1. UNECE REGULATORY AND STANDARDS-SETTING WORK IN TRANSPORT
By Olivier Kervella Chief, Dangerous Goods and Special Cargoes Section
Transport Division, United Nations Economic
Commission for Europe (UNECE)

2. MAJOR AREAS OF STANDARDIZATION (1)
TRANSPORT INFRASTRUCTURE
(AGR, AGC, AGN, AGTC)
CONSTRUCTION OF ROAD VEHICLES:
1958 and 1998 Agreements:
construction/type approval
1997 Agreement:
Uniform inspections
ATP: Perishable foodstuffs vehicles
ADR: Dangerous goods vehicles

3. MAJOR AREAS OF STANDARDIZATION (2)
TRANSPORT OF DANGEROUS GOODS:
- Classification
- Labelling/Marking
- Packagings
- Tanks
- Vehicles/inland waterway vessels
- Training
- Loading/unloading/transport operations
- Emergency

4. MAJOR AREAS OF STANDARDIZATION (3)
INLAND NAVIGATION:
Construction of inland navigation vessels
European Code for Inland Waterways (CEVNI)
Signs and Signals on Inland Waterways (SIGNI)

5. MAJOR AREAS OF STANDARDIZATION (4)
ROAD TRAFFIC SAFETY
Signs and signals
Road traffic
Work of crew (AETR) (Digital tachograph)
CONTRACT OF CARRIAGE (ROAD TRANSPORT)
Goods: CMR
TRANSPORT FACILITATION
Harmonization of customs/border crossing procedures (TIR, harmonization of frontier controls, etc.)

6. MEANS OF STANDARDIZATION (1)
RECOMMENDATIONS
RESOLUTIONS
LEGAL INSTRUMENTS
- Agreements/Conventions
- Regulations/Technical annexes

7. MEANS OF STANDARDIZATION (2)
RECOMMENDATIONS
Addressed to governments or International organizations
Advantages: Not binding
Flexible
Easy to negotiate
Easy to update
Disadvantages:
Not binding
Do not guarantee harmonization
Difficult to monitor implementation

8. MEANS OF STANDARDIZATION (3)
RECOMMENDATIONS (cont’d)
When?
- Consensus difficult to achieve
- Politically sensitive issues
- National solutions preferred
- Standard not indispensable to international transport
- Other international organizations competent and involved
- Other international legal instruments in place
Examples
- Inland navigation
- Dangerous goods

9. MEANS OF STANDARDIZATION (4)
RESOLUTIONS
Same as recommendations, higher status
(ITC or Treaty bodies)
Advantages: Same as recommendations
Better commitment from Member States for implementation
Disadvantages: Same as recommendations
When? Urgent need for action by Member States
Interpretation/clarification of conventions

10. MEANS OF STANDARDIZATION (5)
LEGAL INSTRUMENTS (Agreements, Conventions)
- Legally binding
(expression of consent to be bound)
- Supplemented by technical annexes/regulations
. Integral part and same status (e.g. Annexes to ADR; or)
. Separate status (e.g. Regulations annexed to the 1958 Agreement)

11. MEANS OF STANDARDIZATION (6)
LEGAL INSTRUMENTS
- Advantages
Good implementation
Harmonization of rules/regulations/standards
Reciprocal recognition (in most cases)
Cooperation between Contracting Parties for implementation
- Disadvantages
Long negotiations
Long legal procedures (adoption, amendments)

12. MEANS OF STANDARDIZATION (7)
LEGAL INSTRUMENTS
When?
- High level of safety needed and better achieved through strong political commitment
(vehicles, road traffic safety)
- High level of safety required for international transport (dangerous goods)
- Harmonization necessary for global trade
(construction of vehicles)
- Harmonization necessary to international transport facilitation (customs conventions,
ATP, ADR)

13. PROCEDURES FOR DEVELOPING REGULATIONS/STANDARDS (1)
ADOPTION BY WORKING PARTIES
1. Proposals by Governments/IGOs/NGOs
2. Discussion by Working Parties (WPs)
Search of consensus
3. Discussion by group of experts/
informal groups
4. Discussion by WPs
5. Adoption by WPs
- by consensus; or
- by vote (majority UNECE members present and voting)

14. PROCEDURES FOR DEVELOPING REGULATIONS/STANDARDS (2)
ADOPTION BY WORKING PARTIES (cont’d)
6. Text adopted may be issued as
- a recommendation/resolution
(by WPs or ITC)
- a proposal of amendment/new regulation to existing legal instrument
- a proposed new legal instrument
7. End of the procedure for recommendations/resolutions
Beginning of legal procedure for legal instruments

15. PROCEDURES FOR DEVELOPING REGULATIONS/STANDARDS (3)
B. NEW LEGAL INSTRUMENT
- Proposed text adopted by WPs submitted to:
- ITC (for adoption by consensus)
- Diplomatic conference (consensus or 2/3 majority vote)
- Text adopted submitted by SG to
- UNECE Member States, or
- UN Member States
for signature, ratification, etc.
- Entry into force
(Conditions determined by legal instrument)

16. PROCEDURES FOR DEVELOPING REGULATIONS/STANDARDS (4)
C. AMENDMENTS TO EXISTING LEGAL INSTRUMENTS (technical annexes and annexed regulations)
- Depend on procedure determined by legal instrument
- Proposed amendments submitted to Contracting Parties
- by WPs through one Contracting Party and SG
- by WPs through Administrative Committees (adoption) and SG
- Tacit amendment procedure (Possibility of objection)

17. PROCEDURES FOR DEVELOPING REGULATIONS/STANDARDS (5)
C. AMENDMENTS TO EXISTING LEGAL INSTRUMENTS(cont’d)
- Agreement itself: more complex procedure
. Amendment requires preliminary adoption by administrative committee or diplomatic conference

18. COOPERATION WITH STANDARDIZATION BODIES (1)
ISO, IEC, CEN: non mandatory standards
- Application may be made mandatory
by reference in UNECE legal instruments
EU: New approach directives
- EU directives: Essential requirements
- EN standards: Developed to facilitate compliance with essential requirements

19. COOPERATION WITH STANDARDIZATION BODIES (2)
Cooperation UNECE/CEN and UNECE/ISO
- ADR/RID/ADN (dangerous goods):
Essential requirements plus standards
- ISO and CEN: Develop ISO and EN standards
- UNECE check compliance of EN standards and ISO standards with RID/ADR/ADN
- CEN and ISO revise draft standards
- References to ISO/EN standards introduced in RID/ADR/ADN
. To replace existing provisions; or
. As an acceptable means to comply with essential requirements

20. REGULATORY AND STANDARD UNECE standardization work TRANSPORT
END
By Olivier Kervella,
Chief, Dangerous Goods and Special Cargoes Section
Transport Division, United Nations Economic
Commission for Europe (UNECE)