The Convention Against Terrorism of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization

Non official translation by FIDH from Russian original

The member states of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization,
being deeply concerned by the escalation of terrorism, which constitutes a threat to international peace and security, the territorial integrity of states, and the development of friendly relations between states, and well as the enjoyment of fundamental human rights and freedoms,
guided by the goals and principles of the United Nations Charter and the Charter of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization of 7 June 2002,
developing the provisions of the Shanghai Convention on Combating Terrorism, Separatism, and Extremism of 15 June 2001 and the Concept Between SCO Member States in Combating Terrorism, Separatism, and Extremism of 5 June 2005,
recognizing that the offenses covered by the present Convention cannot be justified under any circumstances, and that the physical and juridical persons responsible for committing such acts and (or) that are complicit in their commission must be prosecuted under the law,
considering the changes that have occurred in the support for terrorism and in the scale and nature of terrorist acts, and the importance of promoting cooperation,
realizing the necessity of increasing efforts against terrorism and re-affirming that all measures in preventing and combating terrorism should be undertaken subject to the supremacy of law, democratic values, fundamental human rights and freedoms, and norms of international law,
recognizing that only through joint efforts can effective prevention and combating of terrorism be achieved, have agreed as follows:

Article 1

The present Convention shall be concluded with the goal of increasing the effectiveness of cooperation against terrorism.

Article 2

1. For the purposes of the present Convention the terms and concepts employed in it shall mean:
“Party” - a state party to this Convention;
“terrorism” - an ideology of violence and a practice of influencing decision-making by the authorities or international organizations through the commission of or the threat of committing violent and (or) other criminal acts connected with intimidating a population and aimed at causing damage to the person, to society, and to the state;
“terrorist act” - an act connected with intimidating a population and creating a danger to human life and health that is intended to cause significant property damage, an ecological disaster, or other serious consequences in order to achieve political, religious, ideological, or other ends by influencing decision-making by the authorities or international organizations, or the threat of committing such acts;
“terrorist organization”:
a) a criminal group, unlawful armed unit, gang, or criminal society created to commit offenses and (or) that commits offenses covered by the present Convention;
b) a juridical person in whose name, at whose direction, or in whose interests one of the offenses covered by the present Convention is planned, organized, prepared for, or committed;
5) “juridical person” - an organization created in and that acts in the manner established by the national legislation of the Parties.
2. The present Article is without prejudice to any international treaty or national legislation of any of the Parties that contains or may contain a provision concerning a broader application of the terms and concepts utilized in the present Article.

Article 3

The present Convention shall apply when the identification, prevention, and investigation of offenses covered by the present Convention implicate the jurisdiction of more than one Party.

Article 4

The Parties shall carry out their rights and obligations under the present Convention in a manner consistent with the principles of sovereign equality, territorial integrity of states, and non-intervention in the domestic affairs of other states.

Article 5

1. The Parties shall take measures necessary to establish their jurisdiction over offenses covered by the present Convention when:
the offense is committed on the territory of that Party;
the offense is committed on board a vessel flying the flag of that Party or an aircraft registered under the laws of that Party;
the offense is committed by a citizen of that Party.
2. Each Party may also establish its jurisdiction over offenses covered by the present Convention when:
the offense was aimed at or resulted in the commission of a terrorist act on the territory or with respect to a citizen of that Party;
the offense was aimed at or resulted in the commission of a terrorist act with respect to a Party’s facility abroad, including the premises of diplomatic missions and consular institutions;
the offense was aimed at or resulted in the commission of a terrorist act for the purpose of compelling that Party to do or abstain from doing any act;
the offense is committed by a stateless person who permanently resides on that Party’s territory;
5) the offense is committed on board an aircraft which is operated by that Party.
Each Party shall take such measures as may be required to establish its jurisdiction over the offenses covered by the present Convention if the alleged offender is located on its territory and it does not extradite him to another Party.
The present Convention does not preclude the exercise of any criminal jurisdiction in accordance with the national legislation of a Party.
If more than one Party claims jurisdiction with respect to an offense covered by the present Convention, the Parties concerned shall engage in consultation where necessary.

