Agreement Between The Government Of The Republic Of Latvia And The Government Of The Republic Of Lithuania On The Mutual Support In The Event Of Natural Disasters And Other Large-Scale Accidents

The Government of the Republic of Latvia and the Government of the Republic of Lithuania, hereinafter referred to as the Contracting Parties,

Seeking to develop bilateral co-operation between the two states according to the Agreement on Inter-Parliamentary and Inter-Governmental Co-operation among the Baltic States signed by the Republic of Estonia, the Republic of Latvia and the Republic of Lithuania in Tallinn on 13 June 1994,

Drawing attention to the final act of the third meeting of the European Security and Co-operation Conference, held in Vienna on 19 January 1989, and to the Helsinki document of 10 July 1992,

Having regard to the provisions of the 17 March 1992 Helsinki Convention on the Transboundary Effects of Industrial Accidents,

Being aware of the likelihood of natural disasters as well as large-scale industrial accidents due to technological development,

Recognising the necessity of co-operation between the two states and endeavouring to facilitate mutual assistance in the event of natural disasters and large-scale accidents, and to speed up both the sending of rescue forces and/or individual experts and the delivery of aid supplies and equipment,

Recognising the benefit the Contracting Parties can get from the exchange of scientific and technical information in the field of natural disasters and large-scale accidents and the elimination process of their consequences,

HAVE AGREED AS FOLLOWS:

Article 1

Definitions

The terms in the present Agreement shall have the following meaning:

1) Contracting Party requesting assistance - Contracting Party, whose authorised bodies request assistance from the other Contracting Party;

2) Contracting Party providing assistance - Contracting Party, whose authorised bodies comply with a request for assistance from the other Contracting Party;

3) Transit state - state, whose territory is to be traversed by rescue forces and/or individual experts as well as equipment and aid supplies carried by them whose destination is to reach the Contracting Party requesting assistance;

4) Natural disasters and large-scale accidents - consequences of natural disasters, industrial and various transport accidents, and disasters causing great damage and hazardous to human life or health, living conditions and material property as well as other disasters devastating environment and civilisation, in the event of which extraordinary measures must be taken;

5) Rescue forces - trained persons as well as the rescue units and medical units sent by the Contracting Party providing assistance;

6) Individual expert - specialist in a certain field sent to provide assistance in the territory of Contracting Party requesting assistance;

7) Equipment - special materials and devices, technical and transport means, rescue dogs, individual provision of rescue forces and/or individual experts, outfit as well as personal belongings;

8) Aid supplies - most necessary objects, medicines, narcotic and psychotropic substances, bandages, food, drinking water supplies to be distributed free of charge among the inflicted population.

Article 2

Object

1. The Contracting Parties shall, according to the possibilities available, render mutual assistance in the event of natural disasters or large-scale accidents, when the Contracting Party requesting assistance is unable to eliminate the consequences alone.

2. The Contracting Parties shall exchange information about possible natural disasters and large-scale accidents and possible harm and threat that can likely expand over the borders into the territory of the other Contracting Party and disaster eliminating measures as well as shall provide mutual assistance.

3. The present Agreement provides for the basic forms of assistance which is executed upon the request of the other Contracting Party, as well as other co-operation, as defined in the provisions of Article 12.

4. The present Agreement does not apply to the events of natural disasters and large-scale accidents occurring in seawaters under the jurisdiction of the states of the Contracting Parties.

Article 3

Authorised Bodies

1. Requests for assistance from the Contracting Parties shall be forwarded and accepted through the diplomatic channels. The following bodies are authorised to request for assistance:

a) In the Republic of Latvia:

Ministry of the Interior;

b) In the Republic of Lithuania:

Ministry of the Interior.

2. The authorised bodies referred to in paragraph 1, can designate other bodies entitled to request assistance and pass decisions on the ways of implementation of the present Agreement.

3. The bodies, which were designated to implement the present Agreement and are referred to in paragraph 1 and 2 of this Article, shall be authorised to maintain direct relations.

