Contracting Parties in monetary terms in
the joint contractual plan. The valuation of the labour and supplies shall not
affect the apportionment of the works (labour) specified in paragraph 5; however,
any amount due for settlement may not exceed 2.5 per cent of the budgetary value of
the work and deliveries to be carried out by the Contracting Parties in accordance
with paragraph 5. The settlement of any difference as aforesaid shall also take the
form of labour and supplies. The costs of carrying out the joint investment shall be
specified in the joint contractual plan on the basis of the mutually agreed
budgetary figures and shall be expressed in the Hungarian forint and the
Czechoslovak koruna at the annual rate of exchange in effect on 1 January 1975.
7. Each Contracting Party shall bear the full amount of all costs of works to be
carried out and labour and supplies to be provided by it in accordance with the apportionment
of labour and supplies under the joint investment.
8. The Contracting Parties shall, on the basis of the apportionment of labour and
supplies under the joint investment, prepare construction plans and specifications
for the works to be carried out and the operations to be performed by them within
their sphere of authority in accordance with the approved joint contractual plan,
and they shall, on the basis of such plans and specifications, ensure within their
sphere of authority the execution of the said works.
9. The Contracting Parties shall ensure, and shall be responsible to each other for
doing so, that the planning and execution of works and operations are in accord with
the approved joint contractual plan.
ArticIe 6.
AGENCIES RESPONSIBLE FOR THE REALIZATION OF THE JOINT INVESTMENT
1. The Contracting Parties shall rely on their own investment agencies to ensure
that the objectives connected with the realization of the joint investment are
achieved.
2. Supervision and co-ordination of the activities of the investment agencies of
the Contracting Parties shall be ensured by the government delegates.
Article 7.
SETTLEMENT OF COSTS IN EXCESS OF THE JOINT INVESTMENT
1. Subsequent to the apportionment of labour and supplies under the joint investment,
there shall be no settlement between the Contracting Parties of additional
costs under the joint investment relating to the construction of the System of
Locks, save in the following cases:
(a) Damage arising in the course of the realization of the investment by reason of
unavoidable circumstances (vis major);
(b) The emergence of unforeseeable geological conditions;
(c) Mutually agreed modifications of the technical procedures adopted in the approved
joint contractual plan.
2. The expression "unforeseeable geological conditions" means a situation
where the geological conditions determined in the course of construction differ
markedly from the conditions determined on the basis of the exploration conducted
for the purposes of the joint investment programme and the joint contractual plan.
Additional costs arising from faulty exploration, planning errors or faulty methods
of construction may not be regarded as consequences of unforeseeable geological
conditions.
3. Costs arising in consequence of the cases enumerated in paragraph 1 shall
be borne by the Contracting Parties in equal measure after approval by the government
delegates.
4. The Contracting Parties shall endeavour, if possible in the course of the
construction, to settle, in the form of labour and supplies, any differences that
arise subsequent to the apportionment in equal measure of labour and supplies.
Article 8.
OWNERSHIP OF WORKS CARRIED OUT UNDER THE JOINT INVESTMENT
1. Among the works of the System of Locks carried out as joint investment, the
following shall be jointly owned by the Contracting Parties in equal measure:
(a) The Dunakiliti dam (article 1, paragraph 2 (b));
(b) The by-pass canal (article 1, paragraph 2 (c));
(c) The Gabčíkovo series of locks (article 1, paragraph 2 (d));
(d) The Nagymaros series of locks (article 1, paragraph 3 (b));
2. On the basis of the joint, ownership, the Contracting Parties shall have the
rights and obligations arising from the relevant provisions of this Treaty.
3. Ownership of the other works of the System of Locks carried out as joint investment
shall vest in the Contracting Party in whose territory they were constructed.
CHAPTER IV.
OPERATION OF THE WORKS OF THE SYSTEM OF LOCKS
Article 9.
SHARE OF THE CONTRACTING PARTIES IN THE USE OF THE SYSTEM OF LOCKS
1. The Contracting Parties shall participate in the use and in the benefits of the
System of Locks in equal measure.
