Article 12

All Contracting Parties are hereby bound by the General Annex.

A Contracting Party may accept one or more of the Specific Annexes or one or more of the Chapters therein. A Contracting Party which accepts a Specific Annex or Chapter(s) therein shall be bound by all the Standards therein. A Contracting Party which accepts a Specific Annex or Chapter(s) therein shall be bound by all the Recommended Practices therein unless, at the time of acceptance or at any time thereafter, it notifies the depositary of the Recommended Practice(s) in respect of which it enters reservations, stating the differences existing between the provisions of its national legislation and those of the Recommended Practice(s) concerned. Any Contracting Party which has entered reservations may withdraw them, in whole or in part, at any time by notification to the depositary specifying the date on which such withdrawal takes effect.

Each Contracting Party bound by a Specific Annex or Chapter(s) therein shall examine the possibility of withdrawing any reservations to the Recommended Practices entered under the terms of paragraph 2 and notify the Secretary General of the Council of the results of that review at the end of every three-year period commencing from the date of the entry into force of this Convention for that Contracting Party, specifying the provisions of its national legislation which, in its opinion, are contrary to the withdrawal of the reservations.