19

PROTOCOL MODIFYING CERTAIN PROVISIONS OF THE GENERAL AGREEMENT ON TARIFFS AND TRADE The Governments of the Commonwealth of Australia, the Kingdom of Belgium, Canada, the Republic of Cuba, the French Republic, the Grand-Duchy of Luxemburg, the Kingdom of the Netherlands, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and the United States of America, acting in their capacity of contracting parties to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, and The Governments of the United States of Brazil, Burma, Ceylon, the Republic of Chile, the Republic of China, the Czechoslovak Republic, India, Lebanon, New Zealand, the Kingdom of Norway, Pakistan, Southern Rhodesia, Syria, and the Union of South Africa, acting in their capacity of signatories to the Final Act adopted at the conclusion of the Second Session of the Preparatory Committee of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Employment which authenticated the text of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, Being desirous of modifying the text of certain provisions of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, in the light of the text of the Havana Charter for an International Trade Organization, which was authenticated by the Final Act of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Employment, Hereby agree as follows : I. Paragraph 5 of Article XXV of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade shall read as follows : "5. (a) In exceptional circumstances not elsewhere provided for in this Agreement, the CONTRACTING PARTIES may waive an obligation imposed upon a contracting party by this Agreement; Provided that any such decision shall be approved by a two-thirds majority of the votes cast and that such majority shall comprise more than half of the contracting parties. The CONTRACTING PARTIES may also by such a vote " (i) Define certain categories of exceptional circumstances to which other voting requirements shall apply for the waiver of obligations ; and " (ii) Prescribe such criteria as may be necessary for the application of this subparagraph. " (b) If any contracting party has failed without sufficient justification to carry out with another contracting party negotiations of the kind described in paragraph 1 of Article 17 of the