This Information Technology System (“System”) in support of the Multilateral System of Access and Benefit-sharing of the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (“International Treaty”) is owned and operated by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (“FAO”) and may be used only under the following Terms of Use. By using the System, users give consent to the practices described in these Terms of Use and agree to abide thereby.
Copyrights
FAO holds the copyright in the System and its database. FAO hereby grants users of the System a license to use it, and to download and print information generated through the System.
System Services
The System is designed to facilitate the preparation of Standard Material Transfer Agreements concluded in the framework of the International Treaty, and the submission, collection and storage of information regarding them, in the implementation of the Procedures for the Operation of the Third Party Beneficiary.
Obligation of parties to a Standard Material Transfer Agreement to store original copies
Nothing in the use of the System shall be deemed to substitute for any obligation of parties to a Standard Material Transfer Agreement to store original copies of such Standard Material Transfer Agreements.
Collection and Use of Information
During registration and entering of information into the System and its database by users, the System collects identifiable information, including name, surname, e-mail and other contact details (“Identifiable Information”). All the Identifiable Information is gathered in order to receive the System services.
FAO, acting as the Third Party Beneficiary, may use information, including Identifiable Information, collected through the System, or any part thereof, exclusively within the context of dispute settlement proceedings arising from a Standard Material Transfer Agreement.
FAO, acting as the Third Party Beneficiary, will not otherwise share any Identifiable Information with any third party unless directed by the user in question.
Corrections and Changes
Users are responsible for the accuracy of information entered into the System, which provides users with procedures for correcting or modifying their Identifiable Information where appropriate.
FAO reserves the right to change these Terms of Use. FAO will post changes to these Terms of Use thirty (30) days before their effective date. Users are responsible for periodically checking these Terms of Use. Users may opt out of any posted change to these Terms of Use within thirty (30) days from their effective date by sending an email to treaty-mls@fao.org.
FAO reserves the right to change the logical design of the System, including the registration form, with or without notice to the users. Continued use of the System following any change thereto shall constitute acceptance of the changes by the user.
Security, Confidentiality and Integrity of Information
The System is developed and maintained by FAO on a best efforts basis. FAO uses reasonable measures, in accordance with the standards of security and confidentiality established by the Governing Body of the International Treaty, to protect information, including Identifiable Information, from loss, misappropriation, unauthorized access by any third party, disclosure, alteration or destruction.
FAO uses reasonable measures to provide reliable assurance as to the integrity of information received through the System from the time when it is first generated by users of the System to the time when such information may be stored or displayed.
FAO uses reasonable measures to provide reliable assurance as to the availability of information collected through the System for display.
FAO uses reasonable measures to ensure that information that users of the System provide is accurately and completely generated and recorded.
FAO reserves the right for the Secretary of the Governing Body of the International Treaty to utilize non-identifiable information to provide statistical and general information to the Governing Body of the International Treaty, as well as for operations and quality assurance purposes.
FAO reserves the right to use Identifiable Information to direct important notices and information affecting a user’s account or services.
Liability
Neither FAO nor any employee, subcontractor, agent or assignee of FAO shall be liable for any direct, indirect, incidental, special, or consequential damages of any kind whatsoever (including, without limitation, attorneys' fees and lost profits or savings) in any way due to, resulting from, or arising in connection with the use of information generated through the System, including Identifiable Information, or the operation of the System, regardless of any negligence, including any malfunctioning of the System and, in particular, any loss or misappropriation of Identifiable Information by third parties.
Users agree to report any errors or deficiencies in the System to FAO.
Privileges and Immunities
Nothing in the System or in any document or arrangement relating thereto, shall be construed as constituting a waiver of privileges or immunities of FAO, nor as conferring any privileges or immunities of FAO to any other party or to its personnel.
Disclaimer
The views expressed in the documentation accompanying the System do not necessarily reflect the views of the FAO, and the Secretariat of the International Treaty.
The designations employed and the presentation of material in this website do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) concerning the legal or development status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries.
Applicable Law
The present Terms of Use shall be governed by general principles of law, to the exclusion of any single national system of law.
Any dispute between FAO and a user of the System, concerning the interpretation and the execution of these Terms of Use, or any document or arrangement relating thereto, shall be settled by negotiation. If the dispute is not settled by negotiation, it shall, at the request of FAO or the user, be submitted to one conciliator. Should FAO and the user fail to reach agreement on the name of a sole conciliator, each party shall appoint one conciliator. The conciliation shall be carried out in accordance with the Conciliation Rules of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law, as at present in force.
Any dispute between FAO and the user that is unresolved after conciliation shall, at the request of FAO or the user be settled by arbitration in accordance with the Arbitration Rules of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law, as at present in force. The arbitral tribunal shall have no authority to award punitive damages.
The conciliation or the arbitration proceedings shall be conducted in English. FAO or a user may request conciliation not later than twelve months after FAO or the user knows, or ought to know, of an occurrence that gives rise to a dispute. FAO and the user may request arbitration not later than ninety (90) days after the termination of the conciliation proceedings.
Any arbitration award rendered in accordance with the provisions of these Terms of Use shall be final and binding on the FAO and the user.
Notwithstanding the above, FAO reserves the right to bar or prohibit any user from utilizing the System in case of any breach of these Terms of Use, as determined by FAO. Such decision shall be final and binding, and is not subject to the procedures provided in this section.
Entire Agreement and Severability of Terms
These Terms of Use constitute the entire agreement with respect to access to and use of the System by users. If any provision of these Terms of Use is deemed to be invalid or unenforceable in whole or in part, such provision, to the extent that it is invalid or unenforceable, shall be deemed struck from these Terms of Use and shall not affect the validity or enforceability of any other provision hereof.