The Government of the Russian Federation and the Government of the Republic of Chile, hereinafter referred to as ”the Parties“,
Expressing their interest in establishing and developing equal and mutually beneficial cooperation between the two States in the exploration and use of outer space and the practical application of space equipment and space technologies,
Taking into consideration the provisions of the Treaty on Principles Governing the Activities of States in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space, including theMoon and Other Celestial Bodies, of 27 January 1967, as well as other multilateral treaties and agreements on the exploration and use of outer space in which both States participate,
Desiring to act in the interests of the social, economic, scientific and technological development of both States,
Have agreed as follows:
Article I Object and Status of the Agreement
1.This Agreement shall set principles and lay down an organizational basis for the establishment and development of programs of cooperation between the Russian Federation and the Republic of Chile in the exploration and use of outer space and the application of space technical equipment and technologies for peaceful purposes.
2.Cooperation within the framework of this Agreement shall be carried out in accordance with the laws and other statutory acts in force in each of the two States of the Parties.
3.This Agreement shall be without prejudice to the cooperation of the States of the Parties with the third States and international organizations and shall not affect the rights and obligations of the Parties under other international treaties in which they participate.
Article II Areas of Cooperation
Cooperation within the framework this Agreement may cover the following areas:
1)space science and exploration of outer space, including astrophysical research and planetary studies;
2)remote sensing of the Earth from space;
3)environmental monitoring of the Earth with the use of space means;
4)space communications and navigation;
5)space geodesy and meteorology;
6)space materials studies;
7)space biotechnology and medicine;
8)spacecraft and ground-based infrastructure;
9)manned space flights;
10)use of results of joint activities in producing new space equipment and technologies in other sectors of economy.
The Parties may, upon mutual consent, define additional areas of cooperation.
Article III Forms of Cooperation
Cooperation within the framework this Agreement may be carried out in the following forms:
1)Implementation of joint programs and projects using scientific, industrial and
experimental bases;
2)Carrying out joint experiments in outer space;
3)Exchange of scientific and technical information, expertise, experimental data,
results of experimental development works, documentation, materials and equipment in various areas of space science, technical equipment and technologies;
4)Implementation of programs and projects on the design, manufacturing, testing and launching of spacecraft and space systems or their components;
5)Exchange of scientists, engineers and other specialists, and organization of joint research and development works;
6)Holding joint symposia and conferences.
The Parties may, upon mutual consent, define additional forms of cooperation.
Article IV Cooperating Organizations
1.Each Party shall designate an organization responsible for the development of cooperation within the framework of this Agreement, the authority of which shall be confirmed by a Party by means of written notification of the other Party through diplomatic channels.
2.In accordance with the procedure established in paragraph1 of this Article, the Parties may designate by mutual agreement additional organizations responsible for carrying out specialized programs and projects within the framework of this Agreement.
3.In accordance with the laws and other statutory acts of their States, the organizations designated under paragraphs 1 and 2 of this Article may involve other organizations in the joint activity carried out within the framework of this Agreement.
4.For the purposes of this Agreement the term ”designated organizations“ shall mean organizations identified in paragraphs 1 and 2 of this Article.
5.For the purposes of this Agreement the term ”cooperating organizations“ shall mean organizations identified in paragraphs 1–3 of this Article.
Article V Additional Agreements
1.The Parties may conclude agreements in addition to this Agreement with the purpose of determining rights and obligations of the designated organizations, as well as of specifying the procedure for applying this Agreement and drawing up individual programs and projects carried out within the framework of the joint activity.
2.The norms and procedures of an organizational, financial, legal and technical nature related to the implementation of specific programs and projects in various areas of cooperation within the framework of this Agreement shall be determined by additional agreements concluded by the Parties and/or cooperating organizations.
3.For the purposes of this Agreement the term ”additional agreements“ shall mean the agreements identified in paragraphs 1 and 2 of this Article.
Article VI Working Groups
The Parties and the designated organizations may establish joint working groups to elaborate in detail specific aspects of the joint activity, as well as proposals on new areas and forms of cooperation, organizational methods and means of development of interaction mechanisms.
Article VII Funding
1.The Parties and the designated organizations shall agree on the funding for the joint activity carried out within the framework of this Agreement, subject to the norms, regulations and procedures relating to budgetary management in force in their respective States.
2.Unless the Parties agree otherwise in implementation of the provisions of paragraph 1 of this Article and ArticleV of this Agreement, they shall not bear financial responsibilities for executing specific programs and projects carried out within the framework of additional agreements concluded between the cooperating organizations.
3.Nothing in this Article shall be construed as creating additional obligations for the States of the Parties to provide budgetary financing of cooperation carried put pursuant to this Agreement.