Article 4

Forms of Assistance

1. In the territory of the Contracting Party requesting assistance, assistance shall be rendered by the rescue forces and/or individual experts, provided with necessary equipment and prepared to extinguish fires, provide technical assistance, rescue from the consequences of floods, fight radioactive and chemical pollution, provide medical assistance as well as perform other urgent works and temporary building repairs.

2. Upon the request of the Contracting Party requesting assistance, assistance can be rendered in the form of aid supplies.

3. Assistance can be rendered in other ways.

Article 5

Border Crossing

1. With the view of a prompt and effective assistance, the Contracting Parties shall obligate themselves to apply a simplified border-crossing procedure through their common state border.

2. The leader of the rescue forces and/or individual experts shall submit a permit for simplified border-crossing issued by the authorised body of the Contracting Party providing assistance, specifying his/her authorisation, the type and nature of assistance to be rendered, the equipment and aid supplies, a nominal roll of the rescue forces and/or individual experts. If, in the event of extreme urgency, the submission of a permit is rendered impossible, it shall suffice to present any other document proving that the purpose of the visit is the rescue activities specified in the present Agreement. Every rescue force member and/or individual expert shall have an official certificate with a photo or any other personal identification document (passport or identification card or driving license) which shall be presented to an official of border-crossing office at the request.

3. Rescue forces and/or individual experts shall cross the state border at border-crossing posts. In the event of extreme urgency and having co-ordinated with the bodies referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2 of Article 3, they shall be permitted to cross the state borders as well as to bring in equipment and aid supplies at other than border-crossing posts. In that case, an advance notification to the border-crossing services or the nearest border-crossing post shall be made and the authorised bodies of the Contracting Parties shall be notified.

4. Simplified border-crossing procedure referred to in paragraphs 1 - 3 of this Article shall be valid even when one of the Contracting Parties is a transit state in respect of a third state requesting assistance in the event of natural disaster or large-scale accident, and the transit is necessary to render effective assistance. Authorised bodies referred to in paragraph 1 of Article 3 shall in due time notify each other about the necessity of transit to render assistance to a third state and shall co-ordinate the procedure for the transit of equipment and aid supplies.

Article 6

Transportation of Equipment

and Aid Supplies across the Border

1. The Contracting Parties shall facilitate the import procedure for equipment and aid supplies to be brought into the territory. A leader of rescue forces and/or individual experts shall submit to a customs office of the Contracting Party requesting assistance a permit for simplified border-crossing issued by an authorised body of the Contracting Party providing assistance, specifying the brought-in equipment and aid supplies. Even in the absence of such a permit, rescue forces, individual experts, equipment and aid supplies shall be granted permission to cross the border. In that case, the permit shall be submitted to the authorised body of the Contracting Party requesting assistance within one month after the date of border crossing.

2. Apart from equipment and aid supplies, rescue forces and individual experts shall not be entitled to carry any other property. Equipment and aid supplies shall not be taxable by customs duties, taxes, or any other levies, and shall be used only for rescue purposes. Customs clearance of equipment and aid supplies shall be executed as a matter of priority.

3. Customs bans and restrictions shall not be applicable to the brought-in equipment and aid supplies. Unused rescue equipment and aid supplies shall be taken back. If, due to specific circumstances, their return is rendered impossible, the information about the kind, quantity, and storage place thereof shall be submitted to the authorised body of the Contracting Party requesting assistance responsible for rescue activities, who shall forward this information to a respective customs office. In that case the legislation of the Contracting Party requesting assistance shall be applied. This kind of bringing in, taking away, or retaining equipment and aid supplies shall not be deemed as import or export of goods, and the laws on import, export or goods exchange shall not be applicable.

4. Paragraphs 1-3 of this Article shall be also valid for transit of goods through the territory of one of the Contracting Parties in the event of rendering urgent assistance to a third state on its request.

Article 7

Narcotic and Psychotropic Substances

1. Only those narcotic and psychotropic substances that are necessary for rendering medical assistance shall be allowed to be brought into the territory of the Contracting Party requesting assistance. These substances shall be brought into, used and the unused amount thereof shall be returned to the territory of the Contracting Party providing assistance, according to procedures prescribed in the legal acts of the Contracting Party requesting assistance. The Contracting Party requesting assistance shall be entitled to monitor the use of such substances.