Article 6

The cooperation provided for by the present Convention shall be conducted by competent agencies designated by each party.
On depositing its document ratifying the present Convention or providing notification of accession to it, a Party shall provide the Depositary with a list of its competent agencies responsible for implementing the present Convention, which the Depositary shall forward to the other Parties. The Parties shall immediately notify the Depositary of all changes to the list of their competent agencies, of which the Depositary shall inform the other Parties.
The Parties’ competent agencies shall collaborate among themselves directly within the limits of their powers on issues provided for by the present Convention. Territorial and other subdivisions of the Parties’ competent agencies may establish direct contacts in the manner determined by the Parties’ competent agencies for the purpose of implementing the present Convention.
Collaboration between the Parties’ competent agencies shall be conducted in bilateral and multilateral formats on the basis of a request for assistance and through information sharing at the initiative of a competent agency of one of the Parties.
Diplomatic channels, channels of the International Criminal Police Organization, or channels of the Executive Committee of the Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization may be used in the process of collaboration.

Article 7

The Parties shall encourage interreligious and intercultural dialogue, including, where necessary, nongovernmental organizations and other institutions of civil society, subject to national legislation, in order to prevent tense situations that may lead to the commission of offenses covered by the present Convention.
In accordance with the fundamental principles of its legal system, each Party shall develop and implement terrorism countermeasures on a national level, which may include:
the periodic evaluation of legal documents that regulate counterterrorism measures, and practical measures from the standpoint of their efficacy;
collaboration with appropriate international and regional organizations in developing and implementing counterterrorism measures, including the conducting of exercises to halt terrorist acts;
the creation of an agency or agencies to coordinate the activities of the appropriate agencies of a Party in countering terrorism;
increasing the professional level of the personnel of law enforcement and other agencies that conduct counterterrorism activity and providing the appropriate financial, material, and other support for the activity of these agencies and their personnel;
payment of the appropriate compensation to individuals that provide assistance to state agencies in preventing and halting offenses covered by the present Convention and in ascertaining individuals who are preparing or who have committed such offenses;
legislative definition of the restrictions that may be introduced for the purpose of preventing terrorist acts;
improving the protection of individuals and facilities, including increasing the effectiveness of cooperation between law enforcement agencies and the appropriate juridical persons and introducing standards intended to increase the security of individuals and facilities;
the protection of victims, witnesses, and other participants in criminal proceedings and, where necessary, of other persons, on issues of countering terrorism;
the creation and implementation of criteria to identify physical and juridical persons that are complicit in the commission of offenses covered by the present Convention;
providing juridical persons with sufficient opportunities to assist the state in preventing and uncovering offenses in the course of preparation or that have been committed at their facilities;
assisting non-governmental organizations, individual groups, and individuals in countering terrorism and in shaping societal rejection of terrorism;
educating the public regarding the danger of terrorism, its negative consequences, and liability for committing offenses covered by the present Convention;
providing opportunities for the population to notify state agencies, including anonymously, about any activities that may be considered an offense covered by the present Convention.
The Parties may adopt stricter measures than those provided for by the present Convention.

Article 8

Taking into account the fundamental principles of its legal system, each Party shall take necessary legislative and other countermeasures against the financing of terrorism which include, in particular:
1) registration of data on clients and financial operations, and the preservation of this information;
2) providing information to authorized agencies of the Party regarding suspicious and economically illogical operations and transactions;
3) suspending financial operations having an illegal, suspicious, or economically illogical nature at the direction of law enforcement or other agencies designated by the Party;
4) providing information and documents at the request of a court, procuracy agencies, preliminary investigation agencies, or other authorized agencies of a Party.

