Article X

Amendment of the Agreement

1. This Agreement may be amended at any ordinary or extraordinary session of the Meeting of the Parties.

2. Proposals for amendments to the Agreement may be made by any Party. The text of any proposed amendment and the reasons for it shall be communicated to the Agreement secretariat not less than one hundred and fifty days before the opening of the session. The Agreement secretariat shall transmit copies forthwith to the Parties. Any comments on the text by the Parties shall be communicated to the Agreement secretariat not less than sixty days before the opening of the session. The Secretariat shall communicate to the Parties, as soon as possible after the last day for submission of comments, all comments submitted by that day.

3. Any additional annex or any amendment to the Agreement other than an amendment to its annexes shall be adopted by a two thirds majority of the Parties present and voting and shall enter into force for those Parties which have accepted it on the thirtieth day after the date on which two thirds of the Parties to the Agreement at the date of the adoption of the additional annex or amendment have deposited their instruments of acceptance with the Depositary. For any Party that deposits an instrument of acceptance after the date on which two thirds of the Parties have deposited their instruments of acceptance, the additional annex or amendment shall enter into force on the thirtieth day after the date on which it deposits its instrument of acceptance.

4. Any amendment to an annex to the Agreement shall be adopted by a two thirds majority of the Parties present and voting and shall enter into force for all Parties on the one hundred and fiftieth day after the date of its adoption by the Meeting of the Parties, except for Parties that have entered a reservation in accordance with paragraph 5 of this Article.

5. During the period of one hundred and fifty days provided for in paragraph 4 of this Article, any Party may by written notification to the Depositary enter a reservation with respect to an amendment to an annex to the Agreement. Such reservation may be withdrawn by written notification to the Depositary, and thereupon the amendment shall enter into force for that Party on the thirtieth day after the date of withdrawal of the reservation.

Article XI

Effect of this Agreement on Legislation and International Conventions

1. The provisions of this Agreement shall not affect the right of any Party to maintain or adopt more stringent measures for the conservation of cetaceans and their habitats, nor the rights or obligations of any Party deriving from any existing treaty, convention or agreement to which it is a party, except where the exercise of those rights and obligations would threaten the conservation of cetaceans.

2. Parties shall implement this Agreement consistently with their rights and obligations arising under the law of the sea.

Article XII

Settlement of Disputes

1. Any dispute which may arise between two or more Parties with respect to the interpretation or application of the provisions of this Agreement shall be subject to negotiation between the Parties involved in the dispute, or to mediation or conciliation by a third party if this is acceptable to the Parties concerned.

2. If the dispute cannot be resolved in accordance with paragraph 1 of this Article, the Parties may by mutual consent submit the dispute to arbitration or judicial settlement. The Parties submitting the dispute shall be bound by the arbitral or judicial decision.

Article XIII

Signature, Ratification, Acceptance, Approval or Accession

1. This Agreement shall be open for signature by any Range State, whether or not areas under its jurisdiction lie within the Agreement area, or regional economic integration organization, at least one member of which is a Range State, either by:

a) signature without reservation in respect of ratification, acceptance or approval; or

b) signature with reservation in respect of ratification, acceptance or approval, followed by ratification, acceptance or approval.

2. This Agreement shall remain open for signature at Monaco until the date of its entry into force.

3. This Agreement shall be open for accession by any Range State or regional economic integration organization mentioned in paragraph 1, above, on and after the date of entry into force of the Agreement.

4. Instruments of ratification, acceptance, approval or accession shall be deposited with the Depositary.

Article XIV

Entry into Force

1. This Agreement shall enter into force on the first day of the third month following the date on which at least seven coastal States of the Agreement area or regional economic integration organizations, comprising at least two from the subregion of the Black Sea and at least five from the subregion of the Mediterranean Sea and contiguous Atlantic area, have signed without reservation in respect of ratification, acceptance or approval, or have deposited their instruments of ratification, acceptance or approval in accordance with Article XIII of this Agreement.

2. For any Range State or regional economic integration organization which has:

a) signed without reservation in respect of ratification, acceptance, or approval;

b) ratified, accepted, or approved; or

c) acceded to

this Agreement after the date on which the number of Range States and regional economic integration organizations necessary to enable entry into force have signed it without reservation or have ratified, accepted or approved it, this Agreement shall enter into force on the first day of the third month following the signature without reservation, or deposit, by that State or organization, of its instrument of ratification, acceptance, approval or accession.