Article 2 Definitions

‘Wastes’ are substances or objects which are disposed of or are intended to be disposed of or are required to be disposed of by the provisions of national law;

‘Management’ means the collection, transport and disposal of hazardous wastes or other wastes, including after-care of disposal sites;

‘Transboundary movement’ means any movement of hazardous wastes or other wastes from an area under the national jurisdiction of one State to or through an area under the national jurisdiction of another State or to or through an area not under the national jurisdiction of any State, provided at least two States are involved in the movement;

‘Disposal’ means any operation specified in Annex IV to this Convention;

‘Approved site or facility’ means a site or facility for the disposal of hazardous wastes or other wastes which is authorized or permitted to operate for this purpose by a relevant authority of the State where the site or facility is located;

‘Competent authority’ means one governmental authority designated by a Party to be responsible, within such geographical areas as the Party may think fit, for receiving the notification of a transboundary movement of hazardous wastes or other wastes, and any information related to it, and for responding to such a notification, as provided in Article 6;

‘Focal point’ means the entity of a Party referred to in Article 5 responsible for receiving and submitting information as provided for in Articles 13 and 16;

‘Environmentally sound management of hazardous wastes or other wastes’ means taking all practicable steps to ensure that hazardous wastes or other wastes are managed in a manner which will protect human health and the environment against the adverse effects which may result from such wastes;

‘Area under the national jurisdiction of a State’ means any land, marine area or airspace within which a State exercises administrative and regulatory responsibility in accordance with international law in regard to the protection of human health or the environment;

‘State of export’ means a Party from which a transboundary movement of hazardous wastes or other wastes is planned to be initiated or is initiated;

‘State of import’ means a Party to which a transboundary movement of hazardous wastes or other wastes is planned or takes place for the purpose of disposal therein or for the purpose of loading prior to disposal in an area not under the national jurisdiction of any State;

‘State of transit’ means any State, other than the State of export or import, through which a movement of hazardous wastes or other wastes is planned or takes place;

‘States concerned’ means Parties which are States of export or import, or transit States, whether or not Parties;

‘Person’ means any natural or legal person;

‘Exporter’ means any person under the jurisdiction of the State of export who arranges for hazardous wastes or other wastes to be exported;

‘Importer’ means any person under the jurisdiction of the State of import who arranges for hazardous wastes or other wastes to be imported;

‘Carrier’ means any person who carries out the transport of hazardous wastes or other wastes;

‘Generator’ means any person whose activity produces hazardous wastes or other wastes or, if that person is not known, the person who is in possession and/or control of those wastes;

‘Disposer’ means any person to whom hazardous wastes or other wastes are shipped and who carries out the disposal of such wastes;

‘Political and/or economic integration organization’ means an organization constituted by sovereign States to which its member States have transferred competence in respect of matters governed by this Convention and which has been duly authorized, in accordance with its internal procedures, to sign, ratify, accept, approve, formally confirm or accede to it;

‘Illegal traffic’ means any transboundary movement of hazardous wastes or other wastes as specified in Article 9.