Article 9

1. The Parties shall take necessary legislative measures to recognize the following intentional acts as criminally punishable:
1) terrorist act;
2) any act recognized as an offense in one of the international counterterrorism treaties to which all the Parties are parties;
creation and use of a juridical person for the purpose of planning, organization, preparation, and commission of even one of the offenses indicated in subitems 1, 2, and 4-10 of the present item, or the creation of a criminal group, an unlawful armed unit, gang, or criminal society for the same purpose;
public calls to terrorism or public justification of terrorism; that is, the dissemination of any appeal to the public for the purpose of inciting the commission of at least one of the offenses indicated in subitems 1-3 and 5-10 of the present item, or public announcements recognizing terrorism as requiring support and emulation;
recruiting or other means of attracting individuals to participate in the preparation or commission of at least one of the offenses indicated in subitems 1-4 and 6-10 of the present item;
preparing individuals for the commission or assisting in the commission of at least one of the offenses indicated in subitems 1-5 and 7-10 of the present item;
participation in a terrorist organization;
financing terrorism; that is, either collecting or providing funds or financial services knowingly intended for the financing of activities in organizing, preparation, and commission of at least one of the offenses indicated in subitems 1-7, 9, and 10 of the present item, or providing support for the activity of a terrorist organization;
providing individuals with weapons, explosive substances, and other means for committing offenses indicated in subitems 1-8 and 10 of the present item;
10) providing individuals suspected in or charged with the commission of any of the offenses indicated in subitems 1-9 of the present item with shelter, financial assistance, or assistance in flight, or giving false testimony in regard to them.
2. In accordance with their national legislation, the Parties may also recognize as criminally punishable the act of intentional concealment, transportation, purchase, or intermediation in the purchase of property belonging to individuals suspected of or charged with committing any of the offenses indicated in item 1 of the present article.
3. Acts indicated in subitems 3-10 of item 1 of the present article are criminal regardless of whether a terrorist act was actually completed or the individual recruited and (or) instructed was aware of the terrorist nature of his actions.
The Parties are also obligated to take the necessary legislative measures to designate the acts of conspiracy, preparation, and attempt to commit any of the offenses provided for by item 1 of the present Article as criminally punishable.

Article 10

The Parties shall take necessary legislative and other measures, taking into account their legal principles, to prevent the complicity of juridical persons on their territory in even one of the offenses covered by the present Convention;
Each Party shall take such measures as may be required to establish the liability of juridical persons for instances they are complicit in even one of the offenses covered by the present Convention.
Subject to the legal principles of the Parties, juridical persons may bear criminal, civil, or administrative liability.
Establishing the liability of juridical persons does not exclude the criminal liability of physical persons that participate in its activities and who have committed offenses covered by the present Convention;
In regard to the juridical persons that are prosecuted for complicity in offenses covered by the present Convention, the Parties shall take such measures as, in particular:
warning;
fine;
confiscation of a juridical person’s property;
suspension of a juridical person’s activity;
prohibiting individual types of activity by a juridical person;
liquidation of a juridical person.
The Parties shall adopt legislative measures that permit the designation of a juridical person as a terrorist organization and its liquidation by order of a court or of another agency authorized by national legislation when the juridical person engages in the planning, organization, preparation, and commission of actions that constitute even one of the offenses covered by the present Convention. The same measures may be applied when the planning, organizing, preparation, and commission of offenses covered by the present Convention are carried out by an individual that controls the implementation by a juridical person of its rights and obligations.
The provisions of the present article extend to instances of complicity in offenses covered by the present Convention by the structural subdivisions (offices, branches) of foreign juridical persons active on the territory of a Party.

