Legalize / Nederland / Verdrag

Verdrag inzake luchtdiensten tussen het Koninkrijk der Nederlanden, ten behoeve van Curaçao, en het Gemenebest van de Bahama's

Type Verdrag

Publication 2016-12-08

State In force

Source BWB

Wijzigingsgeschiedenis JSON API

The Kingdom of the Netherlands, in respect of Curaçao,

and

the Commonwealth of The Bahamas (hereinafter, “the Parties”);

Being parties to the Convention on International Civil Aviation, opened for signature at Chicago on December 7, 1944;

Desiring to contribute to the progress of regional and international civil aviation;

Desiring to conclude an agreement for the purpose of establishing and operating Air Services between and beyond their respective Territories;

Desiring to ensure the highest level of safety and security in International Air Service;

Have agreed as follows:

CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION

Article 1. Definitions

For the purpose of this Agreement, unless otherwise defined, the term:

1. “Aeronautical Authorities” means, in the case of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, the Bahamas Civil Aviation Authority; in the case of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, in respect of Curaçao, the Minister responsible for Civil Aviation; or, in both cases, any person or body authorized to perform the functions at present exercised by said authorities;

1. “Agreed Services” means Air Services on the specified routes for the carriage of passengers, cargo and mail, separately or in combination;

1. “Agreement” means this Agreement, its Annex, and any amendments thereto;

1. “Air Service”, “International Air Service”, “Airline” and “stop for non-traffic purposes” shall have the meaning respectively assigned to them in Article 96 of the Convention;

1. “Designated Airline” means an Airline or Airlines designated and authorized in accordance with Article 3 (Designation and Authorization) of this Agreement;

1. “the Convention” means the Convention on International Civil Aviation, opened for signature at Chicago on December 7, 1944, and includes any Annex adopted under Article 90 of that Convention and any amendment of the Annexes or the Convention under Articles 90 and 94 thereof, insofar as those Annexes and amendments have become effective for, or been ratified by both Parties;

1. “Full Cost” means the cost of providing service plus a reasonable charge for administrative overhead;

1. “National” in the case of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas means nationals of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas and in the case of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, in respect of Curaçao, means nationals of the Kingdom of the Netherlands who are born in Curaçao or are formally registered as local citizens in the municipal registry of Curaçao;

1. “Price” means any fare, rate or charge for the carriage of passengers, baggage and/or cargo in Air Services including any other mode of transportation in connection therewith charged by Airlines, including their agents, and the conditions governing the availability of such fare, rate or charge;

1. “Territory” means for each Party, its land areas, internal waters and territorial sea as determined in accordance with international law, and includes the air space above these areas;

1. “User Charge” means a charge imposed on Airlines for the provision of airport, air navigation, or aviation security facilities or services including related services and facilities.

CHAPTER II. OBJECTIVES

Article 2. Grant of Rights

Each Party grants to the other Party the following rights for the conduct of Air Services by the Designated Airlines of the other Party:

a. the right to fly across its Territory without landing;

b. the right to make stops in its Territory for non-traffic purposes; and

c. the right to make stops at the point(s) on the route(s) specified in the Route Schedule to this Agreement for the purpose of taking on board and discharging international traffic in passengers, cargo and mail.

Nothing in this Agreement shall be deemed to confer on the Designated Airline or Airlines of one Party the right to take on board in the Territory of the other Party, passengers, cargo or mail carried for remuneration or hire and destined for another point in the Territory of that other Party.

The exercise of fifth freedom traffic rights will be subject to approval between the Aeronautical Authorities of both Parties, and may be agreed upon in an arrangement.

Article 3. Designation and Authorization

Each Party shall have the right to designate in writing, through diplomatic channels, to the Aeronautical Authority of the other Party one or more Airlines to operate the Agreed Services in accordance with this Agreement and to withdraw a designation or to substitute another Airline for an Airline previously designated.

