PULP MILLS (JUDGMENT)
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programme of operations might significantly impair navigation, the
régime of the river or the quality of its waters, the technical reasons
on which this conclusion is based and the changes suggested to the
plan or programme of operations.
Article 12
Should the parties fail to reach agreement within 180 days following the notification referred to in Article 11, the procedure indicated
in Chapter XV shall be followed.”
81. The original Spanish text of Article 7 of the 1975 Statute reads as
follows :
“La parte que proyecte la construcción de nuevos canales, la
modificación o alteración significativa de los ya existentes o la realización de cualesquiera otras obras de entidad suficiente para afectar
la navegación, el régimen del Río o la calidad de sus aguas, deberá
comunicarlo a la Comisión, la cual determinará sumariamente, y en
un plazo máximo de treinta días, si el proyecto puede producir perjuicio sensible a la otra parte.
Si así se resolviere o no se llegare a una decisión al respecto, la
parte interesada deberá notificar el proyecto a la otra parte a través
de la misma Comisión.
En la notificación deberán figurar los aspectos esenciales de la
obra y, si fuere el caso, el modo de su operación y los demás datos
técnicos que permitan a la parte notificada hacer una evaluación del
efecto probable que la obra ocasionará a la navegación, al régimen
del Río o a la calidad de sus aguas.”
The Court notes that, just as the original Spanish text, the French
translation of this Article (see paragraph 80 above) distinguishes between
the obligation to inform (“comunicar”) CARU of any plan falling within
its purview (first paragraph) and the obligation to notify (“notificar”) the
other party (second paragraph). By contrast, the English translation uses
the same verb “notify” in respect of both obligations. In order to conform to the original Spanish text, the Court will use in both linguistic
versions of this Judgment the verb “inform” for the obligation set out in
the first paragraph of Article 7 and the verb “notify” for the obligation
set out in the second and third paragraphs.
The Court considers that the procedural obligations of informing,
notifying and negotiating constitute an appropriate means, accepted by
the Parties, of achieving the objective which they set themselves in Article 1 of the 1975 Statute. These obligations are all the more vital when a
shared resource is at issue, as in the case of the River Uruguay, which can
only be protected through close and continuous co-operation between
the riparian States.
82. According to Argentina, by failing to comply with the initial obligation (Article 7, first paragraph, of the 1975 Statute) to refer the matter
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