Article 11

The Parties shall consider the actions covered by the present Convention to be extraditable offenses, as well as subject to the transfer of convicted persons and the provision of legal assistance.
2. In any extradition treaty between any of the Parties, the offenses covered by the present Convention shall be considered extraditable offenses. The Parties are obligated to recognize these offenses as extraditable offenses in all extradition treaties that will be subsequently concluded between them.
3. When a Party which makes extradition conditional on the existence of a treaty receives a request for extradition from another Party with which it has no extradition treaty, the requested Party shall consider the present Convention as a legal basis for extradition in connection with the offenses covered by the present Convention. Extradition shall be subject to the other conditions provided by the law of the requested State.
Parties that do not make extradition conditional on the existence of a treaty shall consider offenses covered by the present Convention as extraditable offenses between themselves, subject to the other conditions provided for by the legislation of the requested Party.
When compliance with the principle of dual criminality is required, this principle shall be considered complied with regardless of whether the legislation of the requested Party places the relevant act in the same category of offenses or describes it using the very same terms as the requesting Party if the act in question in connection with legal assistance or extradition is requested is recognized as criminally punishable in accordance with the national legislation of the Parties.
For the purposes of extradition, offenses covered by the present Convention shall be considered committed on the territory of the relevant Party regardless of the place the offenses were actually committed, within the limits of the jurisdiction of that Party established in accordance with Article 5 of the present Convention.
The definition of offenses covered by the present Convention and the basis for liability of juridical persons that are complicit in their commission shall be within the scope of the national legislation of the Parties.
At the request of a Party that has rendered a sentence or a Party whose citizenships an individual convicted of even one of the offenses covered by the present Convention carries, the individual with his consent may be transferred on the basis of existing treaties or mutual agreements to the Party whose citizenship he carries to serve the sentence.
If the requested Party on whose territory the individual who has committed even one of the offenses covered by the present Convention is located does not extradite the individual on the basis that he is its citizen, that Party must carry out a criminal investigation of the individual in accordance with its legislation on the basis of materials it has, including criminal case materials provided to the requesting Party.

Article 12

1. The competent agencies of the Parties, upon request or on their own initiative, shall provide each other with information (documents, materials, and other data) regarding issues covered by the present Convention for the purpose of preventing and combating terrorism.
The information indicated in item 1 of the present Article shall be provided upon request by a competent agency of the requesting Party on the condition that it will not be transmitted to anyone to without the prior written consent of a competent agency of the requested Party.
The Parties’ competent agencies shall not disclose the fact of a request and its content and shall use it solely for the purpose of complying with the request, if agreed to by the competent agencies of the requesting Party, and shall also maintain the confidentiality of the information provided by the requested Party and use it only to the degree necessary for investigation, court proceedings, or to perform procedures provided for by the request.

Article 13

A request shall be fulfilled on the basis of the present Convention and the legislation of the requested Party.
Upon the request of a competent agency of the requesting Party, the legislation of that Party may be applied when fulfilling it, except as otherwise established by the legislation of the requested Party. Application of the legislation of the requesting Party must not impair the sovereignty and national security of the requested Party.

Article 14

1. a request shall be made in writing and must contain:
the name of the competent agencies of the requesting and requested Parties;
the subject of and grounds for the request.
the essence of the case, including facts related to it upon which operational search actions, investigation, or court proceedings are being conducted;
texts corresponding to normative legal acts or, if not possible, a summary of their provisions, as well as a statement that the requested measure or any other measure leading to analogous results may be undertaken on the territory of the requesting Party in accordance with its legislation;
an indication of the degree of restricted access, if necessary.
2. A request to impose penalties on juridical persons, besides the information indicated in item 1 of the present Article, should contain:
the name of the juridical person, information about its location, its legal address, and data on its leadership;
the penalties;
data regarding the concrete procedure that it would be desirable to follow at the request of the requesting Party;
information on property that may be subject to seizure or confiscation (its location, connections with the relevant offense, and any available information on the rights of other individuals to that property);
a certified copy of the decision of the court or another competent agency of the requesting Party and a summary of the grounds for that decision;
a summary of the facts relied upon by the requesting Party; the facts must be sufficient for the requested Party to raise the issue for a decision to be made on the basis of the Party’s legislation.
When a request to interrogate individuals as suspects or defendants, certified copies of the necessary materials of the criminal case should be appended to it.
The requested Party shall inform the requesting Party no later than 30 days from the date the request is received, unless otherwise agreed in each specific instance:
of the actions undertaken upon request and their result;
of any circumstances that prevent or will substantially delay the fulfillment of the request.
5. The requesting Party shall immediately inform the requested Party:
of a review of the decision or other circumstances in connection with which the decision to impose penalties upon juridical persons loses validity in full or in part;
of changes by virtue of which actions in connection with the present Convention become unwarranted.
6. A Party seeking the imposition of penalties from several Parties on the basis of the same decision with respect to a juridical person shall inform all Parties interested in the fulfillment of this decision.

