Page 461 - Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP)
P. 461

2.   To the extent possible and practicable, each Party shall:   the nature of the proceeding, and the public interest permit;
                                     and
 (a)   publish  in  advance  any  such  laws,  regulations,
 procedures,  and  administrative  rulings  of  general   (c)   it follows its procedures in accordance with its laws and
 application  with  respect  to  any  matter  covered  by  this   regulations.
 Agreement that it proposes to adopt; and

 (b)   provide, where appropriate, interested persons and other   Article 17.6: Review and Appeal
 Parties with a reasonable opportunity to comment on any
 such  laws,  regulations,  procedures,  and  administrative   1.   Each Party shall establish or maintain judicial, quasi-judicial, or
 rulings of general application with respect to any matter   administrative tribunals or procedures for the purposes of prompt
 covered by this Agreement.   review  and,  where  warranted,  correction  of  final  administrative
                              actions with respect to any matter covered by this Agreement.
                              Such tribunals shall be impartial and independent of the office or
 Article 17.4: Provision of Information   authority entrusted with administrative enforcement and shall not
                              have any substantial interest in the outcome of the matter.
 On  request  of  any  Party,  the  requested  Party  shall  promptly  provide
 information  and  respond  to  questions  pertaining  to  any  actual  or   2.   Each Party shall ensure that, in any such tribunals or procedures,
 proposed  laws,  regulations,  procedures,  and  administrative  rulings  of   each party to a proceeding is provided with the right to:
 general application with respect to any matter covered by this Agreement
 that  the  requesting  Party  considers  may  affect  the  operation  of  this   (a)   a reasonable opportunity to support or defend that party’s
 Agreement.                          positions; and

                              (b)    a  decision  based  on  the  evidence  and  submissions  of
 Article 17.5: Administrative Proceedings   record or, where required by its laws and regulations, the
                                     record compiled by the relevant office or authority.
 With  a  view  to  administering  its  laws,  regulations,  procedures,  and
 administrative rulings of general application with respect to any matter   3.   Each Party shall ensure, subject to appeal or further review as
 covered  by  this  Agreement  in  a  consistent,  impartial,  objective,  and   provided in its laws and regulations, that the decision referred to
 reasonable  manner,  each  Party  shall  ensure  in  its  administrative   in subparagraph 2(b) shall be implemented by, and shall govern
 proceedings applying such measures to a particular person, good, or   the  practice  of,  the  office  or  authority  with  respect  to  the
 service of another Party in specific cases that:   administrative action at issue.

 (a)   wherever possible, a person of another Party that is directly
 affected by such a proceeding is provided with reasonable   Article 17.7: Disclosure of Information
 notice,  in  accordance  with  its  domestic  procedures,  of
 when a proceeding is initiated, including a description of   Nothing in this Agreement shall require any Party to provide confidential
 the  nature  of  the  proceeding,  a  statement  of  the  legal   information, the disclosure of which would be contrary to its laws and
 authority  under  which  the  proceeding  is  initiated,  and  a   regulations or impede law enforcement, or otherwise be contrary to the
 general description of any issue in question;   public interest, or which would prejudice legitimate commercial interests
                       of particular enterprises, public or private.
 (b)   a person of another Party that is directly affected by such
 a  proceeding  is  afforded  a  reasonable  opportunity  to
 present  facts  and  arguments  in  support  of  that  person’s
 position prior to any final administrative action, when time,






 17-2                                                      17-3
   456   457   458   459   460   461   462   463   464   465   466