2. The output of the hydroelectric power plants shall be available to the Contracting
Parties in equal measure, and they shall participate in kind, in equal measure, in
the base-load and peak-load power generated at and conducted from the said
plants.
3. In the event of the construction of planned locks on the Danube directly
above or below the System of Locks, the Contracting Parties shall individually agree
on taking the impact of the works on each other into consideration.
Article 10. METHOD OF OPERATION OF THE WORKS OF THE SYSTEM OF LOCKS
1. Works of the System of Locks constituting the joint property of the Contracting
Parties shall be operated, as a co-ordinated single unit and in accordance
with the jointly-agreed operating and operational procedures, by the authorized
operating agency of the Contracting Party in whose territory the works were built.
2. Works of the System of Locks owned by one of the Contracting Parties shall
be independently operated or maintained by the agencies of that Contracting
Party in the jointly prescribed manner.
3. The Contracting Parties shall ensure that the agencies operating the System
of Locks maintain, in accordance with the regulations in force, operating conditions
that satisfy the requirements for co-ordinated and effective operation of the entire
System of Locks.
4. The following principles shall in particular be observed in the operation of
the power-plant facilities of the System of Locks:
(a) The hydroelectric power plants of the two series of locks in the System of Locks
shall be so operated as not only to take into account the requirements of the
energy-related agencies of the Contracting Parties but also to satisfy the
demands of efficiency and economy;
(b) Electric output and the distribution and consumption of electric power shall be
determined by agreement between the State load-distribution dispatchers of the
Contracting Parties.
Article 11.
AGENCIES OPERATING THE WORKS OF THE SYSTEM OF LOCKS
1. The Contracting Parties shall entrust the operation of those structures of
the jointly-owned works of the System of Locks which are in their territories to the
following national operating agencies:
(a) To energy-related agencies in the case of energy-related works;
(b) To water-resource management agencies in the case of water-resource-management
and navigational works.
2. Supervision and co-ordination of the activities of the national agencies
responsible for the operation of the System of Locks shall be ensured by the
government delegates.
Article12.
RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE PAYMENT AND ACCOUNTING OF THE OPERATING COSTS OF THE
SYSTEM OF LOCKS
1. Operating, maintenance (repair) and reconstruction costs of jointly-owned
works of the System of Locks shall be borne jointly by the Contracting Parties in
equal measure.
2. Those works constituting the property of one of the Contracting Parties the
operating, maintenance (repair) and reconstruction costs of which are borne jointly
by the Contracting Parties in equal measure shall be specified in the joint
contractual plan.
3. Costs not mentioned in paragraphs 1 and 2 and flood-control costs incurred
in their own territory shall be borne separately by each of the Contracting Parties.
4. Only direct costs may 'be included under the heading of operating, maintenance
and reconstruction costs. The sphere of direct costs shall be defined by the
operators before operations begin. The definition thereof shall be approved by the
government delegates. Direct costs may not be construed as including general (overhead)
costs, taxes and State levies, amortization costs, and charges for water used for
the production of electric power.
5. The planning and accounting of the jointly-borne costs referred to in paragraphs
1, 2 and 4 shall be effected in the following manner:
(a) The operating agencies shall draw up annual operating, maintenance and
reconstruction plans, which shall be approved by the government delegates.
These plans shall include a breakdown of the operations according to whether
they were performed by the operating agencies or by outside undertakings;
(b) The accounting of operations performed by outside undertakings shall be carried
out on the basis of invoices verified by the operators;
(c) The accounting of the operations which are carried out on the basis of the plans
shall be approved each year by the government delegates;
(d) Detailed instructions on planning and accounting procedures
shall, before the commencement of the operations, be drawn up by the operating
authorities, with the agreement of the financial authorities of the
Contracting Parties, in accordance with guidelines given by the government
delegates.
6. The annual amount of jointly-borne operating costs shall be expressed in
national currencies converted into transferable roubles. If, at the commencement of
operations, no generally applicable exchange rates are available, the financial authorities
of the Contracting Parties shall come to a decision on them.