2. If in case of special circumstances unused narcotic and psychotropic substances cannot be returned into the territory of the Contracting Party providing assistance, they shall remain in the territory of the Contracting Party requesting assistance according to the procedure prescribed in paragraph 3 of Article 6.

Article 8

Employment of Aircraft

1. Each Contracting Party shall issue permits to aircraft not only for a prompt carriage of rescue forces, individual experts, equipment and aid supplies, but also for any other co-operation referred to in Article 12.

2. Each Contracting Party shall permit an aircraft taking off from the territory of the other Contracting Party to use the established air traffic corridors in accordance with international agreements and the existing legislation of the Contracting Parties, the navigation rules providing for landing and take off of the aircraft from their respective airports as well as other landing places free of charge, without completing border crossing and customs formalities. In that case border crossing and customs control shall be carried out by border crossing and customs offices of the Contracting Party providing assistance. They shall immediately notify this fact to the respective border crossing and customs offices of the Contracting Party requesting assistance.

3. Contracting Party providing assistance shall notify the Contracting Party requesting assistance about the intended use of an aircraft, specifying the type, registration state, and registration number of the aircraft, nominal roll of the crew, roll of rescue forces and/or individual experts, equipment and aid supplies, the data on the time of the take-off, place of landing, intended route and time of landing, which shall be submitted by the captain of the crew (rescue forces and/or individual experts leader) to officers of the border-crossing and customs offices.

4. The rules of each Contracting Party on the use of the air space, and in particular the requirement to notify the flight data to the respective air traffic control services, shall be applicable unless prescribed otherwise in paragraph 2 of this Article.

Article 9

Joint Leadership and Co-ordination

1. In any case, the rescue activities and rendering of assistance shall be co-ordinated by the authorised body of the Contracting Party requesting assistance.

2. The authorised body of the Contracting Party requesting assistance shall render necessary assistance to rescue forces and/or individual experts of the Contracting Party providing assistance during the execution of the task. It shall elaborate in detail the tasks it is willing to assign to rescue forces and/or individual experts.

3. Instructions to rescue forces and/or individual experts of the Contracting Party providing assistance shall be submitted only to their leaders, who assign specific tasks to their subordinates to the extent which does not contradict the existing legislation, rules and other legal acts regulating public safety of the Contracting Parties requesting and rendering assistance.

Article 10

Reimbursement of Costs

1. The Contracting Party requesting assistance shall not reimburse the costs incurred by the Contracting Party providing assistance during rescue services, including the costs related to partial or total wear and tear or loss of the brought-in equipment. In certain cases, considering the type and extent of a natural disaster or a large-scale accident, the authorised bodies of the Contracting Parties may determine which costs shall be borne by the Contracting Party requesting assistance and may decide on the terms and conditions and the manner in which these costs shall be reimbursed. The following costs shall be considered to be the costs related to the request for assistance:

a) insurance of persons and equipment,

b) exploitation, damage or loss of the brought-in equipment,

c) use of aid supplies,

d) costs of medical assistance provided to members of rescue forces and/or individual experts, also reimbursement of the costs for the damage suffered.

Unless it has been agreed otherwise, the costs shall be reimbursed immediately after the submission of an appropriate request.

2. The Contracting Party providing assistance is entitled to claim from the Contracting Party requesting assistance the reimbursement of half of the costs related to the use of aircraft. In this case the cost shall be determined according to the tariffs valid at the time of rendering assistance in the territory of the Contracting Party providing assistance.

3. Upon running off the stock, rescue forces and/or individual experts of the Contracting Party providing assistance during the whole period of their stay in the territory of the Contracting Party requesting assistance shall be supplied at the expense of the Contracting Party requesting assistance with food, accommodation, and appliances for personal use. If needed, they shall be supplied with necessary medical assistance, provided with vehicles and other resources required in their work.