Article 15

1. The competent agencies of the Parties shall fulfill a request:
1) to extradite an individual for prosecution or execution of a sentence of a court;
to conduct operational search actions;
to conduct individual procedural actions, in particular:
a) expert examination;
b) interrogations of suspects, defendants, witnesses, victims, and other individuals;
c) searches and seizures;
d) transmission of material evidence;
e) seizure of property;
f) service and forwarding of documents;
g) other actions related to their competency;
to provide evidence;
to impose penalties with relation to juridical persons;
to ascertain the location of physical persons suspected of committing even one of the offenses covered by the present Convention;
to ascertain the location of property subject to confiscation;
regarding other circumstances and issues within the purview of the present Convention.

Article 16

A request shall be signed by the head of the competent agency of the requesting Party or by individuals replacing them and (or) shall have a seal affixed to it.
In urgent cases a request may be transmitted orally, but the request and attached documents must be confirmed in writing not later than 72 hours thereafter, using technological means of transmitting text when necessary.
If doubt arises as to the genuineness or the content of a request, additional confirmation or clarification may be requested.
If multiple requests concerning the same circumstances are received in connection with the present Convention, the requested Party may independently determine which request shall be given priority.
If the fulfillment of the request does not fall within the competence of the requested Party’s competent agency, the agency shall immediately forward the request to another state agency that is competent to fulfill it and shall immediately inform the competent agency of the requesting Party of this.
The competent agency of the requested Party may request additional information that it considers necessary to fulfill the request.

Article 17

A competent agency of the requested Party may postpone taking measures on a request if the measures may damage the conduct of operational search actions, investigation, or court proceedings conducted by competent agencies of the requested Party.
A competent agency of the requested Party may refuse to fulfill a request if it may damage the sovereignty or national security of the requested Party or contradicts that Party’s legislation.
Before postponing or refusing the fulfillment of a request, a competent agency of the requested Party shall consult when necessary with the competent agencies of the requesting Party that submitted the request.
If a request is postponed or refused, a competent agency of the requested Party shall immediately inform the initiator of the request of this and must indicate the reason for the decision.

Article 18

A Party conducting a criminal investigation of individuals suspected or charged with the commission of offenses covered by the present Convention and which has ascertained that these individuals are present on the territory of another Party may, upon receiving permission from that Party’s competent agencies, dispatch its personnel to the territory of the requested Party to participate in relevant operational search and investigative actions.
The personnel sent by a requesting Party may participate in operational search and investigative actions on the territory of the requested Party in accordance with the legislation of the requested Party and the international treaties to which the Parties are parties.
The requested Party shall determine the manner for issuing permission for personnel of the requesting Party to participate in operational search and investigative actions on the basis of a request prepared in accordance with Articles 14-18 of the present Convention.
If personnel of the competent agencies are dispatched to participate in operational search and investigative actions the following information shall additionally be included in the request to dispatch them:
data about the personnel sent;
the purpose of the trip, a list of operational search and investigative actions, and the manner and time period according to which they will be fulfilled;
3) information about any transportation used, including the means of transportation, their amount and registration numbers;
4) other necessary information.
5. A decision on a request shall be made by a competent agency of the requested Party within five days ‎from the date the request is received, and the competent agency of the requesting Party shall immediately be informed of it. The decision may be stipulated to on conditions specified by the requested Party’s competent agency.
If a request for permission is prepared without regard to the requirements indicated in item 4 of the present Article or the information presented is incomplete, the competent agency of the requested Party has the right to request additional data.
Personnel of the requesting Party’s competent agencies that have entered the territory of the requested Party according to the established procedure shall perform their functions according to the legislation of the host Party and the conditions regulating their presence and the fulfillment of their assignment.
Personnel of the requesting Party’s competent agencies that are taking part in operational search and investigative actions on the territory of the requested Party conducted by personnel of the requested Party’s competent agencies are obligated:
to comply with the legislation of the Party on whose territory they are present and to obey the legal requirements of the host Party’s agencies;
to provide the requested Party with information they receive.
9. Participation in operational search and investigative actions shall cease as soon as the competent agency of the party on whose territory they are being conducted demands it.
10. The parties may conclude separate agreements among themselves regarding the provisions of the present Article.