7. The Contracting Parties shall endeavour to ensure that any differences arising
from operating costs are, so far as possible, settled by work performed within the
framework of the annual operating, maintenance and reconstruction plan of the
System of Locks. The procedure for the settlement of differences still outstanding
shall be determined by agreement between the competent authorities of the Contracting
Parties.
CHAPTER V.
WATER-RESOURCE MANAGEMENT FUNCTIONS
Article 13.
FLOOD CONTROL AND ICE DISCHARGE
1. Flood-control operations shall be carried out by the water-resource management
authorities of the Contracting Parties.
2. On the occasion of flooding or ice movement in the System of Locks, the
government delegates shall ensure co-ordination of the activities of the
flood-control authorities of the Contracting Parties.
3. On the occasion of flooding or ice movement, the operations of the works of
the System of Locks shall be subject to flood-control requirements.
4. High water and ice shall be discharged through the head-water installations
and the series of locks of the System of Locks in accordance with the operating and
operational procedures of the System of Locks.
Article 14.
WITHDRAWAL OF WATER FROM THE DANUBE
1. The discharge specified in the water balance of the approved joint contractual
plan shall be ensured in the bed of the Danube between r.km. 1842 and r. km.
1811 unless natural conditions or other circumstances temporarily require a
greater or smaller discharge.
2. The Contracting Parties may, without giving prior notice, withdraw from the
Hungarian-Czechoslovak section of the Danube, and make use of, the quantities
of water specified in the water balance of the approved joint contractual plan.
3. In the event that the withdrawal of water in the Hungarian-Czechoslovak
section of the Danube exceeds the quantities of water specified in the water balance
of the approved joint contractual plan and the excess withdrawal results in a
decrease in the output of electric power, the share of electric power of the
Contracting Party benefiting from the excess withdrawal shall be
correspondingly reduced.
Article 15.
PROTECTION OF WATER QUALITY
1. The Contracting Parties shall ensure, by the means specified in the joint
contractual plan, that the quality of the water in the Danube is not impaired as a
result of the construction and operation of the System of Locks.
2. The monitoring of water quality in connection with the construction and
operation of the System of Locks shall be carried out on the basis of the agreements
on frontier waters in force between the Governments of the Contracting Parties.
Article 16.
MAINTENANCE OF THE BED OF THE DANUBE
Maintenance of the bed of the Danube, including the old bed of the Danube,
shall be incumbent upon the competent State agencies of the Contracting Parties.
Maintenance operations shall be carried out in accordance with the approved operating
and operational procedures of the System of Locks and with due regard for the
provisions of the agreements on frontier waters in force between the Governments of
the Contracting Parties.
Article 17.
WATER-USE PERMITS AND WATER-USE SUPERVISION
The water-use permits and water-use supervision of structures in their territories
constituting jointly-owned works of the System of Locks shall be provided for by the
Contracting Parties in accordance with their own laws and regulations.
CHAPTER VI.
NAVIGATION
Article 18
1. The Contracting Parties, in conformity with the obligations previously
assumed by them, and in particular with article 3 of the Convention concerning the
regime of navigation on the Danube, signed at Belgrade on 18 August 1948,' shall ensure
uninterrupted and safe navigation on the international fairway both during the
construction and during the operation of the System of Locks.
2. The construction of the System of Locks will, when the Dunakiliti dam is
put into service, make it necessary to re-route shipping and, for a short time, to
interrupt shipping. Shipping shall be re-routed through the Dunakiliti navigation
lock in such a way as to require the minimum interruption of navigation. The
re-routing of shipping and the movement of shipping through the Dunakiliti
lock shall take place at the time of least shipping traffic so as to be able to
continue for the minimum period specified in the joint contractual plan.
3. Navigation in the System of Locks shall be governed by the regulations of
the navigation authorities of the Contracting Parties.
4. The conditions for navigation in the old bed of the Danube shall be specified
in the operating and operational procedures.