Article VIII Expansion of the Forms of Cooperation
1.The Parties and the designated organizations shall provide support and assistance to the development of direct ties and establishing joint ventures between natural and legal persons of both States, which carry out activities in various areas of applied sciences and the use of technologies, and shall seek to provide them with adequate opportunities of participating in the programs and projects carried out within the framework of this Agreement, including on the potential use of space technologies in the area of industrial production with a view to fulfill practical tasks.
2.The Parties and the designated organizations may, upon mutual consent, involve natural and legal persons of third States and international organizations in programs and projects carried out within the framework of this Agreement.
Article IX Intellectual property
The Parties and the cooperating organizations may define in additional agreements the provisions regarding intellectual property applicable to specific programs and projects, which shall meet the requirements of the laws and other statutory acts and international treaties of their States. In the absence of such provisions in additional agreements, the protection and allocation of rights to intellectual property created or transferred in the course of the joint activity within the framework of this Agreement shall be in accordance with the Annex to this Agreement, which shall constitute an integral part thereof.
Article X Exchange of Information and Items
1.For the purposes of this Agreement the term ”information“ shall mean information, irrespective of the form of its presentation, on persons, subjects, facts, phenomena and processes, including scientific and technical data, relating to the joint activity within the framework of this Agreement and additional agreements, the course of its implementation and the results obtained.
2.Subject to the provisions on confidentiality provided for in the Annex to this Agreement, the Parties and/or the cooperating organizations shall provide, as soon as possible and on a reciprocal basis, access to information on the jointly obtained results of the activity carried out within the framework of this Agreement, and for this purpose shall promote the exchange of corresponding information.
3.The Parties and the designated organizations shall agree on the procedure for sharing or mutual provision of information and the transfer of items as regards specific types of the joint activity within the framework of this Agreement.
4.Except for cases where, on the basis of additional agreements, natural and legal persons of third States or international organizations may be involved in the joint activity, the Parties or cooperating organizations, which exchange information in accordance with paragraph 2 of this Article, shall not transmit it to any third party and shall not publish information on the content of joint programs and projects, as well as the results obtained in the course of their implementation without mutual written consent.
5.Nothing in this Agreement shall be considered as imposing an obligation on either Party to disclose or transmit any information classified under the laws and other statutory acts in force in the State of that Party as a state secret. In exceptional cases, where both Parties consider the exchange of such information necessary for the implementation of the joint activity within the framework of this Agreement, the transmission and handling of this information shall be regulated in accordance with the laws and other statutory acts of the States of the Parties on the basis and under the terms and conditions of a separate agreement concluded between the Parties in a written form.
6.The Parties shall act in accordance with the laws and other statutory acts of their States relating to export control for those goods and services included in the national lists and enumerations of export control of the Russian Federation and the Republic of Chile, respectively. Transfer by the Parties to each other or transfer by the cooperating organizations to each other of information, equipment and items, including industrial production and intellectual property, shall be undertaken in accordance with the laws and other statutory acts on export control in force in the Russian Federation and the Republic of Chile, respectively.
7.For the purpose of implementing specific programs and projects within the framework of this Agreement, the Parties shall, as appropriate, conclude agreements or assist in the conclusion by the cooperating organizations of agreements on technology safeguards measures, with a view to providing detailed conditions for:
7.1.the prevention of any unauthorized access to protected items and related technologies, any unauthorized transfer and export of protected items not for the intended use and/or their improper use by an exporter or an importer (end-user);
7.2.the implementation by representatives and personnel skilled in the handling of protected items of appropriate functions to effectively protect them and control their handling;
7.3.the development and implementation of specific technology protection plans.
Article XI Assistance to the Activities of Mission Staff and Import and Export of Goods
1.Each Party, in accordance with the laws and other statutory acts of its State, shall facilitate entry to, stay in and exit from the territory of its State of experts assigned on mission by the other Party, as well as staff members of the cooperating organizations. Subject to the laws and other statutory acts of the States of the Parties and the provisions of Article VII of this Agreement additional measures necessary for the efficient conduct of the joint activity provided for in this Agreement may be taken.
2.The Parties, in accordance with the laws and other statutory acts of their States the Parties, shall ensure customs clearance of goods moved across the customs borders of their respective States, which are necessary for carrying out joint activity within the framework of this Agreement, without the payment of import and export customs duties and taxes collected by customs authorities of the States of Parties, and, in case of the Republic of Chile, also by the Internal Taxation Service.
3.For the purposes of this Article the term ”goods“ shall mean spacecraft, launchers, including their components, instruments, control, testing and other equipment, spare parts, related and technologically necessary special-purpose natural or artificial substances or materials, related technologies in the form of information fixed on storage media, as well as other information in any material form, computer software and databases, inventions, industrial models and utility models, pilot design and technical engineering developments, trade secrets and know-how.