Article 19

Evidence received by the requested Party’s competent agencies as a result of fulfilling a request in accordance with its legislation has the same evidentiary significance within the requesting Party as well.

Article 20

1. When executing a decision on the confiscation of property of physical or juridical persons that are complicit in the commission of offenses covered by the present Convention, the requested Party shall recognize a legal decision rendered by the requesting Party regarding the rights of third parties.
2. Such recognition may be refused in one of the following instances:
if third parties lacked sufficient opportunity to provide notification of their rights;
if third parties provide unambiguous and reasonable notification of their rights;
if the decision contradicts a decision already rendered by the requested Party on the same issue;
if the decision contradicts the legislation of the requested Party;
if the decision was rendered despite provisions related to exclusive jurisdiction provided for by the legislation of the Requested Party.

Article 21

Documents sent in accordance with the present Convention shall be exempt from all certification formalities.
Documents issued on the territory of one of the Parties or verified by a competent agency or by an individual authorized especially for that purpose within the limits of his competence and according to the established form and that are affixed with a seal shall be accepted on all territories of all the other Parties without any special certification.
3. Documents that are considered official on the territory of one of the Parties have the evidentiary force of official documents on the territories of other Parties.

Article 22

On issues within the scope of the present Convention, the Parties’ competent agencies may submit official documents to physical and juridical persons present on the territory of another Party through diplomatic channels or other means, as well as through the competent agencies of another Party.
On issues within the purview of the present Convention, the Parties’ competent agencies shall provide each other with assistance in serving official documents on physical and juridical persons.

Article 23

The Parties shall take necessary measures to prevent the granting of asylum status and its confirming documents to individuals that are complicit in offenses covered by the present Convention.

Article 24

1. A Party shall take necessary measures at the request of another Party to ensure the liability of a juridical person that is complicit in offenses covered by the present Convention, specifically:
seizure of property that may subsequently become a subject of confiscation;
suspending (freezing) financial operations;
suspending individual types of activity by a juridical person (radio and television broadcasting and the publishing of mass media, including electronic).
2. The measures provided for by item 1 of the present Article shall be carried out in accordance with the legislation of the requested Party and the present Convention.
3. Before lifting the measures provided for by the present Convention, the requested Party shall provide the requesting Party with the right to present their rationale in support of carrying out that measure.

Article 25

1. A Party that has received a request connected with the imposition of penalties on a juridical person (its structural subdivision) that is complicit in the commission of even one of the offenses covered by the present Convention and that is present, has property, or conducts activity on its territory:
1) shall either execute the decision of a court or another competent agency of a Requesting Party regarding the imposition of the requested penalties;
2) or shall, on the basis of facts and conclusions provided in the requesting Party’s decision, conduct court proceedings on the imposition of the requested penalties in accordance with its legislation.
2. Penalties on a juridical person shall be applied in accordance with the national legislation of the requested Party.

