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scale of contributions referred to in paragraph 1 of this article shall be modified. The new scale shall take effect as from the beginning of the financial year following.

5 — The Director-General shall notify Member States of the amounts of their annual contributions and, in agreement with the Finance Committee, of the dates on which payments shall be made.

6 — The Director-General shall keep an accurate account of all receipts and disbursements.

7 — The Council shall appoint auditors to examine the accounts of the Laboratory. The auditors shall submit a report on the annual accounts to the Council.

8 — The Director-General shall furnish the auditors with such information and help as they may require to carry out their duties.

Article XI Legal status

The Laboratory shall have legal personality. It shall in particular have the capacity to contract, to acquire and dispose of movable and immovable property and to institute legal proceedings. The State in which the Laboratory is situated shall conclude with the Laboratory a headquarters agreement, to be approved by the Council by a two-thirds majority of the votes of all the Member States, relating to the status of the Laboratory and such privileges and immunities of the Laboratory and its staff which are necessary for the fulfilment of-its objectives and for the exercise of its functions.

Article XII Settlement of disputes

Any dispute between two or more Member States concerning the interpretation or application of this Agreement which is not settled through the good offices of the Council shall be submitted, at the request of any party to the dispute, to the International Court of Justice, unless the Member States concerned agree on another mode of settlement within three months from the date on which the President of the Council states that the dispute cannot be settled through the good offices of the Council.

Article XIII

Amendments

1 — A proposal by any Member State to amend this Agreement shall be placed on the agenda of the ordinary session of the Council which immediately follows the deposit of the proposal with the Director-General. Such a proposal may also be the object of an extraordinary session.

2 — Any amendment to this Agreement shall require unanimous acceptance by the Member States. They shall notify their acceptance in writing to the Government of Switzerland.

3 — Amendments shall come into force thirty days after the deposit of the last written notification of acceptance.

Article XIV

Dissolution

The Laboratory shall be dissolved if at any time there are less than three Member States. Subject to any agreement which may be made between Member States at

the time of dissolution, the State in which the Laboratory's Headquarters are located shall be responsible for the liquidation. Except where otherwise decided by the Member States, the surplus shall be distributed among those States which are Members of the Laboratory at the time of the dissolution in proportion to all payments made by them. In the event of a deficit, this shall be met by the said Member States in the same proportions as those in which their contributions have been assessed for the current financial year.

Article XV

Signature, ratification, accession, entry into force

1 —This Agreement.shall be open for signature by the State Members of EMBC until the date of its entry into force in accordance with paragraph 4, a), of this article.

2 — This Agreement shall be subject to ratification, acceptance or approval. The appropriate instruments shall be deposited with the Government of Switzerland.

3 — a) Any State Member of EMBC not a signatory to this Agreement may accede at any later time.

b) If the Agreement establishing EMBC terminates this shall not preclude a State, formerly party to it or in respect of which a decision has been taken under paragraph 2 of article m of that Agreement to permit that State to accede to it, from acceding to the present Agreement.

c) The instruments of accession shall be deposited with the Government of Switzerland.

4 — a) This Agreement shall enter into force when ratified, accepted or approved by the majority of States mentioned in the preamble to this Agreement, including the State in which the Laboratory's Headquarters are located, and on condition that the total contributions of these States represent at least seventy per cent of the total of contributions shown in the scale annexed to this Agreement.

b) After this Agreement enters into force as provided in paragraph 4, a), of this article, it shall, as regards any signatory State subsequently ratifying, accepting or approving the Agreement, come into force on the date on which such signatory State's instrument of ratification, acceptance or approval is deposited.

c) For any acceding State this Agreement shall come into force on the date of deposit of its instrument of accession.

d):

Ï) This Agreement shall initially remain in force for a period of seven years. Thereafter it shall remain in force for an indefinite period utAc&s. the Council, not later than one year before the expiry of the seven year period, by a two-thirds majority of all the Member States provided the contributions of such Member States constitute not less than two-thirds of the total contributions, to the Laboratory budget, decides to prolong this Agreement for a specific period or to terminate it;

ii) Terrnination of the Agreement establishing EMBC shall not affect the validity of this Agreement.