4.Exemption from the payment of import and export duties and taxes in accordance with this Article shall not apply to:
4.1charges for specific services provided in connection with customs clearance of goods, such as storage and consulting services;
4.2goods subject to excise taxes.
5.The exemption from duties and taxes stipulated by this Article shall be granted in accordance with the laws and other statutory acts of the States of the Parties with respect to goods moved through the customs border of the Russian Federation or the customs border of the Republic of Chile from or to third countries, irrespective of the country of their origin, including goods imported or exported within the framework of multilateral programs and projects that directly relate to the subject of this Agreement.
6.Each Party in the territory and/or at the facilities under the jurisdiction and/or control of its State shall, as necessary, render assistance to the other Party in ensuring adequate protection of the property of that Party and the property of cooperating organizations of that Party which is imported to and is located in the territory and/or at the facilities referred to above for the purposes of implementing of the joint activity within the framework of this Agreement.
Article XII Consultations
1.The designated organizations shall, as necessary, hold special meetings with the participation of relevant officials and experts on the issues of implementation of this Agreement and additional agreements. Upon completion of such meetings the designated organizations may submit for consideration by the Parties agreed recommendations and proposals on additional measures designed to facilitate the accomplishment of the goals of this Agreement and additional agreements in full and in a most efficient manner.
2.Where necessary and by mutual agreement, the Parties or their special representatives may conduct government-level consultations on the whole range of issues related to implementing existing and drafting additional agreements and securing in this connection favorable opportunities for further development of the principles and forms of interaction between the two States in the exploration and the use of outer space for peaceful purposes.
Article XIII Liability
1. In accordance with the laws and other statutory acts of its State each Party shall, on a mutual basis, wave liability claims against the other Party for damage that can be unintentionally inflicted on its own property and on the persons at its service, as well as on persons involved by a contract within the framework of the joint activity under this Agreement.
2. The obligation to wave, on a mutual basis, liability claims in relations between the Parties, provided for in accordance with paragraph 1 of this Article, shall apply only if the property, natural or legal persons that have caused damage are used or participate, respectively, in the joint activity in accordance with this Agreement, and if the damage has been inflicted due to the use of this property or the participation of these natural or legal persons in such joint activity. The application of the principle of a cross-waiver of liability may be specified in additional agreements between the Parties.
3. Cross-waiver of liability shall not apply to:
3.1claims for damage caused by willful misconduct or gross negligence;
3.2intellectual property claims;
3.3claims that may arise in the relations between a Party and its own designated organizations or claims between such organizations;
3.4claims made by a natural person, executor of his\her will, his\her heirs or subrogees in connection with bodily injury or any other serious impairment of the health of such natural person or for his/her death;
3.5claims based on explicitly stated provisions of an agreement.
4. The provisions of this Article shall not prejudice the rights of third persons to which this Agreement does not apply but which have suffered in connection with the implementation of the joint activity within the framework of this Agreement.
Article XIV Procedures for Possible Disputes Settlement
1.If a specific method of settlement of possible disputes related to interpretation and implementation of this Agreement and additional agreements is not determined with regard to any specific type of the joint activity, the Parties shall in case of a dispute conduct immediate consultations and seek to settle it by mutual agreement. Without prejudice to applying any other procedure for the settlement of specific disputes, the ways and means of amicable settlement shall have priority.
2.The disputes between the cooperating organizations and natural persons related to them shall be submitted for consideration jointly by senior officials of the cooperating organizations or their representatives who shall take every effort to settle the dispute by mutual agreement.
3.Where necessary, the Parties shall, by mutual agreement, determine other suitable means of settlement of disputes not resolved in accordance with the procedures provided for in paragraphs1 and 2 of this Article.
Article XV Final Provisions
1.This Agreement shall enter into force on the date of the receipt of the latter of written notifications through diplomatic channels of the completion by the Parties of domestic procedures necessary for its entry into force.
2.This Agreement shall be effective for an indefinite duration. Either Party may terminate this Agreement by means of written notification to the other Party. In such case termination of the Agreement shall take effect twelve months after the date of the receipt of such a notification by the other Party.
3.In the event of termination of this Agreement, its provisions shall continue to apply to all programs and projects initiated when this Agreement was effective and uncompleted by the time it is terminated. Unless the Parties agree otherwise, the termination of this Agreement shall not exonerate the Parties from the obligations undertaken within the framework of this Agreement. Similarly, the termination of this Agreement shall not affect the rights and obligations of natural and legal persons of both States which have been, respectively, acquired and undertaken as a result of the implementation of this Agreement and additional agreements.
In witness whereof, the undersigned, duly authorized thereto by their respective Governments, have signed this Agreement.
Done at Santiago de Chile on 19 November 2004 in duplicate, each in theRussian, Spanish and English languages, all texts being equally authentic. In case of any divergence of interpretation of the provisions of this Agreement the text in the English language shall be used.