The Cartagena Protocol: The Advance Informed Agreement

In one line

The advance informed agreement procedure is four steps: the exporter tells the importing country, the importing country acknowledges, the importing country decides, and the decision can be reviewed.

In exam wording: article 7 of the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety 2000 applies the advance informed agreement procedure in articles 8 to 10 and 12 prior to the first intentional transboundary movement of a living modified organism for intentional introduction into the environment of the Party of import; article 8 requires the Party of export to notify, or require the exporter to ensure notification to, the competent national authority of the Party of import in writing, with at least the information in Annex I, and to ensure a legal requirement for the accuracy of that information; article 9 requires the Party of import to acknowledge receipt in writing within ninety days, stating the date, whether the notification prima facie contains the Annex I information, and whether it will proceed under its domestic regulatory framework or under article 10, and provides that a failure to acknowledge does not imply consent; article 10 requires the Party of import to communicate its decision within two hundred and seventy days of receipt, approving with or without conditions, prohibiting, requesting additional information or extending the period; and article 12 allows review of a decision at any time in the light of new scientific information.

Article 7: what the procedure applies to, and what it does not

7(1). Subject to articles 5 and 6, the procedure applies prior to the first intentional transboundary movement of a living modified organism for intentional introduction into the environment of the Party of import.

7(2). "Intentional introduction into the environment" does not refer to living modified organisms intended for direct use as food or feed, or for processing.

7(3). Article 11 applies instead to the first transboundary movement of such organisms intended for direct use as food or feed, or for processing.

7(4). The procedure does not apply to organisms identified in a decision of the meeting of the Parties as being not likely to have adverse effects on conservation and sustainable use, taking also into account risks to human health.

Articles 5 and 6, the two exclusions. Article 5 concerns pharmaceuticals for humans addressed by other international agreements or organisations, and article 6 concerns organisms in transit and organisms destined for contained use in the Party of import.

So the procedure is narrower than it first appears: it is about a seed being planted, not a grain being eaten, not a vial in a laboratory, and not a container passing through a port.

Article 8: notification

8(1). The Party of export shall notify, or require the exporter to ensure notification to, in writing, the competent national authority of the Party of import, prior to the movement. The notification shall contain at a minimum the information specified in Annex I.