ISLAMABAD, Jan 6: Saarc-member countries have worked out a comprehensive dispute settlement mechanism for redressal of any dispute arises among the member countries under Safta.

According to the Safta treaty singed here on Tuesday by the seven-member countries, any dispute that may arise among the contracting states regarding the interpretation and application of the provisions of this agreement or any instrument adopted within its framework concerning the rights and obligations of the contracting states will be amicably settled among the parties concerned through a process initiated by a request for bilateral consultations.

Any contracting state may request consultations in accordance with paragraph 1 of this Article with other contracting state in writing stating the reasons for the request, including identification of the measures at issue. All such requests should be notified to the Committee of Experts, through the Saarc secretariat with an indication of the legal basis for the complaint.

If a request for consultations is made pursuant to this Article, the contracting state to which the request is made shall, unless otherwise mutually agreed, reply to the request within 15 days after the date of its receipt and shall enter into consultations in good faith within a period of no more than 30 days after the date of receipt of the request, with a view to reaching a mutually satisfactory solution.

It further says if the contracting state does not respond within 15 days after the date of receipt of the request, or does not enter into consultations within a period of no more than 30 days, or a period otherwise mutually agreed, after the date of receipt of the request, then the contracting state that requested the holding of consultations may proceed to request the Committee of Experts to settle the dispute in accordance with working procedures to be drawn up by the Committee.

Consultations shall be confidential, and without prejudice to the rights of any contracting state in any further proceedings. If the consultations fail to settle a dispute within 30 days after the date of receipt of the request for consultations, to be extended by a further period of 30 days through mutual consent, the complaining contracting state may request the Committee of Experts to settle the dispute.

The complaining contracting state may request the Committee of Experts to settle the dispute during the 60-day period if the consulting contracting states jointly consider that consultations have failed to settle the dispute. The Committee of Experts shall promptly investigate the matter referred to it and make recommendations on the matter within a period of 60 days from the date of referral.

The Committee of Experts may request a specialist from a contracting state not party to the dispute selected from a panel of specialists to be established by the Committee within one year from the date of entry into force of the agreement for peer review of the matter referred to it. Such review shall be submitted to the Committee within a period of 30 days from the date of referral of the matter to the specialist.

Any contracting state, which is a party to the dispute, may appeal the recommendations of the Committee of Experts to the Safta Ministerial Council (SMC). The SMC shall review the matter within the period of 60 days from date of submission of request for appeal. The SMC may uphold, modify or reverse the recommen-dations of the Committee of Experts.

Where the Committee of Experts or SMC concludes that the measure subject to dispute is inconsistent with any of the provisions of this agreement, it shall recommend that the contracting state concerned bring the measure into conformity with this agreement. In addition to its recommendations, the Committee of Experts or SMC may suggest ways in which the contracting state concerned could implement the recommendations.

The contracting state to which the Committee's or SMC's recommendations are addressed shall within 30 days from the date of adoption of the recommendations by the Committee or SMC, inform the Committee of Experts of its intentions regarding implementation of the recommendations.

In case contracting state fail to implement the recommendations within 90 days from the date of adoption of the recommendations by the Committee, the Committee of Experts may authorize other interested contracting states to withdraw concessions having trade effects equivalent to those of the measure in dispute.