PULP MILLS (JUDGMENT) 45 international agreements” should be in force between the two parties thus clearly indicates that the 1975 Statute takes account of the prior commitments of each of the parties which have a bearing on it. 61. Article 41 of the 1975 Statute, paragraph (a) of which Argentina considers as constituting another “referral clause” incorporating the obligations under international agreements into the Statute, reads as follows : “Without prejudice to the functions assigned to the Commission in this respect, the parties undertake : (a) to protect and preserve the aquatic environment and, in particular, to prevent its pollution, by prescribing appropriate rules and [adopting appropriate] measures in accordance with applicable international agreements and in keeping, where relevant, with the guidelines and recommendations of international technical bodies ; (b) not to reduce in their respective legal systems : 1) the technical requirements in force for preventing water pollution, and 2) the severity of the penalties established for violations ; (c) to inform one another of any rules which they plan to prescribe with regard to water pollution in order to establish equivalent rules in their respective legal systems.” (Emphasis added.) 62. The Court observes that the words “adopting appropriate” do not appear in the English translation while they appear in the original Spanish text (“dictando las normas y adoptando las medidas apropiadas”). Basing itself on the original Spanish text, it is difficult for the Court to see how this provision could be construed as a “referral clause” having the effect of incorporating the obligations of the parties under international agreements and other norms envisaged within the ambit of the 1975 Statute. The purpose of the provision in Article 41 (a) is to protect and preserve the aquatic environment by requiring each of the parties to enact rules and to adopt appropriate measures. Article 41 (a) distinguishes between applicable international agreements and the guidelines and recommendations of international technical bodies. While the former are legally binding and therefore the domestic rules and regulations enacted and the measures adopted by the State have to comply with them, the latter, not being formally binding, are, to the extent they are relevant, to be taken into account by the State so that the domestic rules and regulations and the measures it adopts are compatible (“con adecuación”) with those guidelines and recommendations. However, Article 41 does not incorporate international agreements as such into the 1975 Statute but rather sets obligations for the parties to exercise their regulatory powers, in conformity with applicable international agreements, for the protection and 35