CHAPTER VII.
PROTECTION OF THE NATURAL ENVIRONMENT
Article 19.
PROTECTION OF NATURE
The Contracting Parties shall, through the means specified in the joint contractual
plan, ensure compliance with the obligations for the protection of nature arising
in connection with the construction and operation of the System of Locks.
Article 20.
FISHING INTERESTS
The Contracting Parties, within the framework of national investment, shall
take appropriate measures for the protection of fishing interests in conformity with
the Danube Fisheries Agreement, concluded at Bucharest on 29 January 1958.'
CHAPTER VIII.
PROVISION OF LAND
Article 21
The Contracting Parties shall in good time prepare and make available to each
other the land required for the preparatory construction stage, the construction and
the operation of the works of the System of Locks.
CHAPTER IX.
DETERMINATION OF THE BOUNDARY LINE OF THE STATE FRONTIER AND CROSSING OF THE
STATE FRONTIER
Article 22.
DETERMINATION OF THE BOUNDARY LINE OF THE STATE FRONTIER
1. The Contracting Parties have, in connection with the construction and
operation of the System of Locks, agreed on minor revisions of and changes in the
character of the State frontier between the Hungarian People's Republic and the
Czechoslovak Socialist Republic, as follows:
(a) Subsequent to the construction of the System of Locks, the movable character
of the State frontier in the old bed of the Danube between the r. km. 1840 and
r.km. 1811 segments shall remain unchanged, and the position of that frontier
shall be defined by the centre-line of the present main navigation channel of the
river;
(b) In the r.km. 1842-1840 sector, up to the division of the bed, the State frontier
shall run, as though fixed, along the centre-line of the present main navigation
channel;
(c) In the Dunakiliti-Hrušov head-water area, the State frontier shall run from
r.km. 1842 along the centre-line of the present main navigation channel up to
boundary point 161.V.0.á.;
(d) In the Dunakiliti-Hrušov head-water area, the State frontier shall run from
boundary point 161. V. O. á. to boundary stone No. I.5. in a straight line in such
a way that the territories affected, to the extent of about 10-10 hectares, shall be
offset between the two States.
2. The revision of the State frontier and the exchange of territories provided
for in paragraph 1 shall be effected by the Contracting Parties on the basis of a
separate treaty.
3. The Contracting Parties shall, in the tail-water canal and head-water canal,
and in the main shipping lane in the Dunakiliti-Hrušov head-water area extending to
r.km. 1850.4, continue without change to exercise the rights and comply with the
obligations to which they were entitled, or by which they were bound, in this sector
of the river before the conclusion of this Treaty, notwithstanding that the
international shipping lane has in this sector been shifted to the tail-water
canal or head-water canal, respectively, situated in Czechoslovak territory.
Article 23.
CROSSING OF THE STATE FRONTIER
1. In the course of the preparations for and the construction and operation of
the System of Locks, the two Contracting Parties shall ensure that authorized
persons possessing the appropriate documents are able to cross the State frontier,
subject to extremely simplified formalities, for the purpose of performing the tasks
arising from this Treaty, and that the necessary conditions are provided for the performance
of the said tasks in their territories.
2. The competent authorities of the Contracting Parties shall agree separately
on detailed regulations concerning the crossing of the State frontier in
accordance with paragraph 1 and the stay of the relevant persons in the
territory of the other Contracting Party.
CHAPTER X.
CUSTOMS PROVISIONS
Article 24
1. Separate agreements shall be concluded by the competent authorities of the
Contracting Parties concerning the transfer to the territory of the other
Contracting Party of documents, machinery and materials required for
operations connected with the preparations for and the realization and
operation of the System of Locks.
2. The Contracting Parties shall make available to each other, free of financial
levies (duties, taxes, fees, etc.), the electric power to which the other
Contracting Power is entitled from the power produced in the System of Locks.
CHAPTER XI.
LIABILITY OF THE CONTRACTING PARTIES AND PAYMENT OF DAMAGES
Article 25.
