878 



4. All decisions of the Board shall be undertaken unanimously by 

 those members present and voting, so long as at least one member 

 appointed by each Government is present. 



5. The Board shall normally sit in New York, New York. Insofar 

 as is necessary considering the location of the parties and the avail- 

 ability/ of evidence, the Board may sit elsewhere. 



6. English and Polish shall be the official working languages of the 

 Board. The Governments shall assist the Board in arranging for neces- 

 sary translations and interpretations. 



7. As used in this Annex, the term "national" refers to any vessel 

 or person, natural or juridical, including but not limited to a govern- 

 mental entity. 



SECTION II 



Conciliation Functions 



1. The Board shall consider claims advanced by a national of either 

 State against a national of the other State regarding financial loss 

 resulting from damage to or loss of the national's fishing vessel or 

 fishing gear. 



2. No claim may be brought more than six months after the occur- 

 rence of the relevant incident, unless the Board decides unanimously 

 to make an exception for a specific incident occurring during the six 

 weeks prior to the entry into force of the Agreement. 



SECTION III 



Conciliation Procedures 



1. The Board shall establish its procedures in accordance with this 

 Annex. 



2. A claim, as referred to in Section II above, shall be brought 

 before the Board by a written request. The request shall be in the form 

 of a sworn statement which shall include, inter alici^ a detailed account 

 of the incident from which the claim arises, the identity of all persons 

 and vessels involved, the remedy sought (damages claimed), and a list 

 of potential witnesses knowledgeable about the incident. All appro- 

 priate documentary evidence supporting the claim shall be forwarded 

 with the claim to the Board. 



3. Upon receipt of a claim, the Board shall, as soon as practicable, 

 commence an inquiry into the incident, and inform both Governments. 

 Each Government shall immediately notify any of its nationals 

 -against whom a claim is made. Its nationals may in turn file with the 

 Board a sworn statement responding to the claim. The response may 

 contain a counterclaim insofar as the counterclaim arises from the 

 same incident upon which the claim is based. A counterclaim shall be 

 in the same form and contain the same information as a claim. The 

 Board may join claims that arise from the same incident, without 

 prejudice to the, right of each party to present evidence with or with- 

 out counsel. 



4. The Board may request further information and documents from 

 the parties to the dispute or from appropriate governmental agencies. 

 All statements, reports, or other documents presented to the Board 

 shall be duly sworn and attested as to their authenticity, insofar as 

 reasonably possible. Official Government reports and documents need 

 Tiot be so authenticated. 



