18 DE ABRIL DE 1996

636-(5)

2) Each Contracting Party shall ensure that within its jurisdiction it has and enforces such laws as are necessary and appopriate to address unilateral and concerted anticompetitive conduct in economic activity in the energy sector.

3) Contracting Parties with experience in applying competition rules shall give full consideration to providing, upon request and within available resources, technical assistance on the development and implementation of competition rules to other Contracting Parties.

4) Contracting Parties may cooperate in the enforcement of their competition rules by consulting and exchanging information.

5) If a Contracting Party considers that any specified anti-competitive conduct carried out within the area of another Contracting Party is adversely affecting an important interest relevant to the purposes identified in this article, the Contracting Party may notify the other Contracting Party and may request that its competition authorities initiate appropriate enforcement action. The notifying Contracting Party shall include in such notification sufficient information to permit the notified Contracting Party to identify the anti-competitive conduct that is the subject of the notification and shall include an offer of such further information and cooperation as the notifying Contracting Party is able to provide. The notified Contracting Party or, as the case may be, the relevant competition authorities may consult with the competition authorities of the notifying Contracting Party and shall accord full consideration to the request of the notifying Contracting Party in deciding whether or not to initiate enforcement action with respect to the alleged anti-competitive conduct identified in the notification. The notified Contracting Party shall inform the notifying Contracting Party of its decision or the decision of the relevant competition authorities and may if it wishes inform the notifying Contracting Party of the grounds for the decision. If enforcement action is initiated, the notified Contracting Party shall advise the notifying Contracting Party of its outcome and, to the extent possible, of any significant interim development.

6) Nothing in this article shall require the provision of information by a Contracting Party contrary to its laws regarding disclosure of information, confidentiality or business secrecy.

7) The procedures set forth in paragraph 5) and article 27, 1), shall be the exclusive means within this Treaty of resolving any disputes that may arise over the implementation or interpretation of this article.

Article 7 Transit

1) Each Contracting Party shall take the necessary measures to facilitate the transit of energy materials and products consistent with the principle of freedom of transit and without distinction as to the origin, destination or ownership of such energy materials and products or discrimination as to pricing on the basis of such distinctions, and without imposing any unreasonable delays, restrictions or charges.

2) Contracting Parties shall encourage relevant entities to cooperate in:

a) Modernizing energy transport facilities necessary to the transit of energy materials and products;

b) The development and operation of energy transport facilities serving the areas of more than one Contracting Party;

c) Measures to mitigate the effects of interruptions in the supply of energy materials and products;

d) Facilitating the interconnection of energy transport facilities.

3) Each Contracting Party undertakes that its provisions relating to transport of energy materials and products and the use of energy transport facilities shall treat energy materials and products in transit in no less favourable a manner than its provisions treat such materials and products originating in or destined for its own area, unless an existing international agreement provides otherwise.

4) In the event that transit of energy materials and products cannot be achieved on commercial terms by means of energy transport facilities the Contracting Parties shall not place obstacles in the way of new capacity being established, except as may be otherwise provided in applicable legislation which is consistent with paragraph 1).

5) A Contracting Party through whose area energy materials and products may transit shall not be obliged to:

a) Permit the construction or modification of energy transport facilities; or

b) Permit new or additional transit through existing energy transport facilities;

which it demonstrates to the other Contracting Parties concerned would endanger the security or efficiency of its energy systems, including the security of supply.

Contracting Parties shall, subject to paragraphs 6) and 7), secure established flows of energy materials and products to, from or between the areas of other Contracting Parties.

6) A Contracting Party through whose area energy materials and products transit shall not, in the event of a dispute over any matter arising from that transit, interrupt or reduce, permit any entity subject to its control to interrupt or reduce, or require any entity subject to its jurisdiction to interrupt or reduce the existing flow of energy materials and products prior to the conclusion of the dispute resolution procedures set out in paragraph 7), except where this is specifically provided for in a contract or other agreement governing such transit or permitted in accordance with the conciliator's decision.

7) The following provisions shall apply to a dispute described in paragraph 6), but only following the exhaustion of all relevant contractual or other dispute resolution remedies previously agreed between the Contracting Parties party to the dispute or between any entity referred to in paragraph 6) and an entity of another Contracting Party party to the dispute:

a) A Contracting Party party to the dispute may refer it to the Secretary-General by a notification summarizing the matters in dispute. The Secretary-General shall notify all Contracting Parties of any such referral;

b) Within 30 days of receipt of such a notification, the Secretary-General, in consultation with the parties to the dispute and the other Contracting Parties concerned, shall appoint a conciliator. Such a conciliator shall have experience in the matters subject to dispute and shall not be a national or citizen of or permanently resident in a