All Questions

The Secretariat has prepared these questions and answers to assist public understanding of the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety. It is not intended to provide legal interpretation of the Protocol. Please refer to the original text of the Protocol for any further information.

a.	Biosafety and Biotechnology
	(Questions 1-7)

b.	The Biosafety Protocol and its Implementation
	(Questions 8-28)

c.	Becoming a Party to the Protocol
	(Questions 29-35)

24. Does the Protocol deal with liability and redress for damage resulting from transboundary movements of LMOs?

The Protocol contains an enabling provision by which the Conference of the Parties serving as the meeting of the Parties shall, at its first meeting, adopt a process with respect to the appropriate elaboration of international rules and procedures in the field of liability and redress for damage resulting from transboundary movements of living modified organisms. The Parties shall endeavor to complete this process within four years. (see Article 27 of the Protocol.) As envisaged in the Protocol, the first meeting of COP-MOP established an open-ended ad hoc working group of legal and technical experts on liability and redress in the context of the Protocol to elaborate international rules and procedures regarding liability and redress for damage resulting from transboundary movements of LMOs. The ad hoc group is expected to complete its work in 2007 (see Decision BS-I/8). Further information is available on the Protocol home page.