Article 1

1. While reserving its jurisdiction over the use of its own roads, each Contracting State agrees to the use of its roads for international traffic under the conditions set out in this Convention.

2. No Contracting State shall be required to exterd the bencfit of the provisions of this Convention to any motor vehicle or trailer, or to any driver having remained within its territory for a continuous period exceeding one year.

Article 2

1.    The annexes to this Convention shall be considered as integral parts of the Convention; it being understood, however, that any State may on signature or ratification of, or accession to, the Convention, or at any time thereafter, by declaration exclude annexes 1 and 2 from Its application of the Convention.
2.    Any Contracting State may at any time give notice to the Secretary-General of the United Nations that it will be hound, as from the date of the said noti-fication, by annexes 1 and 2 as excluded under the terms of paragraph 1 of this article.

Article 3

1. Measures which all the Contracting States or certain of them may have agreed, or shall in the future agree, to put into effect with a view to facilitating international road traffic by simplifying customs, police, health or other requirements will be regarded as being in conformity with the object of this Convention.
2 (a) A bond or other form of security guaranteeing payment of any import duties and import taxes which would, in the absence of such security be charge able on the importation of any motor vehicle admitted to international traffic, may be required by any Contracting State.
   (b) A Contracting State shall accept for the purposes of this article the guarantee of an organization established in its own territory affiliated to an international association which has issued a valid international customs pass for the motor vehicle (such as a carnet de pasages en douane).
3.    For the fulfilment of the requirements provided for in this Convention the Contracting States will endeavour to keep open during the same hours customs offices and posts next to each other on the same international road.

Article 4

For the purpose of this Convention the following expressions shall have the meanings hereby assigned to them:

“International traffic” means any traffic which crosses at least one frontier;
“Road” means any way open to the public for the circulation of vehicles;
“Carriageway” means that portion of a road normally used by vehicular traffic;
“Lane” means any one of the parts into which the carriageway is divisible, each sufficient in width for one moving line of vehicles;
“Driver” means any person who drives a vehicle, including cycles, or guides draught, pack or saddle animals or herds or flocks on a road, or who is in actual physical control of the same;
“Motor vehicle” means any self-propelled vehicle normally used for the transport of persons or goods upon a road, other than vehicles running on rails or connected to electric conductors. Any State bound by annex 1 shall exclude from this definition cycles fitted with an auxiliary engine of the type described in that annex;
"Articulated vehicle” means any motor vehicle with a trailer having no front axle and so attached that part of the trailer is superimposed upon the motor vehicle and a substantial part of the weight of the trailer and of its load is borne by the motor vehicle. Such a trailer shall be called a “semi-trailer”;
“Trailer” means any vehicle designed to be drawn by a motor vehicle;
"Cycle” means any cycle not self-propelled. Any State bound by annex 1 shall include in this definition cycles fitted with an auxiliary engine of the type described in that annex;
“Laden weight” of a vehicle means the weight of the vehicle and its load when the vehicle is stationary and ready for the road, and shall include the weight of the driver and of any other persons carried for the time being;
“Maximum load” means the weight of the load declared permissible by the competent authority of the country of registration of the vehicle;
“Permissible maximum weight” of a vehicle means the weight of the vehicle and its maximum load when the vehicle is ready for the road.

Article 5

This Convention is not to be taken as authorizing the carriage of persons for hire or Teward or the carriage of goods other than the personal baggage of the occupants of the vehicle; it being understood that these matters and all other matters not provided for in this Convention remain within the competence of domestic legislation, subject to the application of other relevant international conventions or agreements.