Upon receipt of such a designation, and of applications from the Designated Airline, in the form and manner prescribed for operating authorizations, the other Party shall grant the appropriate authorizations with minimum procedural delay, provided that:

a. the Designated Airline is under the effective regulatory control of the designating Party;

b. the Designated Airline has its principal place of business in the Territory of the designating Party;

c. the Designated Airline is qualified to meet the conditions prescribed under the laws and regulations normally applied to the operation of International Air Services by the Party considering the application or applications; and

d. the Party designating the Airline is in compliance with the standards set forth in Article 12 (Safety) and Article 13 (Aviation Security).

Upon receipt of the operating authorization of paragraph 2 of this Article, the Designated Airline may at any time begin to operate the Agreed Services, in part or in whole, provided that it complies with the provisions of this Agreement.

Article 4. Revocation of Authorization

Either Party shall have the right to withhold the authorizations referred to in Article 3 (Designation and Authorization) of this Agreement with respect to an Airline designated by the other Party, and to revoke, suspend or impose conditions on such authorizations, temporarily or permanently, in the event that the Designated Airline fails to comply with the provisions of paragraph 2 of Article 3 (Designation and Authorization), and of Article 11 (Application of Laws) of this Agreement.

In the event of an action by one Party under this Article, the rights of the other Party under Article 19 (Settlement of Disputes) shall not be prejudiced.

CHAPTER III. COMMERCIAL PROVISIONS

Article 5. Commercial Activities

The Designated Airline(s) of each Party shall have the right to establish offices, both on-line and off-line, in the Territory of the other Party for the promotion and sale of Air Services.

The Designated Airlines of each Party shall be entitled, in accordance with the laws and regulations of the other Party relating to entry, residence, and employment, to bring in and/or maintain in the Territory of the other Party, for not more than five (5) years, such senior managerial staff required for the provision of Air Services.

These staff requirements may, at the option of the Designated Airline or Airlines of one Party, be satisfied by its own personnel or by using the services of any other organization, company or Designated Airline operating in the Territory of the other Party and authorized to perform such services for other Designated Airlines.

All senior managerial staff shall be subject to the laws and regulations in force of the other Party, and consistent with such laws and regulations:

a. each Party shall, on the basis of reciprocity and with the minimum of delay, grant the necessary employment authorizations, visitor visas or other similar documents to the representatives and staff referred to in paragraph 2 of this Article; and

b. each Party shall facilitate and expedite the requirement of employment authorizations for personnel performing certain temporary duties.

The Designated Airline(s) of each Party shall be permitted to have ground handling services in the other Party's Territory provided in whole or in part by the agent authorized by the competent authorities of the other Party to provide such services or, at its option, it may perform its own ground handling services by engaging, or giving positive consideration to engaging, personnel employed by the agent authorized to perform such ground handling services.

The Designated Airline(s) may engage in the sale of Air Services in the Territory of the other Party directly and, at the Airline’s discretion, through its agents. Each Designated Airline shall have the right to sell such transportation, in the currency of that Territory or in freely convertible currencies.

Each Designated Airline shall be permitted to pay for local expenses, including purchases of fuel, in the Territory of the other Party in local currency. At their discretion, the Designated Airlines of each Party may pay for such expenses in the Territory of the other Party in freely convertible currencies according to local currency regulation.

In operating or holding out the Agreed Services on the specified routes, any Designated Airline may enter into co-operative marketing arrangements such as blocked-space, code-sharing, joint ventures or leasing arrangements, with

a. an Airline or Airlines of either Party; and

b. an Airline or Airlines of a third country, provided that such third country authorizes or allows comparable arrangements between the Airlines of the other Party and other Airlines on services to, from and via such a third country;

provided that all Airlines in such arrangements (1) hold the appropriate authority and (2) meet the requirements normally applied to such arrangements.

Article 6. User Charges

Neither Party shall impose or permit to be imposed on the Designated Airlines of the other Party User Charges higher than those imposed on its own Airlines operating similar International Air Services.