Article 11

Compensation of damages

1. Each Contracting Party herewith shall denounce any claim for the compensation of damage by the other Contracting Party, which has been caused by the damage to or the loss of its property when the damage was caused by rescue force members and/or individual experts during the execution of the duties prescribed in this Agreement.

2. Each Contracting Party herewith shall denounce any claim for compensation of injuries to or death of a rescue force member and/or individual expert, provided the accident has occurred during the execution of the present Agreement. In that case, the losses incurred shall be borne by the Contracting Party providing assistance in the manner prescribed by the existing legislation, rules and other legal acts.

3. If a rescue force member and/or an individual expert of the Contracting Party providing assistance causes damage to a third party in the territory of the Contracting Party requesting assistance during the execution of the task assigned to him/her, the liability shall be borne only by the Contracting Party requesting assistance under the legal provisions applicable to the evaluation of damage done by its own rescue forces and/or individual experts.

4. The authorised bodies of both Contracting Parties shall maintain close co-operation in order to facilitate the compensation for damages caused. They shall exchange all information regarding the caused damages, which have been covered in this Article.

5. Paragraphs 1, 2 and 3 of this Article shall not be valid, if the damage was caused intentionally or through negligence.

Article 12

Other Forms of Co-operation

1. The bodies referred to in Article 3 of the present Agreement shall co-operate and may conclude additional arrangements, which above all, entitles them to:

a) draft jointly and approve the model form of a permit for simplified border-crossing in order to comply with the provisions of the present Agreement;

b) implement measures and actions ensuring the assistance according to the present Agreement;

c) to develop border and cross-border co-operation;

d) forecast, avoid and eliminate the consequences of natural disasters and large-scale accidents by exchanging practical experience and necessary scientific and technical information, organising at the request of one of the Contracting Parties conferences and study visits of specialists as well as research and development programmes, training courses of experts, including the exchange of lecturers and trainees of respective educational institutions, arrangement of joint exercises, as well as consultations of scientists and experts at the emergency operation headquarters in the event of natural disasters;

e) exchange information on natural disasters and large-scale accidents and special ecological situations that had occurred within the territory of one of the Contracting Parties;

f) search for and identify victims, inflicted population and property, and investigate the causes of accidents brought about by human action.

2. The provisions of the present Agreement shall be valid during joint exercises in the event of which rescue forces and/or individual experts of one of the Contracting Parties stay in the territory of the other Contracting Party.

Article 13

Means of Communications

The authorised bodies of the Contracting Parties shall ensure communication among rescue forces and individual experts under their leadership, inter-communication among rescue forces, and communication between rescue forces and their respective leaders.

Article 14

Settlement of Disputes and Disagreements

Any disputes and disagreements arising from the interpretation and implementation of this Agreement shall be solved by means of direct consultations between the authorised bodies of the Contracting Parties. If no mutual agreement is reached, disputes shall be solved through the diplomatic channels.

Article 15

Relationship with the Other

International Agreements

The present Agreement shall not affect the rights and obligations of the Contracting Parties arising from other international agreements.

Article 16

Final Provisions

1. Each Contracting Party shall notify the other Contracting Party of the completion of respective internal procedures necessary for entering into force of this Agreement. The Agreement shall enter into force on the date when the last letter of notification is received.

2. The Agreement is concluded for an indefinite term. The Agreement may be terminated by one of the Contracting Parties by notifying in writing the other Contracting Party through the diplomatic channels. In that case, the Agreement shall cease to be valid within 6 months from the date when the other Contracting Party receives the notification.

3. The Agreement may be amended by mutual written Protocol of the Contracting Parties. The amendments shall enter into force in accordance with the procedure provided for in paragraph 1 of this Article.

Done in Riga on 31 May 2001 in two copies each in the Latvian, Lithuanian and English languages all the texts being equally authentic. In case of divergence of interpretation, the English text shall prevail.

 

For the Government of the Republic of Latvia

Indulis Berzins

Minister of Foreign Affairs

 

For the Government of the Republic of Lithuania

Antanas Valionis

Minister of Foreign Affairs