Article 26

For purposes of effectuating confiscation, the Parties shall take measures in accordance with national legislation to:
1) seize funds, securities, valuables, weapons and their component (spare) parts, ammunition, explosive substances, and other property intended for use (or that has been used) as a weapon to commit offenses or for the financing of one of the offenses covered by the present Convention;
2) provide for the seizure a monetary amount corresponding to the value of said property, if the property indicated by the present Article cannot be seized.

Article 27

1. A request connected with the confiscation of the property of physical or juridical persons that is sent in accordance with the present Convention does not affect the right of the requested Party to execute its decision regarding the confiscation of property of said physical or juridical persons.
The general value of the property confiscated upon request may not exceed the amount indicated in the confiscation decision. If a Party concludes that this may happen, the Parties shall engage in consultation for the purpose of preventing these consequences.
Property of a juridical person liquidated on the grounds provided for by the present convention that remains after the claims of creditors have been satisfied is also subject to confiscation.
4. A Party that has confiscated property upon request shall safeguard the property and manage it in accordance with its national legislation.
5. Confiscated property or a monetary amount corresponding to the value of the property may be transferred upon consent of the Parties concerned in part or in full to the Party that rendered the confiscation decision.

Article 28

The Parties shall independently bear expenses connected with their fulfillment of the present Convention unless otherwise agreed.

Article 29

1. If a suit is filed for compensation of damage caused by wrongful action or failure to act in connection with collaboration in accordance with the present Convention, the Parties shall consider the possiblity of conducting consultations with each other for the purpose of agreeing on the allocation of amounts to be paid in compensation for the damage.
2. A Party that is presented with a suit for the compensation of damages shall inform other interested Parties of it.

Article 30

The present Convention shall not limit the right of the Parties to conclude other international treaties on matters that constitute the subject of the present Convention and do not run counter to its purposes and object, nor shall it affect the rights and obligations of the Parties arising from any other international treaties to which they are parties.

Article 31

1. The present Agreement shall be concluded for an indefinite period.
2. The present Convention is subject to ratification by the states signatory to it. The instruments of ratification shall be deposited with the Depositary. The present Agreement shall enter into force on the thirtieth day from the date the fourth instrument of ratification is deposited.
3. For Parties ratifying the present Convention after the deposit with the Depositary of the fourth instrument of ratification, it shall enter into force on the thirtieth day after the date their instrument of ratification is deposited with the Depositary.
4. The Depositary for the present Convention shall be the Secretariat of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization.

Article 32

With the consent of all SCO member states, the present Convention shall be open for accession by states that share its provisions by means of notifying the Depositary of their accession.
For the accessing state this Convention shall enter into force on the thirtieth day from the date the Depositary is notified of accession.

Article 33

The present Convention shall be subject to registration with the United Nations Secretariat in accordance with Article 102 of the UN Charter.

Article 34

Amendments and additions may be made to the present Convention which shall constitute an integral part of it and shall be in the form of separate Protocols. Amendments and additions may be proposed by any of the Parties by providing corresponding notification to the Depositary, who shall immediately forward them to the other Parties for consideration.

Article 35

Any of the Parties may withdraw from this Convention by notifying the Depositary in writing six months prior to the date of anticipated withdrawal. The Depositary shall inform the Parties of this intention within 30 days from the date it receives the notification of withdrawal.

Article 36

If disputes arise between the Parties in connection with the interpretation or application of the provisions of the present Convention, the Parties concerned shall resolve them through consultations and negotiations.

Article 37

In cooperating within the framework of the present Convention the official and working languages shall be Chinese and Russian.
The original copy of the present Convention shall be deposited with the Depository, who shall forward certified copies of the present Convention to all states signatory to it.

Done this 16 June 2009 in one original in the Chinese and Russian languages, both texts having equal legal force.

For the Republic of Kazakhstan

For the People’s Republic of China

For the Kyrgyz Republic

For the Russian Federation

For the Republic of Tajikistan

For the Republic of Uzbekistan

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