Each Party shall encourage consultations on User Charges between its competent charging authority and Airlines using the service and facilities provided by those charging authorities or service provider where practicable through those Airlines' representative organizations. Reasonable notice of any proposals for changes in User Charges should be given to such users to enable them to express their views before such changes are made. Each Party shall further encourage its competent charging authority or service provider and such users to exchange appropriate information concerning User Charges.

Article 7. Fair Competition

Each Designated Airline shall have a fair opportunity to operate the routes specified in this Agreement.

Each Party shall allow any Designated Airline of the other Party to determine the frequency and capacity of the Agreed Services it offers based on the Airline's commercial considerations in the marketplace. Therefore, neither Party shall impose on the Designated Airline of the other Party any requirement with respect to capacity, frequency or traffic that would be inconsistent with the purposes of this Agreement. Neither Party shall unilaterally limit the volume of traffic, frequency or regularity of service, or of the aircraft type or types operated by the Designated Airline of the other Party, except as may be required for customs and other government inspection services, technical, or operational reasons under uniform conditions consistent with Article 15 of the Convention.

Neither Party shall impose on the Designated Airlines of the other Party a first-refusal requirement, uplift ratio, no-objection fee, or any other requirements with respect to capacity, frequency or traffic that would be inconsistent with the purposes of this Agreement.

The Parties agree that the following Airline practices may be regarded as possible unfair competitive practices which may merit closer examination:

a. the charging of fares and rates on the specified routes at levels which are, in the aggregate, insufficient to cover the costs of providing the services to which they relate;

b. the addition of excessive capacity or frequency of service;

c. the practices in question are sustained rather than temporary;

d. the practices in question have a serious economic effect on, or cause significant damage to, another Airline; and

e. the practices in question reflect an intent or have the effect of crippling, excluding or driving another Airline from the market.

If the Aeronautical Authorities of one Party consider that an operation or operations intended or conducted by the Designated Airline(s) of the other Party may constitute unfair competitive behavior in accordance with paragraphs 4 of this Article, they may request consultation in accordance with Article 18 (Consultations) of this Agreement with a view to resolving the problem. Any such request shall be accompanied by notice of the reasons for the request, and the consultation shall begin within sixty (60) days after receipt of the request.

If the Parties fail to reach a resolution of the problem through consultations, either Party may invoke the dispute resolution mechanism under Article 19 (Settlement of Disputes) of this Agreement to resolve the dispute.

Article 8. Pricing

Prices charged for Air Services under this Agreement may be freely established by the Designated Airlines and shall not be subject to approval.

Each Party may require notification to or filing with the Aeronautical Authorities, by the Designated Airlines of Prices for transportation to or from its Territory. Such filing by or on behalf of the Designated Airlines may be required by no more than sixty (60) days before the proposed date of effectiveness. In individual cases filing may be permitted on shorter notice than normally required.

CHAPTER IV. FINANCIAL PROVISIONS

Article 9. Customs Duties

Each Party shall on the basis of reciprocity exempt a Designated Airline of the other Party to the fullest extent possible under its national law from customs duties, excise taxes, inspection fees and other national duties and charges, not based on the cost of services provided on arrival, on aircraft, fuel, lubricating oils, consumable technical supplies, spare parts including engines, regular aircraft equipment, aircraft stores and other items such as printed ticket stock, air waybills, any printed material which bears the insignia of the company printed thereon and usual publicity material distributed free of charge by that Designated Airline intended for use or used solely in connection with the operation or servicing of aircraft of the Airline of such other Party operating the Agreed Services.

De raadpleging van dit document komt niet in de plaats van het lezen van het oorspronkelijke Staatsblad of de Staatscourant. Wij aanvaarden geen aansprakelijkheid voor eventuele onnauwkeurigheden die voortvloeien uit de omzetting van het origineel naar dit formaat.