Erpyleva, N.Y., Maksimov, D.M. Legal status of an Inter-governmental Organization for International Carriage by Rail (OTIF).

Abstract: This article is devoted to the legal status of the OTIF, which was formed under the Berne Convention of 1980 concerning International Carriage by Rail (COTIF), to which Russia is a party since 2010. The object of the study is a number of issues, regarding goals and aims of the OTIF, its inner structure, the conflict-resolution procedure for the disputes among the states, its privileges and immunities. Much attention is paid to the analysis of the inner organization structure of the OTIF, which is understood as a system, principles and the order of formation of its bodies, as well as their competence (object-oriented and jurisdictional), interaction of the bodies with each other and the decisionmaking procedure. The authors pay much attention to the arbitration procedure for the resolution of disputes among the Member States on the application of the COTIF, when the composition of the court, its object-matter competence, and the decision-making procedure are defined by the parties to the dispute by an arbitration agreement. The authors point out the prominent role of the Secretary General of the OTIF not only in managing its structure, but also in the arbitration procedure for the dispute resolution within the framework of the Convention.

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