Artikel VII

1. Certificates of airworthiness, certificates of competency and licences issued or rendered valid by one Contracting Party and still in force, shall be recognized as valid by the other Contracting Party for the purpose of operating the air services on the specified routes provided that such certificates or licences were issued or rendered valid pursuant to and in conformity with the standards established under the Convention. Each Contracting Party reserves the right, however, to refuse to recognize for the purpose of flights above its own territory, certificates of competency and licences granted to any of its nationals by the other Contracting Party.
2. If the privileges or conditions of the licences or certificates referred to in paragraph 1 above, issued or rendered valid by the Aeronautical Authorities of one Contracting Party to any person or aircraft, should permit a difference from the standards established under the Convention, and which difference has been filed with the International Civil Aviation Organization, the Aeronautical Authorities of the other Contracting Party may request consultations with the Aeronautical Authorities of that Contracting Party with a view to satisfying themselves that the practice in question is acceptable to them. Failure to reach a satisfactory agreement in these matters regarding flight safety will constitute ground for the application of Article IV of this Agreement.
3. Each Contracting Party may request consultations at any time concerning safety standards in any area relating to aircrew, aircraft or their operation adopted by the other Contracting Party. Such consultations shall take place within 30 days of that request.
4. If, following such consultations, one Contracting Party finds that the other Contracting Party does not effectively maintain and administer safety standards in any such area that are at least equal to the minimum standards established at that time pursuant to the Convention, the first Contracting Party shall notify the other Contracting Party of those findings and the steps considered necessary to conform with those minimum standards, and that other Contracting Party shall take appropriate corrective action. Failure by the other Contracting Party to take appropriate action within 15 days or such longer period as may be agreed, shall be grounds for the application of Article IV of this Agreement (revocation or suspension of operating authorizations).
5. Notwithstanding the obligations mentioned in Article 33 of the Convention it is agreed that any aircraft operated by the airline or airlines of one Contracting Party on services to or from the territory of another Contracting Party may, while within the territory of the other Contracting Party, be made the subject of an examination by the authorised representatives of the other Contracting Party, on board and around the aircraft, to check both the validity of the aircraft documents and those of its crew and the apparent conditions of the aircraft and its equipment (in this Article called ramp inspections), provided this does not lead to unreasonable delay.
6. If any such ramp inspection or series of ramp inspections gives rise to:
a) serious concerns that an aircraft or the operation of an aircraft does not comply with the minimum standards established at that time pursuant to the Convention, or
b) serious concerns that there is a lack of effective maintenance and administration of safety standards established at that time pursuant to the Convention, the Contracting Party carrying out the inspection shall, for the purpose of Article 33 of the Chicago Convention, be free to conclude that the requirements under which the certificate or license in respect of that aircraft or in respect of the crew of that aircraft had been issued or rendered valid, or that the requirements under which that aircraft is operated, are not equal to or above the minimum standards established pursuant to the Convention.
7. In the event that access for the purpose of undertaking a ramp inspection of an aircraft operated by the airline or airlines of one Contracting Party in accordance with paragraph 5 above is denied by the representative of that airline or airlines, the other Contracting Party shall be free to infer that serious concerns of the type referred to in paragraph 6 above arise and draw the conclusions referred to in that paragraph.
8. Each Contracting Party reserves the right to suspend or vary the operating authorization of an airline or airlines of the other Contracting Party immediately in the event the first Contracting Party concludes, whether as a result of a ramp inspection, a series of ramp inspections, a denial of access for ramp inspection, consultations or otherwise, that immediate action is essential to the safety of an airlines operation.
9. Any action by one Contracting Party in accordance with paragraphs 4 or 8 above shall be discontinued once the basis for the taking of that action ceases to exist.