JOINT LIABILITY OF THE CONTRACTING PARTIES AND PAYMENT OF DAMAGES
1. The Contracting Parties shall be jointly liable in respect of:
(a) The content of the approved joint contractual plan;
(b) The execution of the Treaty during the construction and operation of the System
of Locks, the jointly-adopted measures and decisions of the government delegates,
and the joint measures and decisions of the joint agencies.
2. In consequence of their liability under paragraph 1, the Contracting Parties
shall jointly and in equal measure:
(a) Make compensation for damage resulting from acts giving rise to their joint
liability and pay the costs arising from such compensation;
(b) Compensate a third party for damage suffered by him as the result of acts giving
rise to their joint liability.
3. The Contracting Parties shall jointly and in equal measure make compensation
for damage arising in the course of the realization of the joint investment and
during the period of operation of the jointly-owned works, and shall pay the costs
arising from such compensation:
(a) In the case of damage resulting from unavoidable circumstances (vis major)
(b) In the case of damage caused by a third party, on condition that the investor or
operator could not have prevented the damage even though the exercise of the
diligence that might have been expected of him.
Article 26.
EXCLUSIVE LIABILITY OF THE CONTRACTING PARTIES AND PAYMENT OF DAMAGES
1. Each of the Contracting Parties shall be separately and exclusively liable in
respect of:
(a) The accomplishment of the work and deliveries which, on the basis of the apportionment
of labour and supplies under the joint investment, are carried out by them, in
accordance with the provisions of the approved joint contractual plan and
within the time-limits specified in the project work schedule;
(b) The operation, and the systematic maintenance in good working order, of the
jointly-owned works constructed in their territories, and the preservation of the
plant and equipment of those works;
(c) The operation, and the systematic maintenance in good working order, of
works constituting the property of one of the Contracting Parties as provided
in article 8, paragraph 3, and the preservation of the plant and equipment of
those works.
2. In consequence of their liability under paragraph 1, the contracting Parties
shall separately and exclusively:
(a) Make compensation for damage which results from acts giving rise to their exclusive
liability in connection with the operations and works referred to in paragraph 1,
sub-paragraphs (a) and (b), or damage which results from the action
of a third party, on condition that the investor or operator could have prevented
such damage through the exercise of the diligence that might have been
expected of him, and shall pay the costs arising from such compensation;
(b) Make compensation for all damage arising from operations of the works referred
to in paragraph 1, sub-paragraph (c), and shall pay the costs arising from
such compensation;
(c) Compensate the other Contracting Party or a third party for damage resulting
from the late or improper performance of work and deliveries carried out by
them, from the deterioration of the plant and equipment of the works referred
to in paragraph 1, and from operations not in conformity with the approved
operating and operational procedures.
3. Determination of the extent of damage compensable and the amount of costs
payable under the provisions of paragraph 2, and determination of the causes
of the damage and the ensuing obligations to pay compensation or damages shall, as
regards the common interests of the Contracting Parties, come within the sphere of
authority of the government-delegates.
4. Payment of compensation between the Contracting Parties shall be governed
by the provisions of article 12.
CHAPTER XII.
SETTLEMENT OF DISPUTES
Article 27
1. The settlement of disputes in matters relating to the realization and operation
of the System of Locks shall be a function of the government delegates.
2. If the government delegates are unable to reach agreement on the matters in
dispute, they shall refer them to the Governments of the Contracting Parties for
decision.
CHAPTER XIII.
FINAL PROVISIONS.
Article 28
1. This Treaty shall be ratified, and the instruments of ratification shall be
exchanged at Prague.
2. The Treaty shall come into force on the date of the exchange of the instruments
of ratification.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF the plenipotentiaries have signed this Treaty and have affixed
thereto their seals.
DONE at Budapest, on 16 September 1977, in duplicate, in the Hungarian and
Slovak languages, both texts being equally authentic.
For the Government
of the Hungarian Peoples Republic:
GYÖRGY LÁZÁR
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For the Government
of the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic:
LUBOMÍR ŠTROUGAL
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